Peteaud
Veteran
- Location
- South Somerset
Who has one?
If you have a BKool TT then the group is Cyclechat BKool on the BKool website.
If you have a BKool TT then the group is Cyclechat BKool on the BKool website.
Team BKool CycleChat
- Thread starter Peteaud
- Start date
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BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
I'm in 
Breedon
Legendary Member
- Location
- Long Eaton, Nottingham
And me, must be more people on here with it.
BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
So how does this work then...should we choose a ride and all do it at the sam time ...or at different times...or what? Maybe we could ride the entire vuelta bit by bit? any other mad ideas?
BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
For those who may wish to get involved this is a bkool trainer
http://www.questadventure.co.uk/bkool
https://www.bkool.com/
http://www.questadventure.co.uk/bkool
https://www.bkool.com/
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OP
OP
Peteaud
Veteran
- Location
- South Somerset
So far the rides i have done, i.e small ones seem to nearly kill me.
So the entire Vuelta may take several years..
So the entire Vuelta may take several years..
Maybe we could ride the entire vuelta bit by bit? any other mad ideas?
I've uploaded routes for the first two stages of next year's Tour de France, in 20-30 mile chunks. There are five parts to each stage. I'll add stage three if I can find an accurate route map.So far the rides i have done, i.e small ones seem to nearly kill me.
So the entire Vuelta may take several years..
These are only Google Earth rides, as I don't have the equipment to do videos.
If you're interested, set up a session and search for routes close to Leeds, then look for "TDF_2014_E1_Pt1" in the list. The other sections have similar names, so stage 2 ends in Sheffield with "TDF_2014_E2_Pt5"
OP
OP
Peteaud
Veteran
- Location
- South Somerset
What is the best way of doing a route search.
BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
So are we four now then?
Are all the vuelta stages in there? Even if it dud take all year how kool would it be to say we rode it all in our living rooms etc!
The stages seem to be listed randomly, or are they in ride order??
Tdf stages sound good...prefer a vid ride though tbh...
I guess its important we set our machines the same for wind resistance and put in our accurate weights etc...I've still git to figurevout how go do those.
Are all the vuelta stages in there? Even if it dud take all year how kool would it be to say we rode it all in our living rooms etc!
The stages seem to be listed randomly, or are they in ride order??
Tdf stages sound good...prefer a vid ride though tbh...
I guess its important we set our machines the same for wind resistance and put in our accurate weights etc...I've still git to figurevout how go do those.
OP
OP
Peteaud
Veteran
- Location
- South Somerset
same here, still working out how to do stuff.
At the top of the page, under "BKOOL Cycling", there are four menus - "Home" "Sessions" "Plans" "Groups". Click on "Sessions" and when the page loads there is a list of options down the left-hand side. The bottom one is "routes". Click on it, and you get a map, with filtering options to the right of it. Make sure "GPS routes" (above the map) is selected, and then set the filters for whatever you want.
I haven't actually joined the group yet - still considering my options
.I think all the 2012 Vuelta stages are there, but I'm not sure they are complete. I've just checked two of them. Stage 2 was 181km, but the routes I can find only add up to 161. Stage 9 was 198km, and the routes add up to 185. Still plenty to be going on with, though. I didn't check the 2013 race sessions, because you have to pay extra to ride them
.I can't get the routes search to work in any sort of sensible order. Even though I found all the routes for these stages, there is no clue as to the order in which they happen.
I'd love to do videos of the TdF route. If anyone wants to buy me a camera, I'll drive round in the car and film them. I'll even pay for my own petrol
. Not sure how I'll manage when the route goes through a pedestrianised area, or the wrong way down a one-way street.Your weight can be input/updated by clicking "Profile" (top right of every page). Then under the search box near the top of the page, click on "edit profile".
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OP
OP
Peteaud
Veteran
- Location
- South Somerset
Very pleased with it.
Reasonably quite as i have not had any complaints.
Cost, got mine for £387.00 from Primera
http://www.primera-sports.com/products/bkool-trainers-910/
It's easily the cheapest trainer I could find with the option of doing video rides. It's very heavy, compared to my other turbo, but also very stable.
It takes rubber off the rear tyre, which my other turbo doesn't do.
I find that on steep hills (maybe 8% gradient and above) I can't pedal as smoothly or as quickly as I can on the road. This might be a hidden benefit, as it seems to be making my legs stronger
.I don't know how Bkool calculates wattage, and they don't claim that it's as accurate as a proper power meter, but it's not hugely inaccurate. The last three rides I've done, Bkool has shown average power of 138.7, 133.5 and 151.3. My Powertap showed 150.0, 140.0 and 164.0. So, the Bkool figure is between 90 and 95% of the PT. Probably not accurate enough for high level training, but close enough (and consistent enough) to be useful to a recreational cyclist.
I can't comment on noise levels as I always use earphones, but the neighbours haven't complained.
There's a voucher in the box it comes in to get 2 free months Gold subscription (needed for video rides), and when I activated it I got the chance to buy a 12-month sub at half price - so I got 14 months for under £50, which I'm happy with. I was a little worried when, part way through the subscribing process, the page suddenly switched into Spanish. Google Translate helped me work out what to type in each box, and it went through first time. If you don't want video, you can do rides using Google Earth for free.
I sometimes get messages saying Google Earth crashed, so I have to restart the ride. I've also had "you do not have sufficient bandwith to play videos", but a restart usually fixes that problem as well.
Most of the videos are in Spain, but lots of the big TdF climbs are in there and I expect that as more videos are added the area covered will widen.
One thing that puzzles me is descending. If I stop pedaling, I slow down and eventually stop. If I keep pedaling, my bike computer says I'm doing (say) 25 mph while Bkool says I'm doing 40. The speed display goes red when this happens. There obviously isn't a motor in the unit to simulate going downhill, but there must be something in the software that adds extra speed to the speed that you're pedaling at. The result is that Bkool shows a greater distance travelled than my bike computer does. I've done rides that Bkool shows as 30 miles, and the bike computer shows as 27. I then have a moral dilemma about what distance and average speed I put in my records. Being a modest person, I use the bike computer figures
.Overall, I'm really glad I bought it. I've never minded doing long turbo rides - I'm just made that way. But this makes indoor sessions much more fun.
