Team BKool CycleChat

[RickB]

Damn you Bkool, not sure if I want to endure that pain again.

Now you know why so many of us had 'technical issues ' at 30 mins and 15 secs of Alpe Duez!

 

[Vertego]

Now that's something I hadn't thought of. Perhaps my 'broken' software could be of benefit after all.

 

[Darryn007]

Now that's something I hadn't thought of. Perhaps my 'broken' software could be of benefit after all.

Broken software? I'm lost...

 

[uncle_adolph]

Yesterday I rode the Teide route and for the first 30 minutes my average power was 314 watts so I thought the Bkool system would recognise that and up my fitness level, however I kept doing the ride and my average then dropped back to around 250 watts and it didn't alter my level - should I have stopped at 30 minutes as per my fitness level.

Just out of interest......how does BKool actually calculate your power?

 

[Darryn007]

Just out of interest......how does BKool actually calculate your power?

I think Geoff will be able to help you out with that, maybe filter his posts?
But if you check back in the posts about 5-6 weeks you will probably find all that info.

 

[burndust]

Thanks, I am going a bit stir crazy today, having spent nearly four days recovering from a cerebral angiogram they gave me on Thursday. As they put a tube into my femoral artery in my groin I'm not allowed to walk, run, lift or bend for fear of starting an arterial bleed. They didn't find anything wrong, which is good I suppose, but that leaves me wondering where I go next ...

Really want to get back to some cycling before I lose all my fitness (and put back on all the weight I lost) but don't know if that would be wise. Doctor's all say that the exercise is great, but I suspect it will have to be very steady for quite a while. The KICKR should be handy as I can start by setting it to something like 100W erg mode and then gradually lift it over a period of weeks and months, and hopefully get some nice steady runs in outside, before the summer passes.

Would be great to get to the leagues in autumn, but not sure it would be wise

Geoff

if you can get the kickr to work properly in ERG mode, mines has been a nightmare recently, struggling to get it to do a spindown, even after using it for the required 10 mins, not what you want to deal with first thing in the morning

 

[gbrown]

if you can get the kickr to work properly in ERG mode, mines has been a nightmare recently, struggling to get it to do a spindown, even after using it for the required 10 mins, not what you want to deal with first thing in the morning

Have you updated the firmware? I helped a friend set up their new KICKR last week and found they had released a new firmware update.

 

[RickB]

Just out of interest......how does BKool actually calculate your power?

At a guess it would be calculated by using the rated resistance of the Bkool, (I'm sure it's very similar for each Bkool unit, so that is more or less a constant) which would allow it to get a good grasp of what power is required to overcome the generated resistance by a certain velocity. This figure would be the same for all riders going at a constant speed on flat ground. For inclines, your weight needs to be accurate in Bkool to get the most accurate Power readings. No idea how what equations/formula would be used to come to a figure though!

As an example of the weight factor - Bill and myself were more or less together for a climb there recently and I had to generate around 25 Watts more just to stay with him due to my heavier weight.

Does that sound feasible / make any sense? I know it doesnt really answer the question though!

 

[Vertego]

Broken software? I'm lost...

See my series of previous posts. Nothing but one problem after another using BSIM v2.25. Now thankfully resolved with v2.32.

 

[BILL S]

On my last ride I noticed that the bkool timer was still reading totally out for the time left to finish. I thought they had fixed it but apparently not. Anyone else still got this problem?

Out of interest Rick, my bkool weight is 76kg (unfortunately think that I now weigh 2kg more due to lack of recent activity and a new addiction to snickers and eggs). That extra 25watts you needed tells me your bkool weight must be 83Kg assuming linear ratio of power vs weight.

 

[Randyberlin]

On my last ride I noticed that the bkool timer was still reading totally out for the time left to finish. I thought they had fixed it but apparently not. Anyone else still got this problem?

 

[RickB]

On my last ride I noticed that the bkool timer was still reading totally out for the time left to finish. I thought they had fixed it but apparently not. Anyone else still got this problem?

Out of interest Rick, my bkool weight is 76kg (unfortunately think that I now weigh 2kg more due to lack of recent activity and a new addiction to snickers and eggs). That extra 25watts you needed tells me your bkool weight must be 83Kg assuming linear ratio of power vs weight.

Mines still reading completely wrong too Bill.

My weight is actually 87kg so I guess their formula isnt linear! I suppose the amount of extra watts I require will change depending on the gradient. The steeper it becomes the more gravity will come into play.

 

[RickB]

I did Geoffs Crowcombe climb as a warm up for a fitness test to try to move up to active level 1 just to sooth my bruised ego (Thanks Rick and Monte) but crashed at about 15 minutes. The Crowcumbe climb is not a good warm up.

You feeling left out of the club now Randy!

 

[Randyberlin]

You feeling left out of the club now Randy!

Yes. You two are taking records now. Monte has the absoulte on the Giro. Sorry about the multiple posts earlier. I was using my Iphone and tried to fix my post and it reposted 3 times. Ill try the goat climb tomorrow and see I can make it past the 1/2 hour mark.

 

[LBHIFI]

Just did the Copenhagen Gran Fondo 25.4km TT, and I think it is safe to say that 345 Bkool watts is not enough to qualify for the world championships agegroup 50-54.
Despite knowing how important a good warmup is, I somehow failed to get a proper warmup, and it took about 4 km to get over the shock.
I was using the Bkool Pro to warm up, but it can't really give you enough resistance without without power supply. I was also a bit too confident in the bike steering capabilities, and found out the hard way how bad they really are, crashing in the last turn before finish. Fortunately, a low speed crash, but it cost me about 30 seconds I reckon.
Lets be optimistic and say I could have done it a minute faster with a proper warmup, and that I didn't crash, then my 38:47 would be 37:17, still over half a minute from qualifying time.

Avg speed before the crash was 40.6 km/h (25,23 m/h)
http://www.strava.com/activities/304377586

Avg speed at finish was 39.29 km/h (24,42 m/h)