Team BKool CycleChat

[DeneGreg]

I've just hopped on the Bkool for a quick spin and completed my first FTP (what does that stand for anyone?), it was with heavy legs due to the amount of 'real life' cycling I've had in over the past week or so, but that said I've managed to drag myself from scratch to amateur 8 (again not sure what that means?)

I'm assuming there are different tiers each with it's own levels? Do i just complete advised targets in order to level up?

Thanks

 

[RickB]

Can't even remember what ftp stands for myself!

There's different levels: amateur, active, expert then pro (I think). Each level has 10 sub levels. Geoff posted up a table many pages ago which shows the breakdown of what watts are requires to break through to the next level.

 

[gbrown]

Can't even remember what ftp stands for myself!

There's different levels: amateur, active, expert then pro (I think). Each level has 10 sub levels. Geoff posted up a table many pages ago which shows the breakdown of what watts are requires to break through to the next level.

FTP = Functional Threshold Power

By definition this is the maximum average power you can sustain for an hour, and is considered to be a good match for the power output at which you are on the threshold of producing more lactate than your body can deal with, your Lactate Threshold.

The FTP test on bkool actually measures the average power over 20 minutes, as an hour is a bit of a slog. You are supposed to apply a correction by taking 95% of the 20 minute figure to approximate the hour average, and hence 95% of your average power on the FTP test gives an approximation for you FTP, which should be close to your LT.

Your FTP is more often quoted in Watts per Kg, which is considered a more useful measure of ability, so you should divide the 95% figure by your weight in Kg.

The bkool fitness levels are an arbitrary division of FTP as 95% of 20 minute average power per Kg, broken down into four categories and 10 sub categories: Amateur 1-10, Active 1-10, Pro 1-10 and Elite 1-10.

If you do not do regular FTP tests your fitness level will be determined using the average power from any session over 30 minutes.

Geoff

 

[DeneGreg]

Thank you very much @gbrown & @RickB, very informative

 

[LBHIFI]

......and now another event for next week (info from Bkool-English Facebook page)

After taking on a 24 hour Bkool challenge and finishing with some epic results, we're extremely happy to announce that on Tuesday 2nd of June, we've organised a special event where you can ride with Marc Molla inside the Bkool Simulator!

Marc is known for taking on difficult challenges, only two weeks ago he cycled with an average speed of over 32km/h for 24 hours and burnt over 11,000 calories!

The route will be started by Marc at 18:00 (CEST), followed by a 10 minute warm-up session allowing other users to join the event. Once the 10 minute warm-up is over, the race will begin!

If you don't find the route at first, don't panic! Press the refresh button located bottom left of your screen on the simulator. Should you have any additional questions, please contact us via our Facebook page.

See you all Tuesday afternoon!!!

Still pretty crappy weather here in Denmark, so Pliego - Alhama de Murcia looks like a perfect high intensity training session for me.
Video, 3D, not too much downhill, and not too far.

 

[gbrown]

Still pretty crappy weather here in Denmark, so Pliego - Alhama de Murcia looks like a perfect high intensity training session for me.
Video, 3D, not too much downhill, and not too far.

I nominate you Cyclechat Champion, our reputation rests in your hands (legs?)...

 

[RickB]

Just in case anyone is interested, I have put a write-up of my first sportive here.

It simply wouldnt have been possible for me to do this distance without the Bkool sessions over Winter.

 

[DeneGreg]

i know this has likely already been talked about on this thread (I'm slowly working my way through 389 pages!!) but what's with the absurdly quick time on some of the Bkool sessions, like people doing Alpe d'Huez in under a minute? Don't see why Bkool don't operate a flagging system similar to strava where rides/sessions that are clearly wrong can be removed from the leaderboards.

 

[BILL S]

i know this has likely already been talked about on this thread (I'm slowly working my way through 389 pages!!) but what's with the absurdly quick time on some of the Bkool sessions, like people doing Alpe d'Huez in under a minute? Don't see why Bkool don't operate a flagging system similar to strava where rides/sessions that are clearly wrong can be removed from the leaderboards.

Totally agree Dene. They should have such a system, but they should probably work on fixing their countdown timer first. So perhaps once they've got the basics working properly....

 

[LBHIFI]

I nominate you Cyclechat Champion, our reputation rests in your hands (legs?)...

Thanks Geoff, I will try hold the Chain Gang banner high

 

[LBHIFI]

Just in case anyone is interested, I have put a write-up of my first sportive here.

It simply wouldnt have been possible for me to do this distance without the Bkool sessions over Winter.

Well, I for one, really enjoy reading race stories.
I guess I too should file mine under "Sportives".

 

[RickB]

Totally agree Dene. They should have such a system, but they should probably work on fixing their countdown timer first. So perhaps once they've got the basics working properly....

Just sent a bit of a rant to Bkool there about their countdown timer and gaps between riders. I have just done the latest mountain stage and it near destroyed me at the end. It told me I was 2:30 behind Bill when he crossed the line. Took me a further 10 mins to complete it. Thought it was never going to end!!!

Ruins a ride when you are giving it your all only to find near the end that you arent doing near as well as you thought.

Crappy ride this evening - motivation was sagging big time and I felt like quitting several times.

 

[Randyberlin]

Just sent a bit of a rant to Bkool there about their countdown timer and gaps between riders. I have just done the latest mountain stage and it near destroyed me at the end. It told me I was 2:30 behind Bill when he crossed the line. Took me a further 10 mins to complete it. Thought it was never going to end!!!

Ruins a ride when you are giving it your all only to find near the end that you arent doing near as well as you thought.

Crappy ride this evening - motivation was sagging big time and I felt like quitting several times.

Turn around and ride it downhill. I'll lay odds you beat Pep Tache.

 

[BILL S]

Just sent a bit of a rant to Bkool there about their countdown timer and gaps between riders. I have just done the latest mountain stage and it near destroyed me at the end. It told me I was 2:30 behind Bill when he crossed the line. Took me a further 10 mins to complete it. Thought it was never going to end!!!

Ruins a ride when you are giving it your all only to find near the end that you arent doing near as well as you thought.

Crappy ride this evening - motivation was sagging big time and I felt like quitting several times.

Yes, the timer ruins my motivation too. I spent the whole ride thinking I was between 0 and 20 seconds behind Darryn but in reality it was up to a minute. And as you said, it makes the ride feel like it's taking forever to finish. It would actually be better to ignore the timer completely and the gaps between riders than have it as wrong as it is.
That was a tough ride though. Darryn is badass when I comes to picking them :P

 

[RickB]

Turn around and ride it downhill. I'll lay odds you beat Pep Tache.

I actually tried to make that event but ended up being 3 minutes late to the start. Got fed up trying to catch up after only a handful of minutes as i was spinning out - didn't have big enough gears! Downhill is pretty pointless on bkool!!