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Piombo

Member
Location
Norway
Hi. Looking to get the most out of my Bkool. I've requested to become member with the Mountain Goats, and acceptance would be an honour! (Piombo)

On the more technical side; Has anyone seen mysteriously low wattage from their Bkool? I'm almost killing myself on Zwift, but cant seem to make a lap around Richmond at more than 190W. Riding outside with club mates with powermeters, we usually see 250W averages for 2-3 hour rides.

My form is not at its best, but 180W and almost dying seems a bit lackluster.
 
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BILL S

Guru
Location
London
Hi. Looking to get the most out of my Bkool. I've requested to become member with the Mountain Goats, and acceptance would be an honour! (Piombo)

On the more technical side; Has anyone seen mysteriously low wattage from their Bkool? I'm almost killing myself on Zwift, but cant seem to make a lap around Richmond at more than 190W. Riding outside with club mates with powermeters, we usually see 250W averages for 2-3 hour rides.

My form is not at its best, but 180W and almost dying seems a bit lackluster.

Hi Piombo. You are now a member. Regarding the low wattage, I think the most likely cause (apart from the obvious of course ;)) is that you have low tyre pressure or an unsuitable tyre. I notice a big difference between different tyres. It's not like the road where your tyre is resting on a nice flat surface and the friction is minimal. On the roller there can be massive friction if you don't do everything possible to combat it. I think ideally we need near zero friction at the roller so the correct figures will go to the unit rather than heat to the atmosphere. If you're not convinced then try letting your tyre down a bit and see how much harder it gets to make power. I'd recommend 120psi + and experiment with different tyres. I've purchased a continental ultra sport as I've seen the best power figures from it so far. The tacx tyre I'm running at the moment seems to be robbing me somehow, although I've tried telling myself that it's not.
 

Rob H

Eat, Sleep, Climb, Repeat
Hi. Looking to get the most out of my Bkool. I've requested to become member with the Mountain Goats, and acceptance would be an honour! (Piombo)

On the more technical side; Has anyone seen mysteriously low wattage from their Bkool? I'm almost killing myself on Zwift, but cant seem to make a lap around Richmond at more than 190W. Riding outside with club mates with powermeters, we usually see 250W averages for 2-3 hour rides.

My form is not at its best, but 180W and almost dying seems a bit lackluster.

What gearing are you using onbike?

Im waiting on an adapter for my domane so currently stuck on 1 x 11 CX and anything flat my wattage goes low
 

Piombo

Member
Location
Norway
Ahh. I'm so used to the Tacx Flow pre-training calibration where I pump up to 100 psi, calibrate tension to get a 0 in calibration. Then I just keep i there the winter season. Without the calibration routine on the Bkool I actually forgott, and kind of ignored the issues since there was no lever that forced the rear wheel against the trainer.

I have a Conti trainer tire (dont remember the model just now).

I'll test 120psi tonight! Thanks for the tip!
 

Piombo

Member
Location
Norway
I have 50/34-11/25. Based on yesterdays Zwift ride, I'm leaning towards low tyre pressure as the reason. Keeping the pace on the flats was brutal, the hills quite a bit easier. The guys behind me kept the same pace as me on the flats, I took a few seconds on them up the hills, and they destroyed me downhill.

And possibly why I did get much better average on Ventoux than I am able to sustain on flatter courses....
 

LSpringett

Regular
Hi, Delivery due today so can't wait to get going into some winter riding fun (just built a new conservatory as a playroom rough *Cough* Pain Cave *Cough*). I put my requests into joining the groups, hope ok.
 
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BILL S

Guru
Location
London
Who's up for a pre-chain gang race this Thursday?
I think last year we discussed when most people would be likely to be able to take part and the conclusion was Thursday at 7pm. This is where we get as many of us as possible on this forum to race head to head at the same time on a 3D course. This one will be just so we can get used to it before the league starts. There will be a password to enter the session and you will find it in the Leagues Tab in bsim. It will start at 7pm (to be discussed further and confirmed in case it is not convenient for most people) where there will be a 10 minute warm up to give everyone a chance to join. Countdown will go down to zero.
Slipstreaming is actively encouraged as this is fun and takes some skill. We will pick much flatter rides so the light guys won't be powering away up the hills (not mentioning any names;)) and the races will hopefully be close.
So who can make it on Thursday at 7pm? Feel free to suggest an alternative time.
In future it will be in the form of a league where we try to make the Thursday race but the stages can also be done any other time just like the mountain goats.
Please post if you can make it or not. Thanks.
 

Piombo

Member
Location
Norway
Hmm, is a heart rate monitor required for the leauge stages? My Garmin ANT+ has not been transmitting useful data for a couple of years.
 

Monte

Über Member
Location
Somerset
Get a cadence sensor, Garmin do a nice magnet-less one or the Wahoo RPM is bluetooth and ANT+.

The built in cadence is never going to be as accurate as it just guesses from the torque profile, which is probably why it is often exactly half or double.

Geoff
Hi. Looking to get the most out of my Bkool. I've requested to become member with the Mountain Goats, and acceptance would be an honour! (Piombo)

On the more technical side; Has anyone seen mysteriously low wattage from their Bkool? I'm almost killing myself on Zwift, but cant seem to make a lap around Richmond at more than 190W. Riding outside with club mates with powermeters, we usually see 250W averages for 2-3 hour rides.

My form is not at its best, but 180W and almost dying seems a bit lackluster.

I'm having the same issue at the moment - I've just had a new replacement trainer and the watts is very low. I'm currently experimenting with a friends Tacx Neo and as a rider with a powertap rear hub on my road bike the power readings are far more accurate but am questioning the speeds (a little on the high side). The Tacx numbers remind me of the pre-update stats.

BKOOL still not replying to me emails...
 

bobinski

Legendary Member
Location
Tulse Hill
Who's up for a pre-chain gang race this Thursday?
I think last year we discussed when most people would be likely to be able to take part and the conclusion was Thursday at 7pm. This is where we get as many of us as possible on this forum to race head to head at the same time on a 3D course. This one will be just so we can get used to it before the league starts. There will be a password to enter the session and you will find it in the Leagues Tab in bsim. It will start at 7pm (to be discussed further and confirmed in case it is not convenient for most people) where there will be a 10 minute warm up to give everyone a chance to join. Countdown will go down to zero.
Slipstreaming is actively encouraged as this is fun and takes some skill. We will pick much flatter rides so the light guys won't be powering away up the hills (not mentioning any names;)) and the races will hopefully be close.
So who can make it on Thursday at 7pm? Feel free to suggest an alternative time.
In future it will be in the form of a league where we try to make the Thursday race but the stages can also be done any other time just like the mountain goats.
Please post if you can make it or not. Thanks.

Sounds good but I am 53y old that day and if i was to take part Mrs B might just see to it i don't make it to my 54th :ohmy:
Shame though, bike back now with a new rear hanger. May be able to do a 5pm ride if anyone about.
 
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