Team BKool CycleChat

[CXRAndy]

Cuddling a bottle AAAC ?

 

[Daddy Pig]

Cuddling a bottle AAAC ?

Probably ménage à trois by the ramblings...
Edit: in as much as there were two bottles of wine involved... just to make that perfectly clear...

 

[berty bassett]

I had a very bad 25 mm Conti Ultra Sport recently too Lars. It effected my speed noticeably. What I can say for sure is that my speed uphill is a lot less than it used to be. I think I once got a 49 minute ride up Alpe D'huez but now I can only do it in about 55 so it seems they've made quite a large change when it comes to the hills. Having said that I think I'm also a little slower on the flats than I used to be too and sometimes find myself having to change down a gear from top on a zero % gradient, whereas it used to be spinning flat out at near maximum revs in top.

theres no way i could go flatout in top on the flat - max on flat for me would be 110rev 50-15ish
the only time i am in top is downhill and then i waste my time as after -4 i get blue numbers if i pedal 120 rev 50-11 or if its 50 rev
it seems on zwift i can stay in top nearly all the time and going up hill you just have to pedal quicker while your speed is slow - but watts go up
in bkool i used to be at an advantage going uphill due to weight - the watts would go up resistance go up and i would go up
now resistance sometimes goes up sometimes remains the same and sometimes goes down - at 3% hill i kick out higher watts than if i go up 6% hill in the same gear and same rev ( i cant keep that up for long ) that cant be right
i have noticed if the gradient stays the same for a long while say up one of your mountain rides .the watts slowly creep up even if you are doing exactly the same speed and rev

 

[CXRAndy]

Berty could you of been in ERG mode.?

 

[berty bassett]

Berty could you of been in ERG mode.?

no fraid not - things changed after big update i think - i dont mind that much when switching between bkool n zwift as definitely working harder in bkool but its a bit annoying doing rides and challenging your own ghost then seeing him fly off - sure i aint got that worse ! done more this year and feel better - though- have i mentioned my knee does hurt

 

[<Tommy>]

theres no way i could go flatout in top on the flat - max on flat for me would be 110rev 50-15ish
the only time i am in top is downhill and then i waste my time as after -4 i get blue numbers if i pedal 120 rev 50-11 or if its 50 rev
it seems on zwift i can stay in top nearly all the time and going up hill you just have to pedal quicker while your speed is slow - but watts go up
in bkool i used to be at an advantage going uphill due to weight - the watts would go up resistance go up and i would go up
now resistance sometimes goes up sometimes remains the same and sometimes goes down - at 3% hill i kick out higher watts than if i go up 6% hill in the same gear and same rev ( i cant keep that up for long ) that cant be right
i have noticed if the gradient stays the same for a long while say up one of your mountain rides .the watts slowly creep up even if you are doing exactly the same speed and rev

Berty I'm not questioning what you experience with the inconsistencies. It does seem that different people are having different experiences which is bloody weird to say the least. But in my experience, being a heavier rider, I would still have to put out much bigger watts than you to match you up hill. Also If I manage to spin out in my smallest gear on the flat it means I'm putting down approx 370w + I think. But it feels consistent in my mind. Downhill I need to put out around 400w at least for anything above -4% if I want to beat the blue.

Is it possible your putting out bigger watts at a lower gradient because your in a gear that suits you better for that gradient? Do you go through the gears often or would you say you adapt your pedal stroke to the gear you are in?

 

[<Tommy>]

no fraid not - things changed after big update i think - i dont mind that much when switching between bkool n zwift as definitely working harder in bkool but its a bit annoying doing rides and challenging your own ghost then seeing him fly off - sure i aint got that worse ! done more this year and feel better - though- have i mentioned my knee does hurt

you wouldn't be one of the gang without a dodgy knee!

For what it's worth I can't beat my best time pre big update up d'huez and I'm at least 30w better now according to bkool

 

[berty bassett]

Berty I'm not questioning what you experience with the inconsistencies. It does seem that different people are having different experiences which is bloody weird to say the least. But in my experience, being a heavier rider, I would still have to put out much bigger watts than you to match you up hill. Also If I manage to spin out in my smallest gear on the flat it means I'm putting down approx 370w + I think. But it feels consistent in my mind. Downhill I need to put out around 400w at least for anything above -4% if I want to beat the blue.

Is it possible your putting out bigger watts at a lower gradient because your in a gear that suits you better for that gradient? Do you go through the gears often or would you say you adapt your pedal stroke to the gear you are in?

400 watts downhill !! i lay in bed and dream of 400watts downhill
i have pedalled at 160 revs and still not beat the blues - though i dont know what watts that was as i was bouncing so much it was like a rodeo
i change gear all the time - embarressingly so as it seems like i just cant push pedals like i used to - maybe its just feeble legs ?
i used to av about 85 rev but tried to up that and now av about 95 - maybe at a cost of power ?

 

[<Tommy>]

400 watts downhill !! i lay in bed and dream of 400watts downhill
i have pedalled at 160 revs and still not beat the blues - though i dont know what watts that was as i was bouncing so much it was like a rodeo
i change gear all the time - embarressingly so as it seems like i just cant push pedals like i used to - maybe its just feeble legs ?
i used to av about 85 rev but tried to up that and now av about 95 - maybe at a cost of power ?

Ha!

To be fair there's a difference between knowing what I need to do and actually doing it.

I'm not sure about revs / cadence as I don't have a sensor set up. I just focus on power and how comfortable I am. Probably not very scientific.

For example I know I have hit 350w average for an hour in the past, so I know I can hit that. So if we're doing a 20 odd mile course and I'm averaging say 330 I know I'm either not trying hard enough or don't have enough in the legs. If my legs feel good I will push harder, if not I'll know I'm going to suffer... trying to beat 350 while not pushing so hard I blow up. I'm also trying to factor in distance left and hills left. With regards cadence I just want to try and balance cardio with leg effort. Traditionally I'm not fit so relied on legs but now I'm trying to build cardio as you can recover cardio far easier than legs so it's much better for longer endurance.

That got long winded very quick! sorry... I think I'm trying to say try paying attention to your watts vs cadence, ease of stroke and heart rate. You're a beast up the hills as far as I'm concerned but maybe you need to have a look at how much power your putting down ride to ride to note what you expect from yourself.

 

[bobinski]

theres no way i could go flatout in top on the flat - max on flat for me would be 110rev 50-15ish
the only time i am in top is downhill and then i waste my time as after -4 i get blue numbers if i pedal 120 rev 50-11 or if its 50 rev
it seems on zwift i can stay in top nearly all the time and going up hill you just have to pedal quicker while your speed is slow - but watts go up
in bkool i used to be at an advantage going uphill due to weight - the watts would go up resistance go up and i would go up
now resistance sometimes goes up sometimes remains the same and sometimes goes down - at 3% hill i kick out higher watts than if i go up 6% hill in the same gear and same rev ( i cant keep that up for long ) that cant be right
i have noticed if the gradient stays the same for a long while say up one of your mountain rides .the watts slowly creep up even if you are doing exactly the same speed and rev

Re Zwift, you do have realism set at 100%? What you are describing suggests it is set at 50% or lower.

I have to say there is a lot of moaning in the Zwift world about the impact of their latest update It has been great for me.

Re Bkool, I think that Bkool does not remove old software but pactches during an update. Perhaps that has introduced anomalies? Perhaps before we all next ride together we should unplug power to our turbos's and do a complete uninstall of bsim, reboot and then reinstall and then power up and reconnect out turbos.

 

[Bored Man]

Could someone explain the difference between blue and white numbers please?

 

[CXRAndy]

Could someone explain the difference between blue and white numbers please?

One is make believe and the other pure fantasy











white are supposed to be real speed, blue, bkool guessing

 

[CXRAndy]

Geoff, after a realignment of the scream intake valve, a little Yorkshire fettling, I did the handicap ride again from this week, please could you verify. Ta

 

[theboxers]

Could someone explain the difference between blue and white numbers please?

White, generally, a real speed. Trainer speed, gradient, cadence, calculated power and registered weight agree in bkool's formula to a real world speed.

Blue not so much. Blue is bkool's best guess when one or more of the above don't fit within the formula.

Some have written about beating the blue (sounds rude ) on downhills. The weight I am means I'd be very hard pressed to do that on anything above (below?) maybe -2% pushing out less than 4 or 500w or more. If you look at the descenso sessions I do as a warm down, -5% or steeper down gradient, 60 or lower cadence and 20-40w gives me a solid blue speed of 50+ mph (wheel speed on the garmin edge generally <5mph). The fastest I've seen was very late 60's.

I just use these sessions as a keep the legs moving to ease them to a resting state.

 

[gbrown]

Geoff, after a realignment of the scream intake valve, a little Yorkshire fettling, I did the handicap ride again from this week, please could you verify. Ta

Nothing to verify so far! Just your run from 22nd in the league stats. Does it show in your history?