Team BKool CycleChat

[kipster]

What no disc brakes Nice bike there Kipster. Is it going on the turbo or is it too precious at the moment?

It won't be going on the turbo, I have a heavy old aluminium bike for that with a triple chainset (52,42,30) which is great for the flats and the mountains. My old summer bike is now a winter bike, and the new one is for sunny days, so I'll just be looking at it for a while!

 

[Daddy Pig]

It won't be going on the turbo, I have a heavy old aluminium bike for that with a triple chainset (52,42,30) which is great for the flats and the mountains. My old summer bike is now a winter bike, and the new one is for sunny days, so I'll just be looking at it for a while!

I remember changing from an old steel bike to my nice carbon with trimmings. The difference was so marked that as I rode off the drive I accelerated so unexpectedly I fell off!

 

[RickB]

Is there any advice to help identify strengths and weaknesses (apart from the obvious bulge of my tummy!)

Not aware of anything that could help with that apart from heading out with other riders or hiring a coach- that helps you realize your weak points very quickly!!

What goals have you in mind? That would give you a direction to go in.

 

[Daddy Pig]

Not aware of anything that could help with that apart from heading out with other riders or hiring a coach- that helps you realize your weak points very quickly!!

What goals have you in mind? That would give you a direction to go in.

Weight loss but that's for me to deal with!
In terms of cycling, building up the weaker muscle groups to ensure a balanced ride and ensure no injuries, but I have no idea how to identify them!
I want to maintain higher power for longer so probably vo2 training? I also want to get better power for longer rides around 80km, as power drops to around 300 to 320 watts average for the ride.

I've used the reainer to work on my cadence so that's going pretty well, but this does drop a bit on the longer rides.

So probably quite a lot!

 

[Add]

just opened an account there got the first quote - 4k with solid wood tops posh sink posh cooker boiling hot tap , now waiting for the second quote from them
been down b&q and to be honest their top kitchen again with solid tops posh sink cooker tap curved units 3.5k again waiting on second quote and will hopefully play them against each other
out of interest Adds - have you fitted a b&q kitchen and would you rate them - the units look the same with solid backs
i done a 40k kitchen supposily made from oak and it was the poorest laminate i have ever seen - before even touched it the laminate was peeling - and that was 40kbefore the worktops
as there isnt going to bee much space it might be better to have the b&q flat pack and do them as i get to them rather than have all the carcasses dotted every where

B&Q do two different standards of kitchen. Their cheap one is cheap, and their better one is quite good. To be honest, as long as they don't have the hardboard backs in them, most carcasses are all pretty similar. Only ones I particularly don't like fitting is the Ikea ones. Hateful things, or they used to be.

 

[AAAC 76C]

I'm on the latest software but not the latest firmware - my Bkool Pro is one of the older pre-FE-C models, and because I've not used it for ages, it's not had any updates.

Thing is, it won't update the firmware through the latest version of the sim, but fortunately I have the old version still installed on another computer. So I tried to update it the other day (mainly so I could use Zwift, tbh) but it kept timing out before the update was completed. Very annoying.



Hell yeah - I know I had a damn good workout last night even if the numbers suggest otherwise!

If you are pre-ANT FEC your update days are over which is why I purchased anew trainer because mine was a hybrid of second hand parts.
E-mail BKool on info@BKool.com and you may be offered a free hardware update but you'll have to send your trainer back or they will say "that will cost you Sir".
Good news is that on the old Firmware you will still have the advantage on a rolling stage will a lot of slope transitions that are longer than a few hundred meters.

 

[AAAC 76C]

but their weight reduces the W/Kg

All you said was spot on apart from the above as your weight is used to calculate your watts/kg but that more a grammar point than anything else.
You can improve or worsen your W/kg by weight change but loosing weight can have a negative weight on your average power and vice versa depending on what you have lost or gained.
Loose too much weight and you can affect your endurance as well which will then impact your average watts/kg.
The big difference is that due to gravity weight or lack of it benefits your ability to climb whereas on the flat it is outright power you need which is often accompanied by weight gain hence Wiggins going from a track/TT monster build to GC racing snake and now back again.

 

[Daddy Pig]

All you said was spot on apart from the above as your weight is used to calculate your watts/kg but that more a grammar point than anything else.
You can improve or worsen your W/kg by weight change but loosing weight can have a negative weight on your average power and vice versa depending on what you have lost or gained.
Loose too much weight and you can affect your endurance as well which will then impact your average watts/kg.
The big difference is that due to gravity weight or lack of it benefits your ability to climb whereas on the flat it is outright power you need which is often accompanied by weight gain hence Wiggins going from a track/TT monster build to GC racing snake and now back again.

But you seem able to nail big watts and keep it lean and fast for the uphills. That's what I'm looking to ultimately do, shift down at least 20kg but also get more power and endurance... for me losing weight is shifting fat rather than muscle...

 

[AAAC 76C]

I can't get my head around the logic/science of this. How can a tyre make such a massive difference. Providing it doesn't slip and is being run at a suitable/correct pressure what can be happening? I'm not challenging the fact that this is what you are experiencing but I can't understand why?

Fit a mountain bike tyre on a road bike then ask that question again.
The perfect trainer tyre needs to do only one thing and that is spin the turbo roller with the least energy loss possible.
This means a low rolling resistance and minimal shape change (i.e. bounce).
Bounce is energy loss and high rolling resistance generates heat which equals energy loss.
Too lower rolling resistance and you have a tyre made of ice which will not spin the roller.
Turbo trainer tyres are aimed at Turbo's that clamp the tyre and hence generate a lot of heat where as the BKool is akin to riding on the road all be it the same but of road again and again which is why they went to a metal roller from synthetic to promote heat transfer (cooling) from the roller surface through the spindle and into the air cooled flywheel.
Good news is that modern racing clinchers have moved on hugely since they have gained popularity over tubulars and we now have multi compound treads for outright speed (low rolling resistance) and cornering (high rolling resistance). Therefore stick a good quality racing clincher on your turbo and you will gain speed for the same pedal effort and on BKool speed = power on the Sim even if you are not actually working any harder.
Pump that tyre up to 140 PSI and you can reduce your rolling resistance and bounce but you may loose some traction as you transfer your weight from the back wheel e.g. standing on the pedals and moving forward on the saddle and head over the bars in a sitting sprint.

 

[Daddy Pig]

Fit a mountain bike tyre on a road bike then ask that question again.
The perfect trainer tyre needs to do only one thing and that is spin the turbo roller with the least energy loss possible.
This means a low rolling resistance and minimal shape change (i.e. bounce).
Bounce is energy loss and high rolling resistance generates heat which equals energy loss.
Too lower rolling resistance and you have a tyre made of ice which will not spin the roller.
Turbo trainer tyres are aimed at Turbo's that clamp the tyre and hence generate a lot of heat where as the BKool is akin to riding on the road all be it the same but of road again and again which is why they went to a metal roller from synthetic to promote heat transfer (cooling) from the roller surface through the spindle and into the air cooled flywheel.
Good news is that modern racing clinchers have moved on hugely since they have gained popularity over tubulars and we now have multi compound treads for outright speed (low rolling resistance) and cornering (high rolling resistance). Therefore stick a good quality racing clincher on your turbo and you will gain speed for the same pedal effort and on BKool speed = power on the Sim even if you are not actually working any harder.
Pump that tyre up to 140 PSI and you can reduce your rolling resistance and bounce but you may loose some traction as you transfer your weight from the back wheel e.g. standing on the pedals and moving forward on the saddle and head over the bars in a sitting sprint.

I never really try and stand up on the trainer as the back wheel spins, and i can still cadence 80rpm on max resistance. I only really stand up for a cabinet reshuffle...

 

[AAAC 76C]

I know a few of you will recall that I've been looking for a new bike for a while, well today is new bike day. The bar tape looks better in the flesh than the photo. And I'll move the bars down a spacer or two.

View attachment 153163

My dream, always wanted a Bianchi but it would have to be Celeste and in Columbus Tubing with a Campag Super Record Group Set with perhaps chrome forks and drop-outs.

 

[AAAC 76C]

Beautifully proportioned Kipster. especially that hourglass headtube.

Was getting a it worried there until the word 'headtube'

 

[AAAC 76C]

I have two bikes and they're both completely Matt black

That's like buying two shirts the same colour or getting new glasses just like your old ones.

 

[MasterDabber]

Fit a mountain bike tyre on a road bike then ask that question again.
The perfect trainer tyre needs to do only one thing and that is spin the turbo roller with the least energy loss possible.
This means a low rolling resistance and minimal shape change (i.e. bounce).
Bounce is energy loss and high rolling resistance generates heat which equals energy loss.
Too lower rolling resistance and you have a tyre made of ice which will not spin the roller.
Turbo trainer tyres are aimed at Turbo's that clamp the tyre and hence generate a lot of heat where as the BKool is akin to riding on the road all be it the same but of road again and again which is why they went to a metal roller from synthetic to promote heat transfer (cooling) from the roller surface through the spindle and into the air cooled flywheel.
Good news is that modern racing clinchers have moved on hugely since they have gained popularity over tubulars and we now have multi compound treads for outright speed (low rolling resistance) and cornering (high rolling resistance). Therefore stick a good quality racing clincher on your turbo and you will gain speed for the same pedal effort and on BKool speed = power on the Sim even if you are not actually working any harder.
Pump that tyre up to 140 PSI and you can reduce your rolling resistance and bounce but you may loose some traction as you transfer your weight from the back wheel e.g. standing on the pedals and moving forward on the saddle and head over the bars in a sitting sprint.

Yes, I understand all of that. What I can't understand is how the change from a 25mm Conti Ultra Sport to a 23mm Conti GP4000 S can give an improvement of 70 watts. This change of tyre isn't like changing from anything like a mountain bike tyre... just a couple of average road tyres.

What tire do you use?
In the last November Chain Gang stage I think I did one of the most clear demonstrations of how important the choice of tire is.
I did the stage 2 times averaging the same power (I have a power meter), one with 25mm Conti Ultra Sport, another with a hard pumped 23mm Conti GP4000 S. I averaged 269 Bkool watts in the first ride and 338 Bkool watts in the second attempt.
So that's roughly 70 watts more just by changing tire.

 

[AAAC 76C]

It won't be going on the turbo, I have a heavy old aluminium bike for that with a triple chainset (52,42,30) which is great for the flats and the mountains. My old summer bike is now a winter bike, and the new one is for sunny days, so I'll just be looking at it for a while!

Toyed with the triple idea for a while in order to get back some missing ratios so you can sit on the inner two rings for goats and the outer for chain gangs if you get my gist. With my 11/32 block I find myself trading cadence for power sometimes.