BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
The BKOOL connect/sport virtual reality Turbo Torture Trainer Gizmo
I bought this to keep in some kind of shape over the winter months. It won’t replace proper rides but compliment them.
In the box you get the Bkool turbo that you attach your bike to, a power supply to fire it up, a rear quick release skewer to replace your existing one so it all fits in the Bkool clamps (you can ride on road with this as well so you won’t need to keep switching it over), a cadence sensor and magnet, a wi fi dongle, front wheel block and I also bought the floor mat which is an extra.
You need a decent laptop, a fast wifi connection, and a flat screen TV set with an hdmi connection if you want the big on screen effect, if not you can just ride against the laptop screen.
Next up is the software. With Bkool you need to register online on their site and sign up to your chosen package. I bought a gold membership because I want the full video effect etc. I paid £96 for that for 12 months and then discovered that in my box was a voucher for 2 free months gold membership…I now have 14!
You need to inset you dongle into the USB port on your laptop, install the software, power up the Bkool trainer, clamp in your rear wheel, put the front wheel in the block, connect your laptop to your telly via an HDMI cable. Then you have to find your way around the website and the Bkool software. This is easier said than done at first. I find the interface confusing, but I am getting used to it.
http://www.bkool.com/bkoolSessionHistory/showSessionSummary?sessionSummaryId=422533
It throws up all the usual stats you would expect, has options for miles or km, your personal weight etc. It has some fitness tests and disclaimers etc. Then you need to create a session, either yourself via a gps unit or online on something like bike route toaster then import the gpx file, or select from the large range of pre recorded sessions to stream from the website under your membership package. The latter is more fun as it has proper videos to ride along to. These aren’t computer game style but real video footage recorded by real cyclists (I guess) riding the route. It’s like watching playback from a good hedcam mounted on your bars.
As the video plays back you see the stats and elevation profile as well as the video playback.
The actual ride on the Bkool trainer is pretty good. You can really feel the road and hill resistance as you ride, and it matches the elevation and video playback exactly.
The first thing that happens when you select a session to ride is the screen shows up a warm up session which you can override by stopping pedalling. Then it’s ready steady go and you are off.
The first thing I noticed was lack of wind resistance and fresh air, the next thing was excessive sweat which I don’t get on a real ride, I guess because of the wind cooling factor.
I’m pleased I got that mat, and from now on I’ll have a towel with me, not pleasant but you can really see the result of your work out!
The challenges for me are the positioning of the set up in the room, and the cabling given location of room power supplies TV location etc, and not dropping the laptop and snapping off the dongle...came dam close to that one this morning.
Going back to the software, it has individual and multi player functions, so you can ride against others with similar bkool devices online. My impression is that 99% of those doing that are from Spain. In fact if you can speak Spanish it will help with the set up, software and the multi rider thing …but it’s all good in English as well.
Even on the gold package some of the more popular rides are chargeable at .50 Euros a clip, so vuelta for example. But there are enough other ‘free’ rides to not have to worry about these, and if you absolutely have to ride certain tour stage it’s 50p a go approx.
When you compare the price of this (I paid £360 at the LBS as part of a deal with another bike purchase) and the Gold membership its way cheaper than say a Tacx igenius, and from some reviews I have read it’s better made (more solid).
Anyway, it does what it says on the tin, you just need to have a good tin opener.
I bought this to keep in some kind of shape over the winter months. It won’t replace proper rides but compliment them.
In the box you get the Bkool turbo that you attach your bike to, a power supply to fire it up, a rear quick release skewer to replace your existing one so it all fits in the Bkool clamps (you can ride on road with this as well so you won’t need to keep switching it over), a cadence sensor and magnet, a wi fi dongle, front wheel block and I also bought the floor mat which is an extra.
You need a decent laptop, a fast wifi connection, and a flat screen TV set with an hdmi connection if you want the big on screen effect, if not you can just ride against the laptop screen.
Next up is the software. With Bkool you need to register online on their site and sign up to your chosen package. I bought a gold membership because I want the full video effect etc. I paid £96 for that for 12 months and then discovered that in my box was a voucher for 2 free months gold membership…I now have 14!
You need to inset you dongle into the USB port on your laptop, install the software, power up the Bkool trainer, clamp in your rear wheel, put the front wheel in the block, connect your laptop to your telly via an HDMI cable. Then you have to find your way around the website and the Bkool software. This is easier said than done at first. I find the interface confusing, but I am getting used to it.
http://www.bkool.com/bkoolSessionHistory/showSessionSummary?sessionSummaryId=422533
It throws up all the usual stats you would expect, has options for miles or km, your personal weight etc. It has some fitness tests and disclaimers etc. Then you need to create a session, either yourself via a gps unit or online on something like bike route toaster then import the gpx file, or select from the large range of pre recorded sessions to stream from the website under your membership package. The latter is more fun as it has proper videos to ride along to. These aren’t computer game style but real video footage recorded by real cyclists (I guess) riding the route. It’s like watching playback from a good hedcam mounted on your bars.
As the video plays back you see the stats and elevation profile as well as the video playback.
The actual ride on the Bkool trainer is pretty good. You can really feel the road and hill resistance as you ride, and it matches the elevation and video playback exactly.
The first thing that happens when you select a session to ride is the screen shows up a warm up session which you can override by stopping pedalling. Then it’s ready steady go and you are off.
The first thing I noticed was lack of wind resistance and fresh air, the next thing was excessive sweat which I don’t get on a real ride, I guess because of the wind cooling factor.
I’m pleased I got that mat, and from now on I’ll have a towel with me, not pleasant but you can really see the result of your work out!
The challenges for me are the positioning of the set up in the room, and the cabling given location of room power supplies TV location etc, and not dropping the laptop and snapping off the dongle...came dam close to that one this morning.
Going back to the software, it has individual and multi player functions, so you can ride against others with similar bkool devices online. My impression is that 99% of those doing that are from Spain. In fact if you can speak Spanish it will help with the set up, software and the multi rider thing …but it’s all good in English as well.
Even on the gold package some of the more popular rides are chargeable at .50 Euros a clip, so vuelta for example. But there are enough other ‘free’ rides to not have to worry about these, and if you absolutely have to ride certain tour stage it’s 50p a go approx.
When you compare the price of this (I paid £360 at the LBS as part of a deal with another bike purchase) and the Gold membership its way cheaper than say a Tacx igenius, and from some reviews I have read it’s better made (more solid).
Anyway, it does what it says on the tin, you just need to have a good tin opener.
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