Using a spin bike for Bkool or Zwift

[Jeepfreak81]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are looking to pick up a spin bike to get some excercise at home. Neither of us ride or have road bikes and my wife likes the idea of the spin bike. We're looking in the under $500 range which means no built in ANT+ capabilities. However, we REALLY like the Bkool simulator and want to take advantage of what it has to offer.

Do any of you know what gadgets we would need to add to a spin bike to get it to work with Bkool? At first I thought we could just add a Wahoo RPM cadence sensor but I don't think that's enough info for the simulator? I'm guessing we need at least speed and cadence if not also power? Any help is much appreciated!

 

[CXRAndy]

Ideally you need a power meter, either pedal based, or crank arm design and cadence/ speed sensor ant+ compatible. Your cost is limiting you quite a bit. There are spin bikes with power meters and variable resistance built in, but not sure if they are ant+compatible to link to bkool simulator. I would get a cheap second hand bike which fits you both, maybe with seat height adjustment( you could even buy a spare seat post with a different seat for your wife, very easy swap), buy a bkool pro trainer and have the best setup.

It is the interactive element that is the attraction/addiction with bkool

 

[r04DiE]

I would get a cheap second hand bike which fits you both, maybe with seat height adjustment( you could even buy a spare seat post with a different seat for your wife, very easy swap), buy a bkool pro trainer and have the best setup.

^^This, and you could get yourself a cheap cadence sensor that would work with the BKool Pro, Garmin, for instance.

 

[Jeepfreak81]

I'm not sure a used bike is the answer for us, but it's worth checking out.

And, yes the interactive element is what is attracting us to bkool, that and the ability to pretty much ride anywhere in the world, and also a little competition helps motivate me.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance concerning all the new gadgets. The last thing I used was an old "dumb" trainer that I had my MTB on in the basement. I understand the speed and cadence sensors for the most part, what does the power meter do for me? Does Bkool require all 3 input types in order to work? The thing is, if we can get started casually and like it then maybe come bonus time at work next year I might be willing to spend $1,000. Right now I need to stay under the $500 mark. My wife is really looking for a spinner or indoor exercise bike (not an upright). I'd like to find something that will work for both of us.

I recently (8 months ago) took an office job after working as an alarm technician. I've put on 30 lbs and it ain't pretty. LOL

Thanks for the help thus far

 

[CXRAndy]

I'm not sure a used bike is the answer for us, but it's worth checking out.

And, yes the interactive element is what is attracting us to bkool, that and the ability to pretty much ride anywhere in the world, and also a little competition helps motivate me.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance concerning all the new gadgets. The last thing I used was an old "dumb" trainer that I had my MTB on in the basement. I understand the speed and cadence sensors for the most part, what does the power meter do for me? Does Bkool require all 3 input types in order to work? The thing is, if we can get started casually and like it then maybe come bonus time at work next year I might be willing to spend $1,000. Right now I need to stay under the $500 mark. My wife is really looking for a spinner or indoor exercise bike (not an upright). I'd like to find something that will work for both of us.

I recently (8 months ago) took an office job after working as an alarm technician. I've put on 30 lbs and it ain't pretty. LOL

Thanks for the help thus far

Its not an necessity to have a power meter, its just a sensor to gauge in numbers in Watts. Power training is more accurate but not essential.
You can get the equivalent effort from monitoring your heart rate with a heart strap. Work out your HR zones and train that way.
Most decent interactive trainers have a power meter built in or calculate power from speed(Bkool Pro does). If you do sign upto Bkool(recommended) then a Smart trainer is really needed, whether Bkool's own or one from Wahoo, Tacx etc.

I can only tell you that I had a spin bike and whilst it got me started I would be bored after 30 mins of riding. I needed a television program to distract me. Once I signed upto Bkool, the interactive element drew me in, competing against other riders and then joining organised races has been so addictive,(I race regularly with guys from the USA and Europe live on the same event, imagine how cool that is) I don't go out that much and do 90% of my training indoors. Bkool has thousands of routes from all over the world, some have video of the route other are 3D interactive. With a trainer you will feel the resistance go up as hill gradients get steeper and vice versa for downhills. I would make the jump straight to Bkool if you're at all serious about you and your wife's fitness, It will save you buying kit twice!

Hope that helps

 

[Jeepfreak81]

Thanks for the recommendations and the explanation about power meters. Definitely have some things to consider. The interactive aspect is high on our list of wants in order to keep us motivated. Will have to discuss with my wife and see what she thinks. Maybe it's worth picking up a bike and a trainer if we can agree on a bike. Unfortunately I'm 6'4" and she's 5'4", the ides of adjustable seats and handlebars on the indoor bikes is appealing. Wonder if we could achieve something similar with either a road bike or MTB bike.

 

[CXRAndy]

Being so different in height, it would be better to use separate bikes. With the Bkool Pro trainer, it is so simple to change over bikes. All you need for second bike is a spare quick release skewer that Bkool supply with their trainer. To change bikes over will take less than 1 minute. The added bonus is with 2 bikes you can both go out riding together. You don't need to change anything from the Bkool setup to go outside.

Ebay for used, quality bikes and a new Bkool Pro, link it to your PC(laptop), or Android device and enjoy

 

[Jeepfreak81]

Well you've convinced me, We're going to try out a smart trainer. In fact I'm trying to decide what to order right now. We have a decent MTB bike that we both ride, the only difference is I take the seat and post of my 29er when I ride it. So we may just have to swap seat out for now. Who knows, maybe we'll add a second bike and a second trainer at some point. Now I just need to figure out eveything I need to make this thing work on my laptop and then send it to my 50" tv!! Also, I'm thinking of putting at least a road tire on the bike or a trainer tire if I can find one to fit it cheap enough