Which Virtual Training Software & Price?

[Whorty]

They have a route for all types of riding. Toooo many to choose from sometimes.

I use a 10km/40 lap velodrome session for warmups rather than the 10 minute lead in on all sessions.

I do the same, although it's sometimes too tempting to push hard and see if I can set a PB

 

[Aleman]

If you want to do simulated rides, and it's working then BKool is difficult to beat, although I'm having issues with video playback sometimes I get as much as 30 seconds (in total) of playback in a 40KM ride!! It was a big selling feature for me having the ability to upload your own rides with video which I have done, but the hoops you have to jump though to get it to work are soul destroying sometimes. The 2.5GB limit on total video size certainly restricts quality or length of ride. The BKool software to edit and upload video rides has just about entered alpha testing as far as quality is concerned. However for the reduced price subscription I got last year (3.99 a month) it's good value.

BRVR also allows you to ride your own video routes (but not share them - ** ) as long as you have the video and synced GPX file (Which is easy to do with Garmins Virb Edit) using my Fly 12 I have the option of Full HD or 720 ... my hardware doesn't handle full HD particularly well, so I use the 720p option, and frankly it's brilliant. ... It's also in open beta at the moment as is free to use so excellent VFM. It also has 'pootle' rides Bergen for example ... as long as you create your own 'course' and ignore the first 5KM.

** Technically you can share them using a Dropbox/Google docs folder , but the video size rapidly exceeds the 'free'options for that. ... Someone with a web host that allows unlimited file storage might be able to get around that

 

[steverob]

Unfortunately don't have a camera on my bike, so I can't upload videos of my rides, but Bkool and Rouvy do sound like they have flatter options for those of us that aren't mountain goats, so that's promising! As I said, I lucked out on getting the lower price for Zwift, so this isn't a decision I need to make for another 12 months or so, but it's good to know I've got options.

 

[Flint]

...165 HIGH QUALITY rides, mostly short and steep, but some long uphill drags available,...

Try Veloreality if you want really HIGH QUALITY (227 soon to be 267 videos). You can have those in HD 1080p or 4K (2160p if you have proper hardware)

 

[Aleman]

Try Veloreality if you want really HIGH QUALITY (227 soon to be 267 videos). You can have those in HD 1080p or 4K (2160p if you have proper hardware)

I'm currently trying to get a Lenovo P71 laptop workstation from work ... i7 and 4K screen and a P4000 video card, should be just about right

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Just a quick post to thank you all for the advice. I’ve been enjoying the use of a a Kickr Snap and have tried out the various simulation apps. To be honest, they don’t seem to be my type of thing yet. I don’t have a telly and I’ve never been into gaming. Maybe that’s why. I may come round to it and there are couple of free options mentioned upthread. It’s not a closed chapter.

But the winner is : TrainerRoad. It really works well with how my organisational matter works in my head and I relate to the layout and lack of clutter the others seem swamped in. The diarised training plans really look great. I’m looking forward to some decent improvements in my performance.

Thanks again.

 

[Srinivasa]

... it should be mentioned that BRVR offers the opportunity to easily use old
Tacx RLV videos, which is not so obviou. In fact, at least to my knowledge,
the same cannot be done by, e.g., Bkool or other sw, unless with exploiting some acrobatic maneuvers
Suposing you have a certain number of aforementioned old videos, you have just to say BRVR sw where to catch them (along with associated rlv, pgmf files) and the program will show you automatically those rides.
From my perpsective, also counting that the same Tacx is used to oblige their customers to update the sw by paying some extra buck at each single release (supposing it works with your 'old' laptop, otherwise you have to upgrade it because of the growing requests of the new Tacx version...), this BRVR's capability is worth really a lot !

 

[Aleman]

... it should be mentioned that BRVR offers the opportunity to easily use old
Tacx RLV videos, which is not so obviou. In fact, at least to my knowledge,

It also works with rides recorded on a GoPro or Fly12, and a GPX track from a navigation device ... without the limitation of dropping the quality down to fit it into a 2.5GB limit

 

[theboxers]

It also works with rides recorded on a GoPro or Fly12, and a GPX track from a navigation device ... without the limitation of dropping the quality down to fit it into a 2.5GB limit

I'd like to see some of your rides from Bkool in full HD. I've got a few in line to have a go at when I've completed my current plan sessions and the LEJoG league.

 

[Aleman]

I'd put them in dropbox but they are around 160GB for a 3 hour video!!

 

[theboxers]

I'd put them in dropbox but they are around 160GB for a 3 hour video!!

.

I've just remebered my SSD on my turboing PC is only 128Gb

 

[Aleman]

.

I've just remebered my SSD on my turboing PC is only 128Gb

I had to buy a 4TB external Hard Drive to hold them!!

 

[Flint]

I'd put them in dropbox but they are around 160GB for a 3 hour video!!

That seems like a disproportionally high bandwidth. You might want to check your encoder settings.

 

[Aleman]

That seems like a disproportionally high bandwidth. You might want to check your encoder settings.

Agreed, That is with Virb Edit Set to Maximum Quality.

 

[theboxers]

I had to buy a 4TB external Hard Drive to hold them!!

I may need to ship you a USB3 drive to copy them to for me