Anyone on here use Bkool?

Swap notes about technical issues

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AlanW
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Anyone on here use Bkool?

Post by AlanW » 03 Feb 2016 18:51

Just had a go at setting up my trainer and giving it a go to see how it compared with Zwift. 1 1/2 hours later I finally get everything paired and ready to go!

Then trying to find a ride was hopeless, or prehaps its me thats hopeless....dunno?

Gave up in the end and retired back to trusty Zwift. But by which time my head had gone and after a massive 4.8 miles I climbed off and said f*** it....
"You only need two tools: WD40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD40. If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape"

Patch
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Post by Patch » 09 Feb 2016 12:57

I've been giving it a go. Mainly because I couldn't get Swift to run properly on my laptop. its easy to find a route and if you link to Strava all your on road routes appear on it. You can either keep them private or make them public. The graphics are probably not as groovy as Zwift but they run fine on less powerful graphics cards. Last night I did the Country 20 racing my own actual on the road pb. Beat myself by 20 sec cool.
Patch

martin mc
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Post by martin mc » 09 Feb 2016 17:59

Patch wrote:. Last night I did the Country 20 racing my own actual on the road pb. Beat myself by 20 sec cool.
That would explain the random strava "uh oh you just lost your KOM on k32/20" message I got then. :)

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Post by Andy Terry » 09 Feb 2016 18:14

I had a quick go on Bkool this afternoon. Signed up for the 30-day trial and installed the simulator it on my laptop. It was easy to create a route from a GPX file using the web site. Then I 'played' my route in the simulator, it paired with the Tacx OK but took a second attempt to find the cadence sensor (Zwift struggles with this too). On my screen it showed a map with the route on it and the profile. Not sure how to get 3D scenery, or even if I can for the created route. What I found once I started riding was the resistance being set on the trainer was too high for the gradient being ridden. I don't know what I can do to fix this without screwing up Zwift in the process. In Zwift, a 5% climb feels roughly like a real 5% climb, on Bkool it doesn't.

More investigation needed.

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Post by jdtate101 » 09 Feb 2016 21:29

Also tried the Bkoll 30 day trial. I only wanted it for the videoed climbs (like Ventoux and Alpe D'Huez) where they ride up the climb on a motorbike and video it. The video frame rate is then sync'd to the speed of the trainer to make it look like you are climbing the real road. The resistance is altered to fit the route profile, however I found the resistance too strong. I've ridden the Alpe many times and it was never as hard as on the Bkool. You can vary the resistance somewhat but it doesn't accurately represent the climb. For example I did Sa Calobra once and I did a time that was better than quite a few Pro's, now obviously this isn't at all realistic. At the end of the trial I decided not to continue as there wasn't enough value there for me......plus the app interface is a mess.

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Post by AlanW » 10 Feb 2016 07:39

Prehaps it was because I was using the free version, but I couldn't seem to find a ride that did it in 3D? The two or three rides that I looked at were just following dot on a map looking down on it? Then I looked at the velodrome one and that was exactly the same, maybe I need to jig about with the setting?

The whole menu seems fragmented and the Bkool website offers little assistance either. I suspect that its a case of you need to spend the time and effort playing around and getting to know the system. But the last thing I want to do is to spend 1/4 to 1/2hr dicking about trying to find a ride before I can start a session.

In saying all that, in theory Bkool ticks all the right boxes and it must have something good going for it because all the reviews rave about it and a lot of people use it. But the graphics are no where near as good as Zwift and according to Zwift they have big plans for the future. Plus and perhaps maybe I'm doing Bkool an injustice, but Zwift seems a lot easier to use.

When I get a free few hours, I'll subscribe to the 30 day free trial and try again.
"You only need two tools: WD40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD40. If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape"

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AlanW
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Post by AlanW » 10 Feb 2016 07:42

martin mc wrote:
Patch wrote:. Last night I did the Country 20 racing my own actual on the road pb. Beat myself by 20 sec cool.
That would explain the random strava "uh oh you just lost your KOM on k32/20" message I got then. :)
Oh dear that's not good is it...... :cry: You would have thought that Strava would have thought of that and avoided it from happening?
"You only need two tools: WD40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD40. If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape"

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Post by Andy Terry » 10 Feb 2016 10:15

Zwift wins hands down on usability. I might use Bkool more (at least the 30-day trial) if I can find a way round the high resistance thing. I'll maybe do a bit more experimenting.

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Post by jdtate101 » 10 Feb 2016 22:22

Andy Terry wrote:Zwift wins hands down on usability. I might use Bkool more (at least the 30-day trial) if I can find a way round the high resistance thing. I'll maybe do a bit more experimenting.
There is a slider in the app that allows you to drop the resistance by jumps of 25%. At 75% it feel more like actual climbs..

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Post by Patch » 12 Feb 2016 13:10

Yeh you only get 3D with premium. I hadn't realised it had posted my ride on strava Martin sorry about that. I have noticed that now that apps like bkool are putting altitude gain in its distorting the results on strava. I don't think doing a climb on a trainer is quite as hard as the real thing.
Patch

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