Bkool cycle trainer review

Bkool ​cycle trainer​ review

When you think of a bike trainer you quickly think of brands like Tacx and Wahoo. However, there are many other bicycle trainer brands. One is Bkool, a bicycle trainer brand that has recently become available at Coolblue​. Coolblue offered us the opportunity to review the flagship of Bkool, the Bkool Smart Pro 2. An interactive bike trainer with a very handy app for your smartphone or tablet. You can virtually climb in the app as Mont Ventoux and Alpe d'Huez, but also follow various workouts and lessons with instructor.

Bkool specifications ● Interactive bike trainer ● Electromagnetic voice, making the resistance even more accurate at 99 different levels.

● A maximum resistance of no less than 1200 watts. Enough for a tough challenge and a simulation angle of 20%! ● A handy app for Android, iOS, MAC & PC ● The bike trainer weighs 14.55 kilos and can handle a weight of 130 kilos. ● A speed and power meter are built-in. ● Heart rate and cadence can be measured via additional sensors. ● The data transfer is via ANT + (ANT + usb stick included for computer) and bluetooth.

Bkool bicycle trainer put together The bike trainer comes with a few separate parts. These are easy to assemble and do not require any technical knowledge. Read the ​manual carefully . ● First you replace the quick release of your rear wheel with the supplied quick release. This has special caps at the end, with which you can hang the bike in the frame of the bike trainer. ● Then you put the frame of the bike trainer in place and fasten the motor to the frame. ● Finally, tighten the bolts as described in the manual in the frame and you can put the rear wheel of the racing bike in it. ● Place the front wheel in the supplied front wheel support.

Link Bkool Smart Pro 2 with your smartphone or tablet When I search for new devices via my smartphone, I see an unknown device with a vague name and numbers. I am trying to pair, but no connection can be established. Yet back to the manual. This means that you first have to connect via ANT + or bluetooth via a computer or tablet.

Then it is 'unlocked' for other devices. That's why I grabbed my laptop and put it close to the bike trainer with the included ANT + usb stick in my laptop. After installing the software you must register. This is best done via the computer, because via the smartphone I did not manage to get

through it, perhaps a bug that only applies to Android. In any case, via the computer, it was arranged within a minute and I was registered. You immediately get the opportunity to take a free trial subscription to Bkool Premium for seven or thirty days. This makes multiplayer, workouts and route videos available. We have not yet looked at the options without a subscription, but assume that you can climb mountains, but see a 3D animation instead of a real video of the mountain. This we will check again later when the free subscription has ended.

Note:​ Absolute minimum for a bicycle used even to a small extent, however, We should be ​bike gear review​ once every year because it’s good for everyone.

Sports sessions Via the app or PC you can quickly start your first bike ride on your Bkool cycle trainer. Under the tab 'search' you can choose from different sports sessions. In the premium version you have the choice of routes, workouts, velodrome, lessons and ftp-test. We briefly discuss a number of these sessions.

Routes When you click on routes you immediately see which routes are being cycled live at that moment. You can participate in a session or follow it as a spectator. In the first case you take on cyclists who are also on the bike at that moment. Of course you can also choose a route yourself under the tab 'All'. You can choose from the Alpe d'Huez, Stouby-Sejet, Central Park NYC, Col du Telegraphe, Col d'Aspin, The Galibier, Mont Ventoux and various other cols from the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and La Vuelta.

Workouts The workouts include a number of interesting workouts where you train with varying resistance. On the Bkool website you can also put together your own workout in your profile. classes The lessons are a very nice way to accompany cycling. Every lesson has a different kind of training goal. With the audio guidance you are motivated and you get tips while cycling.

FTP test With an FTP you determine your training zones. FTP stands for Functional Threshold Power, or the ability that you can keep on average in sixty minutes. In terms of heart rate, the FTP is called the turning point. How

high this point is depends on weight, muscle mass, fitness and is largely genetically determined.

You can also determine your FTP by means of the 20-minute test. Your FTP is then 95 percent of the average power you cycle for twenty minutes. You can simulate this test on the Bkool Smart Pro 2. You can do the test best with a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor. The power meter is standard on the Bkool cycle trainer. Through the FTP test you can check every month whether you are making progress.

Cycling against friends You can invite friends in the dashboard on the Bkool website. You can share your activities with them and compete against them on routes and workouts. You can also create groups or join groups and challenge each other.

Strava It is possible to sync your Bkool training data with Strava and share it with your followers.

Bkool Smart Pro 2 review The ​Bkool Smart Pro 2​ has very handy telescopic legs that you can extend for extra stability. If you want to store the trainer, slide the legs in again and it is a fairly compact trainer. The Bkool trainer weighs only 14.50 kilos, but is very stable thanks to the telescopic legs.

The maximum wattage is 1200 watts. This is slightly less than comparable models like the Wahoo Kickr Snap (1500 watts) and Tacx Bushido Smart (1400 watts). Yet it remains the question whether you need such wattages or higher. Most cyclists have more than 1200 watts more than enough.

A gradient percentage can be simulated to twenty percent with the electorem. Because of the strong electro brake you can also cycle a lot of challenging virtual routes and workouts the ​best bike us​.

Besides that it is very nice to simulate a mountain on the trainer, it also works very well. The communication between the app and the trainer is very good for a realistic experience. Because there are 99 different resistance levels possible, the transition between different gradients and wattages is very gradual.

The Bkool simulator is in any case a very extensive app with a lot of possibilities that we already discussed above. There are always live routes available that you can join. If that is not the case, then you yourself will drive a route or do a workout. Workout or standard route not entirely according to your wishes? You can also create your own routes in 2D and 3D yourself.

The bike trainer is very quiet with a noise level of 68 dB at 30 km per hour.

Plus and negatives Bkool Smart Pro 2 + ​ The Bkool trainer can be set very accurately by the electromagnetic voice +​ Challenge yourself with a maximum resistance of 1200 watts +​ Very good app for Android, iOS and PC + ​ Train with other cyclists with the Bkool simulator multiplayer. +​ Possibility to link cadence and heart rate sensors via ANT + -​ The trainer does not work without electricity Conclusion Our experiences are very positive about the Bkool Smart Pro 2. It is a powerful yet quiet bike trainer with a very good app. The difference in gradient percentages is well simulated by the Bkool cycle trainer and the changes are very gradual. With a maximum gradient of 20%, the most

famous mountains can be simulated. With the supplied quick release, front wheel support and ANT+ dongle usb stick you immediately have everything in house. Optionally you can supplement it with a cadence sensor, heart rate monitor and bike trainer mat.