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    Hardware/EquipmentTrainersTips & TricksZwift Hacks

    Upgrading Your Bkool Trainer (Classic or Pro, pre-August 2014) to ANT+ FE-C

    Alberto Roura
    By Alberto Roura
    October 17, 2021
    11

    Hopefully this is useful for more people like me who had an old Bkool Classic in a corner as they couldn’t use it.

    Last week I purchased a Bkool trainer through Wallapop (Spanish second-hand app) and it didn’t get recognized by anything like Zwift or other simulators (even the BKOOL software itself). In the beginning I thought it was broken, as my ANT+ receiver didn’t get any information about it. What a bummer.

    My “new” smart trainer

    Usually, if you have a Bkool trainer, you’ll probably need to upgrade your ANT+ FE-C protocol before you can use it with Zwift, and this is done by using the “Bkool toolkit” app. The problem is that Bkool stopped being very “kool” as it doesn’t support old trainers like mine anymore. This means if you have one you would only be able to use it as a traditional “dumb” trainer, no more resistance change, only one speed. 

    In my case, the trainer didn’t have ANT+ FE-C because this protocol didn’t even exist when the trainer came to the market. Obviously, Bkool does this to force you to buy a newer model, even though yours is perfectly capable of dealing with modern software.

    What is a smart trainer?

    A smart trainer is, like a normal trainer, a stationary device attached to your bike which offers resistance to mimic the real world, but with the added benefit of allowing the resistance to be controlled by software. Let’s say you begin to climb a hill, then the resistance will go up and you will have to pedal harder, just like when riding outdoors. Software like Bkool or Zwift offer 3D worlds where you can move your own bike and train like if you were outdoors. Pretty cool stuff.

    Zwifting on a smart trainer

    How to upgrade an Old (Pre-August 2014) Bkool Trainer

    Because I won’t give up on stuff like this, I did some research and found an older version of the Bkool software that was able to update the firmware of old trainers for a limited time. This software is no longer available on the Bkool website.

    Okay, let’s do it! First of all, you’ll need a USB-B cable to connect the trainer to your computer and a Windows computer.

    USB-B cable

    Then, follow these steps:

    1. Be sure you have a valid Bkool account and your computer doesn’t have any other Bkool software on it.
    2. Download this older version of the Bkool Indoor software for Windows, install it, but DON’T RUN IT YET.
    3. To avoid the software from updating to the latest version, go to the Bkool website and find out what the latest version of the Bkool Indoor/Simulator is (right now it’s 5.64).
    4. Replace the contents of the C:\Program Files (x86)\Bkool Indoor\BkoolIndoor_Data\StreamingAssets\version.bat file with the latest version (5.64 in our case).
    5. Switch on the trainer, connect the ANT+ and the USB-B and run the Bkool Indoor application.
    6. Bkool Indoor should ask you to upgrade the firmware of your trainer. Upgrade it (if it fails, just restart the application and try again).
    Bkool firmware upgraded

    Connecting to Zwift

    If everything goes fine, your trainer should have ANT+ FE-C up to date. Open Zwift and enjoy!

    Our BKOOL is now connected as both the “Power Source” and “Controllable”

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      Alberto Roura
      Alberto Roura
      Alberto is a cloud engineer from Spain who, after living around Australasia for 7 years, is back home trying to get back into one of his passions: cycling. Follow him on Strava

      11 COMMENTS

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      Stefano DERIU
      Stefano DERIU
      8 months ago

      there will be a lot of ZRL new winners after this…

      1
      Reply
      dan
      dan
      8 months ago

      I have a bkool that worked flawlessly out of the box. – it was new; maybe thats where you went wrong.. but alas Bkool is the worst “smart trainer” right behind the chinese kickr clone.
      this is 2 grades lower that you really are. if you think you are an A on a bkool, you’re really a C.

      2
      Reply
      RobH
      RobH
      8 months ago
      Reply to  dan

      My bkool smartpro 2 read 30-50W lower than my kickr core

      -1
      Reply
      dan
      dan
      8 months ago
      Reply to  RobH

      its not too bad til you hit 200w, then over that, it overtstates incrementally; at 800w+ its about 200 over. (mines a smartpro2 also)
      I spoke to bkool about the calibration, and if it can be looked at, and or firmware – they said its not going to change – it is what it is. * i think coz it works better with thier software – not zwift.

      PLUS. you can trick it into more watts on how to ride it, i wont write how to do it, coz we’ll get a lot of champs appearing on bkools.

      0
      Reply
      dan
      dan
      8 months ago
      Reply to  dan

      i should add, i have and use a Kickr, which was a reality hit.

      0
      Reply
      Samuel Parkinson
      Samuel Parkinson
      6 months ago

      Just an update to this as I’ve just received a BKool trainer that was 2nd hand and was disapointed that wasn’t talking with Zwift. Follow the instructions as given, however, you will need to download the new version of the software as well. Find the new version.dat file (it’s in straight program files now, not the x86 folder) and copy the alphanumeric string from that into a notepad. Make a note of the version number in the software, it’s not the same as the one given in the link in these instructions anymore. Uninstall this new version then install the… Read more »

      0
      Reply
      Asdasf
      Asdasf
      5 months ago
      Reply to  Samuel Parkinson

      Which is the current alphanumeric key? I’m trying right now to do these steps.
      Thanks!

      0
      Reply
      Asdasf
      Asdasf
      5 months ago
      Reply to  Asdasf

      nevermind. it worked what u said thanks

      0
      Reply
      Ricardo
      Ricardo
      5 months ago
      Reply to  Samuel Parkinson

      would you mind to make a video instead of writing the instructions? It would be easier. Thanks

      0
      Reply
      Carole
      Carole
      5 months ago
      Reply to  Samuel Parkinson

      Hey! Thanks for the additional details! My Trainer is being recognised and can be used with ERG mode with zwift just fine, but it can only be discovered but not paired with the new bkool software on my laptop (ANT+ Antenna with an extension cord right next to the trainer at middle height). So I wonder if I even need to update my firmware since it is working fine with zwift. Though I wanted to try out the bkool software as well. The other thing is, that I have a Mini USB port and something that looks like a USB… Read more »

      0
      Reply
      FRANKLIN RUBIN
      FRANKLIN RUBIN
      5 months ago

      how to prevent bkoll updating the old version to new version pop up

      0
      Reply
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