BKOOL Review: Is It Worth Trying? No… Here Is Why

In this BKOOL review, you learn whether this app promoted by Chris Froome is worth using or not.

Spoiler alert: I don’t think so.

I tested and compared it with other free and paid indoor cycling apps.

BKOOL Summary

What is BKOOL?
BKOOL is an indoor cycling app that uses real-world footage from people worldwide. Some of its routes are designed from scratch in 3D graphics.

BKOOL Cycling routes library includes thousands of routes and structured workouts. In addition, the second app, BKOOL Fitness, has guided fitness sessions.

Who is BKOOL for?
BKOOL is suitable for people who want to explore worldwide routes from the comfort of their homes.

You can also use BKOOL to maintain or improve your fitness.

Who is BKOOL not for?
BKOOL is not for people requiring in-app social interaction or riders looking for comprehensive, structured training plans.

Due to the low video quality, it’s also unsuitable for those with high demands on video quality.

My Experience with BKOOL

Here are my takes on the ease of initial setup, in-app experience, engagement, and more that you can find in BKOOL.

Initial Setup

If you want to use BKOOL, you don’t need a smart trainer (although I recommend it for a better riding experience).

You can use a dumb trainer with a power meter or cadence + speed sensors.

I used BKOOL with a Wahoo KICKR v5 smart trainer that measures power, cadence, and speed and a Wahoo TICKR heart rate monitor.

The pairing process went smoothly. The app found the devices quickly and paired them without issues.

TIP: Use a rocker plate to improve your indoor cycling comfort.

In-App Experience

BKOOL has a comprehensive library of routes from around the globe. You can relive memories of places where you have been or explore new ones.

Some routes are shot by contributors, but some are designed from scratch, so they look like routes in Wahoo RGT (but a little less realistic).

It took me a while to determine how to differentiate if the route was shot on a camera or built from scratch. Then I noticed the following icons:

I chose a route and turned it on. It loaded within about 20 seconds.

All BKOOL activities include a short warmup (you can adjust its length in the settings). If you stop pedaling, the warmup stops and the app starts your activity in the next 30 seconds.

The following gallery shows the differences between the three view modes.

The video and 3D graphics quality are bad, and looking at the map makes no sense. So far, I am disappointed.

If you are into track cycling, you will appreciate videos from multiple tracks worldwide. I have not seen cycling track videos in other apps. Cool!

Engagement

BKOOL doesn’t have any sophisticated motivation mechanism (unlike Zwift).

You have to be pretty self-motivated to use it for weeks or months. This is a problem with many indoor cycling apps.

However, ROUVY, for example, has a career, and you can collect achievements. So, they motivate you to spend more time on your bike.

BKOOL is honestly pretty boring. The video footage is often not in high definition. FulGaz or Kinomap have much nicer videos.

I don’t like the graphics either. You can set different levels of 3D graphics quality. Honestly, they don’t differ from each other much.

Considering it’s 2022 already, I dare to say the graphic is bad. See for yourself:

The only nice thing about BKOOL gamification is the possibility of buying different jerseys and bikes. But, the selection is limited.

Routes

BKOOL’s route library is one of the biggest I’ve seen. But as I noted earlier, the routes are often not in high definition. I believe this is because of poor requirements on quality.

The following pictures show how they look:

The in-app filtering is also pretty basic. For example, you can only filter routes by type (3D or video), distance, elevation, slope, and difficulty.

If the rule “quality wins over quantity” should apply anywhere, it should be here. What’s the point of tens of thousands of videos when they are unwatchable?

Training

If you want to do structured training in BKOOL, you can. It includes hundreds of workouts.

Their filtering is, again, basic. So, finding the right one for a given moment might be a challenge.

BKOOL can do customized training plans using its web app. However, it’s nowhere near the quality of apps like Wahoo SYSTM and TrainerRoad.

I tried to set up a customized training plan but gave up after the third or second step. That’s how user-unfriendly their interface is.

So, if you are serious about improving your performance, I recommend those instead. Don’t even bother with BKOOL’s builder.

User Friendliness

The BKOOL Cycling app feels like it was designed five or ten years ago.

Some texts and icons are not sharp, and the overall feeling is not positive. It reminds me of ROUVY. Its interface also doesn’t look good.

What bothers me the most is the lack of responsiveness. BKOOL doesn’t react to clicks instantly, but there is always a delay.

The app is probably not well-optimized and would deserve a major update.

Platforms Availability

BKOOL is available on all major platforms (iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows) except Apple TV.

You can use them both with the BKOOL subscription.

I used BKOOL Cycling on macOS Monterey, and it worked okay but was not responsive.

For context, I have a 25 Mbit/s internet connection and a MacBook Pro 2020 with 16 GB RAM, a 5-core Intel processor, and Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 1536 MB.

BKOOL Alternatives

The following table shows my ratings of specific areas on a scale of 1–5 (5 is the best).

BKOOL FAQ

My Verdict

Do I recommend BKOOL?
No. Its video quality is poor, and the overall experience is much worse than in other indoor cycling apps.

It also seems that BKOOL abuses its terms and conditions regarding subscriptions.

Many people reported that they were unknowingly charged and not refunded by BKOOL.

Have you ever used BKOOL? What’s your experience? Let me know in the comments below.