You may have been surprised to see a different speed from that of your bike console or GPS counter. That's normal because we don't use the raw speed sent by your equipment. Let's see how we calculate your speed:
How your speed is calculated:
Simulation engine:
This enables a fair comparison to be made between the performance produced by different models of fitness or cycling equipment, without relying on the manufacturer's engine.
Thanks to this simulation engine, the calculations are the same for all types of equipment, as long as they provide the watts produced (otherwise we use the watt calculation that we'll see later).
This simulation engine is there to reproduce the outdoor experience as faithfully as possible, taking into account the fact that you can stop pedaling to recover, without being stopped directly. As in real life, you can stop pedaling in the application and keep going. You can even accelerate downhill without having to pedal, just like on a real downhill after all. This is made possible by our simulation engine.
Our simulation engine is based on the power produced, either sent directly by the equipment or calculated by the Kinomap application if this is not the case:
A classic home trainer with a speed/cadence sensor or exercise bikes that don't provide power:
When you use a home trainer with a speed/cadence sensor, the application takes your raw speed and your manual resistance level as inputs to estimate your power output.
We then obtain a calculated WATT value which we integrate with numerous other parameters: the main one being the gradient of the road, but also your weight, kinetic energy (= your previous speed), and rolling resistance coefficients to recalculate what your real-life speed should be.
The main disadvantage of this type of equipment is that we don't know what level of resistance you've set, as your equipment can't send it, which means that if you set a lower resistance than expected, your calculated power output won't be accurate, as you'll certainly be riding faster than if you'd applied the correct resistance. Similarly, if you apply a higher resistance than expected, in fact, you'll probably produce more power but, as the calculation is based on theoretical resistance, you'll certainly produce less power.
Smart Trainer or power sensor or exercise bikes providing power:
This is the most accurate experience, as there is no estimation of theoretical power. If you change gears on the bike, the power sensor will measure your actual effort.
When you use a power sensor or Smart Trainer, the application takes your power as input and does the same calculation, using the gradient of the road but also your weight, kinetic energy (= your previous speed), and rolling resistance coefficients to recalculate what should be your real-life speed.