Kino map is updating their user interface to make it easier to navigate. With more than 3,000 videos uploaded now, they had to better categorize the videos so you could find what you’re looking for quicker and easier. New categories like “warm up” and “mountain bike” will combine with UCI race and specific event footage to narrow it down much quicker than just looking at duration or mileage. This will let them soon create “events” that match pro stage races like Tour Down Under in the future. They’re also adding suggested videos based on other rides you’ve done, helping you train for specific types of riding.
Separately, they’ve launched Skuga is a new standalone app that lets you re-ride your own Strava rides indoors while automatically controlling the resistance of smart trainers from Wahoo and Tacx.
In the app, it’ll let you link your Instagram account and then pull others’ images from spots along that ride and show them periodically. It’ll also take your best real life performance and use that as a ghost on the map, showing a second dot for you to race against and see how you’re improving. They’re working on opening up others’ rides, too, letting you virtually race against riders you follow, but for now you’re limited to riding against yourself. But, you can use it to test yourself against anyone’s segment and see if you could nab a virtual KOM.
They’re working on compatibility for Bkool, Elite and CycleOps, look for those brands to work with it early next year. The app is free, but you’ll need to have a Kinomap membership (starts at $5.99 per month) or Strava Premium membership to use it. Full details on the app are here, find it on iTunes here.
Those Strava KOM features also make it into the standard Kinomap:
“Each time we receive a new video on Kinomap, we use the GPS data and put it into Strava so we can check the category rating of a climb,” says Philippe Moity, Kinomap’s marketing manager. “Then, we can get from Strava when a KOM starts and stops, too, and those will show up as a point of interest on Kinomap.”
Strava data will appear on the map, not in the streaming video, but will use text-to-speech to tell you when it starts and stops. Once you’ve finished the segment, it’ll show how you would have stacked up, but it won’t actually count toward a real world KOM ranking. This feature and the UI changes will go live in January 2016 and classify each climb’s Col Category (3, 4, 5, Hors, etc.).
Not 100% sure Kinomap is? It’s an indoor training program that streams user submitted video of real rides all over the world combined with GPS data to control smart trainers’ resistance…or just provide you with something more interesting to look at while slogging away indoors. Check the stories here and here for more details.
