7.5 - Power Lock, Linux and a Lot More Apps

Power Lock, Linux and a Lot More Apps

7.5 brings BikeControl to more places than ever: a new operating system, 15 more trainer apps, and older trainers that couldn't be controlled before. It also brings Power Lock, which many of you asked for.

BikeControl on Linux

BikeControl now runs on Linux, as a .deb for Ubuntu, Debian and Mint and as an AppImage for other distributions. Base is free on Linux. Read how it came about in BikeControl for Linux.

A lot more trainer apps

15 more apps now speak OpenBikeControl, the open protocol for controllers and trainer apps. The biggest is Incyclist, the free, open-source app for real-world video rides, GPX routes and workouts on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS. With it come Grimpa, icTrainer, Auuki, VoxVelo, VeloWorkout, Pedalparty, VeloPopuli, Vieta, DirtWatts, WattLog.pro, REZVIVO, OpenRadlr, zwoTrainer and Tour du Pain.

Choose the app as your trainer app in BikeControl, and your controller buttons work in it right away. No keyboard shortcuts, no window focus, and each app tells BikeControl which buttons it understands. Most of them connect to BikeControl over Bluetooth, and Incyclist, VoxVelo and Vieta also over your network.

Not sure which one is for you? Smart Trainer Apps is a site we run that compares every smart-trainer app in one table, from Zwift, MyWhoosh and Rouvy to the indie apps launched this week. You'll find each app's platforms, price, screenshots and whether it supports OpenBikeControl, with links to the sources.

Power Lock

Heard of Zwift's Watt Lock? You can have it in any other trainer app too, by using BikeControl. We call it Power Lock, so there's no confusion.

Power Lock isn't new. Since BikeControl 5.4 (May 2026) you can map Trainer: Switch ERG/SIM to a button and switch your trainer between ERG and SIM with one press. You're on a climb, or doing an interval, and you just want to hold your power, whatever the road does. Change it with your − / + buttons, and press again to go back to SIM.

In 7.5 it got a lot better, and it's now called Power Lock in the app too:

• It locks the power you're pushing. One press holds the power you're putting out at that moment, not some old target. Prefer your last target? Switch to it under ERG start power.
• It lets go when you stop. In ERG, a trainer keeps loading the flywheel for your target, so starting again means grinding against a wall of resistance. With Power Lock, once your cadence stays below 25 rpm for 3 seconds, the lock lets go and the trainer goes back to SIM. Starting again is easy. Don't want that? Turn off Release when you stop pedalling in your trainer's Virtual Shifting settings.

More actions in Zwift

BikeControl now offers more Zwift actions you can put on any controller button:

• Left Drop Button and Right Drop Button
• Left Shift Button 2 and Right Shift Button 2
• Brake (hold the button)

Older trainers

Some older trainers, such as the Saris Hammer on older firmware and older Wahoo KICKR models, don't speak the standard FTMS protocol and could not be controlled by BikeControl. They can now: BikeControl talks to them the way they understand.

Also in 7.5

• Chinese: BikeControl is now available in Simplified Chinese. Thanks to skyiea314 for the translation!
• Windows: the Bluetooth bridge to a phone sends data again and no longer crashes. If a trainer app gets stuck on an old Bluetooth connection, BikeControl tells you to pair again.
• Android: controllers that drop after a long session are found again.
• Gamepads you forget stay forgotten after a restart.
• TrainingPeaks Virtual: the controller no longer keeps spinning after it connects, and two iPhones no longer clash.
• Target Power no longer feels suddenly very heavy when you slow down on trainers with a slow cadence reading, such as the Decathlon D500.
• Virtual speed includes your front chainring.
• The Windows overlay opens with the opacity and position you saved.
• Shimano crank power meters are recognised as power meters.