(Above: CEO of Rouvy, Petr Samek, with former CEO BKOOL, Alfonso Garcia-Lozano, on a ride together this week)
Rouvy has announced the acquisition of the BKOOL indoor cycling platform, which has struggled in recent years financially, though has a pretty significant user base, especially in Spain and some Nordic countries. Back a decade ago, the platform was one of the leaders in the indoor cycling space, even producing their own lineup of indoor trainers for a period, before trying to break into the indoor bike space. In some ways, the indoor bike attempts seemed to mark a shift in their thinking, which would ultimately lead to them exiting the hardware space back in 2019.
Still, one shouldn’t forget that they were really the first company to break the $500 low-cost barrier for smart trainers. It wouldn’t be till many years later that we saw other companies like Wahoo, JetBlack, Elite, and more get into that price category.
Nonetheless, the last few years haven’t been kind to BKOOL’s user base numbers, as they’ve struggled to compete with Zwift and its soaring popularity. Still, all things considered the company retains a sizable user base, primarily in Spain (where they are based), as well as France and Denmark (the Denmark is a funny one, mostly due to a past sales manager they hired years ago that was incredibly good at his job in Denmark, kudos).
Thus, Rouvy saw an opportunity – much like they did with FulGaz earlier this year, and acquired it. However, the good news is it sounds like they learned a lot from the FulGaz acquisition (including some early fumbles). Namely, they’re going take some time to figure out exactly how they plan to move forward before making any changes. In fact, the CEO of Rouvy has spent this week in Madrid with the BKOOL team (pic above) starting to put those initial foundational pieces together. They noted they plan to keep all BKOOL employees, and the platform will simply run as another offering within the ‘Rouvy Group’ collection of apps (just as FulGaz has).
The Press Release:
For completeness, here’s the official bits:
/// START PRESS RELEASE ///
24th July 2025 – Prague, Czechia: ROUVY, the indoor cycling app that brings the world’s most iconic routes to life and empowers users to ride, train, and explore anywhere from home, has today announced that it has completed the acquisition of BKOOL for an undisclosed sum.
ROUVY has achieved significant growth in recent years and has a strong subscriber base of 250,000 riders. This sustained increase has cemented the brand as the clear leader in the reality indoor cycling space, able to better react to movement within the industry, alongside supporting ongoing development of the ROUVY platform as the destination for those seeking more immersive indoor riding experiences.
BKOOL, with a strong presence in Spain (and Spanish speaking countries), France and Denmark, represented a strategic prospect for The ROUVY Group as it looked to further bolster its position in these territories. Furthermore, BKOOL’s solution for turning GPX files into 3D virtual routes was seen as complementary to the flagship ROUVY app, its own Route Creator technology, and in aiding ROUVY’s continuing mission to connect the indoor with the outdoor.
Petr Samek, co-founder and CEO of ROUVY (and now also CEO of BKOOL): “BKOOL joining The ROUVY Group is a significant moment for indoor cycling fans everywhere. Our aim is to provide the best possible experiences, value and riding options for riders around the world. Bringing together ROUVY, FulGaz, and now BKOOL unites a wealth of expertise and unique features under one roof, clearly positioning ROUVY as the leader in the indoor cycling reality market.
’This acquisition is another step towards our mission of connecting indoor and outdoor, helping cyclists be better year-round, and empowering our users to achieve their sporting dreams, whatever they may be. From simply being fit, to exploring exotic landscapes, even preparing to complete an IRONMAN, now we can better support all riders. We can invest more in product, marketing, and exciting concepts with partners – all to bring more value to athletes.
‘We respect BKOOL as a fellow provider of real-route indoor cycling to a passionate user base and are pleased to be able to step in and help it continue. The financial challenges faced by BKOOL have been well documented, with its move away from hardware to focus on the digital experience. ROUVY’s strong know-how and reputation for delivering in the indoor cycling reality market will add a customer-centric approach and benefit the platform’s growth from here on.
‘To the ROUVY community, we’d like to assure you that we’ll continue to develop great indoor riding experiences on the ROUVY app. Knowing that ROUVY provides such joy, motivation and purpose to riders around the world is what drives us every day.”
What Does This Mean for BKOOL Users?
BKOOL will continue as a standalone brand within The ROUVY Group. The focus will initially be on ensuring the stability and reliability of the platform. From there, just as with the FulGaz acquisition, ROUVY will enter a learning phase, listening to the needs of the existing BKOOL community before looking to shape a longer-term roadmap.
Alfonso Garcia-Lozano, former CEO of BKOOL: “ROUVY is a great app which provides a really engaging reality indoor cycling experience. It’s impressive to see the brand reach such a globally important level and touch the lives of so many cyclists around the world. We’re delighted to say that rather than competing with ROUVY, BKOOL is joining The ROUVY Group. Uniting ROUVY and BKOOL’s strengths and capabilities, and working together collaboratively from here on, will benefit cyclists everywhere.
For our community, we believe that this new chapter for BKOOL will continue to provide entertaining, meaningful and beneficial indoor cycling experiences and we’re excited to explore the possibilities.”
/// END PRESS RELEASE ///
Got all that?
Going Forward:
While it’s too early to say exactly how things will change going forward, the general gist of it is that it won’t change. In an e-mail, CEO Petr Samek of Rouvy, stated the following regarding the changes:
“We definitely want to keep BKOOL brand/product and team dedicated. Of course, some changes has to come because we need to start the BKOOL growth again, but we believe in the team and their knowledge. BKOOL will focus on Spain, France, Denmark (there is already strongest). In the future maybe LATAM.
I would also like to highlight that the same is true for FulGaz. We want to keep both platforms FULGAZ and BKOOL) active (including development and marketing). Every platform in the ROUVY Group has a specific community and product portfolio.”
It’s kinda hard to argue with any of this. Seems to make sense to me, and as I said with the FulGaz acquisition, these are cases where I think Rouvy could come in and make some slight tweaks to start that growth again. After all, Rouvy has found itself a sizable audience. Probably the most interesting tidbit in this entire press release was Rouvy releasing their subscriber numbers, as it’s the first time we’ve seen them publicly post it, saying they have a “strong subscriber base of 250,000 riders”. Very solid. For reference, last year Zwift noted their subscriber base had recently crossed past the 1 million marker. Meanwhile, Peloton remains the biggest indoor platform at 3.5 million paid subscribers (app + hardware), according to their latest financial statements.
I suspect we might see more consolidation this year with the smaller app range (if those apps have flatlined on growth), though, I don’t expect much with the bigger players consolidating. One might even argue that Rouvy is probably being strategic on not only gathering user numbers, but equally as much technical capabilities from an IP portfolio standpoint.
With that, thanks for reading!
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