Ride Simulator v0.1.0-beta

Ride Simulator v0.1.0-beta

First public beta of Ride Simulator — a desktop app that plays back a
recorded cycling video and adjusts playback rate in real time so the video
matches your position on the route as you ride a smart trainer. New this
build: you can also bake a low-poly 3D virtual world from a route file and
ride that instead of a video — no footage required.

Beta software. Use at your own risk.
This build is unsigned and lightly tested. Expect rough edges and the
occasional crash. See USAGE.md for the full beta warning,
install walkthrough, known issues, and how to report bugs.

Download

Pick the installer for your OS from the Assets section below:

Platform	File
Windows 10 / 11 (x64)	Ride Sim-0.1.0-beta-windows-setup.exe
macOS 12+ (Apple Silicon only)	Ride Sim-0.1.0-beta-mac.dmg

The macOS build is Apple-Silicon-only this round (M1 or later). An
Intel/universal mac build is planned for a later beta.

Installing

Both builds are unsigned, so the first launch triggers a security
warning on both OSes. Full step-by-step (with the exact dialog text and
buttons to click) is in USAGE.md → Installing.
Short version:

• Windows: SmartScreen → More info → Run anyway
• macOS: drag Ride Sim to Applications and double-click it. macOS blocks
  it ("Apple could not verify… is free of malware", Move to Trash / Done) —
  click Done, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway (needed
  once, because the app isn't notarized)

New in this build: ride a 3D virtual world

You can now generate a 3D world straight from a route and ride it as an
alternative to a recorded video:

• From the startup dialog choose Bake virtual world, pick a route file
  (.gpx / .tcx / .fit), and a terrain-detail level
  (Standard / High / Ultra — higher looks better but costs GPU and a
  bigger download).
• The world is built offline from public elevation data (DEM) plus
  OpenStreetMap roads, land cover, trees, buildings, and power lines.
• Ride it like any other route — the world scrolls to your trainer speed.
• Two-monitor setups are ideal: the world goes full-screen on the larger
  display, the cockpit dashboard on the laptop. One screen works too.
• Press P in the world for an FPS / frame-time / draw-call overlay —
  handy for judging whether a detail level suits your GPU.

This is experimental: how much scenery you see depends on OpenStreetMap
coverage for your area, so rural routes can look sparse.

What you need

• BLE FTMS smart trainer (Wahoo Kickr, Tacx Neo, Saris H3, etc.) — or
  SIM mode if you just want to evaluate the app without a trainer
• For a video ride: a matched TCX file + video file of the same
  recorded ride (forward-facing camera; the AR cube overlay is calibrated
  for GoPro Max 2 reframes)
• For a virtual-world ride: just a route file (.gpx / .tcx / .fit)
  — no video needed
• Bluetooth-capable Mac (Apple Silicon, 12+) or Windows 10/11 PC
• Optional: BLE heart-rate monitor

Dumb-trainer support via separate BT speed / power / cadence sensors is
planned for v0.2.

What's in this build

• Real-time video sync to BLE FTMS speed; two strategies (proportional
  and cruise — cruise just got an adaptive step in this build to fix a
  long-ride backward-seek bug)
• Virtual 3D world renderer — bake a world from a route and ride it
  (DEM terrain + OpenStreetMap scenery); terrain-detail picker; in-world
  performance overlay
• Configurable HUD pills: speed, cadence, power, HR, distance, elapsed,
  grade, gradient bar
• Map overlay (off / minimap / minimap-tracking)
• Ghost rider from a prior TCX recording
• AR pacer cube and road-tangent overlay (GoPro Max 2 calibration)
• TCX recording for upload to Strava / Garmin Connect / etc.
• Session persistence (video offset, HUD layout, last-used files) and
  dual-monitor window placement

Known issues

• macOS build is Apple-Silicon-only — won't run on Intel Macs yet.
• Virtual world is experimental. Scenery density follows OpenStreetMap
  coverage (rural routes look bare); a route that doubles back on itself can
  show a terrain seam where it overlaps.
• macOS audio stutter when cruise mode steps the playback rate.
  Workaround: use proportional mode, or mute audio.
• AR overlay (cube, tangent line) is calibrated only for GoPro Max
  2 360 reframes — other cameras render but cube is misaligned. Use
  , / . keys to nudge FOV.
• Low-speed (<5 km/h) handlebar wobble is a fundamental limit of
  bar-mounted footage — no telemetry correction can fully remove it.
• Crash recovery is not automatic. If the app dies mid-ride, the partial
  TCX recording (if enabled) is preserved up to the last flush.

Feedback

• Bug reports: inside the app → F1 → Report an Issue (pre-fills
  your version number in the issue title).
• Questions / general discussion: F1 → Discuss / Ask a Question.

Expiration

This beta refuses to start after 2026-09-01. Grab a newer build when
prompted; this is a courtesy reminder, not DRM.

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Built from main at commit 397b94a. PyInstaller + PySide6; world renderer
built with Godot 4.6.