Last month, Elite announced their latest direct drive trainer- the Direto. This direct drive trainer is placed at Elite’s high end of their home trainer range, alongside the Drivo but at a much lower price range ($899). For comparison, the Drivo is $1,300.

The Direto has an integrated OTS (Optical Torque Sensor) power meter, which measures power with +/- 2.5% accuracy, simulates slopes up to 14% and 1400 watts max power output at a 25mph speed (40 km/h).

I had a chance to ride a final production unit that Elite sent me for the past few weeks and I was very impressed with the trainer accuracy, sound level, and overall performance.

So let’s go over the trainer and see what you get for $899.

The Direto comes in a big box. Once you take it out of the box, you will find three legs that you will need to put together using the tools included. Next, you will need to install a cassette which isn’t included but you can easily get one from your local bike shop or online for about $50. Here is an 11-speed Shimano from Amazon that I recommend.

Here is everything in the box

You will need to install four bolts to attach the legs. All the tools you need are included in the box to attach the legs.

Legs can be easily folded for storage.

At first impression, the trainer is housed in hard plastic similar to the NEO and Elite Drivo. It felt lighter than other trainers which make it easy to carry around. It weights 15 kg (33.1 lbs). The KICKR weight 47lbs and Tacx NEO comes in at 50lbs just for comparison.

But size wise, it’s a little taller than other trainers I’ve used including the Tacx NEO so a front wheel block is a must. You will need to raise the front wheel by about 1.5 inches. Elite offers the Elite Su-Sta Elevator Block which you can adjust up and down to give you the height you desire.

Here is the Direto next to Wahoo KICKR

SMART CONNECTIONS & COMPATIBILITY

The Direto is totally interactive and ANT+ FE-C and Smart Bluetooth 4.0 compliant. It can interact with a multitude of apps, software, computers and devices (smartphones and tablets) with iOS, Android, OSX and Windows. It can be managed with the with Elite’s My E-Training app available for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac. You also get a 12-month free subscription to My E-Training app. It works with Zwift, TrainerRoad, Perfpro, The Sufferfest, and a multitude of other apps.

  • Bike Compatibility: The Direto is compatible with both road and MTB frames, with 130-135 x 5mm hubs and quick release and 142×12 with thru-axle.
  • Sprocket cassette compatibility: Shimano 9/10/11 speed, SRAM & Campagnolo 9/10/11 speed. An adapter that’s available from your local Elite dealer or www.shopelite-it.com is required for compatibility with Campagnolo.

ACCURACY

This is the fun part. This is what separates really good trainers from almost good trainers. This is why some trainers cost more than other trainers.

Elite claims +/- 2.5% accuracy for the Direto. In my tests against my crank based power meter (Power2Max), the trainer met and exceeded Elite’s claims.

First, you will need to do a quick calibration using My E-Training app. Warm the trainer up for 10 minutes and then perform the calibration. I’ve done the calibration once since I got it and didn’t need to do it again since but usually, you want to perform calibration once a week or so.

To start off, I decided to go out and climb up to the tower on Zwift with trainer resistance setting at 100%. The climb is about 5 miles long with approximately 1,800 feet in elevation and max out at 17% slope for few seconds. The DIRETO supports up to 14% slope and that was hard enough to put me on the smallest gear. The majority of the climb is around 8-14% slope.

Here is the chart for the full ride. You can see how the Direto was practically following my powermeter.

Here is the section from the full climb. Nothing abnormal to report. Just beautiful two lines hugging each other

I decided to do a couple of all out short sprints towards the end. Not much left in my legs at that point but managed to get up to about 800 watts just for the sake of testing

Not sure what exactly happened with the second sprint but the lines were following each other. The Direto reached all the way up and then dropped where my powermeter gradually made it to max power. I think I dropped one gear and that’s possibly where the Direto power estimate dropped a little which can be expected with hub based powermeters.

How about interval work? I did bunch of those as well. Here is a comparison table from an interval workout I did in ERG mode. You can see all intervals came within 1%-2%.

Elite Direto Powermeter
Interval 1 282 278 1%
Recover 119 120 -1%
Interval 2 282 278 1%
Recover 123 126 -2%
Interval 3 279 276 1%
Recover 114 118 -3%
Interval 4 279 277 1%

ERG MODE

ERG mode works well in Zwift and TrainerRoad. However, TrainerRoad doesn’t support Bluetooth connection to the Direto yet. I reached out them and was told BT support should be available end of August or early September via TrainerRoad Beta. You can still connect the trainer using ANT+FE-C and it will work just fine. However, if you use TrainerRoad iOS app, then you will need the ANT+ Key and Apple lightning to 30-pin adapter to make that connection.

Update 9/26/2017: Bluetooth support for the Direto has been pushed into production on all TrainerRoad apps.

In the table below, you will see my goal wattage vs actual wattage for each interval in ERG mode with TrainerRoad. All intervals came within 2-4 watts which is typical.

Goal Actual
Interval 1 (10 min) 280 278
Recover 120 120
Interval 2 (10 min) 280 278
Recover 120 126
Interval 3 (10 min) 280 276
Recover 120 118
Interval 3 (10 min) 280 277

CADENCE

The Direto does provide cadence data out of the box so no need to purchase a sperate cadence sensor. The Direto estimates cadence rather than measuring it directly. You will see some spikes here and there and I noticed it when you suddenly try to accelerate or adjust power. For whatever reason, I noticed it more during my recovery intervals. While the cadence was very stable during the hard part of the interval, it became a little erratic during recovery.

 

ROAD FEEL

The Direto comes with a 9lbs (4.2kg) flywheel. Not as heavy as some of the other direct drive trainers but heavy enough to give you good inertia and a decent road feel. For comparison, the Elite Drivo and Wahoo KICKR come with a 13lbs flywheel and CycleOps Hammer still sits on top with a massive 20lbs flywheel. Pedalling on the Direto felt smooth and the trainer responded quickly to changes and gradients in Zwift.

NOISE

The trainer doesn’t really make a lot of noise. You would probably hear more noise from a fan or chain. It’s fairly quiet and didn’t notice much vibration. Once you are up at higher speed, you might hear a fan like noise. That’s the cooling fan inside the trainer itself. Other than that, the trainer is fairly quiet and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quiet trainer.

Here is a short video demonstrating the noise from the DIRETO

FINAL THOUGHTS

Every so often you see a revolutionary product that puts the pressure on competitors to match it. I won’t call the DIRETO a revolutionary trainer but it is in the sub $1,000 space.

The DIRETO sums up all the best features that a home trainer needs to have for any serious athlete. For $899, you will have a top of the line bike trainer that is accurate, consistent, quiet, responsive, with good road feel, and compatibility. The only thing remains to be seen with the DIRETO is how it will perform under long term use.

It will be interesting to see how competitors react to the DIRETO. We will certainly know for sure if any company will come out with a new product in this space next week during Eurobike or Interbike. We might see new players enter the market with a wheel-on smart trainers but not so sure about the direct-drive space at least for the remainder of this year.

If you are looking for a direct-drive trainer, that is quiet, accurate, and compatible with Zwift, TrainerRoad, Sufferfest and other apps, give the Direto a try, you won’t be disappointed.

WHERE TO BUY

Here is a list of online stores where you can purchase the Elite Direto:

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • ERG Mode doesn’t seem to be working when connected to TrainerRoad via Bluetooth Unfortunately, this is a known issue with the Direto when paired via Bluetooth. We have found that the trainer can put itself in a “bad state”, in which case you have to unplug it for a few minutes before plugging it back in This resets the trainer and clears out anything that might have been “off”.
  • Can I use my Garmin computer to calibrate the trainer? Yes you can use your Garmin 520, 820, 1000 (after updating), 1030 to calibrate the it.
  • My Elite Direto reports very high values for speed, how do I fix this? You need to set the correct real wheel circumference values. In Elite MyETraining app, set the real circumference value. In your bike computer such as Garmin, set it to real circumference/12.1.

COMPARISON CHART

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  • Frame & Design - 7/10
    7/10
  • Ease Of Setup - 8/10
    8/10
  • Smart Connections & Compatibility - 10/10
    10/10
  • Accuracy - 9/10
    9/10
  • Responsiveness - 9/10
    9/10
  • Noise Level - 7/10
    7/10
  • Road Feel - 7/10
    7/10
8.1/10

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2 Comments

  • Hello,

    Great review. I just bought one this weekend to replace my ancient Tacx flow based largely on your concise yet massively informative review. Just wondering though Can I do the initial calibration of the Direto through my Garmin 520?

    Many thanks. All the best.

    Matt

    • Hello Matt
      I’m glad you found the review helpful. I would use the Elite app for calibration. Once you do it, you won’t have to run it again for a few weeks. I don’t believe the Garmin calibration would work or supported.

      Thanks.