Review: Solid, quiet & accurate, though no rocking mechanism cycling Elite_cycling
Elite's Direto XR is a very solid smart trainer with accurate power. It's quiet and reliable, and it beats most of its direct competitors on price too.
The Direto XR is easy to pack away too: the hinged legs fold away and it fits in a pretty small space. There's no carry handle, but it's easy enough to grab at the top of the flywheel and sling into a cupboard if you can't keep your trainer set up where you train. It's a bit lighter than most direct drive trainers, too.Elite claims the Direto XR is more accurate than its predecessor, with an error margin of +/- 1.
Any trainer that can accurately transmit your power is, by definition, a power meter. And there are plenty to choose from. I'd expect a power meter at the crank to read higher than one at the hub, because of drivetrain losses, so you could argue that the Direto XR is being very slightly optimistic overall, but it's certainly a believable power plot, no doubt about that.
The flywheel isn't as heavy as some, but I don't feel it negatively affects the feel of the ride; if you drop a few gears and open up a sprint you still have to wind the Direto up to speed, and it responds well to sprint efforts. Other trainers, such as the Tacx Neo 2T and – to a lesser extent – the Wahoo Kickr V5, offer a more active ride with the bike able to pivot a bit. I prefer the feel of that, but it's not a deal-breaker.The Direto XR comes with a year's subscription to Elite's own training platform, My E-training. I've already mentioned it gives you access to pedal stroke analysis data, and there's loads more in there too.
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