This is my first smart trainer. I had knee surgery Dec 2021 and have done minimal training since. Bought an Elite Direto XR hoping it will encourage me to get back on the bike.
I’m having a hard time with the cadence and power output in ERG mode. This is my 2nd ride using it. Power seemed to be 15-20 watts below target. Cadence was bouncing all over the place. Normal cadence is low 90’s but readings would drop all the way to 50 then go back up. Occasionally I would have a good few minutes of steady power/cadence, then it would drop way down again before climbing back up.
How do I fix this? I calibrated everything. When I did the direto setup it asked if I wanted to match with power pedals, which I did. Again, first time using a smart trainer and ERG so any advice is appreciated.
In the setup it asks to match with a power meter, which it does successfully (assioma pedals). Then asks if I want to match with a cadence sensor. I said “yes” once but didn’t seem to find anything. So I cancelled thinking the pedals it just matched with five cadence readings too.
Is this specifically related to the Elite app and setup, or TR app and setup? The fact that the Elite app can connect a power meter to the trainer adds complexity to the issue in your case.
It may be necessary to see the setup screens for both apps if you connected on the Elite side too.
Elite has their app which walks you through calibration and setup. During that setup, it asks if you want to match a power meter, cadence sensor, and HR monitor to the trainer. I matched the assioma pedals.
Then there is the TR app. The Direto shows up as a device, along with the assioma pedals. I disconnected (“forgot”) the pedals in the TR app since I was going to use the trainer. I don’t know if I should keep them both connected or not. I was wondering how just the trainer would pick up cadence…thought matching the pedals to it would do that? Or do I keep the pedals connected to TR and the cadence info gets transferred to the trainer via TR?
We need an Elite expert/user to pitch in, but I would guess that by your connection of the pedals to the trainer in the Elite app, I would expect all you need to pair in TR is the trainer?
That seems the Elite app has it’s own “PowerMatch” that TR would only need the trainer, while all the data is driven from the pedals.
I’d try pairing only the trainer in TR and see if you get power AND cadence. If so, that’s all I would do and run some tests.
A couple of wild guesses?
Interference is causing something to drop out. Support might be able to help you isolate it. support@trainerroad.com
I have the forerunner Favero Be Pro S and before I diagnosed it my foot/cleat was marginally touching the pod occasionally at certain cadences, resistance, tiredness levels and causing drop outs too. I had to shave my cleat slightly with a scalpel to avoid that
The Elite app can sort of “take over” the connection. So once you have the trainer set up I would essentially never open the Elite app again (after you disconnect your pedals and let TR handle that side of it). I wouldn’t be surprised if something like this was happening. Or just the powermatch in Elite app was disrupting TR somehow.
Separately - if you don’t have the “Upgrado” app from Elite you can check that as well to make sure you’re on the latest firmware.
I have the same trainer and began experiencing similar problems once I updated to firmware v78. Recommend you contact Elite support - I’ve been going back and forth with them a bit, but they’ll send you a json file to update the trainer. It’ll help quite a bit. We’re still dialing in some of my settings, but it’s MUCH better than it was.
I have an Elite Drivo and never use the elite app. Just pair the trainer in the TR app and it should cover everything. No need to pair the pedals, that just complicates things more. I have Assioma pedals too but only use their readings outside. Keep it as simple as possible with computers and electronics.
Ok I messed around with both apps. TR and Elite. Connected, disconnected, etc. You can see above the cadence and power were not matching up at all with my pedals.
I have the firmware version someone mentioned above and figured I was going to have to contact them for a patch, and figured I’d just do a 30 min ride with wonky output and figure it out later.
Then this happened. Cadence was much better for just about the whole ride. There were still some power drops, but it was nowhere near what it was before. I wish I could tell you what I did to help others who have this, but I don’t know. It just happened.
