Elite Suito trainer review

I’ve used bike trainer for few years and think, that is great idea, especially in winter. I really don’t like riding in cold, wear a lot of clothes, using lights etc. With trainer, I could just make good training: with many apps for that, in good conditions and without any dangerous like too fast cars on roads. I don’t use trainer now and don’t plan to use it anymore but will write about that on next post. This one is about Elite Suite – my latest, very nice trainer. It’s just quick review, I’m not professional, but probably it can help someone choose good stuff to train in home.

My first direct drive trainer

It isn’t my first trainer. I used very basic Decathlon model about three years ago, and Tacx Genius Smart T2080 about year ago. Both trainers were good while I was using them: they are suitable for me. This winter I planned to go gym regularly, but… COVID, quarantine, closed gyms… It was not possible. Also, tried before COVID and decided, that it’s not for me, I still prefer my bike. So, I decided to buy new trainer, but this time, other type: direct-drive instead of trainer, which requires special tire and uses rear wheel. It was supposed to be a qualitative leap, and it was: I chose Elite Suito as my new trainer. After several other reviews I thought, that it will be great for me, for amateur who like Zwift and who also want to run.

Technical Specification

  • Type: Direvt Drive (no wheel)
  • Max Power: 1,900W @ 40 km/h / 2,900W @ 60 km/h
  • Slope simulation: max 15%
  • Sensors: power meter, cadence (+/-2,5% accuracy)
  • Connection:ANT+, ANT+ FE-C, Bluetooth Smart
  • Flywheel: 3,5 kg
  • Weight: 14,5 kg

Ok, everything is very compact (in comparsion to many other direct drive trainers). Box includes a lot of things, not only trainer, but also front wheel block, power supply, instructions, and few adapters. Trainer is compatible with road, gravel, CX and MTB bikes, and you can use many ifferent hubs: standard quick release 130-135x5mm, 142x12mm thru-axle, 148x12mm boost. It’s also compatible with Shimano 9/10/11 speed casettes, but you can buy freehubs for Campagnolo, SRAMXD/XDR and new Shimano micro Spline system. Whow, it’s compatible with a lot of things.

Build-in cassette

First and very nice gift is build-in Shimano CS-7000 11-28T cassette from 105 family. It’s 11-speed version with optimal spacing and compatible with both long and short cages in rear derailleurs. With that, you can just dismount rear wheel, mount bike to trainer and start workout – very quick and can save some money. Of course, it can be small problem if you use 10s or 9s on your bike, or want to use trainer with MTB bikes, but you can easily swap cassette to other, sell that build-in, so it’s still great option. That 105 cassette is very durable, so should be fine for one, two or maybe more winter seasons with trainer. Of course, you can disassemble it and use on your bike in terrain in summer, no problem with that.

Zwift and My E-Trainin in the box

Second gift is free monthly access to Zwift. I think Zwift is the best platform for trainers, because it’s so interactive, it has a lot of interesting events like races, time trials, coffee rides etc. It has great apps for computers and mobile, very nice ERG mode and probably the biggest community: it’s important, because with that, you can easily find other people using the same app, also among your friends. I like Watopia, London, New York and other Zwift places. Had some connection issues but it was year ago with other trainer and before they (Zwift creators) increase their infrastructure. Now it’s solid platform not only for hard training, but also to spend some time with friends online, but active.

Third and last gift is annual subscription for Elite My E-Training app. It’s much different ap than Zwift: of course, the main goal is the same, train, use ERG mode and interactive control trainer, but way is different. Instead of creating virtual avatar of rider, My E-Training uses videos from real routes – creators made recordings using bike and car cameras first, then, when we train, it’s matched to our position and speed, so can “emulate” ride. Result is nice, it looks fine but… only if we use professional recordings. There is only one free video, we must buy rest if we want to use it, but prices are very high. There are also some free videos creates by community, but not in the same, high quality so… I think it’s not great app. Also, it works in specific way, because – probably – it’s based on web app and sometimes is unpredictable.

Riding – more than enough

About work quality: I really have not comments here. Everything is ok, trainer works perfectly and stable. Can connect it using Bluetooth and also ANT+ without issues, it didn’t lose connection anytime. What is super important for me, because I live in an apartment: it’s quiet. Of course, with high resistance is audible, but much less than my bike drivetrain. It’s much quieter than my previous Tacx trainer. Resistance also works perfectly and it’s much closer to real feelings than on standard trainers. Maximum slope simulation is more than enough for me, also remember, that it matters only if we use for example free ride mode on Zwift. If you start workout, everything will be controlled by ERG mode, regardless of the terrain you are.

Overall: great choice for amateurs like me

Build-in cadence and power meters are also very good. I compared it to external, additional cadence monitor and results were the same. Can’t test power meter, but according to Elite, it’s very accuracy, about +/-2,5%, so, should be the same as external power meters in crankset. Overall, I’m very happy with that trainer and can recommend it – not only if you are just amateur as me, but also for professional riders. It has a lot of features, works great, it’s compact and quiet… What more could you want? More expensive and even better trainers are only for real professionals and for situations, when you have very strong legs: in other cases, you will not use their advantages. With Elite Suito is not a problem. Have questions about it? Just ask!

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