Direto 2 ERG Fluctuation

[aniki]

Hi,

I am having the problem with power fluctuations using ERG mode with Zwift. I read that this could be improved by increasing the power smoothing value.
Wehn I click on power smoothing in advanced settings it asks me to pedal then returns a value of 2 but there is no option to change this value.
Is it still possoble to increase the smoothing effect?

[tom_moores]

I have the same problem. The issue with using the pedal smoothing is that it means the trainer responds more slowly to the start and end of intervals. I have mine set on but it still fluctuates but also takes up to 15 seconds at the start and end of an interval to actually get to the right power value. This basically makes intervals under a minute pretty pointless and also it means you can’t really recover during the rest interval.

I think I remember reading somewhere that if you change the connection from Bluetooth to Ant+ you can change the pedal smoothing.

Not happy with this performance, it’s not even close to the ERG control on a Tacx Flux. I wish I’d bought that one instead.

[aniki]

To be honest I don't entirely regret my purchase. When just doing free rides in Zwift, I honestly think this trainer is an absolute pleasure. It responds fast enough to gradient changes and just feels great. Vastly superior to the wheel-on trainers.
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My only issue is doing workouts in Zwift with short intervals. The only responses I can find from Elite are along the lines of 'don't do such short intervals'! which is a poor response. I did the exact same workouts with a wheel on tacx trainer just fine.
I've already lost a lot of faith in this company. This forum is full of spam that doesn't get deleted and the vast majority of questions haven't been answered by Elite.
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Personally I can actually live with the power fluctuation readings. Yes, it makes the workout harder but if that serves to improve my performance on the road then so be it. I read elsewhere that some of the probelm may be down to flywheel speed so by using the small chainring you will avoid hitting the power floor. I haven't tried this so will report back if I see any improvement.
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I had two Tacx flow Smart T2240 that failed so not keen to go back to tacx. To be fair, the quality of the Elite unit seems to be miles better than than Tacx. I just wish they would sort their support out!

[tom_moores]

I understand that other manufacturers have also had issues but from what I’ve read these manufacturer have definitely been more responsive in solving the issues.

It just seems that they’re pretty unresponsive to concerns. This comes up as an issue on a number of forums but as far as I can see the vast majority of times they don’t offer any practical suggestions as to a fix. Surely it’s a case of just a firmware update? But as far as I can see they’ve never released a firmware update.

Do you know if these power fluctuations occur when using different software like TrainerRoad or Sufferfest?

[aniki]

Yes; with TrainerRoad and Sufferfest the Direto behaves in exactly the same way.

[aniki]

OK, so I answered my own question. When the Etraining app returns the value of 2 for smoothing, if I click on it, it gives me the option to change it!
So simple yet so un-obvious!
I changed it to 5 and tried a workout.
I have to say that I think this maybe the answer I've been looking for. It's early days but I completed an hour long workout and had no trouble holding the power figures. I also stayed on the small chainring, middle of cassette and didn't change gear.
Sure, there's a little fluctuation in power figures but remember that this would be true on the road as well. The smoothing just makes the readout a little 'smoother'!
In terms of adjustment time, I would say the direto now feels very similar to the Tacx I was using previously but with the obvious benefit of being so much quieter and so much more realistic.
For free rides I already felt the Direto was a fantastic trainer. I think for ERG mode, setting the smoothing at 5 is probably the best compromise.
I know some folks on the FB group are still not happy. Maybe there will be a firmware update that can make the Direto adjust quicker but if not, personally I'm satisfied with it's performance.

[aniki]

So tonight I tried the long ftp test.
With the Direto smoothing set on 5 and zwift on 3 second setting everything was fine.
I got 15 out of 15 stars easily. I did the whole session on the big ring. Holding the cadence steady, it only seemed to take about 3 seconds for the resistance to ramp up and down. That said, on this workout there aren’t any segments shorter than 20 seconds and the jumps in power are quite small.
I would say it felt as quick to respond as the old tacx wheel on trainer I used to use but just much smoother and realistic.
Still happy with this trainer.