Direto power off by around 50 watts

[[email protected]]

I have a similar problem that I have started a new thread on.
The difference is that mine was reading a certain value when I first got it, and after 1 week it dropped by about 60w (see my thread "Sudden wattage drop"). Now I do not know what should is the correct figure to start with (if in fact either is correct) as I have no means of checking.
More worrying however is the inconsistancy. If this keeps on happenning it would be impossible to monitor progress.

Also, how much would belt tightenning be expected to change the wattage figure. It seems that changing the value by a few points when the overall value is >6000 is not really going to alter much.

[Diggers]

This is a real shame as it seems there are a lot of us with the same problem. I have two stages power meters one for my winter bike and one for my old summer bike. I've compared both to the Direto and there are much bigger than the advertised 2.5% difference. I'm only a little bloke and not a great cyclist. My stages FTP is usually around 220-230. Doing a power test using the Direto tells me it is 170. No WAY!

I bought mine for Christmas and by the end of Jan I had sent it back to the retailer who were brilliant and sent me a new one. sadly the second one was just as inaccurate. For a while I gave up. I mainly use Sufferfest not Zwift so I'm not that bothered about the accuracy in so far as as long as the measurements are consistent with each other, Sufferfest just sets all my intervals to match a 170 FTP so no real harm to my training in winter which is mainly turbo based.

However, now it is summer, it means I need to keep running two tests, one for the stages and one for the Direto. This is a complete pain.

A second and probably far more serious issue is that when I pedal over 100 RPM, the cadence becomes completely inaccurate. Sometimes it will go up and down from 100 to 160RPM in a matter of seconds. This makes using ERG mode impossible on Sufferfest because it isn't consistent.

I have been dealing with the support team at Elite for a couple of months who have been very responsive and have suggested a number of fixes but none have worked. Last week the Direto actually died. It started to make a loud clunking noise and told me I was knocking out 30,000 watts!! Like I said, I'm only a little bloke and not a great cyclist. This lasted around 5 minutes and then all resistance disappeared.

The Elite helpdesk confirmed this means it was broken and have agreed I can have a replacement. However, I have lost confidence in the product as that is two units which have not worked as advertised or as reviewed.

It seems to me the only advantage of the Direto over the dumb trainer/power meter combo is ERG mode for virtual training. As I only use Sufferfest, I am inclined to find a cheaper direct drive but dumb trainer and then invest in a pedal based meter (Stages mark 1 meters that I have are too fragile in the wet but fine in the garage). Using the manual resistance lever on my old dumb trainer worked fine for fine tuning Sufferfest but clearly won't work so well for racing in Swift or trying to ride famous climbs on Fulgaz.

Given I first purchased the unit at the start of December, I doubt I will get my money back so will probably get the replacement and shove it straight on Ebay. Clearly there are technological issues with the power meter which Elite need to iron out during manufacturing. This is such a shame given the amazing reviews it gets.

[Elite Admin S]

Hi Diggers

We're sorry for the situation.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to understand the cause of the issues you have experienced. You've sent back the first Direto before we had the time to analyze deeply the situation and the second one has broken down during the assistance tests. I don't know if the issue was due to some configuration/calibration setting or if the sensor was already starting to break down when you contacted us.

Of course, we will replace immediately the faulty trainer.
What I can say is that we are confident that the new one will work properly. I can assure that it is a solid trainer, we have sold many Direto and people around the world are really satisfied with its precision.

What I can suggest is this: accept the replacement and give it another try.
I'm sure that you'll get very good precision.

[shop]

@diggers

I bought my Direto in spring 2018. I currently use it exclusively with Zwift. When I have gotten my Favero UNO powermeter I have compared the power values of both devices too. I have seen a difference of around 30 watts, the value of the Direto was higher - a calibration did not help me neither. A short time later I had issues with the drive belt and Elite sent me a replacement belt very quickly. After I had replaced the belt and calibrated the Direto, I checked the power values again and I was pleasantly surprised that they now almost perfectly matched - the only "downside" is that I had to realize that I'm weaker than I originally thought Since this time my Direto works very well.

I have been dealing with the support team at Elite for a couple of months who have been very responsive and have suggested a number of fixes but none have worked.

I had the same positive experience with the Elite support, with the difference that they solved my problem. I mention it, because today it is no longer the rule that a manufacturer support works so well.

Nevertheless, despite of all these issues, I wish you, that you will find a satisfactory solution for you.

[FredT]

I am having the same issues as outlined by many others .
The direto is off by 20 to 50 Watts compared to my pioneer power meter.
I have been following the various threads about this issue, and they all end up the same way:
An elite forum monitor writes that “since you have been in contact with support....”
That is a bloody useless comment from elite. Given so many people have this issue it would be a very good idea to let everyone know what the possible problems are, and the recommended solutions might be. Telling everyone that support will look after the problem doesn’t help

[Elite Admin S]

Hi FredT

We usually prefer to analyze the recorded data to understand every single case (that's why we ask to contact our customer care), but basically these are the possible causes of the issue:

1) power sensor not properly calibrated

This is quite common. Also power sensors need to be calibrated.
Check your sensor user guide to understand which procedure to follow to calibrate it for having precise data.

2) Direto belt not well tightened

This is quite rare. The belt, after the first runs, have to "adapt" to the mechanic of the trainer and it may loosen a little.
This is normal, but if it loosen too much then the measure can be inaccurate (and you could also experience some slipping)
To verify if the belt needs to be tightened:
- do a 10 minutes training at 150-180W
- run the calibration
- check how much different is the offset you get compared to the one you have on the label on the trainer
If the difference is higher than 5 (and you experienced slipping or inaccurate power), then contact the customer care and we will give you instructions on how to tighten the belt

3) power sensor location

You have also to consider that measuring power on the pedal, on the crank or on the trainer is slightly different.
If you have a pedal/crank power sensor, it will measure also the friction on the pedal/crank. This may add 10-15W to the measure


I hope to have been clear enough

[fredrik.rook]

Hey Elite Admin,
I am experiencing the same problem with my newly purchased KURA. I would say that the KURA measure roughly between 50-70W lower than my stages. I have e-mailed Elite, but not yet heard back. I read some of the earlier post (FredT) and wondering when you say "Check your sensor user guide to understand which procedure to follow to calibrate it for having precise data." that you are referring to the normal calibration procedure? I have done the normal calibration 3-4 times, but the problem still remains.

Thanks
Fredrik

[brianlescargot]

So I have just in the last few days taken delivery of a new Elite Direto that I bought primarily for using as a controllable trainer on Zwift and training using power over winter. But despite spending a lot of time over the last 2 days I am unable to get the Direto to record my distance (It's 0.0 no matter what I do) while I am using it as a controllable trainer and my power reading is way off, more like 50% rather than 50 watts. It's an effort just to keep the riding over 200 watts. I could fit my Stages PM to my training bike to compare but it's so far off I don't see the point. Also when I reach a gradient even of 4% it's like I have hit a wall. I have tried using Windows laptop and IOS app on iPhone with the same result and issues. I have also calibrated the Direto using the MyETraining app. I have sent a request to Elite customer service and also raised a ticket with Zwift but for the moment my new trainer is totally unusable and I have had to put it aside and go back to my Turbo Muin B+ that has served me faultlessly over the last 2 years.

[Elite Admin S]

@brianlescargot,

I see you're already in contact with our customer care

@fredrik.rook,

if you still are having issues with Kura even after calibrating it, contact the customer care at [email protected]

Regards

[cedricg_38]

Same problem for me, after one month or use, i ran the calibration and now it's 50W below the reality!
Please provide a fix, there are too many users with exactly the same problem of 50W off ...
myEtraining told me the value was 6267 and under the HT, it is written 6269 so i'm < 5 points. I didn't touch anything. Is it normal that the calibration put an offset of 50W after 1 month of use (~15 sessions of HT)