UKC

Hello all
Can anyone else give me their opinion on using the Elite Drivo ? I've just had a nightmare in setting mine up regarding software issues. The HR strap which was a garmin ANT+ and would not connect to the ANT+ dongle. The problems go on further then this and the customer support is just appalling. Long story cut short is that it's gone back.
Can anyone recommend an alternative even rollers?
You'd think for a turbo with a price tag of £1200 you'd expect a little more.
Regards

In reply to The Patriot:

When you say Dongle, is that plugged into your phone? I had an ant+ dongle for the phone several years ago and found it unreliable

Have a look through this (if you haven't already) and ask the question there
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/09/elite-drivo-trainer-in-depth-review.htm...

I quite like the cost of the Rampa as the Drivo is just a bit too steep

In reply to The Patriot:

Yes the USB ANT+ dongle goes into a lightning adaptor which fits into the iPad or iPhone. There really isn't a technical help line for the UK other then Madison. The italian help line supplied with the info pack doesn't work.
I have to say for a £1200 turbo it really was a piece of crap. I think Elite need to get their act together.

In reply to The Patriot:

I'll take it off your hands for a very reasonable price

I do think the issue sits with the lighting/ dongle combo. If elite provided the dongle can you push for a replacement?

If you bought the lightening adapter for 50p on eBay you might consider shelling out for the official apple part - as stupidly expensive as it is

In reply to The Patriot:
It's actually been returned to Madison's now. And the lightning adapter was not 50p from eBay but an official one from Apple.
By all accounts from the Elite Forum this is a known problem.

In reply to The Patriot:

I did think if you'd shelled out that much for a traininer you'd be unlikely to save a few quid on an adapter but just wanted to check

I think the idea of the ant+ dongle is poor. It's like towing a horse box with a nissan micra, you can do it but it's just not a great idea. Ideally Ant+ would be natively supported on phones (some used to) or the Bluetooth consortium would pull their finger out so everyone could get on with using a solid protocol

Elite could get round it with a USB port in the trainer which you connect to the tablet/phone (which would power it thereby resolving the can't-power-as-dongle-in-way issue). Not as wizzy as a 'wireless' solution but it would be reliable

In reply to The Patriot:
Have you thought about getting a Bluetooth HR strap instead? That might allow you to remove the dongle from the equation entirely.

I had a Garmin HR strap and bought a Wahoo TICKR one instead, so that I could do some stuff with it with my phone, without having to have a dongle. From reading the Drivo blurb, sounds like it's equally happy on ANT+ or Bluetooth. I think the Wahoo HR strap was about £25 when I bought it, but it's more expensive now. (Guessing that if your phone has a Lightning connector, it's new enough to do Bluetooth Smart.)

Regarding rollers, I have the cheapest, most just-bits-of-plastic, no-resistance, no-electronics, Elite rollers (think the actual model name is Arion). They're good fun; mostly use them for when I've not been on the bike for a few months, to get some short saddle-time. I'd otherwise have to fight through stop-start traffic/lights to get anywhere interesting, only to turn around because my bike legs aren't up to any interesting distance. I feel that they've definitely massively improved my ability to balance on the bike and hold a straight line, and possibly even some pedalling smoothness benefits too.

The rollers are good fun, but don't think they'd replace a turbo, certainly not the no-resistance model I have. The maximum power I could achieve on my rollers was about 500 watts which was ~110rpm cadence with a 'speed' of about 60kph. The limiting factor was spinning out in the top gear, due to lack of any resistance. (I now no longer have a power meter on my bike, and don't have a turbo.)

Edit: To clarify, the TICKR strap works with my phone (over Bluetooth) and my running watch/bike computer (over ANT+), simultaneously if need be.

In reply to The Patriot:
I agree some of the rollers have come on a long way. Regarding the Elite Drivo. The customer service was non existent.Remember Madison are the UK distributor not a technical help line. Italy are the people to help and they can't even bloody put a working telephone number on the blurb. I think it's only a matter of time before ANT+ is redundant and all data will be sent via blue tooth or an incription data package as it is on a quarq power meter.
Elite need to pull their fingers out of their backside.Especially on a piece of kit that is £1200. What struck me was the amount of complaints about firmware updates on the forum and Elite seam to have this laid back attitude to the customers complaints.

In reply to The Patriot:


Yes, agreed. I think that time could be whenever-you-buy-a-Bluetooth-HR-strap.