I have an odd issue when doing workouts in ERG mode on my Elite Direto, where the resistance changes with changes in gradient. And the changes are actually backwards - when the road goes from being flat to a positive gradient (or from a negative gradient to flat), the resistance drops, so I have to up my cadence to maintain the same power; where the gradient reduces, resistant increases so my cadence drops to maintain the same power.
I only use ERG mode rarely, but I don’t recall this happening earlier in the year when I used ERG. It’s very noticeable now though every time I use ERG mode. At first I thought it might have been me subconsciously changing my pedalling as I could see changes in gradient, but I can feel the changes even with my eyes closed so it’s definitely ‘real’.
Now I’m aware that this absolutely shouldn’t be happening, but I’ve no idea if it’s a problem Zwift side or Elite side. I suspect Zwift will say it’s Elite and vice versa! I could avoid it by riding Tempus Fugit for workouts, but that’d be really dull.
Is there anyone out there with a Direto or other trainer who’s observed anything similar and, if so, is there a solution?
When riding not-in-ERG mode, everything appears to be working as expected.
Just to add, I’m using an Apple TV and paired via the Companion app (I’ve not actually tried pairing direct with bluetooth - I should have tried this before asking the question!).
I am using a Saris H3 on PC via bluetooth, and the same happens to me. I just assumed it was my H3, since I have never seen anyone else post about this.
Are you running the latest version of firmware on your reainer?
Yep, latest firmware (it’s not had any updates for a while though). Interesting to hear it’s not just the Direto.
I have the impression that in the april 2025 release zwift added some sort of algorithm that somehow changes the power target in erg mode before sending it to the smart trainer. Before it worked perfectly fine, but since then some weird anomalies happen. Like indeed sometimes it feels as if the gradient affects the power, often increasing cadence also increases resistance (which should not be the case in erg mode), … I’ve made a post about it a while ago Bad experience with ERG mode since April - #11 by Glenn_Van_Loon .
Sounds a similar issue, but not exactly the same. Thinking more, I did a firmware update on my trainer to enable virtual shifting a couple of months back. I tried virtual shifting, but it was a really poor experience with the Direto (over/under shooting wattage when I changed virtual gear) so I’m not currently using it. Perhaps this is somehow related to updates for virtual shifting.