I have an Elite Suito and I’m extremely frustrated with the virtual shifting.
I have found this post here: [not allowed to include links. The number is 653170/6] and it suggests that Elite trainers aren’t ideal for Zwift Cog, but I didn’t expect it to be THAT bad.
In fact, in a virtual 24-gear setup, there is literally no difference between gears 1-15! See screenshots. And, above gear 20 it becomes too hard for me to be usable. =5 usable gears.
Elite support first told me that the cadence is too low and, when I sent them similar screenshots with higher cadence, they claimed that this is a general limitation with all trainers of all brands.
I’m an engineer hence I understand the limitations, but this can’t be true.
How bad or good is it with other brands? The post mentioned above indicates that it’s never perfect, but I can’t believe that not a single trainer properly emulates 24 gears. I mean, that’s a total scam, but in the many, many reviews I’ve seen, most people are super happy with it, some have small critics, but nobody calls it the scam which it is to me.
I generally don’t recommend buying an Elite trainer if virtual shifting is something you’ll want. What you’re feeling is pretty standard for Elite trainers, and can be slightly improved with specific gear configurations but those changes are pretty marginal. I’ve tried both Wahoo trainers and the Tacx Neo 2T, and I can say both are substantially better for virtual shifting.
Try choosing the Flat (53/39, 10-28) option. This is the virtual analog to putting a larger set of physical chainrings on your bike, and is better suited to flatter terrain. Give it a try, and let us know if that makes the virtual gearing range more to your liking? You’ll want to log out after you make the change and log back in for the change to take effect.
Also factoring into the “feel” of virtual gearing: are you using the small chainring on your bike? Try shifting to the large chainring - this will change the flywheel RPMs of the trainer, and will impact the resistance feel at the pedals. The game determines what virtual gear you start in only one time - when your avatar spawns in whatever route you chose. So shift to the large charing while you’re still on the game’s home page. Make sense?
Side note: I peeked at your server logs and noticed that your Zwift Click controllers are still on factory firmware version 1.0.0. When you get a chance, please update the firmware using the Zwift Companion app. Here’s the instructions.
I have upgraded the Click and tried the larger chain ring. This way, indeed there is a slight difference already from gear 1, however, instead of 63W lowest resistance, I have ~95W. I can’t say yet, if this is a big issue. Outside I never push less than 90W, but who knows…
I only rode for testing, hence I haven’t tried the Flat (53/39, 10-28) yet. Will keep you posted.
Side note: I was/am rather frustrated with Zwift. Very long loading times, updates appearing when I start the game, although the backgroud update agent is active. And the necessity to re-login, after I’ve not ridden for a while… I was really considering switching, but your post has put this plan on hold. An actual employee participating in a forum and even unsolicited checking a users game logs… that’s mighty impressive! Kudos!
Solutions for long load times may be solvable if you want to share your device details. It sounds like maybe you are on Windows or Mac? I have a fairly inexpensive Windows machine that can load the game in less than a minute so I wonder if some hardware changes might be possible for you to get to a happier place. The game has a lot to load so storage is often the bottleneck, with CPU being the second most important consideration.
I have used it on several different Windows machines. Currently i7, Gen.10, with SSD, but the same behavior was with more recent and more powerful hardware. It’s not slow all the time, but too often. But this is a little bit off topic now :-/
I have similar with the Justo. I don’t find it a big deal, as I don’t have a need to pedal high cadence (90+) while needing to be at a sub 80w level. And the lower virtual gears do have utility when you hit uphill gradients. Try one of the up escalators in NY with virtual gear at 15, then try at it in gear 1.
That said, I can see how it may be an issue for lightweight riders (eg 50kg with a 2w/kg FTP) who want to do a recovery or zone 2 ride.
FWIW OP I found “All-Arounder (48/35, 10-33)” better for my Justo.
However, I have a bunch of problems with VS. Yesterday during ZRL racing it seemed to reset itself to a nearly flat gear profile (so even in gear 24 I got around 250W at 130+ RPM). Ruined my finish
I mostly use it in ERG mode, so I haven’t experienced what happened to you, but it does happen occasionally that the ERG mode switches off and it stays a minimum resistance. After a minute or two, it suddenly comes back. Shouldn’t be related to virtual shifting, but definitely never happened before without VS.
It all looks a little unfinished to me :-/
ERG mode is based on your cadence and not your gear ratio. The sweet spot in ERG mode is 90+ rpm’s no matter the gear ratio. It will adjust the power output for you. I also have an Elite Direto XT and zwift Play controllers. I have no issues with feel of changing gears. Make sure you have your trainer difficulty at 100% also.
