I recently bought the Zwift Ride for my 2022 Elite Direto XR-T.
According to the website, this should have been compatible. After updating the firmware of the Zwift Ride and of the Elite Direto XR-T, I find myself unable to connect with the Zwift Ride frame on Zwift. I cannot check the box indicated in the screenshot.
I just read on the forum that Zwift Ride is only compatible with new Elite Direto XR-T’s with the Zwift Cog already installed.
Is this the case? If so, that would be very disappointing
Our partners at Elite have not released firmware updates that support virtual shifting yet to Direto XR and XR-T, but they plan to do so at the end of this year. Until the firmware supports virtual shifting, the trainer is not compatible with the Ride.
If you do not wish to wait until that firmware is released and want to return your Ride smart frame - please contact my Support colleagues to begin that process.
Thanks for the quick response. Definitely keeping the Zwift ride since it is very useful having a dedicated inside training frame. I should be able to use it in the meantime using only ERG mode right?
Then I’ll just have to wait and hope Elite delivers on their update.
Well, the Zwift website states that ‘only a Zwift Ready Elite Direto XR with Zwift Cog and Click preinstalled is compatible’. So I should have known that mine was not compatible, but I only realised this with hindsight knowledge.
So this one is on me, but to fair it is quite confusing. Let’s just hope the firmware update for older Direto XR’s drops soon.
This was their reply on my facebook message, from 19/09/2024:
“At the moment Direto XR and Direto XR-T is not compatible with Zwift Cog and Clink and consequently with Zwift Ride.
A firmware update to make these trainers upgradable to support virtual shifting is scheduled to be worked towards the end of the year/beginning of next year.
Once the trainers will be compatible with Zwift Cog and Clink, they will be able to be use with Zwift Ride.”
I have seen similar comments on their facebook page.
The unexplained thing is why the firmware they already created and installed on the Zwift Ready model isn’t simply released for the older trainers - perhaps some other change was introduced? I’m not saying there is no reason, but it’s a little odd if they are truly identical hardware.
So it’s not an XR-T. An XR-T is the XR but that includes a cassette. An XR doesn’t come with a cassette. This comes with a Zwift Cog and is neither of these things, so maybe actually they should have called it the XR-Z.
Wahoo causes similar confusion with the Kickr. I think many around these forums knows that the current one is a v6 (I think?), but nowhere on Wahoo’s info and shopping pages online do they refer to it as such.
I did the exact same thing.
Showing images of the Direto XR with the Zwift coq on the ride and naming a new (not yet available trainer) the exact same thing is ridiculus confusing.
Zwift should clearly state that the Direto XR/T is NOT compatible with the Zwift ride. Nobody knows when, if ever, Elite will push out an update.
You could argue that I should have been more carefull, but I saw the images of the Direto X and got a message from Zwift that the Ride was available again after it have been sold out. I hurried to the site and bought a ride.
Now I am learning by reading here at the forums, that the Direto XR is actually not compatible and I will recieve 17 kg of useless steel to store somewhere.
I could return it but Zwift will keep the 100 euro they charged sending it in the first place, so this is just an expensive and frustrating experience due to very poor naming and communcation on both Zwift and Elites side of things.
Had I known this I would have gone for the Zwift ride with the Kickr Core. That is by the way just the Kickr Core and not Kickr Core secret edition not available to buy. Seems like Wahoo is able to avoid naming confusion and are able to program firmware for an older trainer.
I could go out and buy the Kickr Core but that is 550 euro here in Denmark and allready having spend 910 euro this just seems to be a waste of money compared to the 1300 euro for the price of the ride with the Kickr core.
This has been frustrating to find out and I think that Zwift should pull the elite as a compatible trainer. It is NOT compatible. There is a new version of the Direto XR coming, but it is not available yet (according to the elite website) and that new Elite should be called something else than Elite Direto XR.
Hi @Jan_Eversby and welcome to the forums! Alejandro here from Zwift. I appreciate you taking the initiative to use this space to post your query. Answering your questions, here you have this Zwift article about the Zwift Frame compatibility on which you can see that the Elite Direto XR is listed as “Coming winter '24”, so it is not compatible since Elite is still working on releasing the firmware update to unlock Virtual Shifting.
On the other hand, you can find on this Elite article, when scrolling down to the bottom when they will start offering the Elite Direto XR with the preinstalled Zwift Cog.
Regarding your return, please contact us at support@zwift.com so that one of my Support Colleagues can assist you with the return taking into consideration that your Elite trainer is not compatible with the Zwift Ride yet.
Thank you for your answer. I found a simple solution: Ditching the Elite and buying a Wahoo Kickr core. I just wished that I had been aware that Elite would not upgrade the software until the end of the year. Had I known that I would have bought the Zwift ride with the Wahoo Kickr core and saved 150 €
The Elite naming is very odd and the that strange narrative about being too busy to upgrade their firmware do not sit well with me. It is the exact same trainer so in order for the “new” trainer to work they will have to build working firmware for that trainer. Then the firmware must exist and then it is just a matter of making that firmware available. Never mind. I am now a Zwift ride owner with a Wahoo Kickr core
