Been on TrainerRoad road for about 2months now using a Elite Qubo Fluid+ I bought some years back which was collecting some dust. Thankfully I found TrainerRoad to motivate the increased utilization!!! Anyway now toying with the idea of a Smart Trainer and I‘m kind of leaning towards a Direto based on DC Rainmakers review from last year and the potentially low relative cost($699 on bikecloset). This year Kickr Core seems to be its match. I can’t seem to find any head to head reviews on these two though…more so Core vs Flux. Anyone have any additional insight?
I have a Direto and it’s been great. It needs calibration only once every few weeks, measures cadence (so no separate cadence sensor needed), folds nicely away when not in use, and is pretty quiet - with my fan and music, I don’t even notice the trainer. $699 is a great deal.
I’d bet the core is good also - as most trainers these days are pretty good. What does a core cost? That might be the deciding factor…
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The KICKR units seem to have the best support both internally and externally.
I have an Elite Drivo now. They have said for two years now that they would release a firmware update. None delivered. They are also in Italy so service and parts and not an easy get.
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+1 DaveWhelan’s experience with the Direto. No problemo with the Direto & TR software except that you can’t calibrate using a PC & ANT+.
Also, +1 Patrickfleege’s commentary regarding Elite support. They are pretty much non-responsive. You can get pretty good support from the Direto user’s group, though. Performance Bike had Direto’s on sale for $640 there for a while. That’s pretty good value for a solid smart trainer.
Guess I need to keep a look out if there‘s another $640 deal especially with the holidays upcoming. Seemingly would be an easy discision based on cost relative to the Core @ $899. I hear you guys on the support though. I tried to contact Elite before with my current Fluid Trainer, just for information, and got no response, so that risk will have to be considered with such an investment.
Again just toying with the idea but since I swapped from road bike to mountain bike I can see where the ERG would have potentially made the transition smoother.
Early X-mas gift for me 
… Just pulled the trigger on the Kickr 2017 with the Black Friday deal on Wahoo’s site($799). I was sold on the price vs understood performance relative to Direro/Core. I Hope it was a good choice!!!
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