You know, for a toaster, it rides pretty well.
I’m serious – Elite’s newly announced Tuo smart trainer actually feels way better than I expected it would. Which isn’t a knock on Elite, but a compliment. The reality is that for the most part wheel-on smart trainers just don’t have the inertia (and thus road-like feel) of most direct drive trainers. Sure, some non-smart units of yesteryear did, but most of today’s models don’t. These days wheel-on trainers like the Tuo tend to be low-end affairs without much focus on road-feel (or looks). Elite seems to have changed both though with this unit.
Assuming you appreciate toasters anyway. Fear not, I love myself a good toaster.
First though, note that this isn’t a review, and doesn’t even rise to the my classification level of “Hands-On”, though I did get handsy with it. Instead, I’m keeping it as “First Look” since my riding time is only briefly on a show-floor without any comparative data. This trainer is a bit behind the curve in terms of availability, so availability is looking like October to Europe, and either late October or early November for the US (due to on-water container ship times from Italy to the US). It sounds like I’ll have a unit in the next week or two, so expect a full in-depth review sometime in October and consider this a bruschetta sized appetizer till then.
The Tech Details & Specs:
There’s no mistaking the Elite Tuo for another trainer. When you see the carb grilling machine nestled in between two wooden dowels stolen from someone’s bannister railings – you’ll instantly know it’s the Elite Tuo. Gone is the plasticky look of past Elite low-end trainers, and in with a bit of Italian style and discman attached to the side. The frame is indeed a blend of metal and beechwood, which has been treated so it should stand up to any sweat. Interestingly, this isn’t the first trainer product that’s gone with wood this year – as we saw CycleOps do the same on their platform and trainer desk.
The frame can fold up to slide under a bed or other smallish space to save room.
The frame of the trainer includes a press-down latch mechanism for locking and tightening the trainer to the frame. I much prefer this style over some units that (still) use the older never-ending spinning handle variant that takes forever to get in and out. This is a single movement and you’re done.
Now as noted and hopefully you’ve realized by now, this is a wheel-on trainer At this price point we haven’t quite gotten to direct drive (meaning, you take your rear wheel off). Direct drive trainers are generally preferred as they eliminate slippage issues for the most part, and they also tend to be easier to calibrate (or at least, more consistent to calibrate). On the flip side, if you’re not thrilled by the prospects of removing your rear wheel each time you want to ride, this makes it easy to just pop the whole bike on there as-is:
The tire will then rest on the main resistance unit of the trainer, where the silver box that holds the roller presses against your tire. In addition inside there are all the electronic bits.
It’ll plug in the back to provide power for the unit, which is used for all the smart features including transmission of power, speed, and cadence via both ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart. In addition, it includes both ANT+ FE-C & Bluetooth Smart FTMS trainer control. In other words, basically all the stuff you’d expect from a tech standpoint. There’s three status lights on the upper edge so you can sort out power, ANT+, and Bluetooth Smart connectivity status
This means interactivity on apps like Zwift, TrainerRoad, Kinomap, The Sufferfest, Fulgaz and plenty of others will work as normal. Those apps can control the trainer up to an incline of 10% grade, and a max power of 1,250 watts (at 40KPH), or an unachievable 2,050w (at 60KPH). Though, I suspect your rear tire would probably melt through the tostapane at 60KPH. But yeah, technically it was tested by Elite to those levels.
However, in many ways what surprised me the most was the road-like feel. Sure, I had seen the trainer numerous times over the past few months, but never quite had the chance to jump on it with a bike attached. However, at Eurobike there was a bike, a power cord connected, and my legs halfway functional. So I gave it a spin.
And within about two pedal strokes I was frankly confused. This did not feel like a typical wheel-on trainer, cheap or otherwise. It felt like a mid to high-end direct drive trainer from a feel standpoint. Sure, I was riding it at the end of a long show-floor day on two hours of sleep with running shoes on flat pedals, but having been jumping on trainers all day long – this was definitely different. This felt…I don’t know…good?
I grabbed a few of the Elite folks to validate I wasn’t crazy. I mean, it’s kinda hard to be like “So, this trainer doesn’t suck, does it?” – but they got the gist of what I was asking, and apparently there actually are changes to how the internals of this unit works compared to others. Elite partnered with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM around the power accuracy as well as how to handle the variations in speed data coming off the flywheel to more accurately replicate the outdoor pedaling road-like feel.
All of which is again, a long way of saying it doesn’t suck.
Again, I do want to get it into the DCR studio and see if my brain agrees with this assessment on an actual night of sleep and a final unit. Though realistically this was probably the single biggest stand-out item for me on that second day of Eurobike, so it seems unlikely to change significantly. What may vary is the actual accuracy. The unit claims +/- 3% accuracy, which is on the better end of average for this price range.
Still, Elite has had a bit of a rougher go of accuracy over the last few months in some of their newer products – so hopefully by the time Tuo arrives those tweaks are incorporated into the Tuo as well. This unit doesn’t have a power meter in it like the Direto/Direto X, but instead relies on algorithms akin to those found in the Suito and Zumo. Given I haven’t tested the Tuo with other power meters for accuracy (which is internally different than the Suito/Zumo), I can’t say whether or not it’ll be accurate.
Speaking of specs, here’s the complete run-down of specs:
– Price: $499USD, October availability Europe/US expected late Oct-Early Nov.
– Wheel-on trainer, clamp lever design
– Max Resistance: 1,250w (40KPH) / 2,050w (60KPH)
– Max Incline Simulation: 10%
– Accuracy level: +/- 3.5%
– Trainer Control: ANT+ FE-C & Bluetooth Smart FTMS
– Power Transmission: Both ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart open power signals
– Cadence Transmission: Yes
– Looks like a sliced bread cooking machine: Yes
– Compatibility: Quick Release for road/mountain bikes (130/135 x 5mm), and thru-axle for 142x12mm included (with Boost 148x12mm accessory adapter available)
– Weight of trainer: 10.3KG/22.7lbs
And finally, note that it also includes their power meter link (PML) which is also known as power meter match, and can be used to connect to a power meter on your bike and use the power meter to control the power accuracy of the trainer. I don’t tend to use that feature on most trainers I test, since I find it somewhat unreliable and occasionally laggy. Though, I haven’t tested Elite’s implementation very heavily. But, it’s there if ya want it.
Wrap-Up:
Over the past several years Elite has come a long way as an indoor trainer company. They were a company that once had over a dozen different trainer SKU’s with clinical sounding names longer than most ingredients found in processed foods. These days on their 40th anniversary of the company they’ve simplified to just a handful of trainers with single-word names. Albeit, Italian names that none of us can ever pronounce. Thus, it’s totally not my fault this just got renamed to The Toaster.
Still, with that shift, they’re also taking risks. The indoor trainer industry is full of semi-bland looking wheel-on trainers. Elite themselves has been making them for years, both for themselves and under various other brand names around the world. The Tuo simply doesn’t look like those trainers visually. Sure, that might not appeal to everyone – for which there are plenty of black, plastic, and metallic trainers still out there. And, some might even correctly point out there’s not much cohesion between the rest of the Elite line and the Tuo. That’s true too, the Tuo’s external design was outsourced to Adriano Design, a nearby design firm. And then there’s the price – at $499 it’s less expensive than most of the options in this category that are closer to $599.
On the flip side, we’ll need to see if Elite can actually deliver on accuracy here. The Suito that was announced in July hasn’t been nailed yet in terms of accuracy, though Elite says they’re close. And the same is somewhat true of the Direto X when it comes to ERG mode stability. We’ve also seen some early teething pains on Suito’s as they’ve started to ship with various production issues. Of course, they just started arriving in the last few days – and having early shipping unit pains seems to be the norm for trainer companies these days (a trend I’m not thrilled about).
In any case – I’m definitely looking forward to getting back on the Tuo and seeing if it can find itself a spot in the trainer recommendations guide for this fall. Hopefully that’ll be sooner rather than later!
Found This Post Useful? Support The Site!
Hopefully you found this review/post useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
If you're shopping for the Elite Tuo or any other accessory items, please consider using the affiliate links below! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot.
And finally, here’s a handy list of trainer accessories that most folks getting a smart trainer for the first time might not have already:
There's no better bang for your buck in getting Zwift (or FulGaz/etc) on your big screen TV than Apple TV - it's the primary way I Zwift.
Basic Trainer Mat
This is a super basic trainer mat, which is exactly what you'll see me use. All it does is stop sweat for getting places it shouldn't (it also helps with vibrations too).
I use Apple TV for Zwift the vast majority of the time, but also just for watching YouTube/Netflix/etc on the trainer. The Apple TV remote sucks though. This $8 case fixes that, it's a silicone strap that makes it easy to grab, but also has a strap to easily place on the edge of your handlebars. Boom! Note: Not compatible with 2021 Apple TV Edition.
Front Wheel Riser Block
Here's the thing, some people like front wheel blocks, some don't. I'm one of the ones that do. I like my front wheel to stay put and not aimlessly wiggle around. For $8, this solves that problem. Note some trainers do come with them. Also note, I use a riser block with *every* trainer.
Honeywell HT-900 Fan
I've got three of these $12 fans floating around the DCR Cave, and I frequently use them on rides. They work just fine. Sure, they're not as powerful as a Wahoo Headwind, but I could literally buy 20 of them for the same price.
This desk is both a knock-off of the original KICKR Desk, but yet also better than it. First, it's got wheel locks (so the darn thing stays put), and second, it has two water bottle holders (also useful for putting other things like remotes). I've been using it as my main trainer desk for a long time now and love it. Cheaper is better apparently. Note: Branding varies by country, exact same desk.
This is by far the best value in trainer desks, at only $59, but with most of the features of the higher end features. It's got multi-tier tablet slots, water bottle holders, non-stick surface, adjustable height and more. I'm loving it!
Lasko High Velocity Pro-Performance Fan (U15617)
One of the most popular trainer fans out there, rivaling the Wahoo Headwind fan in strength but at a fraction of the price. It doesn't have smartphone/ANT+/Bluetooth integration, but it does have secondary outlets. I've been using it, and a similiar European version lately with great success (exact EU variant I use is automatically linked at left).
I've had this for years, and use it in places where I don't have a big screen or desk, but just an iPad or tablet on my road bike bars.
And of course – you can always sign-up to be a DCR Supporter! That gets you an ad-free DCR, access to the DCR Quarantine Corner video series packed with behind the scenes tidbits...and it also makes you awesome. And being awesome is what it’s all about!
Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!
Typo in “where the silver box that holds the roller presses against your time.”
Any benefit in wooden legs?
@Andrew, yeah,they will brake more easily if you abuse them…wait, that’s not a benefit…But they are Italians, so a little trade off on quality for good looking is always acceptable I guess… :D To the heck with it, I even like the form of their toaster :D
I guess they use wooden legs because they absorb vibrations in certain frequency bands.
For the same reason you have photography standards made out of wood.
I believe the main reason for the wooden legs here is purely aesthetic.
Ray, toast it! ???
link to youtu.be
Just wait for the review video…
Still waiting for that full review…..
..still waiting on an actual unit.
Nice and fun post as usual!
There is a typo on the 3rd sentence. “Which isn’t a knock on Elite, but a complement.” I guess you meant “compliment”, right?
Figures, I had it right the first time, double-checked it, and then for some reason wrongly read my double-check and changed it. Win some, lose some.
I quite like the look of this. Wonder if there is a possibility that they may be able to sell just the toaster part to people who have their older not so smart trainers?
Possible typo in “And the same is somewhat true of the Direto X when it comes to ERG more stability.”?
I thought it should be “ERG mode stability”?
Yeah, I do wish more companies would offer upgrade kits for new resistance units.
4iiii (STAC) & Kinetic are really the only ones to do so to my knowledge – and in the case of Kinetic, they’ve done an astoundingly good job of that over the years. Somewhat of a ‘everything is always compatible with everything’ type strategy. I think its helped them when they’ve made stumbles in other areas.
(Thanks on mode)
I think the issue there is that the metal frame is such a small cost in the whole it wouldn’t make it any cheaper for the consumer. Metal legs are easily recycled and most countries make this easy, so very little benefit from a waste perspective aside from the carbon emmissions of making and shipping them. Ultimately it’s probably beneficial to them to have more older lower quality units out there being gifted to get people started for free so they get hooked and buy a better newer model.
I can’t really think of any huge benefit of upgrades for consumer or vendor aside from feeling less wasteful. In fact, thinking about it I would prefer to buy a whole unit and gift the old one than throw away the old and working resistance unit while saving just the legs
+1
What do I do with my original Kickr with the toasted PCB? (keeping with the Tuo theme)?
What do I do with my replacement original Kickr when I upgrade to a new direct drive or bike?
Features are being added faster than the hardware cost justifies. It makes me reluctant to upgrade, particularly because of the materials that then become “waste” without an ability to recycle them.
I’d love (and would pay for) an upgrade path or at least a recycling option.
At first, when I looked at the first pic of Tuo, I was mildly excited, because it looked like Elite have produced something akin to STAC/4iiii – silent magnetic field trainer etc. with magnets hiding in the sides of the toaster.
It may just be a pre-production unit, but the way the ends of the wooden legs are cut off at a straight angle do not make any sense to me. I would think that they need to be at an angle, with a matching end cap, so that they sit flat on the floor/mat.
Hi, thanks for this first look !
The Elite Tuo is only ~150€ cheaper than the Elito Suito (which can be found at ~600€ in UE), does it means that the Suito will still have a better value for money at the end (15% max inclinaison, lower noise) ?
Do you know when you will update the review of the Suito ? I am still hesitating between the 4iiii fliight, a classical Tacx Flux, the Suito or maybe this one…
I don’t know when the Suito will get a full review. At this point it hasn’t changed since my July post in that it still lacks the firmware update for accuracy.
“Assuming you appropriate toasters anyway”
I think “assuming you _appreciate_ toasters anyway” sounds more correct to me.
It’s strange to see them taking such attention to the aesthetics, and then have that power cable coming straight out in the middle of nowhere, looking like a Friday 5pm afterthought just waiting for someone to knock on it and break both the cable and the internal connector. And the square-cut legs – mamma mia, estetico, prego…
I must be missing something. I’m a decidedly non-expert but frequent-rider road cyclist, 72 yo, and I’ve just left the perfect Sonoma County, CA climate for Missoula, MT. One of the things I dread most is winter, and not being able to ride (although people keep telling me the Bitterroot Valley is Montana’s Banana Belt. So, if all I’m looking for is to watch the scenery of chosen rides on my 4K OLED TV, and I don’t care whether there’s an elevator underneath my front wheel, I can get some semblance of a replication of my riding experience for $3500 (Wahoo Bike), or for $500 (this guy), but I’ll be sacrificing the elevator, probably some power measurement accuracy (not important since at my age and conditioning level I probably would be a good advertisement for the Democrats as regards why Trump shouldn’t kill the light bulb standards!)
Is that in any way a potential summary of the position of this device in the marketplace?
Oh, and the typos: seems obvious you were short on sleep when you typed this. I appreciate all you do. Your site is an AMAZING resource.
It’s a bit hard to make concluding statements till I get one in the DCR Cave to fully test, but main differentiation can be things like replicating outdoor climbs better, or slippage perhaps in high intensity situations. Also, sound isn’t something I could test on the show-floor.
I agree – I think the prices are getting crazy. Of course, at the opposite end stuff like the bike is replicating a complete bike, so there’s an element of the bike being in there as well as a cost factor.
“…at $499 it’s less expensive than most of the $599 options in this category.”
Most but not all? Which $599 options are less expensive than this $499 option? ;)
Haha, yeah, worded weird- like about half this post apparently. I roughly consider this category from $500-$600, this is on the lower end obviously.
Hard to understand how the road feel of this trainer could improve (or even compare) to the road feel of the Wahoo KICKR Snap since the Snap has a beefy 10.5 lb flywheel. Seems like heavy flywheels is the key to giving any trainer better road feel, yes?
Ray, it would be -great- if you could have a piece that more quantitatively measures road feel. Would be awesome to have the Tuo, the Fliiiight, and the Snap all side by side in your cave so you can ride each one successively for road feel. Even better, blindfold a few riders and have each ride the trainers successively twice in random order and see if they rank the road feel consistently. This would be the ultimate wheel-on road feel review! Heck, you could run the same blindfolded test between wheel on and wheel off trainers and scientifically prove if “road feel” is a quantitatively verifiably property or just marketing hype! Could even have folks do intervals vs zwift to definitively answer the question does road feel even matter to folks who only care about TrainerRoad type work.
If you need help, I’ll be working in Amsterdam for a week in October, and I’d be happy to do some blindfolded trainer rides. :)
I also tried the Tuo at Eurobike. Like Ray, I was blown away by how good this trainer feels to pedal. Road feel is always going to be subjective at the end of the day, but from a quick ride, this thing felt like a wheel on trainer – at least on some gently rolling terrain. That’s a massive achievement.
How it does that starts with something simple. It’s a considerably smaller roller than you’ll find on most other trainers. This means the flywheel spins faster, which leads to more inertia. They got around the associated tyre slip by using a grippy plastic roller.
Beyond that, I can only speculate on how they’ve achieved this. Whatever it is, it works.
Thanks for the insight Mike. Is there a tension adjuster on the tire, or just a grippy roller? If just a grippy roller, I wonder if that is enough for sudden bursts which is pretty common in intervals (or zwift races for that matter). Thanks
No, it slips with a sprint initial burst. Also, even for an old fart like me (74), max power and incline are marginal.
No, it slips with a sprint initial burst. Also, even for an old fart like me (74), max power and incline are marginal.
Good to hear from Mike that I wasn’t crazy. I’d definitely trust Mike’s opinion here.
Have you tried an Elite`s old model, the ELite Qubo Digital Smart B+ (those Elite names….) ?
I was planning to buy one, it is becoming cheaper now with all the new stuff coming…More than one person told that the road feel on it, was pretty good….now i`m gonna wait for your full review on the toaster….maybe a comparison between both would be nice…both has the same concept, on wheel, with the wheight of the rider putting pressure on the roler…
Had one. Using CycleOps M now. No roller tension adj., just rider weight is a pretty major shortcoming.
link to youtu.be
Interesting. Looking forward to the next trainer comparo and how this stacks up against the Kickr Snap.
No, it slips with a sprint initial burst. Also, even for an old fart like me (74), max power and incline are marginal.
No, it slips with a sprint initial burst. Also, even for an old fart like me (74), max power and incline are marginal.
General question: why can’t any of these “smart” trainers give pedaling dynamics like the tried and true CompuTrainer?
They do…
The Tacx Neo 2/2T does, as well as the Elite Drivo/Kura and I think you can unlock it on the Direto X for a free.
I’m would like to know how this unit compare to kickr snap, I’m in the market for my fist trainer and at the moment I think I would buy a kickr snap but this Tuo is interesting
Not sure if something changed but as far as I know Elite doesn’t offer yet firmware update via App and it doesn’t even have a Support section on their website
Until I can get wheels-on time with it in the lab – it’s really hard to say. I’m sorry!
Do you have an ETA of a detailed review of the Tuo? It looks like an interesting device as first smart trainer.
I enjoy reading and value your reviews as input for the selectoin of my sports tech… Thank you!
I don’t have a unit yet.
Hi, do you also have a discount code for an european store?
Cheers, Benjamin
I do, however, it doesn’t look like the Suito is listed on CT UK yet. I’ve just pinged them to get that sorted out. Stay tuned!
You mean Tuo or Suito? Cause I’m looking for the Tuo..
Regards, Benjamin
Its been two months since the first look. Any timeframe on when the full review might be coming our way? I was looking at this vs the Wahoo Snap for my first indoor smart trainer. Suggestions? Thanks.
Ditto
When this one is going to be available?
I don’t have one yet. Soon, hopefully?
In this preview you mentioned that the advantage of this trainer over direct drive ones is that you don’t have to remove the rear wheel. Does it mean that this trainer doesn’t chew through the tires like others ? Maybe it is a wishful thinking but I kinda got that vibe with the preview. I can’t decide between this and Suito because regular training on Tuo in any case would require a cheap rear wheel with training tire and for that combined price I would rather go with Suito.
Do you have a date when you might have the review on the Tuo? Interested in that model and struggling to find any reviews. Thanks.
Any idea about what happen to Tuo? I know it will probably delay even further, due to current problems (specially in Italy), but no sign of the trainer so far.
Has Elite sent any news about the trainer status?
Yeah, it’s been delayed. They were working through accuracy items, and then I think they’re in a holding pattern right now with everything else.
It sounds like they really didn’t want to release it, till it was nailed.
Hopefully they will make it as soon as possible.
Still, what amazes me is that is not the first time Elite (like others in the same business) announces a product that looks promising only to postpone due to some kind of a problem. So what is the point to set a release date if the product is not polished and ready to dispatch to retailers?
Any updates? I found it for 369 € (in Europe), so it is already out.
It hasn’t started shipping yet (still). Any listing that shows ‘Sold out’, is simply zero’d out inventory. Elite hasn’t shipped any units to date. Soon, they say.
yea, I found it online, but I didn’t notice that it will be available in a few weeks
Hey, the full review?
Hey, I finally just got one a touch over a week ago. Yes, a year later.
Nice! Better late then ever!
I will wait for your review, before ordering mine. XD
Glad to hear you finally received a unit! Definitely looking forward to your review, as I’m trying to decide between the Tuo and the Kickr Snap.
Cheers!
Great, when don you think you will have time to review it?
Working through tests and such day by day the last 3-5 days. Hoping to have a review out next week.
Did you have an installation issues? Just received one and can’t make head nor tail of how to get it to fit my normal road bike.
Yeah, the instructions are without question the most confusing instructions for any smart trainer I’ve ever put together.
For a road bike, it should look like the attached pic when it’s all said and done. I suspect you’re probably stuck at figuring out how to get your road bike on it in that configuration because the wheel won’t fit. The key bit that’s not obvious in the instructions it that on the back of the toaster there’s the locking knob that goes both left/right. That’s obvious. What’s not obvious is that inside of that is actually a twisty-turning thing that rotates endlessly, and in doing so loosens the entire toaster backwards, eventually giving you enough space to mount your wheel into the trainer.
Hopefully this helps, and will save you re-building the unit three times like I did.
Thanks! – I’ll give that a go. Don’t worry, I’ve already had it apart and reassembled at least three times in different configurations… I guess messing with the adjustment wheel wasn’t done when I had it in the rear frame slot. Definitely not as plug and play as you’d expect from a wheel-on.
Yeah, that’s the exact same errors I made. I did it with the rear slot first, then realized my tire clearly wouldn’t fit. So then undid it all and put it on the front slot, which then meant my tire was basically in a different country. So then undid it all again and put it back in the rear slot. Then started poking at things and that’s when I realized I could rotate that knob endlessly and it’d start moving the trainer.
Success!
I agree, for what is supposed to be a basic/budget product, it should be far simpler. On the bright side, the road feel is really good…once you manage to get it mounted.
So a successful morning means I now have two functional Tuos, thanks to your helpful guidance. When making the second one I realised that if you actually didn’t look at the instructions at all and just went at it, you would definitely have a higher chance of success in getting it to work first time. Maybe not what Elite were going for when putting together the instruction book.
Hi Rainmaker, You mean this black two knobs on the back side of the toaster. I can’t twist them separately. How did you get this knob twisting endlessly? Did you twist the smaller one to the right or to the left?
Thanks
Correct, those two knobs. There’s the one that simply flips the lever over, but the other ones actually slides the entire toaster unit ever-so-slowly forward and back. You an see it if you look straight down, it moves crazy slow, but does move.
I needed some heavy tools out of my shed, but it’s loose and moving backwards. Thanks for the quick reaction.
How is the noise level of the TUO? I really would like to grab one because the misses would appreciate the looks (and price), but I have to use it in an appartment with wooden floors and neighbours below :)
look and hear there: link to youtube.com
Hello Ray,
any chance to see Tuo review soon? I guess its most wanted review regarding turbo trainers at the moment :)
Thanks for the link! It is kind of hard to judge without knowing their setup and understanding the language. It does not sound too bad though, but really looking forward to Ray’s or anyone elses take on it :)
Had the same exact same issue. It was only later that I found that ELITE published on the 15th of October a ‘HOT TO’ movie which would have solved all of the above.
link to youtube.com
Elite’s New Tuo Smart Trainer, was wondering when you will be doing a full review of this trainer. It is now available in Canada.
Thanks
Don
Opps just saw post that you just received one. I’ll wait for your review
It’s available in a few uk shops now too. Interested in a hands-on review before committing to a purchase. Pricing seems to be more in the UK (£425) than EU (€400) unless it’s just some initial discounting going on.
Stateside, REI is now selling the Tuo. Bought one this afternoon, available for pickup on Sunday here in Seattle.
The Tuo is in stock at Sigma Sports and I’ve just ordered a one in the UK.
I won’t use it until Ray has posted his review and can send it back if Ray doesn’t rate it.
I have been using an Elite Novo (Halfords spec) wheel-on trainer for about 18 months and think the road feel is pretty good on that. The trainer I had before that was a Kickr2 and did feel better but not by much. The power accuracy I’m not too bothered about but stays consistent on Zwift and miles better than a Kickr Core I purchased last week that was showing massive spikes of power and kept losing connection to Zwift. Sent that one back to Wahoo for a refund.
The thing I like about the Elite Novo is the max gradient is only 6%. Might sound like a negative but all it means is that when you are going up a climb, say 10%, you’re still at 6% whilst everybody else you’re passing is on 10%, maybe more :-)
Has anybody compared the power output claimed by the Elite Tuo to a power meter? I don’t own a power meter, but I am a little surprised about the numbers I am able to put out. The trainer is calibrated via the e-training app, as the zwift calibration does not seem to work with it.
Here’s one: link to analyze.dcrainmaker.com
I take it this means the review is almost ready:)
Bump
Yeah, the Wattbike ATOM 2020 review took me a bit longer than I anticipated the last few weeks. So that pushed the Tuo a bit. But, it’s now back in the spotlight again as the next up review.
Thanks for the update. You know how many of us have been waiting on your recommendation to buy it? :) Mostly concerned about noise, whether it’s average, below or above, that’s my personal worry, as well as if it is overall a good buy of course. Power accuracy less important for the people that would buy this I assume, but I may be wrong.
Yes, thank you for the update!
To add to Yiannis, I’d also be very curious about how this Trainer stacks up against the Wahoo Kickr Snap. Leaning towards the Tuo right now primarily for aesthetic reasons, but having a more specific comparison based on accuracy, slippage, road feel, and noise levels would be hugely helpful.
Not entirely sure if you would be planning to capture this comparison in your review, but just thought I’d throw it out there. In either case, hearing your opinion on the Tuo is definitely much anticipated.
Thanks!
Aaron
Thanks a lot! 3% is about the deviation I expected from the Tuo, but mine was up to 25%. Turned out I had to reassemble the trainer for a third time. In the manual it says, that the rear wheel should slightly touch the roll before fixing it with the lever. As my tire lost some rubber after I used the trainer for the first time, that wasn’t possible anymore, and I had to go with the other setting again. Thanks to your description I figured out that I can push back the toaster even farther. Now I am back to reality and my pitiful numbers ;-(
In case people haven’t seen this, Elite has posted a how to put this together video here: link to youtube.com Not sure how good it is.
Wahoo Kickr Snap doesn’t have a cadence sensor.
On the strength of your review I recently purchased an Elite TUO to upgrade from my old Tacx Blue Motion. They were available in Germany at a very attractive price. Noise reduction was the main attraction, not appearance, and it seemed the use of an elastogel roller, instead of stainless steel, might actually achieve this. To Elite’s credit the TUO is certainly quieter than the Blue Motion (I use a spare wheel with a trainer tyre mounted). Most importantly the TUO runs very smoothly and does not send hand numbing vibrations through the bicycle frame as does the Blue Motion. Furthermore I am impressed with Elite’s “sensorless” cadence measurement, it’s steady and it is accurate, unlike the Tacx Neo 2T, which I did try, where the cadence measurement is very volatile.
What you did not focus on, however, in your very detailed report on the TUO, was the software that Elite provides to control the resistance of the TUO. The software is called MyETraining, and its a disaster. Without a means to vary the resistance during a workout a trainer is not very useful. In order to get the resistance controls to work one has to go through the entire configuration procedure every time the trainer is powered up. If you allow the trainer to stop during a workout, you have to go through the entire configuration procedure again to get the control feature working again. This also includes pausing the trainer, on resuming the workout the trainer has to be configured yet again. So forget about a mid-session visit to the bathroom.It’s a major hassle. I reported the matter to Elite and they acknowledged they had a bug in the software and were working on fixing it, an update would be issued in the next few weeks. Judging from your own experience that might be this time next year.
I also tried disconnecting the trainer from its power supply and reconnecting after 5 minutes hoping that this would reboot the trainer. The result was speeds of over 100 km/h and power of 500 to 1300 Watts. Utterly ridiculous values. Elite had no knowledge of this one.
I am now faced with either struggling on with the TUO and unsatisfactory software, waiting for an update at some future unspecified date, or returning the trainer in favour of a trainer of a different make.
This experience has brought home to me just how vulnerable a good product is to the proper operation of its associated software. Without the software the product is practically useless, as there is no other way of controlling the product.
I wonder how many other readers have had a similar experience with the TUO, and other Elite products for that matter.
Yeah, honestly, nobody uses that software. Because, as you noted, it’s horrible. It’s also why you don’t see any complaints about Elite’s software in the comments section of my reviews: Nobody actually uses it.
But keep in mind, no other brand includes a suite of free software either. For Wahoo, you pay for SYSTEM after a trial. Same for Saris or Tacx. So you’re experience will be similar (or non-existent) there.
That said, there are apps that are free that don’t suck. And paid ones that are great. I’ve outlined all these here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Thanks for your remarks to my experience. I have now found the second review you made, and note a significant history of problems with electronics and connectivity of the TUO, not only problems with the Elite App. This just looks to me as if Elite brought the TUO into the market in a hurry without thinking through the whole product offering. With a string of new higher cost models now launched, I am sure their problem solving focus is on the upper end of their range. As you can imagine, this becomes a question of where you put your limited resources – to make a smaller profit on a larger number of lower cost sales, or vice versa.
I have now found a Tacx Flow Smart and will give that a try before deciding on returning the TUO. I have several years experience with a Tacx Blue Motion that is still working, and I do at least know that the Tacx Training App works. A real pity as I really do appreciate the vibration free feel and other mechanical aspects of the TUO. And TUO is clearly much quieter than Tacx.