Elite Super Crono Bike Trainer Manual

[Billi Plancarte]

TheElite Super Crono Elastogel is one of the cheaper bike trainers available in the Elite range. For those of us who don't have the good luck to live somehere with perpetual sunshine a bike trainer is an excellent way to maintain fitness levels during the winter season.

The trainer uses a magnetic wheel and a roller, with the weight of the rider pushing the bike onto the 'elastogel' roller. I have found there to always be sufficient friction between the tyre and roller, even using over worn slick tyres.

Note: the support for the front wheel, often sold separately, is a crucial part of the equipment since it maintains the bike in the horizontal position and also provides better friction resistance to the front wheel.

The Elite super Crono offers 8 levels of resistance to riders, changed by a lever that is fixed to the handlebars, with the levels available covering all reasonable ranges of effort and levels 6-8 being very strenuous! A cable runs between the lever and the bike trainer itself.

I have owned the Elite Super Crono for about two months and used it quite extensively and found it to be very efficient, and able to realistically reproduce riding conditions on the road under most circumstances. Both strenuous exertions and easier riding at high cadence are enjoyable.

The one situation where I suspect a more expensive model would improve on the trainer is when standing up on the bike, and recreating the effort of cycling up a steel hill in an easy gear can not always be recreated easily - it works well by choosing a 'hard' level and straining up the hill but this isn't my preferred method of hill climbing on a bike!

This trainer is also quite noisy (although it is said to be one of the quietest available so perhaps i have realistic expectations), but sits very firmly on the floor with no perceptible rocking or wobbling during use.

This was quite straightforward (I am using a Specialized Allez Elite on the trainer bike) although it was necessary to substitute the quick release mechanism supplied with the trainer bike for the existing one. Total time taken including changing the quick release mechanism was only about 10 minutes (it would have been less if I had read the instructons more carefully first!)

Make sure the front wheel support is well aligned under the front wheel to provide maximum support or you will find there is a slight 'rocking' motion at each push on the pedals which is a bit unnatural.

Although more expensive models would perhaps offer a better hill climbing experience, more flexibility in the levels of difficulty available, more computerised functions and even integration with DVDs of real hill climbs in the most expensive models, the Elite Super Crono Elastogel performs the basic bike trainer functions very well and I am happy to recommend it.

Windows 7 (updated) via USB ANT+. Extension cable drops it right next to the trainer body. WiFi router is on a different floor, and my fan is off the front of the bike. Single and cable bought brand new after disliking linking through the companion app.

If you can, I would also try either connecting through BT to see if it makes a difference, or trying a different computer, if possible, just to see if symptoms change. For example, my resistance issues stayed the same when I tried with a Zwift install on a Mac, instead of my usual Windows computer.

ERG mode adjusts resistance but my reported power is much less than what I am actually putting out. I do not have another power meter but I can hold 260 watts for 30 minutes without much trouble (FPT is around 280). workout/ ERG mode on zwift this is difficult to do at 200-220 watts.

Trainer pairs as both power and controllable without difficulty.

bluetooth connection light on direto seems to consistently be functioning normally. (blinking when not on zwift, solid when starting zwift)

Also of note I am beginning to suspect my issue may be hardware related as I recently have discovered the reported power output from the trainer seems much less than the actual effort I have to put in pedaling, and this is occurring across multiple platforms (trainerroad, zwift workout mode and MyEtraining application). I will update post when I hear a response from Elite regarding this concern.

Using wahoo elemnt over ant+ to control trainer and syncing direto with Zwift as power meter only it seemed my power numbers were accurate again I n Zwift suggesting software issue. No response yet from elite or Zwift

Have no such problems here.

As late as last night, I raced stage 9 of TDZ had plenty of resistance and it adjusted as it should all the way. My setup is Apple TV, Elite Direto V.2. and Quarq DZero power meter.

Is the problem ANT+ related? I guess the fix should be on Zwift side, as no software has been updated on Direto. Do you all remember to pair to FE-C?

Regards Hans

But in reality, the most notable thing about the Tuo is actually the road-feel. Wheel-on trainers have a well-deserved reputation for having poor road-like feel. However, last year when I first tried this on a trade-show floor I was blown away by how good it felt. To the point I questioned if perhaps trade-show lack of sleep was contributing. However, after a few other industry folks I know that also jumped on it for a few seconds confirmed my thoughts, I was then eager to try it out in real-life with my own bike (and side by side to others).

Now, since my initial setup feedback a month ago when I did this the first time, Elite has worked to put together a quick setup video on YouTube, and is also updating their written instructions to make it less confusing.

There are some key steps to getting the Elite Toaster to work consistently from a power accuracy standpoint. Aside from pumping up your tire, in my experience the rest of the steps only need to be done once a month or so.

In my testing on Zwift, at 100% trainer difficulty, with numerous climbs just under 10%, it felt fine, and the resistance correctly smoothly applied while going through the rollers on the Titans Grove course.

For me, in my testing, I used Zwift and TrainerRoad as my two main apps (which are the two main apps I use personally). In the case of Zwift, I used it in regular riding mode (non-workout mode, aka SIM mode) as well as ERG mode (workout mode). Whereas in the case of TrainerRoad I used it in a structured workout mode (ERG mode). I dig into the nuances of these both within the power accuracy section.

Finally, Elite does have their own app that you can use for a handful of functions, but frankly I had no use for it here at any point in the testing cycle. And technically, there are two apps here. The first is their Elite My E-Training app, from which you can do calibrations:

For this section I was constantly oscillating. I believe I had joined up with one of the Zwift Pacer bots, and you can see the rubber-banding as you go in/out of the draft zone. But the Tuo is doing a pretty damn impressive job of holding the wattage accuracy here.

(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy sections were created using the DCR Analyzer tool. It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, GPS tracks and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons, more details here.)

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.

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.

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!

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).

Had exactly the same setup issues, got there in the end though!

Definitely enjoying the road feel.

Seem to be having a LOT of dropouts on ANT+ but not on BT) though compared to the Tacx Vortex it is replacing. Did you see anything similar?

On my Tuo, I made sure I had the latest firmware update by using the Upgrado app. I did ride the Tuo before I did anything and the firmware update made the biggest improvement on response to gradient changes.

Hi Tito,

It seemed to work for mine OK but it was the firmware update that made the biggest difference. It rides really good and performs better than my old Elite Novo which was a pig to calibrate. I entered the P1,P2, P3 values myself for the Novo on the myETraining app, which you can for that trainer.

But the big fat flipper for attachment on this Tuo trainer makes me think this toaster might be good for her. So, can you comment just a smidgen more about the wheel attachment flipper lever strength / difficulty?

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