Elite Drivo 2 - One Of The Best Interactive Trainers For Advanced Cyclists.

[SickBiker]

The Elite Drivo 2 interactive trainer has been tested in my studio for about 2 years now. I just got the new Suito model and had to return "my" Drivo, thus the test results... I will mostly describe three features, that make the Drivo my favourite trainer to date.

 

Hypersmooth!

Pedalling feels natural and real. The Drivo 2 replaced my previous trainers - Tacx Flux and Flux 2 - and I could feel improved  road - like feel right away. As a matter of fact, many workouts I did on it were outside my new studio, without plugging the Drivo to the power source. The flywheel plus the double - belt transmission makes the whole thing spin so smooth, I was just using my shifters for changing the resistance. Great thing!

 

Stable.

The Elite Drivo 2 doesn't look so great, as the Star Wars - like Tacx trainers, but with its wide front support, it makes sprinting out of the saddle so much fun. I was experiencing some squeaking noise at the beginning, but after I noticed and adjusted the small, red knobs, the trainer stopped making any sounds. The front supporting arm has no less than FIVE contact points with the floor. With the heaviness of the whole thing, it makes the Drivo very stable.

 

Silent.

Start using the Drivo 2 and all of a sudden the drivetrain of your bike becomes loud  It's because you don't hear your chain so much on the road, where there are other distractions, like the wind noise. Indoors, on a silent trainer, you should get the feeling, that your bike is louder, than the trainer itself and that's the case with the Drivo. It is your legs, that should get fatigued during the workout, not your ears.

 

Elite Drivo 2 - things I don't like.

Yes, I can recommend buying this trainer to all advanced cyclists, but there are mainly two things to be aware of. Number one is the plastic handle - it's very flexible and easy to break, if you don't pull it straight up, so be careful with that. The second thing is, that the front supporting arm has no protection against the sweat. The two screws will absorb the sweat into their threads and they get covered in rust after some weeks of your base winter training. It is true, that most of the sweat drops onto the top tube and headset area (which MUST be covered), but in my case, the sweat also goes down through the saddle cut out. As you can see on the pictures, it doesn't look terrible, but covering the supporting arm isn't a bad idea.

 

Smooth, stable, silent and accurate too - these are the main attributes of the Elite Drivo 2 indoor trainer. They make it a great tool for Zwift training, but if you decide to use it as a fluid trainer, it does the job as well. And here below you can see my new Suito - lighter, thinner and... we will see more about it soon.