Elite has announced the upcoming release of their first “Zwift Ready” trainer, officially named the “Direto XR with Zwift Cog and Click”. Let’s dive into specs, pricing, and what this (hopefully) means for existing Direto-XR owners…
Trainer Specs
This version of the Direto has the same specs as the Direto-XR (and XR-T, which is just a Direto-XR sold without a cassette). It’s the same trainer, but with updated firmware and a Zwift Cog installed. Key specs include:
- Gradient simulation: 24%
- Flywheel: 5.1kg
- Max wattage: 2300W
- Power accuracy: +/- 1.5%
The one difference? It ships with the Cog and Click, along with updated firmware so the trainer supports virtual shifting on Zwift!
Pricing and Availability
Elite isn’t giving firm ship dates yet for the new Direto, but they told us, “It’s looking like October here in Europe/UK and November for overseas markets.” The trainer’s homepage confirms this, stating, “The Direto XR with Zwift Cog and Click is an Elite collaboration for the Zwift Ready program, available at the best bike shops, both offline and online, starting in November.”
Elite says the Direto-XR with Cog and Click will retail for €649, and that includes a coupon for 2 months of Zwift.
As far as we can tell, Elite has not stated planned pricing for US and UK markets. Current exchange rates would put the equivalent US dollar price at around $720, and £550 for Zwifters in the UK. But with the Direto-XR currently selling on Amazon for $559, and the Direto-XR-T selling for $528, we expect US pricing to come in closer to $600-$650US, since you could simply buy the Direto-XR-T on Amazon plus the Cog and Click for around $608 today and have a Direto-XR with Zwift Cog and Click once the firmware update is released (more on that below).
Good News for Current Direto-XR and XR-T Owners
Since the Direto-XR with Zwift Cog and Click has the same internals as the XR and XR-T, you would think that releasing a firmware upgrade for current Direto-XR owners (thus bringing virtual shifting capabilities to their trainers) would be a simple matter. It seems that it is not, though, and current Direto XR owners will need to wait a bit to get virtual shifting support.
Elite has confirmed that “We have a firmware update for the Direto XR / XR-Ts on our schedule, aiming to make them Zwift Ready by the end of the year.” Why the delay? Priorities. Elite tells us, “We launched 5 new winter products this year and have many more in the pipe-line and we are fully dedicated to those projects to make sure everything runs smoothly.”
Once the firmware update is released, anyone with a virtual shifting controller (Zwift Play or Click) will be able to enjoy virtual shifting using their existing cassette and Direto-XR trainer. If you want to move to the single-cog setup, though, you’ll need to purchase the Cog and Click upgrade kit from Zwift. Elite says you’ll want to buy the upgrade kit without a freehub, so the Cog will mount directly on your trainer’s existing freehub.
And yes: if you install the Zwift Cog on your Direto, you’ll be able to use the Zwift Ride smart frame on your trainer. Bellissimo!
Wrapping It Up
It’s always nice when a company upgrades current hardware without requiring another purchase. Doing so earns customer loyalty in big, big ways. Hopefully current Direto XR owners will get an early Christmas present of fresh firmware.
US/UK pricing is one big question here. The Direto-XR has higher specs than the Wahoo KICKR Core Zwift One and JetBlack Victory, boasting slightly better power accuracy (1.5% vs 2%), higher maximum wattage (2400W vs 1800W), and thus higher max incline (24% vs 16%). So it would make sense for Elite to price the new Direto-XR with Zwift Cog and Click slightly higher than the Core (€499) or Victory (€449). It’ll be interesting to see where pricing lands.
It’ll also be interesting to see if we hear any Zwift Ready news from Garmin/Tacx now that Wahoo and Elite have released products. So far, the silence has been deafening…
Questions or Comments?
Thoughts on Elite’s first Zwift Ready announcement? Questions? Anything other than complaints about Wahoo not rolling out virtual shifting to the KICKR v5 and v4? 😉 Share below!
Got excited that the Suito might have been included then! Hopefully to follow…
Hoping that this comes for the Suito-T as well
“Priorities”. Yes, the priority is to make money, selling new units that are Zwift ready. Will see if the firmware update for current owners is available “by the end of the year”.
Glad to see you asked about the “with or without hub” options. When I first saw that it might be coming to my Elite Direto XR-T (I say might after seeing people with the Kickr V5 get burned), I started looking at the Cog and was trying to figure out which hub option I’d need. Hopefully, I can still find my shimano-compatible freehub after replacing it with a Campagnolo one. If not, I can just use my current cassette.
Correct, your current cassette should work just fine. And probably be quieter than the ZCog! (If it was me, I would just buy the Click by itself and use my cassette. Cheap and quiet.)
Do you know if this unit can be used cross platform with the zwift cog?
Zwift virtual shifting only works on Zwift. So if you have a trainer with a ZCog, it’s effectively an ERG-enabled single-speed bike on all other platforms.
It’s one reason I’d like to see some reviews of the True Kinetix “True Trainer” and “True Bike”, from what I’ve read it seems as if they’ve implemented virtual shifting on their devices that is NOT platform specific
Would this just wear out one of your cogs on the cassette prematurely?
Maybe, although I think shifting wears them out a lot more.
Another strategy would be to use a different cog… maybe swap between your three that provide the straightest chainline…
Good report. Thank you.
Will it come to Justo as well? What is the best setup if you regularly also use MyWoosh and Indievelo?
If I regularly used MyWhoosh and IndieVelo as well as Zwift, I would get a virtual shifting setup for Zwift, but use that bike’s normal shifting and a cassette for the other platforms. You can do it all with one setup. A virtual shifting capable trainer with a standard cassette, virtual shifters of some sort, plus normal mechanical shifting on your bike.
Thanks. I have the Zwift controllers already, so all I have to do – if I understand you correctly – is wait for a potential virtual shift firmware upgrade for Justo keeping my cassette.. Or exchange the Justo with a capable trainer if it does not get upgraded.
Correct.
Elite isn’t saying.
I bought a Direto XR-T a month ago on Amazon for $399. Then last week i bought the Cog and Click from Zwift for $79. I may have bought the wrong one though and sounds like it might not work anyway until the software upgrade comes out.
If you bought the Cog with a freehub, you can just remove it from the freehub and pop it onto your Direto. Once the firmware upgrade comes out you’ll be sitting pretty, for a great price!
Hey, i have an Update on this. The Cog and Click with Multitrainer Freehub dosn‘t fit on the Direto. You realy need to buy one without the freehub. As you may see on the Picture the adaption ring is to small for the Direto. This little metal overlap stops the Adapter from sliding on to the end of the Direto.
Sorry for my bad English.
Greetings
I hop that means once the firmware upgrade is available I can buy a Zwift Ride and it will be compatible with my Direto ……..
I am clueless with all this technology speak. Can I use the new cog and vitual shifting on my 6 year old Elite Muzuno?
Never even heard of that trainer, so I doubt it. 😅
Whats the thoughts on this as a trainer, its been around a while, any horror stories?
I’ve been using the Direto series since 2018. First the original Direto then upgraded to Direto XR-T a couple years ago. I’ve done THOUSANDS of KM on them. The original ended up having a bearing issue after about 4 years of heavy usage so instead of fixing I got the XR-T. I’ve had zero issues with it with just over 2 years of pretty heavy usage (e.g. at least 7 – 9 hours a week most of the year).
I wouldn’t hold my breath on any changes from Garmin/Tacx, I think in the 4-years I’ve had my Tacx Neo 2T they’ve released 1 firmware update, and that was solely to change something for their latest smartbike and made no changes/improvements to existing devices. Their ongoing super-high price point twinned with their lack of WiFi direct etc. or virtual shifting make them a very hard sell these days in my opinion
One quick question: I have a zwift hub one and would like to upgrade my zwift cog.
Is the Elite version fine? (it is far cheaper with the discount code)
It seems like the difference between the normal and the Elite version is that the Elite ona has a freehub included, but the Cog is the same. Am I right?