Incorrect speed with Garmin ConnectIQ Xert App and Elite Direto trainer

Support
#1

Hi,

I’m training on Elite Direto trainer. For several weeks now I’ve started using Xert ConnectIQ app and the odd things is the speed. My workouts are with average speed of 150km/h! At low loads (30-50W) I’m seeing speeds of 200+ km/h, then at medium loads the speeds goes down to more normal (30-50km/h), then at higher loads (200+W) it is again at 200+ km/h. Outside the Xert app it seems normal. I thought that my problem was the wheel circumference setting and tried playing with it. Or it is because of the Direto trainer? Any tips on how to fix that will be appreciated.

1 Like
#2

The app takes the revs reported by the trainer ANT interface together with the wheel circumference to obtain speed.

#3

Hm… but I can ride with high cadence at low gear (small cog at front, big cog in the rear) which in rear life will be slow even though we have a high revs. And if I do the same revs at high gear (big cog in front, smallest at the rear) the speed will be definitely higher. Isn’t the trainer reporting speed on its ANT interface? Why should you derive it? And for me speed = revs * wheel circumference is not quite correct as it does not account for the gear I ride with.

#4

We’ll have to check with Elite to see if they use anything different than those in use by the other trainers out there. All speed gets recorded using the standard ANT+ data coming in. Note that on a trainer in erg mode, speed has no real importance since power is adjusted automatically independent of gear. In some case too low/high a gear can impact ability to hit targets but otherwise it is mostly meaningless.

#5

Do try and adjust the wheel circumference. This is usually what needs to be modified.

#6

This incorrect speed value is indeed not big deal it just breaks my statistics. I’m not used to ride with average speed of 150+km/h.

Just to report: I tried with different values of wheel circumference. I started with 2070mm (I’m using 26er mtb bike on the trainer). Then I thought that I need to enter the data in inches, and used value of 82. Still got the same average speed. Then I dropped the value to 40. To 10. Now I ride with wheel circumference = 1. The average speed drop a little bit to 120km/h. Still I cannot understand - I ride with certain cadence and it shows 10-12km/h, then I speed up a little and speed jumps to 200-220km/h. Then I return back to previous cadence, but the speed is at the 200+ km/h range. And I’m riding with the same revs and same gear that I used couple moments ago when the reading was 10-12km/h. This is strange.

But anyway… I’m getting used to ignore speed/distance readings from my Elite trainer sessions.

1 Like
#7

Elite just sent us a Direto so we’ll see if we can identify it. Have you tried making any changes using their app? Does it store the information permanently?

#8

Their app has also wheel circumference setting. Now I’m in a process of experimenting with it. I’ll need some time though for several rides with different settings to see what will be the impact of it.

#9

Any solution on thuis, got the same issue with my derito elite :sleepy::sleepy::sleepy:

#10

I have to check, but I believe that it was related to whether you connect the trainer with the ANT trainer profile or not. Will make a test to validate.

#11

I recently encountered the same issue.

It would be really appreciated when you could update this with your solution

#12

You’ll likely need to change the tire diameter settings under the settings for the Xert workout player (in Garmin Connect Mobile). The direto is a little strange when it comes to how it reports speed…

#13

I’ve had the Direto for about 18months and it has now only just started doing this, I haven’t changed any settings. I did try and apply the calculation to the circumference as per the above link and it didn’t make a difference.

I’ve done some fault finding and it appears to be an issue in the XERT Connect IQ app:

  • the Elite App reads fine
  • XERT EBC app on iOS reads fine
  • Trainer mode on the Edge 530 reads fine
  • XERT Connect IQ on Edge 530 consistently reads 200kph +

My last unaffected ride was the middle of last week.

#14

Hi there,

Having the same issue which is frustrating. Tried changing tire diameter, recalibrate trainer, used power from power meter instead but nothing seems to work. The worst thing is that when uploads to Garmin or Strava reports that I’ve done 180km in a 30 minutes workout. In Garmin I can edit the data but can’t on Strava, therefore thinking on not using the Xert workout player which is a shame. Zwift reads the speed correctly as does Garmin… not sure what to do here.

I’m using Garmin 830 and Elite Suito and tried all possible settings on Suito app and Xert app with no luck.

Any help appreciated.

#15

Your best option is to configure the trainer on the Garmin (not in the Workout Player). Then all the data will come from the trainer configuration on the Garmin. Our app doesn’t have a circumference setting natively and so just grabs the speed reported by the trainer. The Elite is known to send incorrect speed data and we haven’t looked to correct that in the app. If you set it up on the Garmin, it should work better.

Alternatively, just use your phone and our Xert EBC app. It is a far superior experience and you get Speed from Power which will work much better than the speed that comes from the trainer.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

#16

Thanks for the quick response Armando, that makes all the difference. I will check your suggestions and report back.

#17

Hi Armando thanks for getting back to me, been since using the iPhone app to run my workouts and all is going great. As you said a far better experience and like the way you can swap and see different screens. Is there a way that the activity can be sync’d to Garmin Connect direct so it uploads to the different platforms?
Thanks again,
Arnau

#18

I don’t think it can. It’s easiest to record with a Garmin device (using ANT+ and the normal Garmin Cycling app) while using the Xert app on the phone as the controller (using BLE) and at the end of the workout discard the Xert app recording while saving the Garmin device recording. At least that’s what I do.
But then I only pair power, cadence and heart rate with the Garmin, since speed and distance indoors seam useless and wrong by design to me. I am not moving fast or far but not at all. I rather use at least potentially correct data than estimations.

#19

Unfortunately not. Garmin is a closed system - they would need to implement an automatic sync of our activities on their end.

You’d either need to upload the .fit files from Xert manually or do what @idefix recommended and dual record on a Garmin at the same time. Unfortunately, that will result in duplicate activity in Strava if you have GC linked to Strava.

#20

Completely understand, as @idefix mentioned the speed indoors is useless, it would be good if there was a feature to toggle on / off the speed. This way no one would be getting any wrong / estimated metrics that aren’t relevant to the activity.

Thanks for the responses though.