Elite Suito review

Elite’s new Suito is its competitively priced direct-drive, interactive trainer that’s designed to make training easy.

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Ready to use out of the box, it comes with an 11-speed Shimano 105 cassette fitted as standard, which is noteworthy because many similar priced units don’t include a cassette, and it will also work with 8-, 9- and 10-speed Shimano set-ups.

I was impressed that the adaptors for 142mm thru-axles came in the box too, as does a front wheel block for levelling things out.

Price-wise the Suito sits between the Tacx Flux S (£549 / $749 / AU$1,000) and Wahoo Kickr Core (£700 / $900 / AU$1,200), both of which don’t come with a cassette.

The Suito also sits in the middle ground when it comes to weight, weighing 14.5kg compared with the Flux S at 23.6kg and the Kickr Core at 18kg. This makes it easy enough to move, especially with its carry handle, yet there’s enough weight to keep the unit stable when in use.

I liked that there’s plenty of metal too in the casing, making it a robust trainer, which is important because these units are given a beating each session without much love.

Elite Suito set up

Everything is easy is from the off with the Suito; just fold out the legs, attach the power lead and the unit is ready for a bike to be attached. Total time is a couple of minutes at the most. Even the least technically or mechanically minded person will have no problem here.

Once set-up, the Suito has a footprint of 57cm long x 76cm wide x 49cm tall. When not in use, the legs fold inside making it easy to store. The length remains at 57cm, as does the height at 49cm, but the width reduces down to 20cm (including skewer). This is impressive and makes it easy to stick in a cupboard or under a bed.

If you want to run Campagnolo you will need to purchase a different freehub. The same goes for 148 x 12mm thru-axles and 135 x 10mm or 135 x 12mm axles. There's no need to fit any sensors though because the Suito measures cadence, power and speed.

It all connects via ANT+, FE-C and Bluetooth and is compatible with smartphones, tablets and laptops whether running on iOS, Android, Mac OS or Windows. It’s all easy and hassle-free.

I had no issues connecting straight to software packages either, such as Zwift, which I used for my testing. The Suito really is a plug in and play solution. Plus, Elite gives you a one-month free trial to Zwift in the box.

Elite Suito impressions

The wide legs and weight do a good job of providing a stable ride once you start pedalling, whether you’re in or out of the saddle. It’s certainly up there among the best at the cheaper end of the smart trainer market.

Ride feel is good, as you’d expect from a direct-drive trainer, and the 3.5kg flywheel helps – although it’s not got the heft of the Wahoo Kickr Core’s 5.4kg flywheel or the Tacx Flux S at 6kg.

Flywheel weight isn’t the only thing that determines ride feel, however, so don’t just let this sway your decision, and ride feel was similar to the Core and Flux S.

When it comes to power, one nice feature is the included Elite power meter link that enables you to hook your power meter up with the trainer. This means the trainer will give the same reading as your power meter, which keeps all your data on the same level for easy and consistent training indoor and out.

The resistance on climbs and when accelerating was good without any sharp spikes and the Suito has a maximum gradient of 15 per cent, which is enough to cater for most mountain goats out there – it’s one per cent less than the Wahoo Kickr Core, but, for most, I’m pretty sure that this won’t be a deal breaker.

As for the maximum power, the Suito offers up to 1,900 Watts, which should also be more than enough for the majority of people.

Sound levels are impressive and you’re not going to upset anyone in the adjacent room with the noise. I measured the Suito at 73dB at 20mph, which is higher than the Wahoo Kickr Core’s recorded 70dB, one of the quietest budget smart trainers available.

Elite Suito overall

What Elite has done with its Suito is to produce one of the most simple and user friendly smart trainers on the market.

The overall ride feel is good, and it competes well with the similarly priced competition.

I like the simplicity of the Suito, just plug it in and ride, and I’m sure it will have a large appeal to less techy riders out there as well as those starting out in the world of interactive indoor training.