So as it may be obvious, one my the biggest things I wanted on my Fitness Wishlist was a trainer. And on May 19th, 2025, I finally got one, for free, off a Facebook cycling group for my area. It is an Elite Suito. It had a major issue in that the magnets on it wouldn’t work. After doing a few things here and there trying to do things myself, and just not working on it, I made a video about it on June 9th, and submitted a ticket to Elite. By the 12th I had the part ordered, coming from Italy. And by the 25th of June, 2025, I had it installed. And not only did I have it installed, Elite refunded all the costs with it, the part, and shipping. I somewhat doubt that they doubt they did that because of this blog, and the YouTube, and Twitch, but because the day before, the Suito disappeared from their site, and got replaced by Rivo, which is a few orders better, it’s got Wi-Fi, and heart rate bridging, and the like. So maybe because it’s end of life, or near end of life, they decided to refund it. Regardless, massive shout out and bravo to Elite for going well above and beyond in customer service.

The Elite Suito

So that brings me first to the Elite Suito itself. So far so good. The control board was fairly easy to install, and soon after I had it installed, I was able to see that it was working as wanted. Increasing resistance changed how hard it was to move the wheel, and then easier as I moved it down. Later that morning, I put the bike on, and did a quick spin to make sure it worked, same process of using their app, then did a calibration spin down, and all seemed to be good.

I can’t comment on accuracy as I don’t have power meter pedals to compare it. DC Rainmaker reviewed the Elite Suito/Suito-T, way back in December of 2019, and he said it was fairly good, well within the +/- 2% advertised, and I’d trust him, he’s one of a few highly reputable reviewers in this space.

I’ve also never had, or used, another smart trainer, so I can’t compare it to other trainers on that front. I can say it is super quiet, and if the Wahoo Kickr Core is somehow quieter than this, not sure how. Like polite conversation, the fan, the phone playing Zwift (and I’d guess an actual TV or computer), all were louder than the Suito.

I am glad the next version, the Rivo, does seem to fix the only real downside, the lack of Wi-Fi, heart rate bridge, and the other newer features that seem on most other newer trainers… so hopefully Garmin when they refresh their Trax line, they can add those features, but that will be a whole article in of itself.

Anyhow, as I said before, I was beyond impressed with Elite’s customer service, and I think the trainer itself is very good, so if one is looking for a new trainer in the $500 price range, based on the Suito, I’d guess the Rivo will be great.

EDIT: August 2025, I learned that it only has one Bluetooth connection, which is a bit of a bad thing. Not a deal breaker, but most everyone else in the entry level category, of which this is, have 3 channels at least. I’m a bit bummed to say the least. So the wish list might be getting a trainer added back on, but near the bottom, as I’ve said, it isn’t a deal breaker, but could do better.

Health near the start

On the health side, as of June 23rd, I was 142.4. My goal weight remains low 130s to mid 120s. We’ll say 125-130, which is a good weight at my height. Garmin puts my VO2 Max at 43, which is in the top 25% for my age and gender, with a fitness age of 37… Not sure about that Garmin, I feel all of my 56 most of the time. Lol. VO2 Max goal would be to just up that into the top 20%, maybe 10% if I could. We’ll get to other goals in a bit. Do note however, that Zwift estimates my VO2 Max to be 23.5. I might need to pair my watch to the Zwift workout for things to get right maybe… Maybe they might get closer to one another. Given how easily I get out of breath, I’m tending to favor the Zwift estimate at the moment.

25 June 2025

The very first ride I tried was a quick spin on MyWoosh which was okay. I was mostly just testing that the connections were working, and didn’t really have the time to commit to actually doing a real ride yet.

As things were working, I initiated my Zwift membership, and gave that a try (I’m still not sure if I got the free 30 day trial or not, since I had an account, just never used the cycling end, just the free running side)

Break time at work, and I do my first Zwift ride. I specifically picked a route I was sure I could do in the short time I had to try it.

Lunch time at work, and I join a Pacer Group on Zwift. I also tried to steam that to my Twitch. That link will come later…

Another break, another ride on Zwift. This time I decide to try and fit in an FT Ramp Test [Lite], and figure I should be able to get that done in 15 minutes, it’s 20 or so minutes I think for the regular ramp test. FTP is one’s Functional Threshold Power, how much power, measured in Watts, a cyclist can sustain for an hour. It’s the benchmark for what one can do. It’s not the end all, be all, but it is the start of what one needs to do proper training, since training involves training intervals. I’ll leave it to that link to describe what intervals are. Basically there are periods of rest, work (said work is a percentage of FTP, as is rest technically), and repeated in sets. Like you might do a set, where there are 5 sessions of work, each at 120% of FTP for 1 minute each, with a short 30 second break in between, then an 8 minute recovery (like at 20% of FTP), then repeat that 2 more times. With a smart trainer, it forces you to be at that power. If you try it outdoors, you need a power meter, and a way of recording the results, and displaying the workout, and you have to do what it takes to get to and maintain those power targets. It’s far more expensive and harder to do outdoors, just more equipment and complications, a car on the road, other cyclists, the weather, all can effect one’s attempt at the intervals, and messing them up sort of messes up the whole point, though there are ways to sort of get around that. It’s probably one of the main reasons cyclists are so much better today than they were in the 80s or whatever, beyond the equipment overall got better, and nutrition has got much better, and our understanding of the bio-mechanics involved… anyhow… FTP is useful for training, and maybe bragging. Endurance is a far better metric, if somebody has 300 FTP, and another has 280, but their endurance is far better, then they’ll probably be able to do better on the longer rides. Anyhow, again, off topic. My initial FTP test came up 90, which is like 1.2 watts/kg or so. Not good by any measure. Ideally would be closer to the mid 2’s, preferably close to 3 watts/kg. Like, low 2s is “untrained”. So I’m not even at untrained levels yet. Lol.

26 June 2025

Day two of having the trainer and trying things, I only got a short attempt. My 15 minute break got interrupted by a truck arriving that I had to unload. I tried a Zwift Group Ride, but not sure why I did that instead of another pacer group, as that group ride was supposed to be 40 plus minutes, and I only had 15 (and in the end only 10). That one too I tried to stream on Twitch, that link too will be coming alter.

I didn’t do a lunch ride or second break ride that day.

Health update right after starting

Weight by the after work was 141.8. Now of course weight doesn’t tell the whole story, and that loss probably isn’t just getting on the bike those few times, it’s also the high heat, it’s been in the upper 80’s to lower 90’s with high humidity the last week, so there’s some sweat loss… I probably should get some of the Gatorade GX Sweat Patches, and see what my salt and sweat levels are, one at work on a hot day, and another one for a good ride, should be able to average them together and see what the base line is… EDIT: Morning of June 27th, weight was up to 143.2, so still lots of bouncing around. Could have been a false read too though.

My diet isn’t good. My usual breakfast on weekdays is 4 slices of toast, with country crock, peanut butter (both spread a bit thin, like I’m probably at a serving between 2 and 4 slices, and in the counter, I use one serving regardless of if I’m eating 2 or 4), and sometimes honey. Lunch on those work days is usually 2 slices of bread, and 2 slices of Velveeta. Dinner is usually burgers, pizza, or something else not really healthy… Anyhow, diet is more for another post for another day. Food is track by MacroFactor, which I don’t use 100% ideally. Like I’m just using it mostly to log the foods, and one should be using it to decide how much, and what types of food to eat. Like it dynamically adjusts what your calories should be, and how much protein, fat, and carbs you should aim for. These are general overall goals, like on bike nutrition would change to be the usual 60-90 carbs an hour, if doing over 2 hours of intense rides, most of those carbs via simple sugars, I think mostly in a 80/20 to 2:1 ration of glucose to fructose, though I think other carb types can, and should be mixed in to help avoid gut distress… not to mention one can only take so much glucose before the body ignores it. Anyhow, I’m going off topic. Like right now, my caloric goal is supposed to be 2327 on weekdays, 2559 on weekends, at least for this week, as MacroFactor adjusts it every week. It never looks at your activities like other food trackers, it requires you to weigh yourself on the regular, because everybody’s body adjusts to caloric intake, and exorcise differently, but the caloric intake and effect on the scale, that can be measured, and then adjusted as needed. I normally overshoot the caloric goal by 300 to 1000, and never really hit the macro percentages (MacroFactor gives you your macros (Protein, Fat, Cabs) in grams, based off the caloric expectation). It’s super hard to hit those macros, at least on my diet. I tend to way overshoot the fat, and undercut the protein goals. Those are the two you generally want to control the most, the carbs sort of take care of themselves so long as you are sticking somewhat close to the caloric goal. Anyhow, I highly recommend that anyone serious about their nutrition and weight goals, use MacroFactor. I’m not sponsored by them or anything, just believe in their process. Start out with MyFitnessPal by all means, which I’d say is bare minimum, then start moving to the better trackers. Cronometer is another good one after getting the hang of the ropes with MyFitnessPal, and I believe many doctors like it, if you are using it to update to them. Also, obviously, get a fitness watch, Apple Watch, Fitbit, Amazfit, Garmin, etc…

I should also side note, that at work, I’m getting well over 10,000 steps a day. Usually 15,000 to near 20,000. So I get plenty of steps in a day.

So what are my goals?

• To get FTP to at least the mid 2’s per kg, ideally closer to the low 3s. That would be around 160 watts for FTP, so near double what I’m at now.
• Vastly improve VO2 Max, as I’m assuming the Zwift estimate is far closer than the Garmin one.
• To be able to ride a faster pacer group, with elevation gains, for 2 to 3 hour stretches.
• Be able to do local group rides in Pittsburgh. Aim is to be able to do 20-30+, 1200-1500 feet elevation gain, all in 2 1/2 hours. So let’s say a 27mile loop with 1400 feet of elevation gain 2 1/4 hour time, without being too conked. Say maybe be at 70-80% of my effort ability. Ideally get to that in less than a year.
• Be able to do an imperial century, with 5,500-6,000 feet of elevation gain, in 6 1/2 to 7 hours.
• Be able to do a real race like Unbound Gravel 100, and not finish last. Now the people who didn’t DNF, at the end did that in 14 hours, with top people doing it near 5 hours, so I think the goal would be under 6 or 7, no more than 8 maybe. Maybe think about the 200 mile race, and dream about the 350, but the 100 would be the aim.
• Get power meter pedals like the ones on the Fitness Wish List, and train outdoors some too, and also to have a secondary verification for online races using MyWoosh, Zwift, and the like.
• Start running, be able to do a 5k, and be competitive for my age group. I don’t really need much longer run than that.
• Be able to actually swim… right now I sort of splash my way across the water, and the 24 or so foot pool that I have free access to, I can only do maybe 10 laps before I’m exhausted. Way too much splashing. Not smooth at all. Feet drag, even though I’m trying to kick… can’t afford a proper coach though. Anyhow, swimming is near the end.
• Weight in the 125-130 range. I’d get a bit nervous dropping below 125, so closer to 130, if I bounce around 130 +/- 5, that’s all good. I’ve been there before, and easy enough to do. It seems to be where my body tends to hover when I’m fairly active. I’m usually around 140-145 if I’m not active (I was well into the 150-160 range before I switched my tea and coke to sugar free). Weight goal I think would be hit naturally, as I noted, it’s near where my body tends to go, I’d worry if it dipped below 120, and if it dipped below even 125 for any sustained period of time, I’d probably have to up the caloric intake… again, if I actually followed the plan from MacroFactor, that wouldn’t be an issue, it’d be suggesting much higher caloric intake itself. So weight is a last step goal.