Elite Square

Elite Square – When is a Smart Bike not a Smart Bike? When it’s a Smart Frame.

What is a Smart Frame? Basically it’s an adjustable bike frame that can be slotted on to a Smart Trainer. Why would you need that, surely you just use your own bike? Well yes, but maybe you’re tired of having to take your bike on and off the trainer. Perhaps you don’t want to subject your ‘best’ bike to the rigours of indoor-training? Or you have more than one person who wants to use the trainer, meaning you have to adjust the bike fit. That’s a problem in my house where we have four people using my trainer, who range from 152 to 183 cm! This is where the Elite Square would come in handy.

The Elite Square replaces your bike frame and attaches to any – according to Elite – direct-drive trainer. It does this via a single-speed cog that replaces the trainer’s cassette. Drive is via a belt, so it should be quieter and cleaner than a standard chain driven trainer; features that will appeal to neighbours and other house-mates. Belt tension is adjusted in a two-step process that solves the problem of differently sized trainers.

Virtual Shifting

Once attached and paired with your trainer, shifting is virtual. With thirteen customisable pre-sets the Elite Square can be set up to shift in any way you want. You can choose Shimano, SRAM or Campagnolo with 10-13 speeds and one to three chainrings. Alternatively you can just set it up to run a sequential shifting system, with variable resistance ranging from 5 to 24 levels. Shifting is via two clickable buttons on each shifter, which can also be customised.

On top of each of the shifters is a small keypad which gives each shifter ten buttons. These allow you to interact with other apps or add-ons. These can be used to steer your avatar on Zwift, adjust Elite’s Aria fan, enable additional controls such as extended shifting, or switch from one profile to another. All this is powered by an internal battery inside the Elite Square frame.

The shifters sit on a pair of 42cm wide handlebars, with a 6° flare. While you can adjust their position, the width is set. Perhaps they can be replaced if you’re particularly fussy? The bars have a soft, silicone covering rather than traditional tape. Hopefully this will stand up to hours of sweaty handling from multiple users. Elite have positioned the extra keypads above the shifters, so they shouldn’t interfere with your ride. There’s also a Garmin mount on top of the stem, useful if you like to ride with a head-unit.

Adjustable frame

With it’s distinctly geometric main-frame the Elite Square has an industrial look to it. Elite say it’s “solid and robust, designed to ensure maximum stability and perfect balance even during the most intense out-of-the-saddle efforts.” The frame can be adjusted to fit riders from 152-198 cm: fortuitously that means my household is covered! Millimetre scales are positioned on the moveable parts, so you can record your settings. Adjustments available are saddle height, tilt, and fore-aft position, handlebar height and fore-aft position, top tube length, and crank length.

That last adjustment, crank length, is achieved with a smart little rotating pedal fitting. The pedal screws into an off-centre fitting that can be rotated allowing five different crank lengths. These are 165, 167.5, 170, 172.5 and 175 mm. Adjustments to the frame dimensions are made using either quick-release levers, or a tommy-bar; which is stored in the saddle-rail.

Another feature of the frame is its ability to work with Elite’s Rizer. Attach the Rizer and it will raise and lower the front end, just like climbing or descending in the real world. There’s also an element of side-to-side movement built in, which helps create a more natural ride feel. The Rizer can also be used to steer your in-game avatar.

Elite Square Control App

As with most things in life the Elite Square has its own app. The Square app has the following features;

• Configure your frame and pair your trainer with the Smart Frame simply by clicking on the nearest detected trainer
• Create up to five different user profiles that you can divide based on the different types of gearing and ratios selected
• Pre-set a level to maintain in stand-alone mode
• Have access to all functions and configurations

We recently spoke about the Zwift Ride, which is another entrant to this market. It doesn’t have the same amount of adjustability as the Elite Square and uses a traditional chain-drive. It also comes with a Wahoo trainer, but isn’t compatible with other trainers, yet. Square is priced at 1250€ and will be available in Europe from December 2024. Head over to Elite’s site for more details and we’ll see if we can get to test.