What elliptical machine to buy?
September 28, 2020 9:30 AM Subscribe
I'm considering buying an elliptical machine. Do you have recommendations?
I'm not finding reviews that seem that trustworthy, so I'd appreciate first-hand experience. The price range of machines you can buy is huge. It's hard to figure out where the sweet spot of price versus performance might be.
Do you have one? How is it?
I'm not finding reviews that seem that trustworthy, so I'd appreciate first-hand experience. The price range of machines you can buy is huge. It's hard to figure out where the sweet spot of price versus performance might be.
Do you have one? How is it?
What is your price point? We figured that since gyms aren't going to be a realistic option for at least a couple years yet (YMMV but we are taking no chances), we'd upgrade our crappy little home treadmill with a good elliptical. So we bought a Nautilus E616. It wasn't the cheapest, but it seems like really good build quality (Nautilus has a good reputation overall), it isn't "starter level" so it's got better options as far as pre-set programs and whatnot, it has a ton of features, and it'll probably last us a long time.
Why is that paragraph so full of couched praise and vague language? There's one major caveat to this and to a lot of exercise equipment in the age of covid. We purchased said treadmill in July, and it is going to ship in...late November. We think. They said four months from the time of purchase, and they also said that more accurate shipping information would not be available due to volume/Nautilus office downsizing.
So, no matter what you buy, unless you're buying used from a person, you might want to be prepared to wait a while.
posted by pdb at 10:37 AM on September 28, 2020
Why is that paragraph so full of couched praise and vague language? There's one major caveat to this and to a lot of exercise equipment in the age of covid. We purchased said treadmill in July, and it is going to ship in...late November. We think. They said four months from the time of purchase, and they also said that more accurate shipping information would not be available due to volume/Nautilus office downsizing.
So, no matter what you buy, unless you're buying used from a person, you might want to be prepared to wait a while.
posted by pdb at 10:37 AM on September 28, 2020
We've had a Precor for over a decade. We get it serviced occasionally, but it doesn't require much except a quick regular cleaning of the tracks (the installers recommended Simple Green). They aren't cheap, but they are extremely sturdy and have a variety of programs. Ours has been used almost daily since we got it and we've never had an issue.
posted by ceejaytee at 10:39 AM on September 28, 2020
posted by ceejaytee at 10:39 AM on September 28, 2020
We have a Precor. It has the dual wheels in two tracks for each foot and is much stabler than the single wheel setup. Built like a tank, has no bells or whistles other than adjustable resistance and adjustable incline, and like 10 preset workouts, I use like 2, wife uses 2, so even 10 is more than we need. We bought a 'lightly used' unit - they go for around a thousand.
The bigger issue is setting up entertainment for it.
posted by zenon at 10:44 AM on September 28, 2020
The bigger issue is setting up entertainment for it.
posted by zenon at 10:44 AM on September 28, 2020
I have a gazelle , which isn't quite an elliptical, but it hits that spot and is low impact. It's silent (no motor) and easy to move around. Cheap, too. I like it a lot.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 10:53 AM on September 28, 2020
posted by Ms Vegetable at 10:53 AM on September 28, 2020
We bought a Schwinn 470 Journey 4.5 a couple months ago, and it's a bit of all right. The purchase was motivated in part by positive reviews, and in part because it's one of the few machines we could obtain in a reasonable time frame.
Assembly was no more than normally annoying. (Caveat: I used my own tools. Trying to use the provided ones would be like kicking a dead whale down the beach.) The build quality and fit-and-finish seem nice. The directions could have been better-illustrated, and there were a couple of steps where it wasn't obvious what to do until I'd already done it (reversibly) wrong. But I got there in the end.
Mrs. Sourcequench is a far more regular user of the machine than I, and seems to like it OK. I can't speak to long-term reliability after only a couple months, but it seems solid and as though it would be reasonably easy to repair or replace worn parts.
The UI isn't as aggressively awful as other exercise equipment I've used, but it isn't wonderful. There are a lot of features (Bluetooth connectivity, USB charging port, built-in speakers) we don't need or use, but that you might like. The Explore the World app (which shows your progress through a scenic virtual real-world course) is subscription-based, so factor that into your costs if it's a selling point for you.
posted by sourcequench at 11:03 AM on September 28, 2020
Assembly was no more than normally annoying. (Caveat: I used my own tools. Trying to use the provided ones would be like kicking a dead whale down the beach.) The build quality and fit-and-finish seem nice. The directions could have been better-illustrated, and there were a couple of steps where it wasn't obvious what to do until I'd already done it (reversibly) wrong. But I got there in the end.
Mrs. Sourcequench is a far more regular user of the machine than I, and seems to like it OK. I can't speak to long-term reliability after only a couple months, but it seems solid and as though it would be reasonably easy to repair or replace worn parts.
The UI isn't as aggressively awful as other exercise equipment I've used, but it isn't wonderful. There are a lot of features (Bluetooth connectivity, USB charging port, built-in speakers) we don't need or use, but that you might like. The Explore the World app (which shows your progress through a scenic virtual real-world course) is subscription-based, so factor that into your costs if it's a selling point for you.
posted by sourcequench at 11:03 AM on September 28, 2020
We've had an entry level Spirit elliptical and it has been great. It feels as solid as a gym elliptical but just doesn't have as many bells and whistles.
posted by umbú at 12:21 PM on September 28, 2020
posted by umbú at 12:21 PM on September 28, 2020
Do not attempt to buy on-line. You must personally try each product you are considering. When I was shopping for an elliptical, I was surprised at how differently I responded to various units. Some of the "best" and most expensive felt awful to use. The longest stride was still too short (and I'm 5'2"!) or the foot paddles were weirdly positioned, the handgrips were too wide, etc. etc. The one that turned out to feel the best to me was a middle-to-lower end NordicTrack. I use it nearly every day.
Unless you're very handy, I strongly recommend budgeting for professional assembly and installation. They have the tools and the experience to do it quickly and correctly. Also, do get the repair contract. These things need regular maintenance and repair, unless you enjoy persistent loud squeaking or thudding while you exercise. (If the vendor does not offer those services, find another vendor.)
posted by Weftage at 6:00 AM on September 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Unless you're very handy, I strongly recommend budgeting for professional assembly and installation. They have the tools and the experience to do it quickly and correctly. Also, do get the repair contract. These things need regular maintenance and repair, unless you enjoy persistent loud squeaking or thudding while you exercise. (If the vendor does not offer those services, find another vendor.)
posted by Weftage at 6:00 AM on September 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
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I recall in our search that stride legnth was very different among machines and one reason we liked this one was that it had a long stride (although adjustable).
Data point of one for you!
posted by bruinfan at 10:19 AM on September 28, 2020