"Nordic Track FreeStride Trainer FS5i?" Do you like it?

Jancandoit7

I'm thinking about investing in a good home machine- I like ellipticals/ treadmills but then I saw the Nordic Track Free Stride and thought it looked really interesting and more versatile. Anybody using one of these? Comments on it?

DX2JX2

I have the FS7i. It's OK but I'm not sure it's actually better or worse than a pure elliptical or stepper. It's just different. It does not compare to a treadmill at all, despite the advertising.

The thought of being able to have a free form stride length seems cool but in reality it doesn't do much. It actually ends up taking your arms out of the exercise (vs. a traditional elliptical or stepper setup) because your arms move with stride length and stride length is disconnected from the actual rotation of the pedals. And in reality, it feels more natural to keep your stride length sync'd up with the rotation cadence of the machine; chances are that you'll mirror a normal elliptical motion/stride length anyway.

Build quality is decent. My control console went bad after 2 months and NordicTrack shipped a replacement without much hassle. Based on their responses it doesn't seem like this is a very uncommon thing - it was out of commission for about three weeks while I went back and forth with their CS department. Luckily the Freestrider is my 'bad weather' workout option, so I could still get workouts in while the machine wasn't working.

Overall, I'm not dissatisfied with the freestrider but I don't think I'd purchase another one. It's a decent machine but the different motion doesn't put it heads and shoulders above the rest.

For the same or less money, you might want to consider the Bowflex Max trainer (much smaller footprint, less of a permanent fixture, can provide a full body workout) or a pure elliptical with incline + resistance settings.

Jancandoit7

DX2JX2 wrote: »

I have the FS7i. It's OK but I'm not sure it's actually better or worse than a pure elliptical or stepper. It's just different. It does not compare to a treadmill at all, despite the advertising.

The thought of being able to have a free form stride length seems cool but in reality it doesn't do much. It actually ends up taking your arms out of the exercise (vs. a traditional elliptical or stepper setup) because your arms move with stride length and stride length is disconnected from the actual rotation of the pedals. And in reality, it feels more natural to keep your stride length sync'd up with the rotation cadence of the machine; chances are that you'll mirror a normal elliptical motion/stride length anyway.

Build quality is decent. My control console went bad after 2 months and NordicTrack shipped a replacement without much hassle. Based on their responses it doesn't seem like this is a very uncommon thing - it was out of commission for about three weeks while I went back and forth with their CS department. Luckily the Freestrider is my 'bad weather' workout option, so I could still get workouts in while the machine wasn't working.

Overall, I'm not dissatisfied with the freestrider but I don't think I'd purchase another one. It's a decent machine but the different motion doesn't put it heads and shoulders above the rest.

For the same or less money, you might want to consider the Bowflex Max trainer (much smaller footprint, less of a permanent fixture, can provide a full body workout) or a pure elliptical with incline + resistance settings.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me this information- it's very helpful. There's so much out there it's hard to choose- I looked at treadmills and ellipticals and then I saw this and thought it looked really interesting. However, what you say seems very logical- so I need to think about this. I don't want to invest this much money in something I'm not totally happy with. Thanks again

DX2JX2

jperreault57 wrote: »

DX2JX2 wrote: »

I have the FS7i. It's OK but I'm not sure it's actually better or worse than a pure elliptical or stepper. It's just different. It does not compare to a treadmill at all, despite the advertising.

The thought of being able to have a free form stride length seems cool but in reality it doesn't do much. It actually ends up taking your arms out of the exercise (vs. a traditional elliptical or stepper setup) because your arms move with stride length and stride length is disconnected from the actual rotation of the pedals. And in reality, it feels more natural to keep your stride length sync'd up with the rotation cadence of the machine; chances are that you'll mirror a normal elliptical motion/stride length anyway.

Build quality is decent. My control console went bad after 2 months and NordicTrack shipped a replacement without much hassle. Based on their responses it doesn't seem like this is a very uncommon thing - it was out of commission for about three weeks while I went back and forth with their CS department. Luckily the Freestrider is my 'bad weather' workout option, so I could still get workouts in while the machine wasn't working.

Overall, I'm not dissatisfied with the freestrider but I don't think I'd purchase another one. It's a decent machine but the different motion doesn't put it heads and shoulders above the rest.

For the same or less money, you might want to consider the Bowflex Max trainer (much smaller footprint, less of a permanent fixture, can provide a full body workout) or a pure elliptical with incline + resistance settings.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me this information- it's very helpful. There's so much out there it's hard to choose- I looked at treadmills and ellipticals and then I saw this and thought it looked really interesting. However, what you say seems very logical- so I need to think about this. I don't want to invest this much money in something I'm not totally happy with. Thanks again

No worries. I don't think you'd be unhappy with it, I'm just not sure it's better than a more traditional machine so don't put it on a pedestal just because of the different motion.

If walking/running is more your thing, go with a treadmill. The FreeStriders can be considered potential substitutes for a stepper or an elliptical but they can't replace a treadmill.

Jancandoit7

DX2JX2 wrote: »

jperreault57 wrote: »

DX2JX2 wrote: »

I have the FS7i. It's OK but I'm not sure it's actually better or worse than a pure elliptical or stepper. It's just different. It does not compare to a treadmill at all, despite the advertising.

The thought of being able to have a free form stride length seems cool but in reality it doesn't do much. It actually ends up taking your arms out of the exercise (vs. a traditional elliptical or stepper setup) because your arms move with stride length and stride length is disconnected from the actual rotation of the pedals. And in reality, it feels more natural to keep your stride length sync'd up with the rotation cadence of the machine; chances are that you'll mirror a normal elliptical motion/stride length anyway.

Build quality is decent. My control console went bad after 2 months and NordicTrack shipped a replacement without much hassle. Based on their responses it doesn't seem like this is a very uncommon thing - it was out of commission for about three weeks while I went back and forth with their CS department. Luckily the Freestrider is my 'bad weather' workout option, so I could still get workouts in while the machine wasn't working.

Overall, I'm not dissatisfied with the freestrider but I don't think I'd purchase another one. It's a decent machine but the different motion doesn't put it heads and shoulders above the rest.

For the same or less money, you might want to consider the Bowflex Max trainer (much smaller footprint, less of a permanent fixture, can provide a full body workout) or a pure elliptical with incline + resistance settings.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me this information- it's very helpful. There's so much out there it's hard to choose- I looked at treadmills and ellipticals and then I saw this and thought it looked really interesting. However, what you say seems very logical- so I need to think about this. I don't want to invest this much money in something I'm not totally happy with. Thanks again

No worries. I don't think you'd be unhappy with it, I'm just not sure it's better than a more traditional machine so don't put it on a pedestal just because of the different motion.

If walking/running is more your thing, go with a treadmill. The FreeStriders can be considered potential substitutes for a stepper or an elliptical but they can't replace a treadmill.

My favorite machine so far has been an elliptical- but they have such a huge footprint! I used to have one but it just took up so much space I traded it for a recumbent bike (hate the damn bike). Thats why I thought I'd like the Free Stride- plus I need something that's super low impact (I'm older so knees aren't great)- I think I'll just figure out how to try one out (no gym membership- don't like gyms). Must be a dealer around somewhere....