Looking to buy an elliptical

kimber607

Hi

I was thinking about buying an elliptical machine at Sports Authority....any suggestions?
Do u think I need to lay out a ton of money to get a decent one..I wanted to spend about $400-$500ish

Thanks, kim

jljohnson

I just bought a cheap one (Gold's Gym brand) at Walmart on clearance. It was only $225, but it does the job. I think it will depend on what kind of features you want. Mine started out at $425, so it has some neat stuff like a built in fan and mp3 player speakers. I'd probably look for one that has the gears in the front, or indiviually driven pedals. For some reason, I remember hearing that these are better that the rear-gear-driven ones.

This is mine:

rear-driven:

EDIT: Forgot to say, I love mine, and it totally gets the job done.

CasperO

The reputation is bad, but I bought the Walmart machine and I'm happy with it.

I bought the cheapie $305 special 7 months ago. I pound on it 1/2 hour a day - wife uses it occasionally. For the first month or 2 I was still in the 250's-240's,,, which is pretty heavy for that machine.

I assembled it carefully and substituted real bearing grease in place of the crap they provided - and I also greased/lubed/adjusted/tweaked a couple other pieces to make it work better.

It did break an angle-bracket on the pedal support - (within the warranty period, I could have gotten it replaced). I took the thing apart and welded it back together - regreased/re-aligned/reassembled. Took about an hour, no biggie.

Otherwise, no problems. It's comfortable, quiet, works well. I think the break was my fault - I was really heavy and hard on it. I'm now happy with the machine.


Mine's the rear wheel like in that pic BTW. Luv it.

laura11248

My only recommendation would be to try out the floor model. Ellipticals have different stride lengths so what might be comfortable for someone might not for others.

koriebrownie

I would try it out for sure. The stride length was a big deal for me. If it has a larger stride length then it is a smother movement not so up and down.

I have a Horizon Fitness Elite Elliptical it was about 800 but worth every penny. I would even check craigslist for something like that. Good luck.

Just a tip... I would still walk or jog too. I was doing the elliptical a lot last winter and when I went walking I was so sore. It works such different leg muscles.

kimber607

Thanks everyone for the advice/tips
DH is NOTTTT handy, so I don't think he will be tweaking it or adding grease where/when necessary

Thanks again all :flowerforyou:
Kim

arewethereyet

Kim do you have a Play It Again Sports in your area?

Consignment for sports equip. I bought a high end 1200 dollar elip for 400 bucks and I love it. I have been on cheaper ones and they wobble and I dont feel like I am getting a good workout.

This way I got a good one, for cheaper and they delivered!

(if you were close I'd let cha borry mine!!)

Alligatorshirts

No need to buy a brand new one. I would try Craiglists first. There is a ton of equipment posted there that people buy and then never use. Almost like gym memberships.

kimber607

Thanks all
Checked craig and nothing in my area

Never heard of the store mentioned...will look into it

Kim

arewethereyet

Thanks all
Checked craig and nothing in my area

Never heard of the store mentioned...will look into it

Kim

http://www.playitagainsports.com/locations.aspx?s=NJ