Exercise machine options

I can honestly tell you that I'm not a fan of the Bowflex group of companies (owned by Nautilus) -- that includes Octane Fitness, Schwinn and Bowflex among others.

I've talked to one tech service guy that used to service them on contract. He was in my house fixing the AirDyne Pro, after three of the wrong pieces were sent to me and then they started sending pedals that didn't thread. It took over 2 months to get something fixed still under warrantee. The service guy was called because they (Octane in this case) acted like I didn't know how to thread a bolt, so I had to hire a professional to confirm their parts didn't fit! This was after I had to tell them that their engineering schematics had the right and left pedal reversed on their parts chart.

The tech told me he had came from a house where a guy around my size (190 lbs) had about killed himself on a Max Trainer when the metal snapped and the one foot pedal just broke mid workout (same thing happened to me on my AD Pro -- the metal just snapped in half). It's one thing when something breaks under warrantee that's dangerous. It's even more infuriating when the service dept can't fix it for you.

Personally, I'd consider these machines -- Concept2 SkiErg or Rogue Echo (Assault Bike) Possibly the Concept2 Rower. These are all amazing machines, built without motors, nearly impossible to break and all give you an incredible full body workout. Also, Rogue and C2 have amazing support and service. If you're set on one of the two, I'd go with the Nordic Track one. Another idea is a bike with a Smart Trainer (then hook it up to Zwift). Your resale on any of these will dwarf what you could get for a used piece of equipment with a motor.

I don't know anything about the BowFlex, and always thought I would like one. However, I have a Nordic Track E7 5i and I like it. It's not quite the same as the E9 5i, but I think it is similar. I also have a treadmill that I use all the time. I know that you are not looking for a treadmill and I only mention it because having a treadmill and walking all the time proves to me that the Elliptical is actually a great leg workout. I walk miles on my treadmill without any trouble. I try to get my 10,000 steps in, but when I do the Elliptical my legs are tired after 5 minutes! I like that I can adjust the tension and the incline to enhance the workout. When I get off the Elliptical my legs are a bit on the rubbery side, not so from my treadmill. So I know it's really working the muscles. I tested a few Ellipticals in the store before I made my purchase and the stride and feel of the Nordic Track felt the most comfortable. I'm short though. It would be great if you could test each machine to see how they feel. I was surprised how very different each Elliptical felt when I tested them in the store.