Ellipticals

chrismertens
chrismertens Posts: 1
edited September 20 in Fitness and Exercise
Looking to buy an elliptical and would like some input. I have been looking on line and reading reviews and ProForm doesn't seem to be a good choice. Does anyone have information that they can share on what ellipticals they are using at home. I want one that will last and not fall apart. I know I don't want cheap because you get what you pay for, but I also don't want to spend a thousand dollars. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • dbg1
    dbg1 Posts: 208
    You do get what you pay for. I bought one from Costco a few years back. After I year of working it hard - up to 2 hours at a time each day at maximum resistance (much better shape then), I ending up breaking the welds where the pedals attach. THis was a few hundred dollars machine so I had it repaired. 4 months late, again it happened.

    If you are not going to push it to the max, go cheaper, if you are going to push it hard - better spend more than $1,000.
  • fitzfour
    fitzfour Posts: 1,306 Member
    I got a NordicTrack at Sears for around $700 (this was in 2003) and both my husband and I use it often. I use it on the highest incline and go fast, so I'm putting a lot of pressure on the machine. I have never had a problem! I always keep the tracks dusted, and grease the wheels probably ever other month, and it's been great!
  • I just bought a new ellipitcal after buying a proform which fell apart and hurt my knees. My husband did a lot of research on ellipticals there is a website called treadmill sensi .com that reviews treadmills and ellipitcals. after testing a lot out at ****s we went for the Sole e 95. I am 6'2 so the stride length was the best for me. I didn't take that in consideration the frist time when I bought the proform one so make sure you look at the stride length. Sole is a little on the high side for price but way wroth it. They have many models and prices. There's other brands out there that i've tried but Sole was the best one for me.
  • I also have a Nordictrack and have never had any problems with it. I bought it from Sears in 2005/2006. It also came with a service plan where someone will come out and service the machine once a year. I have been very happy with it however it is big, takes up a lot of space, and is very heavy if you ever have to move it. I believe it was around $1000.
  • I have a Nordic Track that I love. It sat unused for a year before I finally decided to buckle down and get serious about weight loss.

    I find the Nordic Track to be a smoother "ride" than some of the others. My advice is to go to the store and try them out. Some seemed to be very jerky. You could feel when your feet were coming down in the stride (I hope this makes sense).

    Good Luck with your elliptical purchase!
  • I would HIGHLY recommend looking for a wholesale store that sells them. I LOVE my NordicTrack Audio Strider 990, I got it at a wholesale store for $500, and at the time it was on SALE at Sears for $900.
    I love my machine though... it has a ramp with a touch of a button you can change your incline, and you can hook up your MP3 player to it. You can get 'Ifit' to go with it but I haven't got one yet (a memory card with a personal trainer on it telling you to keep going and programs to adjust your machine automatically)
  • smadag1
    smadag1 Posts: 1,368
    DO NOT get one from Walmart. My DH got me one from there and it is a piece of CRAP:explode: :mad:
  • jolinemariem
    jolinemariem Posts: 462 Member
    Well I would love to purchase something like the Nordic Track but deffinently dont have the money. I am unemployed and in school trying hard to find a job and deffinently dont have 500 dollars to spend. I want something cheap and I dont care if its used as long as it works what do you reccomend. :ohwell:
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
    check your local classified or craigs list but whatever you do don't waste your money on a cheap elliptical. It's just not worth it. You would be better off taking up walking or running or doing some exercise videos in your home. The cheap ones do not run very smoothly, break easily, and aren't very comfortable to use.

    Before you buy it, try it out. And I mean really try it out. Put on the shoes and clothes you would normally wear and really push it for at least 20-30 minutes.

    I had a really cheap one once and not only was it an uncomfortable ride, and it broke twice, it also SQUEAKED. It was the most annoying thing.
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    Ok, now maybe I'm a special case 'cause of background (Engineer/mechanic/machinist) - 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.
  • moujie
    moujie Posts: 229
    I got a horrible one from Sears that was like $200 and it squeeked and squeeled and we put WD40 on it all over and it still made a shrieking noise that scared the dogs and annoyed the heck out of me. then I traded up for a Reebok which I love. I got it from costco. I'd say stick with better brands but try buying used from Craiglist or something like that. Plenty of people buy them and never use them so a used model isn't necessarily a bad thing.
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