Ellipticals

[rezinn]

I've been looking for a replacement elliptical for a while. I had a nordic track previously and I really liked it but I couldn't move it with me - and I've been hesitant to buy anything else.

Does anyone own or use a schwinn? I found a good deal on one locally but I read they have a lot of problems loosening up and getting noisy. I had to tighten the nordic track a little once every 40 miles or so, but much more frequently would get to be bothersome.

How about LifeCore? Just a ripoff of ProCore or not?

Thanks for any input!

 

[Kaido]

I have a ProForm SpaceSaver Elliptical, it looks kind of like this one:

http://www.proform.com/webapp/...2_10351_53701_-1_21664

It's pretty nice. I tried out a bunch at Sports Authority and it was the only one both my wife and I liked. Plus it folds up to save space, which is nice for apartment living. The only downside is that it's kind of lightweight, so you'll either need sandbags for the back or do what I did and get some rubber floormats so it doesn't move around while using it.

 

[rezinn]

I bought a schwinn 430. Will let you guys know how it is if I remember when it arrives in a couple weeks.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: rezinn
I bought a schwinn 430. Will let you guys know how it is if I remember when it arrives in a couple weeks.

How is this? I'm looking at the same model

http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-...&qid=1226955802&sr=8-1

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I only have experience with Nordic Track and Schwinn exercise BIKES. The quality and fit and operation of the Nordic Track sucks compared to Schwinn. The Schwinn has better design, build, and adjustability.

 

[rezinn]

I paid the same price for mine, but I got 35% cash back using live.com by buying on ebay. (which was a nightmare but worked)

I've had it for almost five months and put about 300 miles on it. Assembly was very easy.

It did develop some squeaks after a few weeks, but these went away when I loosened the offending bolts a bit. Too tight causes the grease to squeeze out of the moving parts.

Schwinn definitely made a well built machine, but it does not feel as sturdy as the nordic tracks I used before despite weighing 150 lbs (I think the nordic track was 180-200 lbs). It is about 5'8" assembled, and the footprint seems reasonably small. The tubular construction is nice, but it does flex and gives a sort of flimsy feel when you run fast (100+ RPM). The thing is definitely solid, but I could see a 200+ lb guy who runs hard not feeling the same way.

The feel of it is more like a bike (it even has a little graphic of a guy riding a bike on it), which felt weird at first but now I prefer it over the stride of the nordic track. You'll end up running a mile faster on it too. I used to run 1.5 miles on the nordic track in 30 minutes and it would end up reading out like 450 calories, while in the same time I run 3+ miles on this and it tells me I burned 300+ calories. I'd say the calories on the schwinn are more accurate (or else an hour of running is 900 calories for the average person).

The display is decent - it gives RPM, distance, time, speed, and calories burned. The programs are fine, I didn't use them after the initial try because I prefer just changing the resistance as I go. The heart rate monitor is accurate, but takes time to establish a pulse. It can measure 1 minute recovery which is a sort of measure of cardiovascular health.

The resistance range is 1-16 versus 1-10 on the nordic track. I typically run around 5 but go up to 12 normally. I would say the nordic track offered higher maximum resistance.

Anything else you want to know just PM me.