We need to buy a home machine for my mom for Christmas. The only ones that I’ve used are at the gym, and they would be quite expensive. Do you Dopers have any recommendations? Thanks!
We have a Sole E25 and it’s great. It’s heavy enough that it doesn’t squeak and jiggle, but it’s got a smaller profile and was a good price. It has some fun programs too.
As I do my own research with these machines, I must say that I’ve never seen such bar-belled reviews of any other products. People either swear by their elliptical machines or hate them completely. Usually the negative reviews are due to breakdowns or squeaks. I’ve noted Sattua’s recommendation. Any others?
I recommend against the type with the moving handle bars. They serve little to no purpose, IMO.
I bought a Precor 5.33 about 7 years ago. It was fairly expensive, but has been no trouble in all this time. ( Scarcity of use could play a role in my machine’s longevity…)
We’ve had a Precor for probably 5 or 6 years, and it has been great. And it gets quite a bit of use. It does have the moving handle bars QuickSilver doesn’t like. I don’t know if they serve a purpose, but when we tested out machines we felt like it encouraged a more natural movement for us. YMMV.
I purchased an elliptical from Horizon quite a few years ago, and after a little over three years of regular use, the base frame developed a crack in one of the welds. It was out of its parts and labor warranty, but had a lifetime warranty on the frame, so they swapped it out for me with a model from a “sister” company called AFG.
The AFG model they shipped me was the 2.0 AE (which I think has been replaced by a newer model by now), and it is nicer than the one it replaced in that it has much smoother motion (ball joints at the intersection of the foot board rails and pivoting arms), and it is much quieter as well. The model it replaced did not have ball joints (just a pivoting rod type of thing).
I’d recommend either brand, but if I ever have to replace mine, I’ll definitely look for ball joints, as they seemed to make a huge difference. Quiet is good, since I like to watch shows while I work out.
Mine’s got 10 resistance levels, and I usually hang out somewhere between 5 and 7. I am a tall guy, and like the stride length on the AFG (I think it’s 20 inches - which is a little longer than my original IIRC). I don’t think you need to get a heavy flywheel, mine is on the lighter side at 14.5 pounds, and it seems to work OK for me.
Hope this helps.