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62 of 63 found the following review helpful:
 You won't be disappointed with this machine Dec 15, 2008
By PghYinzer
"more of myself after winter"
I've written a review on the e95 as well - I'll say go read that rather than have me write a complete novel here. :-)
After deciding the e95 had some features I didn't like and that the e35 would suit my needs but I'd like just a little beefier machine and a computer with a numeric keypad - I ordered this one directly from Sole. The box came... it was HUGE. The delivery guy helped slide it down our cellar steps so getting it in the house wasn't too hard but you might want to spring the extra cash for in-home delivery if your situation is more complicated. (The box is about the size of a small-ish fridge... I've turned it in to the best box house ever for my son. If you have kids, they'll love this)
Once it was in - assembly took maybe 2 hours but we weren't exactly trying to break any records. Assembly is very straight forward and the nuts and bolts are packaged in a tray with little compartments so you have just what you need for steps 1, 2, 3, and 4.
One complaint about assembly - this beast is HEAVY. Which is a good thing, for when you're working out on it - but I look at this thing and I think, my god, it's never coming back out of this house. We bought this house 3 months ago and I am not sure it's our "forever" house. So I wonder if an elliptical adds to the value of a house. Not that we're going anywhere any time soon with the market having just dropped but... I do wonder, will it ever come back out.
Working out on this machine is AWESOME. It compares *very* favorably to the LifeFitness machines I used at the gym before I got pregnant with my twins. They're now 8 months and I had to stop using the elliptical pretty early in my pregnancy so I'm really not in the best shape now - and this machine kicks my butt. Which is good! But it's kind of humiliating. I am using resistance level 3 for now and hope to get better soon.
So far I only use the manual setting on the computer and my one complaint is you can't add time on the fly like you could with the LifeFitness machines. You have to wait until the program is over and then you can hit "start" to do it again - but it does keep going from your current distance and calories burned, at least, so it's LIKE just adding time - it would just be nice to be able to add time. (For all I know though maybe you can - and I just haven't figured it out. Such a small annoyance, though!) (Update - I've figured out if you want, you can just hit "start" twice when you get on and it will count up, rather than down, so you can just keep going as long as you like)
All in all I am very pleased with this machine. I can't help but wonder if the e35 wouldn't have worked out just as well but I wanted a little beefier flywheel and I have it.
The only mechanical issue we've had with the machine is you need to keep the tracks greased or it makes a noise like styrofoam coming out of a cardboard box. EEEK! Machine comes with a tube of grease (actually a white tube with "LUBE" written on it in large black letters, the most generic thing you can imagine... we thought it was hilarious...)
Great machine, very pleased.
23 of 23 found the following review helpful:
Excellent machine great service Feb 09, 2009
By Jyothsna Kudrathaya
I have owned this machine for a month now. Overall I am very satisfied with my purchase.
The elliptical is well built and I marvelled at the the engineering expertise when I started putting this together. The designers' attention to detail is noteworthy.
After assembly I found two parts that were nosiy. The rails on which the wheels glide had to be lubricated and two plastic arm covers had to be loosened a quarter turn.
The manual is reasonably well written. It took me about 3 hours to assemble the machine. The elliptical is heavy with a long footprint. This increases machine stability while providing a smooth workout.
I felt that the resistance levels are adeqaute. In combination with the incline feature this goes a long way in providing a challenging aerobic workout. I love the fact that the arms have incline and resistance controls. Water bottle holder is setup in an awkward way but this is not an important criteria for me.
Amazon delivered it through Ceva, however the driver only dropped it off at the front door. The paperwork mentioned that this was a 265lb pakcage. When I mentioned that I needed help to move this upstairs, the driver told us that it would be easy to carry if we moved it in parts. Trusting his words I let him go. This was my first mistake. The central housing with the flywheel and the connectors is heavy and is difficult to manage for two people (moving/flopping parts). I had to invite some friends to help me move it. Finally it took three of us to carry this over a flight of stairs.
An option (if you do not want to get the white glove service which costs $250) would be to slice open the top and remove all parts that are not attached to the flywheel and carry the box (can reseal box for safety). While reducing the total weight of the box, this will minimize the risk of moving (flopping) parts and two (skinny)people can move it. This is different from the instructions on the box, which tells you to cut the box an inch above the base.
All in all a great machine for the price.
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Quiet and smooth. Highly recommended. Mar 04, 2010
By Patrick
I researched for 2 months before buying this Sole elliptical machine. I decided to go for this one mainly because of of the followings:
- Quality. Go to Dick's Sporting Goods and take a look at the condition of a Sole machine, then go to Sears/Sports Authority and look at the ones manufactured by Icon (Nordic, Reebok, Proform, etc). Shake the frame a bit and look at the parts they use at different joints. I guarantee you will notice the differences in quality easily.
- Smooth motion. The operation is very quiet. Quiet mechanical operation usually means good quality.
- Relatively heavy flywheel. The motion feels more natural because of that. This was the main reason I chose a Sole elliptical machine over a LifeCore one (see below).
- Very good price. For such a good quality elliptical machine, this price is a real bargain. (after using it for a few days, now I think I should have got the E35 model instead. I think the additional features in the E55 model do not worth spending $200 more in my opinion)
About installation. As many other reviewers pointed out, the part with flywheel is very heavy. Even though that part has wheels, you will need at least 1 helper (2 if possible) to move it indoor. It is fairly straightforward to assemble the machine (but I'm kind of a handy man), but I have to say the instructions in the manual really suck ([...]). There are many obvious mistakes in the instructions and diagrams. Luckily it is not difficult to spot those mistakes so you should still be able to assemble the machine with their instructions.
Used this machine for a week so far. Very happy with it so far. The only thing I don't like is the sound quality from the built in speakers.
When I shopped for the machine, I tried out many different models in local stores. Here are my opinions on some of those (just some subjective opinions, but hopefully will be useful to some people):
- LifeCore CD400/CD500: Just half the length of a Sole machine, very good size for a small room. Smooth motion. I leaned toward buying a CD500 for a while. However, it does not have a heavy fly wheel, so it feels like running "in the air" when using it. That's why I decided to go for a Sole machine instead.
- Octane: These are high quality machines. Well constructed, very smooth, and also very short (about the same length as the LifeCore ones). However, they are rather expensive. I notice my heels lifted off from the pedal quite a bit when using this machine, probably because it is front-driven AND a short machine (i.e. short distance between the flywheel and wheel rollers below the pedals).
- LifeFitness: Oh, boy, I loved their X5 machine. Super smooth, super quiet, and the most important of all, it feels most "natural" when running on it. Of course it is also very expensive.
- Spirit: I believe Sole elliptical machines are manufactured by Spirit. You can buy an elliptical machine with Spirit logo on it. I heard those are made of better mechanical parts so they are a bit more expensive. However, I tried one out in a local store and couldn't really tell the difference.
- Precor: For some reason I didn't find Precor elliptical machines that attractive (probably because of its look). Note that you can adjust incline angle with Precor elliptical machines, which is a very nice feature to me.
- Icon (Reebok, Proform, Nordic): I plan to use my elliptical machine everyday, so quality is important to me. Looking at how the pedals arms are connected to the flywheel, and also the quality of the body frame, I just don't believe these machines will last long enough for me.
At last, I have a few suggestions to people shopping for an elliptical machine:
1. Try out different machines at least twice in local stores. At first I planned to buy a LifeCore CD500, because it is much shorter (so it looks much cooler), and the stride length is adjustable. I didn't notice the Sole machine has smoother motion until my 2nd or 3rd visit to the stores.
2. It is rather difficult to get objective reviews for elliptical machines. Some web-sites are paid to say good things about certain brands. Most salesmen in local stores I met would say bad things about any brand of elliptical machines they were not selling. I subscribed to Consumer Reports online to look at their reviews, and was rather disappointed because their reviews in this area are rather useless. Seems to me they were written by someone who don't know elliptical machines that well. I got the most useful reviews from Treadmill Doctor online. Highly recommended.
3. You can probably tell I don't like those Icon elliptical machines. However, if you don't plan to use your elliptical machine that often and you are not too heavy, those Icon machines actually may not be a bad choice. They are sold at very good price. One of my coworker loves her Nordic elliptical machine). Just don't expect it to last long if you are going to use it regularly.
[Updated on 2/14/12] I have been using it for almost 2 years, roughly 3-4 times a week on average. So far it is still working very smoothly and quietly. I only need to add lubrication to joints maybe 2 times, other than that no adjustment needed.
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Incredible Workout! Jan 30, 2009
By James W. Ricci Jr.
As the prior reviewer indicated in his good review, this machine is great! I was going to purchase the E35 but decided at the last moment to go with the larger and slightly more advanced E55. I have had it since January 15th or so and have not been disappointed. Our whole family uses it from the 50 year old (ol' man) to my 9 year old daughter. A very heavy duty unit that can take my 6'5" 275 Lb frame and not go limp! Simply an excellent machine that provides and incredible work-out. I checked on many other manufacturers and the Sole was the only one to come close (if not better than) those in the gyms I used to go to!
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Best Elliptical Trainer...period - Features, Reliability, & Price Nov 11, 2009
By S. Wu
"stevenewyork"
My wife and I searched and searched for an elliptical because we were fed up with signing up for gym memberships and not using them. Having to go to the gym just wasn't practical for us. So we embarked on a quest to find the quietest, most reliable and feature packed elliptical we could find.
Our budget was 2K or less. Online research led us to many brands and many models - too many actually. It was a dizzying array of choices. So we decided to visit fitness equipment stores and sporting goods stores to try out a few ellipticals in person. The fitness stores carried mostly high-end brands like Precor, which we liked, but were all WAY out of our price range. Besides, after looking at the fine print, we noticed that Precors only come with a 1 year warranty. After that, the frame is good for 10 years but parts and labor are at the owner's expense!
The sporting goods stores turned up the typical mass market brands like Reebok, ProForm, Horizon, Ironman, and New Balance. Most were pretty flimsy feeling and wobbly or the stride just didn't feel right. The Reebok ellipticals came close but they didn't offer wireless heart rate monitoring and the stride still wasn't quite right. Our eureka moment came at Dick's sporting goods when we noticed one brand that we had never seen before, Sole. They had the E55 model on display and we tried it out. It was very solid feeling and the stride was natural. There was very little heel lift which is a key component for a low-impact workout - also, the foot pads are adjustable which virtually eliminates any heel lift. I was also pleased that the Sole elliptical had both pulse hand grips AND wireless chest strap heart rate monitoring. This is important not only to improve your endurance but also ensures a safer workout. There's also a great HRC program that varies the resistance based on your heart rate in order to maintain a constant heart rate.
Since I'm not an impulse buyer I was still concerned that I had never heard of Sole before. Searching online turned up a few reviews about their treadmills. Digging deeper yielded a wealth of information about the treadmills and it turns out that Sole makes a very reliable product and their treadmills are well reviewed and used exclusively at Hilton and other hotel chains. With an endorsement like that I was sold. My online research also turned up the official Sole company site and I was happy to learn that I could order online with free shipping and no sales tax. The delivered price was still $500 below our budget! We also learned that the Sole ellipticals came with a great warranty, 2 years labor, 5 years motor and lifetime frame and deck. Not bad and twice as good as the Precor which was 3 times more price-wise.
In summary, this is absolutely the best bang for the buck as far as ellipticals go. Sole ellipticals are the best ellipticals under $2000 and they even compete very well with the ones above $2000 as well!
Lastly, the best place to buy them is from the company's own website [...]
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