Sole E55 Elliptical Trainer

Sole E55 Elliptical Trainer
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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.