My Livestrong 10.0E elliptical has finally failed to the point that I am not throwing any more effort into it (latest failure was an arm link tube that burst while I was using it).

After my experience with this POS, I do not want anything made by Johnson/Horizon fitness as their warranty and products are rubbish in my opinion.

I have been looking at the Precor units and was wondering if anyone had any experience with these long term.

Looking to spend $2500 or less and would like something that has the foot platforms lower to the ground as my basement has lower ceilings.

Long term reliability is my key consideration.

Open to any suggestions!

If you're open to alternatives: Rowing machines give you as much calorie burn per unit time as elliptical trainers at about half the cost for a good one (Concept2, WaterRower).

I have a Precor we don't use anymore. It's a nice unit but got into Peloton so we use the bike and the Tread.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
If you're open to alternatives: Rowing machines give you as much calorie burn per unit time as elliptical trainers at about half the cost for a good one (Concept2, WaterRower).

The rowing machine is intriguing.

I use the elliptical for about 30 minutes daily exclusively for cardio (used to use a treadmill
but switched to the elliptical to minimize joint impact).

Is the rowing machine hard on the shoulders and back?

quote:

Originally posted by PGT:
I have a Precor we don't use anymore. It's a nice unit but got into Peloton so we use the bike and the Tread.

Did you have a lot of hours on the Precor? Any reliability issues?

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
If you're open to alternatives: Rowing machines give you as much calorie burn per unit time as elliptical trainers at about half the cost for a good one (Concept2, WaterRower).

Edited to add: First, I have a bad shoulder and tight back (not bad, just can get tight and there are a couple problem spots). I started at first slowly working on my rowing form and now can go 30 minutes (really my max time for now) without any issues.

I have both a Concept 2 Rower and Skier (Skier is nice for workouts when my knee is acting up). I like them both. Rower does give you a great workout and Concept 2 will send you Workout of The Day for short, medium, and long distance/time. I have a Bowflex Max Trainer which is kind of a hybrid elliptical. A lady I work with has one and she had the best description of it: "It is the only workout machine I have ever used that is actively trying to kill me." Its prime workout is 14 minutes of sweat and hell....oh you mastered level 1 now time to level 2.....I upgraded mine to Max 6 panel and app so there are a variety of workouts. The Bowflex takes up less space than the Rower. The Rower takes time to get good at rowing (watch a bunch of youtube videos) and fine tuning the damper settings. The skier is tall and you basically have two different sking motions.

I got rid of my NordicTrack classic skier last year when it finally broke for good.....had it almost 25 years. There is no piece of fitness equipment I have ever used that lasted that long (besides an Olympic barbell and weights ) . One motion for working out with two options; hold on to stabilizer grips or use grips with cords to get proper cross country ski motion.

If you decide to go with a bike, get a Pelton. I had another brand for a while and even at 6 ft tall it was just a bit too small and I could never get it adjusted out to where I was comfortable. I gave it to a friend who is 5'10" and he loves it. I tried a friend's Pelton for a workout and I got it adjusted perfectly for me.

I used a Nordic Track for years. The first bearing went out at 6 months, they sent a repair man who replaced the nylon one with stainless steel that required occasional lubrication with WD 40. Worked like a dream for 10 years or so, I got rid of it when we downsized in favor of a bike.

quote:

Originally posted by maxxpower:
Is the rowing machine hard on the shoulders and back?

It works them, which is one of the advantages. It's not hard on mine, but I strength-train three times a week. In fact: Today is "shoulders, back and biceps" day.

Normally, for cardio, I do high-intensity intervals for ten minutes each on treadmill, elliptical trainer and upright stationary bike. I use a Concept2 C1 for warm-ups on strength days, because it basically gets everything moving and warmed-up better than anything, IMO.

If you want something that will last 20 years or more plan on doubling your budget and get a Life Fitness Club Series Elliptical. It's a model seen quite frequently in Fitness Centers and the reason they are so popular in Gym's is because the action is the smoothest on the market and they LAST. Downside is the cost, brand new they are up to 5 grand and change, reconditioned between 3500 and 4 grand. BTW, Life Fitness invented the Elliptical and has spent over 30 years refining the "gait".

PS; if you don't know what the Radon levels are in your basement I would suggest that you avoid doing ANY aerobic exercise in your basement because it will effectively more than double the risk of developing Lung Cancer. Quite simply, if you want to work out in your basement you really do need to know if there is any Radon present and if there is any Radon have the basement professionally ventilated for Radon and re-tested to insure safe levels for exercising.

The rowers are easy to set up, not too heavy, and easy to disassemble and move also.

I pretty much hate all of these machines and never use them preferring bodyweight training instead. However, of them all, I'd get a rower myself as well, it is the only one I'd use. If budget weren't a factor I'd have a Concept 2 or one of the water ones at home.

You can also think about "cardio" in a different manner. A simple push up, squat, pull up, core exercise circuit would also work "Cardio" while at the same time building full body and core strength and strength-endurance and is "low impact."

Before you say you can't do a pull up, there are versions of the exercise a grandma can do extending all the way to the world-class elite 1-arm version and everything in between.

I just bought a Concept 2 rower and it doesn't seem particularly hard on anything except my ego. Like when I think I'm doing well and my 12 year old son gets on it and figuratively blows me out of the water. In my defense, I'm 51, he's been on the swim team for 3 years and swims 2 hours a day.

The rower itself is fairly simple, looks and feels high quality to me, and since they've been making them for 35 years or more, I'm sure parts are easily obtained.

One problem is that most of the reviews on the interwebz can't be trusted. They're either shills or new owners that haven't had time to thoroughly evaluate their machines.

I made a video, on whether folks should buy their own treadmill, a few years ago. The principle is the same. Check out the bbb. Consumer Reports also provides a baseline but their testing criteria may be a little light (170 pounds for treadmills).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lTrMn8prgE&t=3s

Was happy with the Precor Elliptical we had for many years. Used it probably 2-3 x per week for 12 years.

It is great to incorporate into overall fitness activities.

Especially when it was 20 deg outside and icy.

You can get a refurbished Precor for around $2k.

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Study up on the Precor and look on Craig's List. I found my Precor Elliptical that is worth about $3500 for $300 on CL. It looked new and had low hours of use on it. Precor is gym quality made to last. I hope this helps. God Bless

I've used a Precor 21.1 IIRC 4-5 times a week for at least ten years now. No problem whatsoever.

I have been extremely satisfied with the Precor equipment at my local 24-Hour Fitness. I predominantly use the treadmill, recumbent cycle, and "regular" cycle. The only feature I wish each of these pieces of equipment had was the ability to program a specific constant wattage level. Beyond that, they give me an excellent cardio workout.

I bought an Octane fitness elliptical years ago because at the time they had the lowest pedals and my basement ceiling is height challenged. It's been rock solid and doesn't owe me a thing. I can't even imagine how many hours I have on it and it's still like new.

Some great information here, thank you to all!

I did some research on the Concept2 Rower and am impressed with the reviews, 4.9 out of 5 stars with 2300 reviews is as good as anything I've ever seen on Amazon.

There are not a lot of used Precor ellipticals around and I am not sure if the $2500 models will be as high of quality as the higher end models (not to mention there aren't many dealers around here).

I was currently using the elliptical as the first 20 to 30 minutes of my workout followed by push ups and weight lifting, but the cardio is the most important to me. With the rower it looks like I can get decent strength training and cardio all at once.

My only fear is that I won't like the rower as much as the elliptical or it will hurt my lower back. The elliptical is such a nice low impact, easy on the joints workout.

I guess the next step is to try a rower and see what it's all about.....


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Ended up purchasing a Concept 2 Rower from Amazon (couldn't find any decent used ones).

At first I was a little underwhelmed as it didn't seem to give me the cardio that the elliptical workout did. After using it for 2 months I found that you can get good cardio and its a much more tolerable workout than an elliptical (I alternate between the rower and the treadmill every other day).

I checked out the Precor ellipticals and the pedal height is too high for my basement. The Octanes seem well made and have low pedals so I am still looking for a good used one.

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