After reading the other review, I felt compelled to write one of my own. I LOVE this elliptical, and while I don''t own one either, I have been using this elliptical for over a year, four days a week for between 35-60 minutes at my local YMCA, and it''s awesome. It''s extremely sturdy; I weigh around two hundred pounds and this machine has never budged not even a little bit under my considerable weight. It has a lot of different programs, and the incline and resistance can be adjusted with the press of one button. Users can enter their weight and age so they can see how many calories are being burned during the workout, and while I don''t know how accurate the calorie reading is, I find that being able to see how many more calories I''m burning by increasing my speed or incline is very motivating.
Now I do agree with the other reviewer on one point, which is that the cup holder is too close to the swinging handles. So if my water bottle is too tall, the handles keep bumping into it, but other than that small quibble, this is the best elliptical EVER.
Quick Rundown...
PROS:
-Very sturdy, no rocking
-Glides smoothly and quietly
-Fantastic support for your lower body, especially your knees
-Variety of useful program options as well as the ability to create your own routines
-Ability to set different types of goals
-Gives you a great workout without putting strain on your joints
CONS:
-Some issues with accessing the cupholder during workouts
-"Time remaining" estimates not very useful
-Calories burned seems much higher than it should be
-Very pricy
-Console layout a little confusing at first
The Full Story...
I''ve used this machine many times at my local gym and I am always impressed by how stable it is and how smoothly it moves. I actually enjoy the motion so much that I hardly notice that I''m sweating and my heartrate is up. The digital display is clear enough, though I think the layout of the buttons isn''t as intuitive as the Precor EFX 835, which is the other elliptical I use regularly. I also prefer the 835''s up/down switches for resistance and incline over the 546i''s arrow buttons, but it''s not a big deal. I do agree that the cupholder is too close to the moving handlebars, and there''s always an element of danger in trying to get a drink of water when you''re pedaling.
In terms of the machine''s functionality, I love the variety of program options and the ability to set various kinds of goals, including time, calories and heartrate. I also appreciate that it tries to calculate the amount of time left to reach your goal, though the estimates aren''t always terribly accurate and they don''t seem to account for upcoming changes in resistance in the preprogrammed routines.
Most importantly though, I always get a great workout using this elliptical. When I get off of it I feel sweaty and invigorated instead of sweaty and sore, which is how some of the cheaper ellipticals and pretty much all treadmills make me feel. I wish I could afford to have one of these at home!
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I am a former jogger of 25 year and don''t have real bad knees but have shifted to elliptical training at home for about 6 years now to minimize the potential for future knee surgery. I purchased a Nordic Track Audio Strider 990 Pro and really liked the resistance level and up to 40 degree ramp it offered. After three weeks a noise started in the rear drive and I returned it and decided to search for a higher end commercial grade elliptical. Everything pointed to a Precor and I still wanted the adjustable cross ramp which the Precor EFX 576i Experience offers. So I went with a refurbished model from a supplier on Amazon. The machine is constructed leaps and bounds better than any elliptical I have seen in a store. It is even more solid than the Nordic Track and the biggest footprint of the 576i is in the front of the machine giving it more stability. It does not plug into the wall and the motion of the machine generates power to run the monitor and the cross ramp. To do this there is a copper coil motor in the rear drive to generate the power which is attached to the belts. The motor does make a fairly quiet whirring noise that is normal for this machine. I recall this from using this machine in a gym years ago. So if you expect a machine that makes no noise you would be dissapointed. Probably better to go with another Precor designed for home usage that plugs in for power. Another factor since it is a gym machine is the screen is very large and high. This is not a problem for me as I am 6 feet tall. Had to angle the machine a little for my wife so she could watch television while exercizing. If you get one and plan to move it yourself they come fully assembled as refurbished. I got a furniture dolly and put it near the middle of the machine and it was easy to move into our house with three people up a couple of steps with plywood from the shipping crate as a ramp. It weighs about 330 pounds. Feel like this machine will last a long time.
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We love our elliptical and did a great deal of research before deciding on which to choose. We purchased a refurbished model from Savers Edge here on amazon and they are an amazing company to work with. We did have an issue with an annoying squeak when it arrived and were understandably perturbed at the fact that we now had a loud $2,500 paperweight sitting in our house. We contacted Kevin Nelson at Savers Edge and he immediately got to work in contacting a local precor servicer to fix it. The servicer responded quickly, found the issue (misplaced replacement strip) and received a part from Savers Edge to fix the machine.
It now works perfectly and we are pleased at the service we received.
This is a top notch machine that we will retire with. I currently use it about 2 hours a day and love the ease of use and results it gives for a total body work out. Buy this machine from Savers Edge, you will be pleased.
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This is reliable & sturdy. I love the digital features including calories burned, although I don''t know how accurate it is. But it IS motivational, just like the other person said below. It''s got a great variety of inclines, resistance, etc. so you will not get bored. I love keeping track of my heart rate too, since I don''t own a personal heart rate monitor. Worth every penny!!!
Exactly what I wanted. It is large and sturdy. It has plenty of handles to hold it in various ways. It has a nice pour spout thing (similar to what you''d find on a portable gas tank). It also holds plenty of water.
