Now that winter has arrived, and my bicycle will be hybernating for the 3 mos, I'm looking at some elliptical trainers to keep in shape over the winter months. There are usually a number of them on sale, at or near half price, at any given time and I've set my limit at around $500(sale price). Do any of you guys have any experience/recommendations on these trainers? I'm not liking some of the complaints I've been reading about some of the manufacturers out there...ie poor customer support, waiting months for replacement/missing parts ect.

My wife and I did tons of research, read reviews, and talked to people that belong to clubs. You want an adjustable elliptical, not one that restricts your stride. Also, if others will use it, everyone has a different walk, jog, or run stride.

So make sure you get an adjustable one....We ended up with the Schwinn 460, awesome reviews and great built in training routines. It is more costly than what your looking for, and I'm sure in Canada would be much higher, but you to get what you pay for....Stay away from nordic trac...

Randy, by "adjustable" are you referring to the footrest position, or can some of these higher end machines actually have the ellipse itself adjusted? I'll check out some Schwinn's, thanks for mentioning.

Oh, you mean a coat rack.

yes, with an adjustable one, it automatically adjust to your stride and step pattern. Otherwise, you just move your legs back and forth based on the machines design, which is not natural.

The Schwinn that you speaketh of must be the Schwinn Fitness 460, about $1000 US.

I believe that is the one we ended up with....I can confirm when I get home, I think we got it cheaper on Amazon, must have gone up...

Why not get a bike trainer and use the difference to get a pair of M3's a receiver and have money left to go out to dinner?

Just a thought.

Scott

Scott, I thought about getting one of those bike trainers but once read that they put stress on the rear hub. I've seen them at one of the local bike stores but have never tried one out. Of course, the second part of your recommendation can't be contested!

I'm with Scott. You can use a bike trainer on your existing road bike (preferrable) or a mountain bike. Yes, it can stress your hub but there shouldn't be any damage assuming you mount the bike correctly and keep your weight centered most of the time so as not to torque it. I ride my steel frame road bike hard and my 180 lbs (on a bad day), don't cause any ill effects to the bike or trainer.

I use a Cyclops that I got on my local Craiglist for $100, used but great condition. Fortunately, the SF Bay Area is a hot bed for cyclists so the used market is pretty good. For a challenge, I use Spinverval DVD (http://www.spinervals.com/). Consider these just as hard as a real spin class. Try ebay, I'm sure you can find a bunch for cheap.

For the rear wheel, you'll want a cheap slick tire because any knobs will create a serious buzzing noise that will drive your housemates crazy. I bought a cheap, black road tire for $15. If you're paranoid about the back wheel, find a cheap rear wheel (which I did) and put your training tire on it. Then just change out the wheel when the bike is on the trainer. Assuming you have a quick release wheel, it's a 2 minute job. This whole setup will be WAY less than an elliptical and you'll keep your cycling legs all season. Now if you're real gung ho, you can get rollers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4lA1Yd2Jzc

There's a bit of skill involved and it's like riding on ice, but it's more natural than the trainer. BTW, I don't have the guts to try it...

Those roller systems are pretty cool. I just looked up one called an "Emotion Floating Roller". It actually allows the bike to oscillate forward and back slightly as you would do in normal pedalling. That would also take any stress off the hub as it's not attached. They actually look quite safe, I certainly wouldn't want to slip off, lay a patch across the basement floor into the side of my furnace!

Many road(competitive) cyclists use that roller system, I see them at the olympic oval all the time.

Adrian I have a minoura trainer, similar to this,
http://www.shopwiki.com/_Minoura+M50-D+M...1235801&s=3885&

I can send it to you if you want to try it out. I have a vision fitness recumbent to use over the winter.

If you are interested send me a PM

And I wouldn't look at cheap ellipticals, I have had nothing but problems buying cheap excercise products, usually they break after the warranty period and take months for parts to show up if at all. I only buy executive quality(light gym duty), it costs more but they work great. Fitness Depot carries pretty good quality products for reasonable dollars spent, Precor comes to mind for ellipticals.

Yeah, you can practice w/ rollers in a doorway. That way you can grab the door frame for balance.

The only ellipticals I have ever used are the precor ones at the gyms I have used in the past. They are really nice but range from 2-5,000. Id be curious to know how a home version elliptical compares.

Yes David, my wife has used some of those expensive ones in the clubs, while the Schwinn is not the same, it is as close as you will get for a home unit at under a grand.

I just got back from a Christmas dinner and the guy at the table next to me turned out to be an avid bikerider(he's done rides of 120 km in a day, more than me lol!). Anyway, his buddy has a roller setup for the winter time and he gave it a try....he said it takes a bit of getting used to, mainly the concept of riding your bike but not really moving as well as a kind of skittish or "riding on ice" feeling initially.

Hmmmmmm......

I couldn’t agree more. Buy a cheap POS and pretty soon it turns into a coat rack and you’ve wasted $500.

Buy one that costs a small fortune and you will be committed to use it. Plus, it will be something that you soon look forward to using, verses something you dread to use. We are talking about your heath, which in my opinion; a person should not quibble about how much it costs to be healthy.

We have this one, and I find the movement to be more natural to a running stride than any other machine I’ve tried in the different gyms I’ve gone to while traveling. You can find them on Craig’s list or other classifieds for much less, as many small gyms have, ore are going out of business.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010XM63U/ref=...ASIN=B0010XM63U

I jog, so I don’t use it very often and quite frankly, don’t much care for elliptical. But, they will give you a heck of a work out if you crank up the resistance and you’re knees will appreciate it.

On those all too infrequent trips to the gym, I like the Precor ellipticals there. But way too pricey for home use, unless you're super-serious.

My triathalon-doing buddy bought an elliptical for his home about a year ago. He did a ton of research and ended up getting a Sole E55 machine. Bought it based on the positive reviews he read online and from a few other triathalon-doing buddies. He has been very happy with it. We were just talking about it a few weeks ago, and he says that it's holding up and works as well as the Precor's at the gym. So from one guy, highly recommended.

I know that IF I ever get serious enough about working out and wanted a home elliptical, I'd try to spring for one of these.

Yeah, where do I get the machine that makes me serious about working out?

Let me know if you find one.

I'm going to see if I can find one of those Schwinn Models(Fitness 460) with the adjustable ellipse. It makes a lot of sense to be able to make adjustments according to your stride and speed, ie from a stepper to full blown running. Most trainers I've seen so far have a fixed stride of 18-20" where this particular Schwinn adjusts from basically a stepper at 2" up to an Ursain Bolt-like 28".
The street price in the States seems to be $999.00, so now the problem would be finding one here and how much extra will they want for it?