Livestrong® LS8.0E Elliptical

I have to say this is an incredible elliptical for the price, not to mention it''s very eye catching and appealing compared to other ellipticals. This thing is a beast in a good way the quality of this elliptical if very sturdy and powerful. It took my husband an hour to an hour & a half to carry everything up and put together himself. I''ve gone through 100''s of elliptical reviews, charts, reading materials I narrowed it down between the Horizon Fitness EX-59 Elliptical Trainer and this one for weeks with a budget of $750 max (also had a gift card). I did my research and glad I went with the heavier 23 lb flywheel over the 14 lb flywheel the Horizon one had. I also did consider the Livestrong LS 10E & LS 13E for a little more money, but for the price this one was just as good as the more expensive ones. But really the only differences were the power inclines and USB plug-ins. Those are things I can do without, I don''t mind manual adjusting the incline or looking up my own workout plans, the higher Livestrong ones above this had bells and whistles that I didn''t need. The only thing I think is the calorie estimating is a little off I think as I feel I''m burning way more calories and I know at the gym I burn way more for the distance & time I do. But this is way better than the ones at my gym and feels to be a way better workout (I purchased this since my gym membership expires at the end of the month & decided not to renew it). I also have a high quality semi-recumbrent exercise bike that I am doing also with this at home & running outside I''ve been doing the bike in between the burns of this elliptical. Also Amazon customer service has been fantastic with this purchase, couldn''t have asked for better, free shipping & no sales tax, saved me a bundle than if I bought this at my local sports store. I would highly recommend it for the price, it''s definitely worth more!

I''ll get into the plusses and negatives for this machine. The negatives werent much of an issue for me, but for some they might be. I spent a few months reading reviews and just bouncing it back and forth in my head on what to get. I hate buyers remorse and do whatever I can to avoid it. I do not have it with this machine.

First off, I had narrowed it down to this or the Sole brand. There were a few other brands I was interested in, but I immediately ruled out anything I didn''t have hands on access to and went to two different stores to compare the Sole and Livestrong just in case one was wasn''t noticeably defective. Now between this and the Sole e25, the Sole is a nice looking machine, the display is prettier and actually shows graphics for your workout and more display options. The reason I ruled it out was the resistance. The e25 has 20 resistance levels compared to the 8.0e''s 16, yet the e25 at 20 was easier than the 8.0 at 8. Like I said, I compared the units side by side at two different stores and even the more expensive models, the resistance on the Sole''s are weak and I would too easily max it out and be wanting for more. Now comparing the different Livestrong models. My price range was under $1k so I was closely considering the 10.0e. The only real differences I noticed was that the 10.0 has the motorized incline as opposed to the manual, the pedals have a rubber padding, it has the USB drive for updating the firmware and using the workout tracking and such, there is a few more display options and 3 more programmed workouts and 20 resistance levels instead of 16. For me those are all non-issues and didnt justify the price difference, the function is exactly the same. The 13.0 has some nice features, but was more than I wanted to spend.

Onto the positives. This machine is pretty easy to assemble. From setting it down downstairs and carrying it up piece by piece to the upstairs bedroom, to taking out the last piece of trash, it took me right at an hour and a half. The instructions are good, and the parts are laid out in an organized manner.

The machine is solid, I''ve only used it a few times, but maxxed it out at 11.8 mph, no rocking, squeeks, or other noises that there shouldn''t be. Only the whirring of the flywheel, which isnt even as loud as the fan on max. Speaking of which, the fan is decent, I only use it during the cooldown though and it felt pretty good.

There is a spot to place a book, ipad, or whatever you want and there is a pocket for an mp3 player. It looks like it might be an ipod dock, but it is just a holder, they include an aux cable to go from your mp3 layer to the sound input though. The speakers are decent. I only tested it for a few minutes though, it''s in the bedroom and I just put the TV on. There is also a headphone jack that I find pointless. Anything you can plug an aux cable into will take a set of headphones so why use the elliptical as a middle man for your sound.

As far as the negatives, the only ones I really have deal with the display and electronics and none of them are really an issue to me. The display is pretty basic, there are three different LCD displays. One displays Time or Calories, the middle one shows Speed or Watts, the right one shows Distance or Heart Rate. Time, theres no way to mess that up. Calories, not sure how accurate it is but seems low. Would be more accurate if you could put in age and weight. The elliptical I use at the gym, it shows around 200 calories after 12 minutes, thise one was just shy of 200 at 20 minutes. I don''t really go by Watts or a precise speed but if you do, this isnt the machine you want. The speed goes in increments of .5 or .6, for instance I usually go around 7mph, in that range this goes from 6.3 to 6.9 to 7.5. So if you want to hit and stay at a steady pace, this doesnt work very well. As for the distance and Heart Rate. The distance seems close, if maybe a little high. I usually do an 8 minute mile and this had me at around a 7 minute mile. Lastly the heart rate monitor. If you plan on using your arms on the handles, the H/R sensors are almost useless. It defaults to 70 BPM and resets to that if you hands are off the sensors for 4 seconds. Add that to the fact that it takes 1-2 minutes for it to acquire your heart rate, slowly climbing from 70 every time and it''s pretty much useless unless you hold the sensors the whole time. I havent read all the instructions yet so I don''t know if theres a way to recalibrate it or anything, it doesnt really matter to me though. As long as the time and the resistance works, my body tells me how I''m doing and I don''t pay much attention to the rest. Some people are different, my wife needs to be told exactly what and how she''s doing so she doesnt like that aspect of it. A non issue for me and not a deal breaker for her.

Bottom line is, this is a pretty well built and solid machine. It does everything I need it to do for a good price. Another thing of note, the warranty is non transferrable which is something to consider if your considering looking on Craigslist or someplace. It has to be registered within 30 days or purchase and proof of purchase has to be kept for warranty concerns.

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I have owned several machines. This one is by far the best. Assembly was easy. Took about an hour, but when assembling you realize this is a sturdy machine. Using it the first few times it showed ot me the most important aspect: a solid machine, well built and seemingly to last a long time. Several different programs and resistance levels. You can do manual incline which is no problem, you just hop off and increase incline and get back on. No longer than taking a water break. Nice touch having the aux input and holder for an MP3 player. Speakers are adequate, but who really cares as you could just wear your headphones. Calorie counter, heart rate monitor are all adequate, but you can wear the machine out for quite a while and only burn 200 calories. But all that considered, it is very smooth. Easy to use and quiet. Great machine.

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I have been using this eliptical everyday for at least one hour. I have own it for three weeks, no problem so far. Great work out. I would recommend it to anybody who is looking for a nice, affordable eliptical.

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The Pros: The design of the footbeds and stride is ergonomic and I have no joint pain when using it. The levels have sufficient range for absolute beginners to pretty fit people to get a good, safe workout. When working it was very quiet (must have a gym mat).'''' Having an elliptical at home is the best.

The cons: There are constantly major things wrong with it (3 service calls in 5 months) and I had it professionally delivered and installed. I am 110 lbs and the only person who uses it. It has now been out of use 10% of the time I have had it. The bolts/bearings on the pivot arm were broken, the flywheel belt and now the flywheel itself. Customer service is disorganized and slow to respond. They have many subcontractors all over who do the fixing and the level of compentency is very variable (2 out of 3 very poor). I would never buy this again nor would I recommend it. Check out reviews from Dicks Sporting goods and other sites. The longevity of this machine is not good and the quality is variable poor. 800$ is a lot of money to spend on 200lbs of something that I can''t use.

Helpful Info about ellipticals in general: You should be aware that ellipticals weigh ~ 200 lbs. You should not only measure length and width at the base to see if it fits in your space, but the height (low ceiling basements will not work with a tall person). Also the area around the machine how much room you want to the walls. I have a small space, but I wanted to be able to use weights to do upper body, so you need more arm spread .

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