XTERRA Fs5.25e Elliptical

Brought this from Amazon for $1,080 - Assembly not included. The Costco has the XTERRA® FS5.3e Elliptical with Assembly Included for $999 and you can return anytime.[...]Pros.- Easy to setup, stable and look niceCons- Very quiet on the first day and start getting noisy on the second day.- 3 position adjustable manual incline instead of power incline feature that most of the new Elliptical machines have.- 5' dot display LCD that is hard to read. With this price I would expect a better digital LCD display.Feel guilty to return but not happy to keep it.Read this review before you make your own decision.[...]

In the event I can save someone a headache, let me just say a few things about the Xterra line of ellipticals: they _may_ be appropriate for people with extremely small frames, but mine broke after just a few uses, and I'm not obese -- just tall. I've been working out, fairly regularly, with another brand of elliptical trainer for several years, and when the electronics on that panel started to go, I purchased one of these Xterras from Costco, along with white glove delivery and installation.The installers seemed to know what they were doing, and were professional, but I noticed that the highest level of resistance still made me feel like a chipmunk on a wheel. If you prefer a high resistance workout over a high RPM workout, this is not the machine for you. Also, if you are over 6'2", you will feel as though you have to bend over, or lean into the machine, in order to use the hand grips.The panel design is annoying in the extreme. After it powers up, instead of flashing an instructional message, it wipe-transitions a message from the right, making you wait to read the instruction. And this behavior repeats itself, for each step of a workout program. The "levels" programming is also confusing in that the bar chart doesnt' register any distinction, graphically, between an 18 level and a 20 level. You have to look over at the digital readout for that.After a few workouts, the machine literally broke, despite factory on site installation. The wheel went off the track and the foot pedal broke in half.If it were not for Costco, I would have been high and dry with this machine, because emails to Xterra have gone unanswered.They may make other models that are more sturdy, and if you are a small framed woman, it might be all you need. For big guys, it is NOT the ticket.

Just bought this elliptical yesterday... I will update this post if anything I say here changes.I love it -- it is exactly what I've been needing. I researched a lot of elliptical machines and read many reviews, so I hope this helps someone. I found my machine from a "Scratch and Dent" store in Denton, TX (Secondhand Sports). So, the box was dented and there was a small scratch on the very back of the plastic cover that the dealer had to point out to me... But, it only cost me $500 (with a warranty and already assembled!)PROS -- *Stride length: The 20" stride length was absolutely necessary for me to be comfortable while using the machine. I am a little over 5'6". My husband also feels comfortable and he is 6'. *Stability: We have used this machine 4 times now.Neither of us felt wobbly or unstable. Much nicer than I anticipated having for a home gym at a decent price. It is also very quiet thus far, but I know the dealer puts plenty of grease on all the moving parts as they put them together. *Screen: My screen is extremely easy to read and provides all of the necessary information to me during my workouts.CONS -- *Weight: It is very heavy. I liked that it has wheels on the front to be able to move it around and out of the way; however, you basically have to have it standing straight up to engage those wheels. *Fan: As with every elliptical it seems, the fan is pointless. It does nothing essentially. However, this doesn't bother me at all. It beats running outside in 110 degree heat!