Purchasing exercise equipment

[rabid_child]

My bf and I recently bought a house, and subsequently moved into it :P We cancelled our gym memberships because the gym was by the old rental and neither of us were going to drive 20 minutes to go to the gym with all the other stuff we have going on. We want to purchase an elliptical machine for the house so we can work out at home... but I have no idea how to shop for one of these things. The price range is really wide. We want something that isn't going to fall apart on us, but also can't afford to drop a few thousand dollars on it. Ideally, we'd like to keep it under a thousand.

Does anyone own a home elliptical machine that they would recommend? How do you choose a piece of exercise equipment?

[~Wonder]

Have you tried looking at Amazon.com's elliptical trainer category? You're bound to get lots of reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/sporting-goods/3407771/stubookscom-20/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_sg_1_4_last

[rabid_child]

I had no idea amazon sold exercise equipment. :o

[FitChick99]

Yes, definitely check reviews online, but I would also recommend shopping around at a few fitness stores in your area and actually trying some machines out. The size, the pedal motion and just the general "feel" of the machines vary greatly by brand.
By me, we have Health and Fitness Equipment Centers and G&G Fitness, which are both good, and have knowledgeable employees. They sell both home use and commercial grade fitness equipment. If you go to a Dick's Sporting Goods, chances are the sales person will have no idea what they are talking about... Plus, their stuff, along with Sears, etc. is not going to be as good of quality as a store that specializes in fitness equipment. Since you're willing to spend up to $1,000, you should have no problem finding a good quality home use elliptical.

I am more familiar with commercial grades, as it's my job, but some major brands for that are LifeFitness, Precor, and StarTrac, if that's any help. I know they have home grade machines as well, but those brands may be a little pricey. Oh, and I have a cousin who had a Nordic Trac elliptical, and had to get it replaced 3 times...

If you get one that has an incline ramp, get one that moves on its own (either battery powered on its own, or plug in). It's a pain in the butt if you have to move it manually, and most likely you won't bother. (My sister has one like that, and it is SO hard to move... granted, it doesn't get much use either.) Some have the ramp, some don't. If you get one with arm handles, most of those do not have a ramp anyway, but there are some (more expensive) models that do.

Good luck with your search!

[Marie]

I think mine was only about 4 or 5 hundred. I forget. It works pretty well.. even though I need to regrease it.