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 satisfied Jul 30, 2010
i am satisfied with this product it seems to be a very good piece of equipment.
 Excellent Value! Just a few issues! Jul 28, 2010
We purchased the Schwinn 420 Elliptical at a local sporting goods store, so we didn't have to worry about delivery. We brought the pickup truck, but the box was actually much smaller than expected and it could probably fit in most passenger vehicles. The box does weight over 150lbs, so don't attempt to lift it yourself.
Assembly was fairly straight-forward. The hardest part was getting everything out of the box and all the packing material. My wife helped with removing all the pieces from the box and disposing of all the trash. Other than that, I put it together myself and didn't see any reason why you would need 2 people.
All tools needed for assembly were included; however you would be better off using your own tools. Tightening all those bolts with the flimsy wrenches did not appeal to me.
The assembly instructions were excellent, except for one washer that was misidentified. The (4) small black washers are labeled "O" on the hardware card, but the instruction manual identifies them as "F". On the Hardware card, "F" refers to the two screws used to install a water bottle holder (which is not included). The good news is that the mislabeled washer is towards the end of the assembly process and was pretty easy to figure out what part was to be used.
I was very impressed with the way everything went together. I had absolutely no hole alignment problems. All the parts seem to be well made (except for the control console). The hardware seems to be of excellent quality, and I really liked the way it was organized and packed. It took me about 2 hours to put together. The only parts I had leftover were the (2) water bottle holder screws. I immediately took a water bottle holder off an old bicycle and installed it on the elliptical.
It was a bit wobbly at first, but once I figured out the leveling adjustments it was just fine! I'm pretty good with computers and electronics, but I could not figure out how to "add user" even while reading the operator instructions. So the first few times I used the machine I used "guest" mode. I eventually did figure out how to add a user, but could not figure out how to add a second user. Turns out you can only program in one primary user! Everyone else needs to sign in as guest. This is my biggest complaint about this machine!
The machine feels very solid, it is very smooth, and creates very little noise. I am 6'1" and I probably would prefer a slightly longer stride, but it still feels comfortable. Plus, since my wife is 5'4", a longer stride would be too much for her. Neither of us has any issues with the way the handles feel. Most importantly, both of us feel we get a great workout without any stress to our joints!
This is basically a 5-star machine, but I have just a few too many pet peeves to give it a top rating:
1. No Water Bottle Holder. That is just a plain stupid decision Schwinn's part! I am sure that a water bottle holder would be a key decision factor for many people. A cheap, but functional plastic water bottle holder, bought in bulk from China would cost only pennies. Why not include it? Especially since the mounting points are already designed into the machine and the mounting screws are included. However, don't make this a decision factor to choose another machine. You can pick up a water bottle holder at any store that sells bicycle accessories for a few bucks.
2. Only one primary user can be programmed in to the console. This is my biggest complaint about the machine. As inexpensive as electronic memory is these days, there is no reason why they should limit you to only one primary user! Since we bought this machine for both my wife and me to use, I might have gone with another machine if I realized this at the time of purchase!
3. No light on the display. While I can see it fine with the normal room light, the room light puts a glare on the TV. Since I sometimes like to work-out while watching TV, I have to turn the room light off to eliminate the glare on the TV, making it difficult to read the display. Not a big deal, but again Schwinn could have addressed this problem for mere pennies.
4. The magazine Reading Rack is a joke! Don't plan on reading anything while using this machine. A half-inch ledge does not make for a reading rack!
5. Pulse sensors take too long to read pulse. After placing your hands on the pulse sensors, it takes about 15 seconds to display 72 beats per minute. It always starts out at 72bpm, no matter what your actual pulse is. Then it gradually adjusts. After about 90 seconds, it finally settles in to the correct pulse.
6. Only a 3-month warranty. Hopefully this won't be an issue. So far, no problems.
7. Very poor operator instruction manual and an error in the assembly instruction manual.
Overall, I think this machine is solid, smooth, quiet, and provides an excellent workout. A great value, I just wish Schwinn would have addressed the few issues I detailed above.
Great Buy Jul 26, 2010
I am really happy with this elliptical.
It is super quiet, really makes no noise at all. It has a smooth gliding motion. It is sturdy. And the screen is easy to read. For a home elliptical with out spending an arm and a leg, you can't beat it.
The only negatives I have are that it was a bit of a workout putting it together. And I am not sure the heart-rate monitor is perfectly accurate 100% of the time.
But those things don't bother me enough to keep me from rating it 5 stars.
 Does the job.... but product and warranty sucks! Jul 15, 2010
Purchased 3 Schwinn 420 Elliptical and from day one had a problem with one of them. Had to have it returned for an exchange. Two months later another elliptical stopped working and read Error E-2 on the display.
Customer service is good and the equipment does work efficiently, just not sure on the durability.
Schwinn only offers a 90 day warranty on Labor, so after 90 days, your basically on your own.
Based on my experience, the Elliptical 420 is a poor design. I shouldn't have 2 elliptical crap out on me within a 2 month period.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Very happy with our decision! Jul 11, 2010
My wife and I were feeling depressingly out of shape from our very busy lives and really wanted to do something about it. Gyms were too expensive and time consuming, plus we knew we'd end up not going after a while if we ever did join. Money being an issue, we were still determined to do *something* and figured that investing in our health would be money well spent. So we decided on a low impact aerobic home machine in the form of an elliptical.
We began our research by visiting my brother's home where he had just purchased a Lifecore LC-985VG Elliptical Trainer. The machine was beautiful, small, quiet, and worked really well. I was like, "this is it!" because then we'd be done and on our way. But at a thousand dollars (at the time), we decided that we really needed to do more research to see if there was something equivalent or better for less money.
After reading hundreds of reviews online for basic all the way to super fancy models and visiting 4-5 stores to actually try out whatever we could find, we decided on the 420 and haven't looked back. It was only slightly bigger than that Lifecore, a bit less beautiful (which we decided we could live with), and was quiet. What sold us completely was the smoothness of motion due to the articulating foot pedals. I cannot tell you what a differentiator that one feature is. If you think about a natural walking motion, not only do your legs move in an elliptical pattern, but your feet flip up and down at your ankle. A majority of elliptical machines have flat foot surfaces which feel fine at first, but after you get on a machine with articulation, you wonder why all machines aren't built the same way.
The delivery guys were great and between the two of us, we carefully put it together in about 2 hours. Another great feature of the 420 is that is has wheels, so even though it's heavy, you can assemble it a bigger room and then roll it to where you're going to use it.
We've had the 420 for about a year now, and it went from being almost completely silent to having a slight squeak every now and again. We read reviews that recommended to not over tighten during assembly and I think it was good advice. The only maintenance I've had to perform besides dusting it and vacuuming detritus from the wheel tracks was to retighten the connection to the arms which had come a bit loose from usage.
Overall, the Schwinn 420 is a fantastic value, and in my opinion, the best elliptical I've ever been on (including what I used to use at 24 fitness).
Oh yeah, one more thing... some folks seemed *really* upset that this machine has a spot for a water bottle holder, but it doesn't actually come with one. It looks like it would easily accept the kind of water bottle holders that you'd screw onto a bike, but that was not a feature we cared about, so it wasn't a big deal.
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