Body Rider Fan Elliptical Trainer with Air Resistance System, Black/Red/Silver BR1958

I had this same elliptical that I purchased over 10 years ago and really like it. I moved and decided to sell it rather than move it. Now in new house I was trying to find the exact same machine and I did! This is a quality built unit. If you are looking to buy or compare make sure you get this model - it has the options to remove the arms and lock them into a stationary position. It's a few dollars more for this option, but you won't regret it.

Background: I bought this last week and have used it for a total of two hours thus far. I plan on updating this in three months time and later on if there are any durability issues.Assembly: Really straightforward and easy to assemble. The instruction manual is clearly written and the visual instructions are very helpful. It's about the level of a cheaper Ikea furniture piece in terms of difficulty. There are very simple tools provided - two simple wrenches and two L-shaped star wrenches. It's obviously easier to have your own torque wrench or star-headed screwdriver on hand but these are sufficient. Had it set-up and going in about an hour on my own.Quality: For a trainer that was under $120, the pieces provided are of reasonable quality. No sharp edges, everything has a layer of rust-resistant paint, even the bolts seem to be sturdy enough to avoid stripping. Many of the pieces are pre-assembled with a bit of petroleum jelly applied to the moving parts. You may want to apply more of your own to ensure that everything lasts longer under friction and is more rust resistant.Use: 20 - 30 minutes on medium to high resistance has me sweating. My resting HR is around 55 and I was regularly getting 120 - 130 on the machine. It's not high intensity but having it in a tough spot when I don't have access to the gym or if it rains outside is very convenient.Two minor criticisms, however:1) the footholds are angled downwards slightly no matter where you are during the pedaling process (in a y=mx+b line, m is about .2 to .3) so your weight will always be pushing you forward and down. In tennis shoes, this can cause some discomfort since your toes mash up against the front of the shoe. If you're barefoot, you'll be continually adjusting the placement of your feet. This can be somewhat alleviated if you squat down a bit and put the weight in your heel but it takes a lot of getting used to. Note that this may be more a function of my height and weight (6', 190lbs) but my guess is that given the angle of the pedals, it'll be a fairly universal experience.2) It is a very loud machine. The way you adjust resistance is determined by a nylon belt stretched across the curved surface of the wheel. The belt has a piece of felt between it and the wheel so the tighter you pull it, the more you increase the friction. This, as you can imagine, creates a bit of sound, a fairly noisy whir that gets worse the faster you go and the higher the resistance. It's not oppressively loud but if you plan on watching TV, I recommend captions or bluetooth headphones. My fiancee is a very kind person who seems unbothered by the noise even when she works in the same room but she has fairly good focus and a larger threshold for distractions so, again, this may not be universally applicable. Suffice it to say that there is noticeable noise.An additional note: The LCD screen is a bit of a joke and I'm happy without it since I log my stats with an exercise watch that measures heart rate. If you plan on using the included screen, please note that it is placed very low, only a bit higher than where your feet are, and the calorie calculations are much higher than my exercise watch. That said, most machines provide wildly varying calorie counts that can only approximate your burn. This is common knowledge but fyi, your calories are tied to your respiration and your respiration is tied to your heart rate. There's only a few easy ways to gauge your calories burnt and heart rate monitors tend to be accurate enough to be useful.In conclusion, I recommend this machine to the budget conscious provided that you know what you are getting it for. Fitness is a bit of a hobby for me and I've committed to regular exercise for the past ten years. For me, this machine is an easy way to do some home cardio in order to supplement my existing workouts. For beginners, this machine should suffice for basic conditioning, to get you to a point of confidence with your body's aerobic performance that going to a gym or exercising in groups or outdoor feels less stressful.I do not recommend this machine as the sum total of your workout plan but note that I am saying this as an able-bodied, 30-something who enjoys exercising so it is very likely that your needs are different from mine. But, regardless of the recommendations, I think this machine is well worth the money charged and I have been very satisfied with my purchase thus far.

I'm 5'11 210lb guy. The device wobbles left and right as I use it. The arms don't rest in the right spot for me so that the grip is unnatural. The stride is too short. I still give it 3 stars because I think it would be good for smaller and lighter people.

I replaced my 15 year old elliptical with this one. My arms don’t extend all the way. The screws don’t stay in for longer than a few minutes of a workout. 6 months later the left arm just snapped mid workout. You get what you pay for. May invest into a more expensive and durable piece of equipment this go around.

Works great but REALLY hard on my back , not the machine's fault, just wanted those with a bad back this isn't for you

This is my third one. Every time I moved out of state I had no room in the van but I’d replace it non the less! I use it religiously with firm results!

I love this product and it’s not huge! My only problem is that two of the bolts that came in the package are not the correct size and this caused assembling it to take an extra 2 hours since the nut and bolt came attached to one another. Taking off a bit that does not fit is painstaking