Body Rider Elliptical Machine and Stationary Bike with Seat and Easy Computer, Dual Trainer 2-in-1 Cardio Exercise Machine, Home Gym, Workout Equipment BRD2000, Black & grey, One Size

OK, it's not a high end model like you'd find in a club, but it's surprisingly well made, easy to set up and good value. My wife bought it, she and I both use it, and it does the job, so far. But, we've only had it a week, so this is an interim review. At this point, I'd give it 4-1/2 stars (taking a half star off, because it's not perfect, and doesn't assemble itself)After quick receipt (thanks Amazon), it was relatively easy to assemble and set-up in a little more than an hour after work. Instructions are pretty clear (excellent, compared to most made-in China items), parts are well-packed, and screws and hardware are on large white blister cards (hard to lose). Even the (very basic) tools needed to assemble are included on the cards. BUT, if you have your own, it will go MUCH easier and faster (esp. a ratchet set). Some parts are pre-lubricated with a heavy grease, so you'll want to have some paper towels handy, in case you need to wipe your hands (and don't do the assembly in nice clothes, or a on an unprotected carpet). Also, be sure and put the plastic bolt-caps on after assembly, or you may find the heavy grease again.Only problem I had during assembly was my eyesight in dim light; about midway through I thought I was missing parts, when I was just misreading the small print on the cards. But, a quick call to Body Rider's customer service cleared this up in less than two minutes (they were pleasant and efficient; I was embarrassed). Also be sure to note serial number that is on bottom of unit's frame BEFORE assembly, as Body Rider will want to know it if you call (not as easy to turn over a mostly-assembled unit to read the number upside-down in dim light). Overall, quality of materials and build quality are good - again, not high-end, but well engineered for the price point. Probably the least impressive part is the seat - seems to be molded urethane that may not be too durable, but time will tell.Instructions also say to be sure and check that bolts remain tight after use. I don't see major issues; the design has several well-engineered features to prevent problems, like a locking pin and flange the in the pedal-crank assembly (probably the most difficult part of the assembly process). However, I also used real tools. It's probably difficult to get enough torque on some of the bigger bolts with the basic wrenches supplied on the blister cards.Operationally, the "fan" at front is really a molded plastic wheel with holes/slots in it. It has a tension-adjustable nylon strap to control friction, and the intensity of the workout. I don't think the fan-wheel provides any aerodynamic drag effect, except for a very slight breeze (unlike, say, a Schwinn Aerodyne). My guess is that it might be possible to damage the strap if one works hard enough, long enough, with enough tension. I probably won't be needing to worry about that.Using the trainer seated like a cycle is fair - the pedals have no straps, and you'll need to wear athletic shoes to get a grip. Even with seat adjusted all the way forward, my 5' 3" wife can't easily reach the pivot arms, but that's mainly because she can't easily lean forward at the moment. Adjusting seat and pivot arms for me (5'11") would take 2-4 minutes; not really worth it, and not really necessary for use as an elliptical (but it might be necessary to adjust the pivot arms, if I were taller). Adjustment is easy, but the unit uses threaded bolts with plastic knobs- not quick release, so it takes more than a few seconds.Basic, simple electronic meter has no cardio sensor, but gives "distance", "speed" (what ever those units are), plus time and "calories". I'm pretty sure it's not taking the friction into account, so "calories" is even more suspect. However, having a timer and some other measure of workout is nice. Only "extra" I felt I had to add during assembly was a tie-wrap to keep the meter's wire to the sensor in the wheel from getting pulled inadvertently.Unit has rollers (not really wheels) at the front floor stabilizer to help move it, if you tilt it forward. They might help a little on a hard, smooth floor, but not on carpet. I don't think I'd try to move it like that, anyway.Again, if you want a $1-4K+ gym-quality elliptical, this isn't it. Also, if the 250 lb rated weight limit is an issue, you may need to look elsewhere. But for a surprisingly low price, this unit seems to be well-built; it's easy to assemble and gives a good workout. Durability hasn't been tested yet for ours, but the overall build quality makes me think we should get several years use out of it. We'll update the report, as we go along.

**Update 3**August 17, 2013. Lost 33 lbs. 'Nuff said.*******Update 2**I'm still using this machine and it is holding up very well. I added a seat cover which greatly improved the comfort. It wasn't easy to find a water bottle cage with the proper mount so I just grabbed one made for a bicycle and got creative with a couple of hose clamps from the auto parts section. It works great.I continue to routinely check and tighten all bolts. I think this is key to keeping the machine well maintained and will help prevent damage to both the bike and potentially me.A few motivation tips:I feel that, for me, watching tv or reading while exercising defeats the purpose. I have compiled a few playlists of music with good strong beats that helps me focus on my workout. I like rap/hip hop, 70's funk, a little zydeco and some swing revival. I decide which playlist based on whether I want to focus on speed or on resistance and I always try to mix it up standing and sitting, pedaling forward and backward. I make my playlists longer than I actually plan to ride because it gives me the ability to skip a song here or there if I'm just not feeling it and it also encourages me to keep going even after my planned stopping point. No matter what type of music I'm listening to, I like to finish with a "musical affirmation". Something easy for a cool down but with a positive message. I like Christina Aguilera's Beautiful the best.Thanks to my past spin instructors for this motivational tool. I try to visualize an actual ride. Am I gently pedaling down a tree lined lane? Or perhaps I'm climbing a steep hill and I can see the top, where I'll lower the resistance and ride around for a while before removing resistance and go tearing down the other side. I end up riding with my eyes closed quite a bit which I wouldn't try if I had an issue with balance.I go for distance not time. I always try to get in at least 10 miles. The time it takes to do this varies according to if I'm focusing more on speed or resistance. On days when I'm lucky, I hit a mild euphoria towards the end of my ride and I almost dance on the bike (don't do this).*******Update 1**After a week of use I went back over all the bolts in this and found two that needed to be tightened. I think this will be something I will routinely do. Additionally, I am going to have to buy an accessory to hold my water bottle. I see this as a negative.*****With an Amazon Prime membership this purchase offered 2 day free shipping or 1 day shipping for $3.99. I took the 1 day option believing there was no way I would receive this the next day. My first pleasant surprise was the appearance of my purchase within 24 hours.I expected the package to be heavy and hard to maneuver. Surprise number two, it was easy to wrangle into the house.I predicted that we would sweat and curse over the assembly for hours. Yay, surprise number three. From opening the box to the first pedal it took myself and my husband as a team approximately 90 minutes. The directions were not as mind boggling as they appeared at first glance, although I admit they did look scary, but everything was numbered and labeled efficiently. I felt that some of the negative reviews regarding this machine may be attributed to less than careful assembly so we were very vigilant about precisely following the directions.I wasn't expecting too much from this machine. I purchased it because, over my two year absence from the gym, I have put on a lot of weight and become badly out of shape. I felt I needed something basic just to get back to a point where I could return to the gym. I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised that it appears to be a sturdy, substantial machine. Granted, I have only been using it for two days now and cannot accurately judge the performance over time. But I find the movement to be smooth and quiet and I did manage to work up a sweat (not too difficult really at this point). I will update my opinion after a few months of use.Two things I can note. First, the seat is haaard, ouch! My old padded seat cover for spin class is too small and I will definitely have to purchase a larger one. I would recommend buying the machine and a seat cover at the same time. Secondly, a word to the wise, when they say to be careful with loose clothing they mean it. On first use the sleeve on my big old tee shirt got caught on the moving arm and gave me a brief scare.I can picture using this even after I return to the gym, for a warmup before zumba or yoga class or for a quick cardio workout on days when I can't make it to the gym. I consider this to be a good purchase.

Build:First off, disregard the exploded diagram at the beginning of the instruction booklet, it will make you feel like this is way out of your league. This diagram shows every last piece on the bike. Most of these parts are already assembled and have nothing to do with the build process you are going to undertake.Putting the body rider together is not as hard as the other reviews would lead you to believe. I put the whole thing together in under 40 minutes. There really isn't much to it. I used my own tools, a set of open end wrenches and an impact wrench with a socket set. First I took everything out of the box and looked at the parts. There are only a few nuts and bolts that you need to actually put together. I hand tightened all the bolts in place and then went around with my tools to tighten everything down once I knew EVERYTHING was properly put together.It's wort noting that you get two packs of bolts/washers/nuts. Some of the nuts and bolts are together and not individually wrapped/numbered.Also the washers and nuts for the seat are already attached to the bottom of the seat on the seat posts where they are meant to end up, I probably spent 5 minutes looking through all the packaging to see where the heck they had gone.The hardest part of the installation is assembling the crank shaft's. They are labeled left and right and each one is meant to spin in a different direction, so make sure you look at them before putting them together (they are labeled L +R like most of the side specific pieces are). Be very careful when opening the packaging not to lose the lock pin for the pedal hinge bolt (#54), these are tiny pieces that I assume are important to the assembly and the final movement of the cranks.Other than those couple things assembly isn't that difficult. This is very much like assembling ikea furniture or legos. If you can do either of those you will have no issue doing this.Build Quality:The overall quality of the bike is on par with the price. Not to say it's horrible but you really do get what you pay for.The good:-feels sturdy on the ground, even for a large guy like myself (5'11", 215lbs)-the seat moves forward and backward easily, and actually feels smooth when moving-this thing is compactThe bad:-angle of the foot rests is STEEP (probably due to the compact size)-as mentioned the stride is pretty small-noisy at high speed, but with headphones on it's not noticeable-hand holds feel flimsy (paired with the steep foot angle it takes some getting used toOther stuff:I was able to get the resistance tensioner to work no problem, a few reviews mentioned this wasn't working at all. This was the first thing I messed around with as I am a heavy dude. I felt like once I put my weight on it there wouldn't be much resistance so I wanted to make sure it was going to actually give me a workout. I was also wary of the fact that it seems to just be a thick nylon "shoelace" wrapped around the wheel. But there is a section in the instruction booklet about setting this mechanism and once I did that I was able to get some good resistance even when I was putting my weight forward on the moving handles to help move the wheel. To set the mechanism turn the tensioner all the way down ( - ) and then pull on the strap very tight. From there you can turn the dial back up ( + ) and go at it. I was pleasantly surprised.If you are used to going to the gym, this thing will feel flimsy for sure. I was regretting my purchase as soon as I had finished tightening everything up, after some short use I am happy I went this route. The short stride and stutter at the top of the rotation take some getting used to, but I was able to adjust my movement to maximize what the machine does.The digital readout thingy doesn't seem to be worth using. I prefer to just workout for a set period of time anyway without looking at a counter/clock, so I'm not worried about it. I am however thinking about getting a fitbit/fuelband for my own purposes so I think that will help fill the gap and do a better job than what this comes with.Overall my first impression of the body rider is a good one but I have only used it for 45 minutes so far. I will give the machine some use and come back to comment more in the future once I have logged some hours on it.

I purchased this when I was doing some physical rehab work at home after recovering from a serious illness, in which my doctor told me I would have to quit my exercising regimine. I lost my muscle tone, and gained about 10-15 pounds due to having to "take it easy" and the meds I was on. After about a year, he gave me the go-ahead to start working out again, but much slower and less intensely than what I had done prior to my medical problems. After so much muscle deterioration (I had trouble going up stairs) as well as other ill effects, I knew I would need something to pace myself and give me some variety between sitting and working my legs, as well as the option to do elliptical training. Prior to being sick, I mostly did intense workouts with ankle weights and wrist weights during my calisthenics. I was used to working out nightly and felt strong and fit. I wanted to feel that well again, but knew it would take a while. This has helped me in not only feeling productive and proactive in regaining some strength and endurance, but has also helped other members of my family to want to work out with this machine as well, simply by having it in our home. That is a great bonus!I like this for a variety of reasons:* the price was right around what I was looking for;* this provides two options, the exercise bike portion as well as elliptical;* there is a knob that you can adjust the intensity of the resistance in the wheel portion, which can go from "Aw, this ain't nuthin!" to "Oh, ow, ow, ow, my legs!" it can be very intense, at least for me;* the little monitor attached can be interesting at times, to keep progress of time, calories, speed, etc.;* it assembled in about an hour;* it helps with all over body working, as your arms have to keep up with the longer handlebars when going elliptical;* I like the smaller stationary bars for when I am sitting, or when I don't want to use the longer handlebars;* it has the adjustable seat height, which is helpful for different members of the family;* it is quite smooth for the sitting/bike portion; (see con's for comments below on elliptical);* it can surely get your heartrate going, depending on your desired intensity level;The cons are few, and some minor, as follows:* the little monitor doesn't stay on really well, it just slides on for ease of battery replacement. The only times it comes off is when I am careless and knock it, though;* it is sort of loud, but that's not a big deal to me, and it helps to drown out my groans:)* when I do the elliptical portion, it does seem at times just a SLIGHT bit choppy to me, but that's probably a "me" thing and my own personal fluctuation of "just 5 more minutes!" moments, when I'm running low on energy. I only thought to add this, just in case it wasn't an all "me" issue with the elliptical part. It's a minor thing, and not at all a dealbreaker;All in all, not only do I, but also other members of my family enjoy this very much...I guess as much as an instrument of torture can be, at least that's how it feels in the tail-end of my "workout" session with this. It most certainly will work you out, in my opinion, and gives a wide variety of options in one package.By the way, if you are working out to lose weight, I would highly suggest you work out your legs and build/tone your muscles in them especially first, )although I would also recommend at least toning and working up to an all-body exercise program as well). Our legs have the largest muscles in our bodies, and have the greatest capacity to burn the most calories, even while at rest. There is a lot of information on this on the web. I feel this machine would be a great machine to start with, and you can watch tv or listen to music while doing it! Most importantly, pace yourself and don't give up on yourself. Even if you stay on this for 2 minutes at a time throughout the day, it's still something.Full disclosure: I have only worked out on this sporadically these past several months (I bought this a year ago, in which time I used this way more often)...I have been too busy going up and down stairs, slow sometimes, but much better, doing housework and going to and fro!) Yay!

I really like this product, the only thing I’d like more is straps or a better way to secure your feet, but other than that a great product