Customer Reviews

FreeMotion Freestrider s5.6 with 35-Inch Variable Stride

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I never write reviews but felt compelled to write one for the Freemotion f5.6 and its manufacturer, ICON Health & Fitness Inc. due to the awful experience I am having with this "lemon" of a machine. I purchased it in September 2010 from FitnessBlowout and it took a month to get delivered. In the two months that I have had it, it has not worked properly once. First it was the track Shield would not align properly, causing the wheel to scrape along the track shield. This apparently is a known issue because they had a replacement kit to send out. Next it was a screw on the handlebar that would not stay tightened. The solution for this was to glue it in place...how long do they expect that to work??? Incidentally, the same thing is happening on the opposite side. Last but not least, the power cord is faulty. The display turns on and off randomly. ICON is going to send a replacement per the warranty but will not expedite shipping unless I pay for it. According to customer service, that's the company's policy - no exceptions.

So to recap, I paid $1200 for a piece of exercise equipment that has not worked properly once in 2 months and rather than spend $15 to overnight the part to me and resolve the issue ICON Health & Fitness has decided to further agitate an already severely agitated customer. It boggles my mind how incredibly short-sighted some companies can be.

My advice would be to keep looking for a piece of equipment with a better (and longer) track record and a manufacturer that actually believes the customer comes first...I wish I did.

This is a brand new product and it is the product you have been waiting for. The 35" stride is a full leg stride and an excellent workout.

The programming is good not great but good.

The problem is that the software has bugs. The sensors have bugs and the unit itself, it has bugs too. We've had technicians out twice and are about to call them again.

When they get the bugs fixed wow this will be a great machine. Until then wait.

Delivery - allow for 2 to 3 weeks - especially if "free delivery"

Assembly - my machine came partially assembled. only parts I needed to put together was the bar handles (handles that read heart rate), bar where console seats and plastic covers for joints/screw covers. It is recommended for two people to put this machine together, but I was able to do it all by myself. It took me almost 3 hrs. You must be very careful when handling the wires - take your time, you do not want to damage any of the pins, otherwise you will experience problems with the console.

The workout - I think this machine delivers what it promise. You can definately burn over 1,000 calories per hour. it has various pre-programed workouts -they are fun and make the time go by fast, you can try a differnt work out everyday. the fan helps you stay cool. I normally have a hard time breaking a sweat, not with this machine. I think this machine would work well for a short or tall person, the stride allows for a low impact, no stress on joints work out. i normally experience ankle pain when using eliptical machines, but not with this one.

I would recommend this machine - its fun, easy to use and will deliver all that it promises. Also its size is pretty compact given the quality of this machine.

I really don't know how the other reviewers came up with their negative feedback. I had a totally different experience.

When I got the machine I was quite relieved how easy it was to put together BY MYSELF. If you have some brain cells, it's easy to do. I've bought other machines before and this by far was the easiest to put together.

All you needed to do is screw in a the neck that the console sits, screw in the poles with a couple screws and bring up the wires through the neck (whatever they call it) to the neck to the electronic console.

I did this all by myself in less than 1 hour.

Compared to other machines this is well built, the metal, bearings etc is heavy duty not the thing cheap stuff that will eventually break after long use. The only thing cheap is the plastic casings which is not important they're mostly there for cosmetic reasons. And the console is cheap.

I've worked out on many commercial machines at the gym for 40mins and walk off feeling so-so even on the highest intensity.

I step onto this machine and only do 20 mins at 12 setting out of 16 intensity before I get tired. And that's alternating high low because I couldn't manage on the high intensity. So you're getting an excellent workout because it's an ellipitical and stepper built in one. Your legs are getting a major workout. Along with upper body.

Only drawbacks, I'm 6ft so the bars are a bit too low if you don't want to use the upper arms and it's not the most quiet machine either but not loud.

Wife really liked the look and feel. However, it has been very inconsistent. It makes a pinging noise for most uses. The stride is not smooth. Still, it works and wife is using it, so it is not a complete loss... but I definitely would select another brand if we had the option to do it over.

I've owned this machine now for just under a year. Mine came local from Sports Authority. When I picked mine up there wasn't a ton of feedback and with that kinda money on the line I wanted to be able to throw it back in the box and take it back myself instead of dealing with an internet store like Fitness Blowout. I can't speak for anyone else's units but mine has been absolutely perfect. I was sold on the built quality after playing with the demo unit at the store. Is it commercial quality? Of course not... If your expecting commercial grade at residential prices your gonna have to buy used. That being said though is it more solid then any other elliptical type device I've seen under 2k? For my money absolutely yes.

I have not had any bugs, my strides are always measured consistently and correctly. My heart rate monitor, rpm, etc. have all been fine with zero issue. It seems no one has anything negative to say about the workout itself. It's truly different then a normal elliptical as you determine the stride length and it does feel like a merger of walking and stair climbing. I would say its much more, or at least can be, physically/strength taxing. At the higher resistance levels you really are pumping and pulling with the arms in a way no elliptical I've used can compare. You can also just as quickly drop the resistance and stride length and do very fast but small strides. Also you have to love the footprint, you get an enormous stride length that takes up relatively little space. Though you can't fold it up like some ellipticals.

Assembly was a breeze, I had a 2nd person come over to help and they primarily read the manual and watched. Stripped a screw putting it together but thats on me. The primary housing is already assembled (at least on the retail store boxes) and your primarily slapping the arms and console on and running some wires, no big deal.

The only concern I could say to a potent buyer is "luck of the draw". My unit is and continues to be amazing, no regrets. Should there have been an issue? straight back to the store it would have gone ideally to be swapped with a functional unit... I will also say to any potential buyer try to get some time on one first, even if its at the store. It's not a perfect analog to an elliptical. I think it has advantages over an elliptical but others might not like the stride style. My wife was not as big a fan but she's gotten used to it... Simply put it might come down to stylistic preference so look goofy at the store for a bit first.... Based on other buyers experiences might also be worth eating the sales tax... Sports Authority / Dicks retails it at 1,900. It seems its regularly around 1299 which is what I paid + tax.

I like using eliptical machines because I am 40 and feel like running is a little too much at times.

So....we bought the Nordic Track S35 which is the same thing. It was difficult to put together; thought the thing was broken but after mounting the handlebar component yanked on the handle real hard which put it back into alignment.

So after 20 minutes I am breaking a sweat. I love how the 35 inch stride takes advantage of the full lunge motion in my legs. Although not a bona fide piece of gym equipment, this machine has the feel of a sturdier eliptical that I have used in gyms.

So im all set to get into good shape again and work on my cholesterol. I'll post an update soon...I want to try an Ifit card...

When I bought this I paid extra to have it delivered and assembled in my home, hoping that would take care of some of the problems other reviewers had experienced with the machine not working correctly. I bought it directly from Nordic track. However, the company deals primarily with contractors. That makes sense from a corporate standpoint, but the people who delivered the machine didn't know what they were doing, said they were only paid for 30 minutes of work, and left us with a non-functioning machine. I still don't know what I paid the extra money for, and may contact them to see if they can refund some of it to me.

Anyway, I had a technician (contracted by the company) come out to my house twice. In between visits I had to, like the other reviewer, wait for the parts to arrive. It took about two months to get it working. I found the people I worked with at the company to be relatively helpful and friendly. I wasn't too bothered that it took a while for parts to arrive. I was mostly just annoyed that I had to do it in the first place. Turned out that the original monitor wasn't working. You'd think they'd check their pieces before sending them to a customer. Unless it was broken by the inept delivery people, which is an option, in which case I'd really like to have the extra money I paid for the delivery people back...

The machine works now, and I think it delivers. I enjoy using it. The workout is good. I don't like the placement of the water bottle holder, and the calorie counter is a bit dubious (it says I'm still burning calories even when I stop striding, so don't know how reliable it is). However, just the last time I used it the pedals started to make a clunking noise as they go across the track. Great. I've had it just three months and it looks like I'll have to call to get it fixed. Again.

I used an awesome Freemotion elliptistrider at the gym, and absolutely loved it. That model was commercial, and costs $6k. The reviews reflecting poor quality and poor customer service for this non-commercial machine have caused me to re-think buying this home use machine. Who wants to spend $1200+ for a buggy, unreliable machine that has poor customer support? Not me.