Customer Reviews

Kettler VERIO Mini-Stepper

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I bought the Kettler Verio Mini-Stepper in early 2005 and exercised regularly for 20-25 minutes per day, 5 days per week. It is now December of 2005, and my Kettler stepper is broken. The steel arm that rests under the left-hand pedal has snapped off at the weld, rendering the machine useless. The product is rated for people up to 225 pounds, and I'm 160 pounds. I don't believe that I put any unwarranted stress on the machine either due to my weight or my exercise habits. For One-Hundred-Thirty dollars, I expect a little more longevity from an exercise machine. I think I'm ready for a solution with less propensity for breakage -- like maybe a three dollar jump rope.

I must agree with the previous poster. I've only had my Kettler stepper for six months or so. The first few weeks went great. I used it for 20-30 mins a few times a week. I began to notice that after 15 minutes I could smell a burning smell. It turns out that the pistons under the pedals were heating up from friction so much that smoke was coming off of the machine. Then, the machine began to squeek and crunch loudly as I progressed beyond a 15 minute workout. After using the machine for longer intervals, like 30 to 50 minutes, the plastic cap under the pedal on the left side popped off rendering the machine useless. I snapped the plastic cap back on again but it keeps popping off every ten minutes. This is a huge interruption during a workout (having to stop every ten minutes to service the machine). I am terribly dissapointed with the performance of this machine. I bought it because it is compact and I thought sturdy. Boy was I wrong! Be leary of this machine!! It is not for frequent or extended useage. I only weigh 130 lbs. and I never jumped on it or did anything other than pedal smoothly.