Customer Reviews

Schwinn 418 Elliptical (2005 Model)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought this elliptical to work off the baby weight I gained after the birth of my son. I tried a gym membership first, but who wants to waste time at a gym when I've got my new pride and joy at home? Consumer Reports recommended the elliptical as a best buy, so I decided to give it a try. First, it comes unassebled. The directions are a bit scanty, but easy to figure out. I was able to put 95% of it together by myself while my son slept in about 2.5 hours. I did need a bit of hubby brawn for the last couple of steps. All in all, it looked fantastic put together. Advice: don't rush putting the parts together. The brawn part involved the sheet metal screws and the glider covers. As for the ride...Fantastic! It is sooooo quiet. I can excercise at night when the little one is sleeping without a sound heard in the room next door... and I can hear his baby monitor without difficulty. Sometimes I exercise with the baby looking on in his intelletrainer. We exercise together, grooving to ABC's. All in all, a great purchase!

I checked around for elliptical trainers before I bought this from Amazon. It was difficult to know what to believe. I found the Schwinn in four different places, and based on the positive reviews and the purchase price, I decided to go for it. I'm glad I did.

Size wise and noise wise, the Schwinn is pretty compact and very quiet, compared to some that my friends have purchased. I've also found it very sturdy, although I'm not a really large person.

Amazon's vendor used a superlative local shipper to get my order to me on time, with little fuss and muss, and in good shape. It was challenging to put together (I had help!) but worth it. The settings and features are professional, and while I haven't explored all of the 10+ workout programs, I think I bought a winner!

I purchased this machine at costco ($699), thinkling it wouldn't be as good as the precor at the gym, but it would have to do as my scheule for working out is never the same.

I absolutely love it.

It's a real heavy box ( nearly 200 lbs) so you may want a friend around to help move the bloody thing. It requires assembly. My 14 year old daughter put it together so I imagine most people will manage.

This is just as nice and effective as the precor we used at the gym; we have it at home in the living room as a reminder to take 30 minutes, watch a sit come and get our work out done.

The stride is nice ( even for people with longer legs) and the programs have a variety of workouts for all levels of fitness.

I would definately recommend this machine to anyone who is in love with the much more costly precor machine- or for anyone who wants to burn burn burn those calories

I found it very difficult to find reviews on ellipticals that weren't written by the manufacturers. I ended up buying this machine after reading 2 customer reviews. It was a good choice. It was cumbersome, but I was able to assemble it myself. It's very sturdy, stylish for a machine, and fairly quiet. There are two plastic parts at the bottom which rattle & I can't figure out how to get that to stop, but otherwise I'm very happy with the machine. The best price I found was $899 but looks like Amazon has it for $799 now (about 1-2 months later). Don't pay more than this even though the MSRP shows something like $1800.

I'm a med student. Being such time is essential. I've also been working out my entire life, mostly basketball and weightlifting. So I decided to look into buying an elliptical machine because I was getting tired of the long lines at the gym, inconvenience of traveling back and forth from the gym. Most importantly I didn't want to do cardio and weights all in one workout. For best results you should have at least 2 hrs between lifting and doing cardio.
I knew I wanted an elliptical machine in the $1,000 price range. I wanted an elliptical because too much running outside and on the treadmill gives me shin splints because of the impact, also it's bad for your knees.
As I started researching online for the best machine I couldn't find many reviews to make a clear decision. Which is why I feel obligated to pass on the information. I also read consumer reports whihc rated this machine a "Best Buy". The other brands I looked at were all selling an inferior product, some were complete scams. Schwinn was German made, have a solid name in the business and also the couple of people taht wrote reviews were raving about the machine.
So I bought the Schwinn 428p
Price: After a 5% discount and with a 3 yrs extended warranty $1156
The fedex guy rung the bell, I let him through the basement and on the elevator to my door. He did me a favor because it didn't matter much to him and I gave him a $5 tip.
Assembling the machine on my own took me ~4hrs. I didn't rush because I didn't want to mess anything up. The parts seemed to be off very high quality and everything fit together like a glove. I could tell it was German made. It wasn't that hard putting the machine together considering that it's an elliptical machine. I would recommend however that you do it with a partner.
The only problems were that a tiny screw holding a small protective piece (to protect from dust) was defective but it doesn't get in the way of function so I've been using the machine without that piece on one side so far. I called Schwinn, customer service was very nice and said that they'll ship it right away, along with the water bottle that was also missing. I've been using my poland spring water bottle and it fits just fine in the holder so it's not like I really need it but I still rather have it just in case.
I've had the machien for a week now and used it every day so far. It's really great, quite, solid. I don't think it makes much more noise than the machines at my gym. I think it's very quite, not silent but quite. I watch TV while on the machine without a problem and don't have to turn the volume up extremelly loud. The workouts are amazing, I sweat like a horse, I love not wearing a shirt like I have to in my gym. I've been lately jogging with nothing but boxers and sneakers on. I love it.
MY only problem is that the machine doesn't have a reading rack so I can read magazines or a space to put my remote control. Other than that I can't find a thing wrong with this device.

The equipment operates adequately and as expected, but with some rhythmic noise when operted for extended periods and increased loading. This is possibly due to inadequate bearing surfaces, and/or lack of lubrication.
Technical suupport leaves a great deal to be desired. Specifically, the Owner's Manual is poorly written and incomplete. The "Brief Program Overview" lists numerous features, constantly referring to a non-existent "Operating Instructions" section. An e-mail request for a copy of those Operating Instructions resulted in a reply that the two manuals, which I already had, were available, the Owner's Manual and Assembly Manual. There was no reference to any Operating Instructions. In addition, a telephone inquiry for the connection location for the AC power adapter required two technicians to finally state that the computer had to be removed to reveal that connection location. As I subsequently discovered, that was not correct.
These two episodes have left me with the thought that, from here on out, I am on my own, and futher contact for technical assistance was a waste of time.

I picked this up after seeing is was a Consumer Reports Best Buy and reading the positive reviews on Amazon. I just got it and put it together and was really impressed with the design (coming from a mechanical engineer.) It works great - If it holds up (which I think it will) it is definitely a good buy. One note - When I was deciding between the 418 and 428 one of the pros for the 428 was that it would operate in reverse. I ended up with the 418 and it appears that it operates fine in reverse. One other note - The included hand grip pulse rate monitor on the 418 is on the stationary hand grips, not on the ones that you hold and exercise with. Not a big deal, but if you want to use the heart rate control you may want to look at the 428.

I bought this model last summer, from a local exercise equipment store, for a bit (more than a bit, really) more tha than Amazon is now selling it. Wish I had waited, but frankly I am so happy with the machine I don't mind. And of course, I didn't have to assemble it!

Exceptionally smooth workings - no "bump" in the rotation. I looked at a lot of machines before selecting this, and am very happy with my decision. If you're looking for an elliptical, this is hard to beat, at any price. At this price, I don't think it is possible to beat.

This machine came well packaged in large, heavy box. Open the top and turn it on it's side to get it out of the foam packaging. Moving the box itself is difficult, but the individual parts move easily. If you live in a multi-story home, you will want to assemble the machine on the same floor you will use it. This is a large and heavy machine.

Some assembly was required, but it all went together with very little trouble. Everything was there, even the tools to assemble it. The parts go together flawlessly. It took me about an hour and a half to get it together. I was impressed by the precision and fit of the parts.

It was well worth the assembly time. The machine glides silently. It is quiet. You can easlily hear a television set at normal levels.

The machine has more features than I knew from the ads. For example, it has the capabilty for telemetric heart monitoring,

This machine is as good or better than Club Machines. If you want an eliptical machine and can afford the 418, but it, you will not be disappointed.

The good: It was simple to put together, and it runs smoothly. Before we made the purchase, we tried out a few models in a local bike shop and at the Dick's with prices ranging from $600 to $2500, and my 9 year old and I both liked the feel of the Schwinn 438 best. Once I confirmed that the mechanicals of 418 and 438 were the same, I put in the order.

The not so good: The box did not include the advertised water bottle, and when I called the customer service of Schwinn, I was told that it was no longer included in the package; (...). When reading the feedback from the computer, it appears that the numbers are on the luxurious side: my 5 mile runs usually take 47-49 min, but on the 418 I logged nearly 6 miles over the same time span, yet did not feel as challenged. Also, the distance meter will chop off 0.1 after your first step on the machine. I am also skeptical of the calories it reports.