Sole E95 Elliptical Trainer (2009-2010 Model)

by Sole

Product Features

• Features a 30-pound flywheel and dual-action functionality for an upper and lower body workout
• Grip pulse monitoring and heart rate chest strap; oversize and adjustable foot pedals
• Twenty resistance levels and ten programs for a challenging workout
• Offers a 20-inch stride length, LED display monitor, cooling fan, and water bottle holder
• 400-pound maximum weight capacity; measures 82 by 33 by 68 inches (L x W x H) when assembled

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Enjoy an efficient full-body workout without heading to the gym with the Sole E95 elliptical trainer. Boasting a heavy 30-pound flywheel, a high gear ratio not found on most comparable models, and a pair of upper body handles, the E95 delivers an extremely smooth workout with plenty of top-end resistance. Users will also appreciate the unique oversize and adjustable foot pedals, which were designed in collaboration with a leading physical therapist and sports enthusiast. The pedals are not only extra large, but also feature a 2-degree inward slope that reduces the ankle and knee stress that's common in other elliptical machines. The collaboration also produced a revolutionary foot pedal angle adjustment not found on any other elliptical. Taking into account that not everyone walks the same way, Sole engineers made the E95's pedals adjustable to fit the way you walk. This also reduces the likelihood of numb toes and sore Achilles tendons.

Workout specifics include 20 resistance levels, 10 total programs (including two custom and two heart-rate programs), and a 20-inch stride length. Perhaps the handiest feature from a user perspective, however, is the easy-to-use electronic console, which integrates a red/green display, a cooling fan, and a water bottle holder. Additional features include stationary handlebars with built-in pulse sensors for monitoring your heart rate; a heart rate chest strap for hands-free pulse monitoring; heavy-duty rails with smooth-riding wheels on the back; and a rear plastic shroud that adds additional stability for aggressive use. The E95, which offers a maximum weight capacity of 400 pounds, carries the following warranties: lifetime on the frame, five years on all parts and electronics, and two years on the labor.

Specifications:

• Assembled Dimensions: 82 by 33 by 68 inches (L x W x H)
• Arm Spacing: 23 inches
• Arm Stride: 30 inches
• Step Up: 15 inches
• Foot Spacing: 5.5 inches

  The E95 features an LED console to track your workout metrics.

• Stride Length: 20 inches
• Front Drive: Yes
• Steel Frame: 38mm
• Resistance Type: ECB
• Adjustable Pedals: Worm Drive
• Articulating Pedals: Yes
• Flywheel: 30 pounds
• Resistance Levels: 20
• Power: Plug in
• Upper Body: Yes
• Molded Hand Grips: Yes
• Pulse Grips: Yes
• Handlebar Adjust: Yes
• Display Type: LED
• Heart Rate Control: Yes
• HR Telemetry Belt: Yes
• Auto Pilot: Yes
• HR % Graph: Yes
• Windows: 2
• Track Display: Yes
• Audio System: Yes
• Incline: Power
• Six Standard Programs
• Two User-Defined Programs
• Two Heart Rate Programs
• Cooling Fans
• Water Bottle Holder
• Rear Rail Shroud
• Weight Capacity: 400 pounds

Manufacturer's Warranty
Frame and brakes - lifetime, parts / electronics - 5 years, labor - 2 years

About Sole
Sole brings over twenty years of treadmill and fitness product design and manufacturing to the table in their line of innovative equipment designed for fitness-conscious people. The company's treadmill line is simple in design, with an emphasis on quality and warranty all at a great price. Sole's easy-to-use treadmills offer a great value and feature a convenient, space-saving portable design. The treadmills have a very stable base with four wheels for ease of movement, folding decks to conserve space, and a 30-year motor and lifetime deck and frame warranty. Sole is always looking for ways to make their equipment better, more efficient, with higher quality at a great price.

About Elliptical Trainers
Elliptical trainers represent the next wave of advancement in low-impact cardiovascular exercise machines and continue to grow in popularity. By simulating motions experienced through walking, stepping, cycling, and skiing, elliptical machines allow for a smooth and fluid motion while building strength in the arms and legs. Similar to the exercise position for treadmills, elliptical trainers are used by standing in an upright position while holding the handrails of the machine. With elliptical trainers, however, your feet remain in the foot pedals throughout the exercise regimen and circulate in a smooth and seamless motion, resulting in little to no impact on the knees, back, and hips.

Elliptical trainers are compatible for all ages and fitness levels and allow you to select the difficulty level through the incline and intensity settings. Additionally, elliptical trainers allow you to determine the complexity of your workout based on your needs, all while listening to music, watching television, or reading a magazine while exercising in the comfort and safety of your own home.

Although different types of elliptical trainers offer an assortment of features, many of them include an array of challenging programs, forward and reverse directional movement, EKG grip pulse handles, a lightweight portable design with easy fold-up capability, and a monitor displaying calories burned, distance, speed, time, and heart rate. Other types of exercise machines, namely treadmills and bikes, offer excellent cardiovascular exercise and muscular training for the legs in a forward-motion exercise. Elliptical trainers take this to the next level by offering an upper and lower body workout with dual motion, challenging and diverse programs, and a low-impact exercise machine that won't strain sensitive joints.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 230 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B001G60YJY
• Item model number: E95-09
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,734 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #93 in Sports & Outdoors > Exercise & Fitness > Cardio Training > Elliptical Trainers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost perfect, but not quite..., November 12, 2008

By 

PghYinzer "more of myself after winter" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sole E95 Elliptical Trainer (2009-2010 Model) (Sports)

I have been researching home ellipticals for a while now. I was spoiled with the LifeFitness machines (20 inch stride) at the gym and I know many home ellipticals fall short - they feel shaky, flimsy, the stride is short... I had read great things about Sole machines and went to a local store to try them out.

They had the e95, e35, and e25 in new 2009 models as well as an old (2008) e55 being sold as a floor model. I had originally thought I wanted the e55 but the new e35 is actually better than the old e55 so that ruled out the floor model, even at a killer price.

I looked mainly at the e35 and the e95.

Both are very, very, very sturdy machines. I was amazed at how much they feel like the LifeStride - very solid and a nice, long stride. I am only 5'4 but anything less than 20" in stride length feels choppy to me - I don't know how anyone can stand most home machines!

If I really, really got going hard and fast, I could feel a slight difference in sturdiness between the two machines. I should point out I am between 140-150 pounds - the sales guys said if they were me, they'd go with the e35 but someone of a higher weight would notice the difference more than I did. The difference in sturdiness alone was really too slight to justify the difference in price, but since we could afford to go higher, I wondered if we should.

The other thing I debated, though, was the computer. For the most part you can do the exact same thing with both machines, but the computers are a little different. The e95 is flashy red LED and has a numeric keypad. The e35 is blue LCD and has arrow keys for input (ie it says "Input age" and it starts with, I think, 32 - you then have to toggle to the right age). It's a little annoying but something that will be annoying at the start of the workout and that's all. Again a case of we can afford to pay more and this would be nice, maybe we should.

Both machines have buttons on the handlebars for adjusting resistance and incline - VERY cool. Both machines allow you to adjust the foot pedals although the e95 has a knob you turn so you can adjust to any angle within the range whereas the e35 has a lever you pull out and then lift the pedals which have 2 or 3 notches in them that catch on the lever when you push it back in - like an exercise bike seat - so you may not get THE perfect adjustment.

So it seems like if you're willing to spend the cash the e95 is the way to go, right? Not so fast. There was one big drawback to it and one small drawback. The small was, I didn't care for the padded footbeds. They neither added nor detracted from the workout but I didn't see the need to pay extra and I worried about the padding breaking down over time. If you're wearing tennis shoes who needs padded footbeds? The biggest drawback was, the e95 has fat, molded handgrips. I found these felt chunky and sticky in my hands. Maybe if you are a 6' plus beefy guy with bigger hands, you would prefer this, but I really didn't like it and it would bother me the entire workout. The e35 has thinner, smoother handgrips, like I was used to at the gym. I did not want to pay extra for the e95 and hate those handgrips.

In the end I ordered the new 2009 e55 from Sole because it has all the features I like - a little sturdier than the e35, numeric keypad though screen is LED not LCD, smooth handgrips with buttons, killer warranty, fully adjustable and non-padded foot beds. I wish I could have tried this one in the store but I liked both the e35 and the e95 so much I am quite sure this was the right choice. These really are great machines but the handgrips on the e95 were a deal breaker for me.

If you have a Dick's near you - try this machine, you will be amazed. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the models - it all comes down to slight differences between them. (But of course as you go up in weight, they say the heavier flywheel does make a bigger difference)

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Machine!, March 9, 2009

By 

BrianW (Montgomery, Alabama United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sole E95 Elliptical Trainer (2009-2010 Model) (Sports)

I've been into health and fitness for about 12 years, and I've owned several cardio and weight machines over that time. Also, I go to the gym so I have experience using commercial grade equipment. I purchased this machine so that I could do my cardio at home and only have to go to the gym for my weight training. I've been using it about 4 days a week, for 45 minute sessions, for about 4 weeks now and I absolutely love it! This is a very sturdy piece of equipment, and is very smooth. I am very happy with this product, and as long as it doesn't break on me any time soon, I will continue to be a supporter of Sole products.

Some people mentioned some difficulties in assembling this machine, but I don't recall having any major problems other than the issues mentioned below, which I don't think were really related to the assembly. I did take it real slow (and had someone looking over me lol) just to make sure I didn't mess anything up, so just be sure to set aside plenty of time so you can follow the directions exactly. Fortunately, they include all the tools you need and all of the small parts (screws, bolts, etc.) are separated out in a package according to the step you use them.

There were 2 very small issues I had after I assembled the machine, but they were very minor so I didn't think it warranted taking a star off the rating. First, after assembling it and getting on it to test it out, I noticed some type of squeaking noise. After narrowing down where the sound was coming from I found out that it was caused by the rollers, so I applied the supplied lube to the rails and that solved that problem. The other issue was another noise I noticed while being on it for a few minutes. I narrowed that noise down to one of the "O" bolts that screw into the end of the end where you connect the leg arm to the arm handle. The problem was caused because you couldn't screw the "O" bolt in all the way because if you did you could line the arm handle up with it. Anyways, I called Sole and they had a technician call me. He shipped me the part I needed (another "O" bolt, washer, etc.) and that solved the problem. It should be noted that, after seeing what they sent me, I could have very easily fixed this problem myself by just using a washer on the "O" bolt, but I figured I'd just let the part come in from the technician. These 2 issues were very minor and the noises were not very loud, but I thought I should at least mention them.

Some other things:
- Another poster mentioned the tube of lube that comes in the box, and I believe that is used to lube the railings that the rollers ride on. At least that's what I used it for.
- Someone mentioned the arm grips being a bit large, and they are somewhat large compared to other machines, but I got use to them after a few workouts.
- If you like really hardcore, grueling training sessions then get on this thing and pump the resistance level up to 10+ (it goes to 20 I think). This thing has more resistance than any home piece of equipment I have ever seen, and just as much as most of the commercial ones. The bottom line is no matter how strong you are, I don't think you are going to outgrow this thing.

You usually get what you pay for, and if you are serious about getting a good piece of home exercise equipment that will give you an awesome workout, then expect to pay at least this much. I actually purchased this thing from a local Dick's Sporting Goods because it was the same price but I probably paid a good bit more once you figure in sales tax (10% here in Montgomery, AL). If you have a local sporting goods store that carries this elliptical, you may want to go check it out there first just to make sure it feels ok to you.

May 15, 2009 update: I'm still very much enjoying this machine and getting a lot of use out of it. I didn't say anything about the included heart-rate monitor in my original review but thought I should mention it now because I've been using it a lot. Unlike the hand-grip monitor that this machine and others like it have, the included chest strap monitor seems to be very accurate! I've experimented with it a few times by slowing the pace down and picking the pace up and watched as the on screen display accurately reflected the change in heart-rate.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll work up a sweat with this baby!, March 23, 2009

By 

Robert T. Muir "Mycroft" (LAKEWOOD, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sole E95 Elliptical Trainer (2009-2010 Model) (Sports)

I can't add much to the previous excellent reviews, but I will add my thoughts.

WARNING: Take ceiling height into consideration! I had planned on installing it in my basement which has an 84" ceiling. It ended up in my garage with a 91" ceiling, less 1/2" for the matting. My height is 5'10" (70") and the 90.5" garage feels comfortable using the elliptical. Much less than that though, and it wouldn't be comfortable at all. I would say to add at least 17" to your body height.

On assembly: Not too bad. As someone said, if you can assemble complicated Ikea furniture, you can probably handle this. There are LOTS of parts. The rubber grommets for one of the steps were with the power cord, other than that, all the bolts and washers are separated in a tray by the assembly step number.

Positives: Very solid. When using it, it only very slightly wobbles and that's because it's setting on 1/2" foam matting. Once I move a light fixture out of the way, I'll probably move it over to the edge and remove the matting from under it.

Very quiet and very smooth.

Negatives: At the lowest level, it provides probably too intense a workout for some folks. For me it's fine. This morning I did the interval with a max level of six and it was no problem. (I'm not exactly Mr. Buff.) For my wife, who doesn't do much physical exertion, after 5 min. on level one, she was back to walking on the treadmill. So I'd say if your normal exercise is walking, then you may need to work up to an elliptical.

Audio speakers are *tiny*! Also tinny. Rather like the audio from an old transister radio. Usable in a pinch I suppose, but I wouldn't count on them for a pleasurable workout experience.

It has two "user" memory storage buttons that are virtually worthless. You can, step by arduous step, program a specific workout with twenty different segments!!! if you like, but it's hard to imagine real people using this feature. I would much rather have two buttons that memorized two different people's weight, age, etc. As it is, if two people alternate on it, you have to enter all the information every time you use the machine. Fortunately for me, it looks like it'll be a while before my wife gets back on it.

I think the built-in profiles are adequate, although I wish they had a profile with continuous random "hills" of various heights for more diversity.

If you want a non-impact full-body workout that can raise a serious sweat, with the possible exception of a rowing machine, you can't beat an elliptical. All in all, I'm glad we bought it.

Edit: I wanted to add a few more positives. I like that the foot pads are adjustable. You can't even tell that they're "padded" - not sure why they market that "feature", but the pads don't appear to be easy to wear out, which is a good thing.

After using it some more, I can tell that I need to adjust my height recommendation. If you're going to use the Incline feature, (where the back rails lift the foot pads higher when they're in the rear position), then you'll probably need 18" or 19" above your height. When the Incline is at the highest position, my head doesn't hit the 90.5" ceiling, but it's pretty darn close!

Don't let my thoughts on the resistance at the lowest level disuade you. It's very likely to be that way for all ellipticals. See if you can get a trial membership at a gym for a day to try an elliptical to see if it's too much for you.

It comes with a tube of lube without instructions. Customer service said to apply a dime size dollop on each track and the wheels would spread it out naturally.