Elliptical Trainer Guide

I purchased the Tunturi C3 as a mid-entry elliptical trainer. I wanted something more solid than what was available at Sears. Durability, quiet/smooth action, and tension adjustments were my highest priorities.

I picked up the Tunturi at Fitness Warehouse fully boxed. Believe me, the box is very heavy–I would recommend having a strong friend along for assistance.

Assembling the unit required many steps and lots of screws. Although the instructions were clear, hooking the tension wire onto the paperclip-like assembly embedded inside the metal frame required much dexterity and small-than-average fingers. Also, one should be careful to ensure the moving parts don’t land on your head, hands, or feet during assembly.

Having owned a Pro-Form elliptical machine which fell apart after a short time period, I did not want to get caught with a second-rate exercise machine again.

I started my hunt at the local sporting goods store, where the majority of the machines come with a mammoth 90 day warranty (whoop-de-do!). When I found the Tunturi, I was pleasantly surprised to find a 3 year warranty, on a machine costing about the same, so I took the plunge.

The unit is solidly built, giving me the first night’s work out just getting the box into the house and assembling it.

I purchased the Sole E95 on September 27 of 2006. Delivery was right on target. (14 days) I purchased it directly from Sole for $1699. It took me about 1.5 hours to assemble. Not too bad considering I’m not experienced at building things. I purchased another unit several years back for about $600 which broke shortly thereafter and did not get much use from it.

I just received the E55 a few days ago. Let me tell you, this machine feels even better than the LifeFitness ellipticals, although the workout is definitely more difficult because of the 20″ stride length. I’m pretty short - 5′7″ so maybe that has something to do with it. You can really get an awesome calf and butt workout in comparison to other machines. I didn’t realize how out of shape I am - anything past level 4 resistance is extremely difficult at this point. Anyway, the machine is great and I’m looking forward to getting in awesome shape. I’ll have to submit some before and after pictures in 6 months or so!

I purchased the Sole E95 after a lot of researching of machines on the Web. I even went to a couple of high end fitness stores to check out Precor. I really liked the Precor but did not like the price tag. I decided to order the Sole E95. They had a good warranty and the machine got great reviews.

I researched ellipticals online for 24 intensive hours over the course of three days. If you find yourself on such a search, I will do my best to accommodate you.

I have not ridden any other ellipticals than this one, though my wife has. She finds the e95 to be a favorable ride. Based on reviews of other ellipticals, I would agree with this: The e95 makes a bit of noise, a whooshing noise, though I have entirely forgotten about this just one minute into the workout. The only other drawback that I have noticed is that there is some play in the arm bars, so that they can jiggle just a little bit until I hit my rhythm. For me, these are minor points, and obviously I’ve overlooked them in favor of the positive traits, which are many.

I won’t pretend to be a fitness expert. After doing some research on the internet on elliptical trainers and tread mills, I decided that an elliptical was best for me because of the low impact, and arm workout.

The E95 came in a well packaged box with all the pieces there and all in perfect condition. Like others have said, the assembly instructions are not the best in the world but are at least written in coherent, clear English sentences with enough diagrams to make assembly fairly easy. All the pieces fit together well and appear to be high quality to me.