Sole E25 Elliptical

"Early Christmas present is paying off! Haven't felt this good since high school."

"I read great reviews about this machine, but mixed reviews on the incline (new on 2009), but decided to take a chance after looking at every model possible could in all of local stores. I had planned on purchasing the E35, but I am only 5'1" and I could not comfortably reach the controls on the handles. The E25 felt more comfortable for my height. I do like how the E25 has controls on the stationary handles.



My boyfriend put it together in about an hour and had no issues. I was worried about putting it together after reading reviews on the different ellipticals, but this was a piece of cake! We could not bring it into the house as the box was huge and heavy. We had to open it outside and bring it in by pieces. Bringing in the flywheel up stairs was a three man job.



This one has the manual incline, which is defective, but we figured out how to fix it. If you remove the plastic cover over the incline there is a spring on the left side. When the inline is lowered the spring should be bowed flush against the machine, but sometimes it does not bow and we have to move it into place. Other than that, the machine is pretty quiet, but does make some noise. I think using some of the lube that it came with will help. I don't really notice it much with music playing.



The speakers are OK, and the fan is forgetful. It comes with chest strap heart rate monitor, and seems fairly accurate. I am not sure if the calories count is accurate bc on gym machines I burn 500-600 cals in an hour, and this told me I only burned 250 in one hour. But, I usually take those with a grain of salt.



Overall, the machine is very sturdy and feels really smooth. The foot pedals are huge, and the adjustable pedals are nice to have. I find inclining the pedals makes it easier to go backwards on the machine.



Other than that, it's a good strong machine. It has one of the better warranties out there which is why I went with this. The only other brand that beat out the warranty was Spirit, but the equivalent to the E25 was a couple hundred more and did not have speakers. Also, the Sole was available in store and I did not have to wait for it."

"My wife uses ellipticals at the gym and had to have one for the house. I wasn't on board at first, but I realized that I needed to exercise more anyway, so let's get one. I couldn't be happier with our decision to purchase this machine. We researched and tried out many models and this was our #1 choice in the $1,000 range.



At first I had some of the same noise issues that others have written about. This was easily corrected by tightening the bolts and lubricating the springs, as written in the manual.



It's been over three weeks now and I have gone from a couch potato to an elliptical junky. I actually can't wait to work out now. The feeling is so invigorating. I already feel my body tightening and have lost 2 inches on my waist. My wife has said "This is the best $1,000 that we have ever spent!""

"I was tired of going to the gym on my lunch break and waiting in line for an ellipitcal. I did a lot of research and knew what I wanted. I prefer this machine over the one at the YMCA. It gives you a read of of everything, how fast you are going, calories, heart rate, distance and more. It has many different levels. No matter what you are looking for (weightloss, strength, cardio) this machine will meet your needs."

"As I assembled the machine the parts appear to be high quality and went together well. The elliptical has 6 feet that touch the floor and if all are adjusted the unit is very stable. I am very happy with the performance during a heavy workout, it's solid."

"I wd definitely recommend buying this machine. I got mine a month ago 12/2007. It was a breeze to put together and I am a GIRL!Took me about a little over an hourto assemble very simple directions easy to follow compared with some other machines I have helped assemble before!! I used a rachet wrench to speed things up instead of their wrench.I would also recommend you leave the foam insert in place when you are tightening the bolts on the main frame where the handblebar goes in. Why? I read the directions to leave it there and I didn't and I dropped the little wrench inside the wheel assembly (surprise surprise!) So this ended with me having to dissassemble allthe little screws that hold the cover on the flywheel, retrieve the wrench with a magnetic picker upper stick and rescrew the cover on. 10 minutes extra but that was because I didnt follow their rule. Next time I will.I also found it a time saver to when you are trying to push the wiring for the console panel up inside the shaft of the handlebar frame to attach a long piece of picture hanging wire to the end of the electrical wires and push that up thru the handlebar piece and pull the wire out at the console attachment end. Saved me time because I was struggling to keep the wires from bending as they were threaded up the handlebar area. Picture hanging wire (or any thin strong wire) is much thinner and passes thru quicker.I have been using this SOLE 25 after trying out about 30 or 40 different machines in the various stores in town and doing thorough research on consumer reviews. It seems Sole has a great warranty and is a very good sturdy piece of equipment. No tipping, no rocking. Everything works great. I am toning up and losing weight. It is fun to use this machine. I rarely write reviews for things I buy but this one has impressed me a lot and I feel you should seriously consider it. [...]. I am a happy camper!"

"I've had this elliptical machine for 3 days, so I can't say anything about medium-to-long-term quality, but I can talk about setup and my first few uses. One tip, there's a dotted line on the cardboard box. The idea is you put the line near the floor, cut around it and lift the box off. Obvious, maybe, but I hadn't seen it before. By the time I'd lugged all the items out of the top of the box and discovered the purpose of the dotted line in the manual, it was too late. Set up was relatively straightforward. Tools are included, and the nuts and bolts are thoughtfully packaged so that you open a different set for each of the four main assembly steps. The manual was pretty clear, although the images were too small to figure out things like which end of the nylon bolts goes on first. Two things were confusing -- there's no mention in the manual of a function for a velcro strap that was packaged around one of the main pieces. Is it to prevent movement while shipping, or does it have a long-term use? Also, there were some rubber items packaged on the bars where the arms attach that looked like they might have a function, but they also weren't mentioned in the manual. None of these issues was a long-term stumper. Setup was comparable to Ikea furniture and it took me about 2 1/2 hours. Exercising on this elliptical is very smooth and solid and the controls are easy to understand and operate. The manual could go into greater depth about how the console and different exercise settings work. Also, some basics about how to optimize elliptical training would be welcome. Adjustments in pedal angle and incline are smooth and the moving parts lock well into different levels. Overall, I'm very happy with the Sole E25 after about 4 hours of use."

"You know, it's not club quality so don't expect it to be. What it is however, is an excellent value and a great work out at home. 45 minutes a day on the E25 will keep anyone healthy, (more)wealthy and wise. It's a great way to stay fit and I'm very happy with how it performs. I'll be on it again first thing in the morning and I actually look forward to it."

"I found this product to be better than I thought it would be.I was looking at the 2008 model and saw this new one.It has several more features that I found on the earlier more expensive models.[@]"

"We have had this elliptical for a little more than a week and absolutely love it. It was relatively easy to assemble (allow yourself about 1 hour) and is of obvious quality construction. Originally we had been shopping around for an elliptical machine with a smaller price tag, but we could not ignore all the excellent reviews from various web sites about Sole and their new ellipticals (especially the part about Sole's warranty). When we saw the Sole E25 and E55 in person and tried them out for the first time we knew that these were quality elliptical machines. Unfortunately, since we are beginners to the whole exercise thing, we could not bring ourselves to buy the E55 mainly due to it being a little more than we wanted the spend. Another deciding factor for us was the fact that the foot print of the E55 is about a foot longer than the E25. So other than the E25 not having the adjustable pedals and the 5 year parts warranty like the E55, we are extremely pleased with this purchase. We are looking forward to regularly using this elliptical trainer for many years to come."