I ended up buying this at a local sports store and like the previous two reviewers was a bit wary to buy it because there were no reviews. I ended up finally buying it because of the reputation that Schwinn has with its other ellipticals and was not disappointed.
I had no difficulty putting it together by myself but it would be best to have two people. Thank you reviewer Toasty for informing me that the water bottle holder is not included. I'll stop searching my house for the damn thing now. I thought I lost it. The bolts, screws, and washers come on two cardboard sheets along with two wrenches and a hex/screw driver. You will have the screws left over for the water bottle holder. The programming was pretty straight forward until I got to the custom program level. I'm still not sure how I got past that screen.
The elliptical itself feels sturdy and well built. I am 300 pounds and it supports my weight without shaking or wobbling. The 18" stride and the handles feel comfortable for my 5'10" frame. I heard some complaints from the salesmen at the sports store that the handles were to far forward but I did not have that problem. The console is pretty basic but what was expected for the price.
Bottom line is if you are looking for a sub $600 elliptical that is well built, this is the one for you. Schwinn 420 Elliptical Trainer
I was wary if purchasing a product with no reviews on Amazon, but I found other reviews of this machine online and decided to take a risk. I'm glad I did. So far, this machine has met all my expectations.
Setup
Took about 1.5 hours total with 2 people (don't even attempt to do this with 1 person). As I expected, some parts were harder to do than others because of the way the holes line up, but in the end I managed to put it all together. Don't make the mistake of adjusting the levelers before you put it all together like I did; otherwise you'll have to put them back at factory setting to realign the holes so the bolts can go through. I also made sure to spray all the moving parts with silicone lubricant as I was putting it together.
Note that you may want an actual wrench of some sort, in addition to the tools they provide you with. Also note that the cupholder they describe in the instructions is not actually included. (even though it is in the product description, an addendum to the instructions says it is not included) The touted "magazine rack" is also just a lip on the console, so don't expect anything fancy.
Console
The interface is very confusing (and I work in computers, so I'm not a novice with technology). I still haven't managed to figure out how to do a customized program, despite running through the instructions step-by-step. However, since I rarely do programs anyway, I don't really care about this feature. There is also no backlight.
The heart rate monitor takes a while to settle at your "real" heart rate, almost a minute, so either always keep your hands on the monitor or don't count on using it too often.
Use
This machine is super-quiet, with no squeaking so far. I can watch TV at normal volume while doing my workouts. There were several complaints that on the 430 (the predecessor to this model), the easiest level was acutally pretty difficult, and I don't find that to be the case here at all even though I haven't worked out at all in months.
The stride works for me, as I'm short (5'0"). The handlebars are also fine for me, but just barely. Any further and they would be very awkward to grip.
***UPDATE*** after almost 2 years of use <Aug 19 '11>:
Just wanted to update my review, as my husband and I have used this machine 3 times/week each for almost 2 years. It still operates smoothly, no strange noise or stiffness anywhere.
I really like the fact that this machine doesn't stop counting the work-out time when I pedal backwards (some machines don't know what to do with that, and stops counting the distance etc.) We're STILL very happy about this purchase. Thought I'd update the review and let you all know that as this is a large purchase (at least for us).
<Sep 25 '09>
As Toasty mentioned, I was also unsure of purchasing this machine without any reviews posted but I did anyway. I've been working out with Precor elliptical machine at a nearby gym and I quite liked it but decided to purchase Schwinn 420 for my exercise room at home (did not want to pay thousands of dollars).
The assembly took just under 2 hours and you do need 2 people. The package is quite heavy as well so do not attempt to build this on your own. The workout is smooth and quiet which is a real treat. I also found setting the custom work-out was a bit hard but I figured it out eventually.
And no, the WATER BOTTLE HOLDER is NOT INCLUDED in this purchase.
Overall you will not be disappointed with this machine especially at this price. It looks good, makes you work out hard and keeps you in shape. I'm short (5' 2") and my husband's 6' but we both find the size of this machine suiting.
We enjoyed our Schwinn 420 for almost 6 whole months before it died. We came home from vacation, and it was making a loud knocking noise from the motor housing. Thereafter, it gave the dreaded E-2 error...
We are extremely disappointed with the quality of this machine, which has only been exacerbated by the poor service we have received while trying to repair it. To start, every phone call to Nautilus takes about an hour to get a human being. After the first phone call, they were sure it was the console that had failed and I waited two weeks for the replacement. Of course the new console gives the same error. Another hour of sitting on hold and re-explaining how the device failed, and now they are certain it must be the motor. Oops, they don't actually carry that part; I'm supposed to wait for 3-4 weeks while they see if they get replacement parts (then wait for another two weeks for shipping). If and when it does arrive, I'm supposed to go to a bike store so I can buy a crankshaft puller (somewhere in the $20-30 range) and spend my weekend pulling apart my gently used 150 pound paperweight.
You might guess I was less than enthusiastic about the above scenario, so I asked that they simply replace the elliptical since they didn't have the parts necessary to fix it and certainly could not guarantee that this new part would actually make it functional. That replacement request also carries a 2 week waiting period. After two and a half weeks, I sent them an email asking whether they would grant this request for a replacement elliptical. Of course that email to the person who said it would take two weeks and would certainly contact me with the result was ignored. It's been about 5 weeks total now without our elliptical, and I don't have much hope of that changing anytime soon.
Our last elliptical from Eclipse lasted for over 5 years and cost less than this Schwinn by a couple hundred dollars. I don't think I will buy another Schwinn or Nautilus product and hope you don't have the misfortune of having to deal with their product support.'
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