I ordered this directly from Nautilus and just recieved it a week ago 11/11/2008.
When you open the box everything is packaged very well and it honestly takes almost as long to unwrap everything and get everything out of the box as it does to assemble.
It states that assembly needs two people but I was able to put it together myself without any problems. After all Men don't listen to instructions anyways right? It took about 3 hours from the moment I started cutting tape to open the box to having it fully assembled and ready to go.
The elliptical looks great and is suitable for any room. Just a note about this machine. I was going to put this in my home gym which is in my basement that has 7 foot ceilings, but after halfway through assembly I realized that this elliptical will make you about 14 inches taller so just something to be aware of.
I was unsure about the "Variable Stride" system and thought the description was a little vague before I ordered it. I assumed that this was controlled via the display console as you would select walk, run, or step. In fact the variable stride is simply determined by how hard you push on the pedals as you are moving. There is two wheels that stick out of the side that hook up to slides below the foot pedals. Although it was not what I expected it is a very effective design and I like how you can determine the amount of effort that you want to put into your workout. I started sweating after about 5 minutes and after 45 minutes had what I felt to be a very good cardio calorie burning workout. One thing I thought was pretty cool is that during a workout it will occasionally tell you Good Job! I know you're probably thinking "so what?" but you'd be suprised what it does to your motivation. It's like there's a little personal trainer in there cheering you on.
The handlebar heartbeat monitor seems to be accurate but takes time to display. The telemetric heartrate monitor seems to be more effective. The cupholder is large enough to hold a remote control and a water bottle at the same time which is nice.
I found it most comfortable to use the moving handlebars when exercising and the motions felt very natural. The stationary handles were nice when taking a drink of water, or taking a little break from the more intense work.
The display is bright and has some useful information including time, distance, calories burned, wattage being used, and rpm. It is easy to change resistance or display info with a simple touch of the finger. For taller people the contrast starts to get dull but this is adjustable.
Overall I am very happy with this elliptical and consider it to be just as effective as the $4000 elliptical at my health club. I am 6' 1" and my girlfriend is 5' 4" and we both felt very comfortable with the feel of the machine. The stroke feels very ergonomic and it is great operating in a forward and backward motion which is very helpful when you get real tired, you can take a mini break by walking backwards for a minute or two while still working your muscles and keeping your heartrate up.
The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because I felt that the variable stride wasn't explained clearly enough before I recieved it, but then again I am just as happy if not happier than what I expected in the first place. I highly recommend it and do not regret getting it in the least - get ready to lose some weight and feel better about yourself with this affordable, stylish, and effective machine! Schwinn 460 Variable Stride Elliptical Trainer
This is a difficult review to write because I really wanted to like this machine - there are so many good things about it. The construction is awesome, consisting of heavily overbuilt steel tubing with bronze and steel bearings on all moving parts (way outclassing any machine in its prices point), it's well engineered, everything fits well and works smoothly, it's rock solid in operation, etc. This is really a well engineered and well executed machine.
The problem I have with it is in the basic concept of how the variable stride is accomplished. Basically, the "pedals" (and their associated platforms and tubes) slide over rollers that turn a bicycle style crank driving a flywheel. The sliding action drives the crank only with the friction/resistance of the pedals over the rollers - there is no direct connection to the crank. If you want, you can stand still and slide the pedals back and forth over the rollers without moving the crank. Once you get the flywheel going, it's very smooth, but (and this is the rub) the only real force you can apply is in the vertical direction at the forward end of the stroke where you're pushing down on the rollers. The fore and aft parts of the stroke have only minimal resistance as the pedal structure slides over the roller. The hand bars also provide some resistance but, unlike a regular elliptical machine, pulling on the bars does not speed up the rotation of the flywheel. They simply increse the speed/distance of the pedals moving over the roller - which varies the stride length.
Bottom line: it's a great workout for your quads and, yes, you can vary the stride length. But it's not as satisfying or as complete a workout as a conventional elliptical. I'm sending mine back and ordering a Sole e95 - more money, but I tried it at Dick's and loved it. - Schwinn - Elliptical Trainers - Elliptical - Schwinn 460'
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