Sunny Health & Fitness Stride Zone Elliptical - SF-E3865

I received my elliptical machine 5 weeks ago.Short story: I love it and it meets my needs very well.Goal: Cardio is the goal.Does it work?: Oh yeah!Long story: They recommend 2 people for assembly. I did it by myself in 4+ hours. Only 1 part of assembly is a little challenging solo, but was able to think it thru.I read other reviews about squeaks after the first week or so. Yep, me too, but really not an issue. The assembly uses curved washers to fit against the structural tubing. After a week of use these washers settled into place becoming a bit loose. I kept the hex wrench (supplied) handy and just re-torqued the screws. It's really not a problem but more of a break-in period.I recommend following the instructions on NOT tightening all the screws until the very end of assemble. This allows for some "wiggle room" during assemble, which was definitely needed.Usage: I put the machine in a spare bedroom with an 8ft ceiling. I'm 6'1" and have plenty of clearance while on the machine ... except for the ceiling fan. I moved the machine toward a corner and problem solved.Programming the machine took a bit to understand. I was put out by having to scroll and set my age every time I got on it, but learned there are 4 user programs that would remember my settings.The vertical arms and the pulse sensor T-bar feel just a bit low for me, but really not a issue.My only real criticism is the pulse sensor. It's only on the lower stationary T-Bar and not additionally on the vertical arms. Also, if I grip the T-bar too tightly it fails to sense my pulse correctly.I really like the magnetic resistance. It's VERY smooth. You can use the machine without power. It defaults to a medium-light resistance, but unplugged during a higher setting will retain that setting.I have the machine in a carpeted room, but purchased a treadmill mat for it to sit on. It will make cleaning around it easier.Construction and welds look good.The goal is cardio. It works. It works very well.I would buy it again.

We decided to purchase this particular eliptical after reading all the reviews out there for all of them. Every elipical out there had complaints, even the really expensive ones! so I decided to go twith this one since it seemed to have the fewest complaints, and was a reasonable price, so I felt that even if it didn't work out I wasn't out a ton of money.It arrived in good condition, packaged very well (in a ton a styrofoam - not terribly excited about that - would love to see them switch to something less toxic to the environment!). Assembly wasn't too terrible (it took my husband and I one full evening, however he is an engineer, so I'm sure that was an advantage!) It actually took just as long to unpackage it from all the styrofoam and clean up all the mess that made as it did to assemble it!After getting the machine completely assembled, it did not work. It would turn on, but after 30 seconds it would beep and give an error message. We read all the trouble-shooting instructions and tried everything to no avail. We had read from other reviewers that they had this problem, and were just hoping we would be one of the lucky ones that didn't! Well, we weren't. So we contacted the manufacturer for help. Be aware that the turn around time for response when contacting them is anywhere from 24 to 48 hours (either they are super busy or possibly the customer service is overseas?), however they did respond, and were VERY HELPFUL!! The error message indicated (according to customer service) that the motor (which is pre-installed in the mainframe) was not working. So they sent another mainframe to us, no charge. However this second one gave the same error message! We suggested that it was possible that the control panel was bad, rather than the motor, regardless of the error message (we had read that other reviewers had issues with the control panel), and they agreed that could be the case, so they sent a new control panel, no charge. That fixed the issue!Bottom line, if you are patient and willing to take the time to work with customer service, and to assemble and disassemble and reassemble a few times, and wait for the parts in between, this is a great machine for the money! Customer service from this company was awesome, even though the response time was a little slow.Now if I would just use it a little more...