Horizon PSE7 Elliptical Machine Reviews
VERY good, smooth. Small problems.
by Dave on March 22nd, 2007
Compliments:
When I stepped on this machine at Dick’s Sporting Goods, it was far superior in its smoothness and integrity when I compared it to other Horizon models. It was even smoother than the Sole E25. (Although the Sole was less expensive and had a nice display.) Your assembly instructions are amazing and the prepackaged parts that were labeled according to the appropriate installation steps were very helpful. I commented to my wife that I could tell that this would be a quality machine based on the assembly. I have had a few people try this at my house and two of them commented that this machine was smoother than their elliptical at their gym. I recently tried a high-end elliptical in the weight room of a hotel recently and liked the ride of this PSE7 much better than the one in the hotel.
After using this PSE7 for just three times, I am already impressed by that smooth ride quality and respectable stride length. This machine is strong and smooth - most customers would appreciate that. I certainly do. I thoroughly appreciate the low “Q factor.” The low Q factor was a driving force behind my purchase.
Random point: I over-tightened a screw and broke a piece of plastic. I then called the company and the replacement piece was in the mail that day. Customer service was helpful and courteous.
Suggestions:
1. My feet slide a bit to the sides during my workout and render the low Q factor less effective. If your feet pads were more like the sharp, clear plastic “stomp pads” on snowboards, then feet would not slide much in any direction.
2. Provide better instructions on using eTrack and Custom programming.
3. Create a message board/discussion forum for the PSE7 on your website much like Apple does with the iPod. People can share ideas and you might even tap into that forum for excellent, reliable customer feedback.
4. My wife is a 5’4” and has a hard time reaching the hand grips. You should provide a second set of hand grips so that many customers would be comfortable on your machine. In fact, the next model should have the grips closer together.
Complaints:
1. The heart rate monitor takes far TOO long to adjust to my actual heart rate to be useful. Sometimes I have to grip the electrodes for over a minute to get an accurate reading. (I know that I am gripping them properly.) The heart rate seems to have a default immediate reading in the 70s and then it takes a few seconds to move up one beat. If my heart rate were 145, this would take MINUTES to get to the correct reading.
2. I was doing the “interval program” on level 9 for 31 minutes and the speed was jumping at increments that were too far apart. This was very frustrating. The jumps in speed were exactly 4.7, 5.5, 6.3 and 7.1. I know that I was traveling at speeds between these, yet the speedometer would jump at larger increments. During my cool down, I finally saw different numbers. This was so frustrating that I was actually distracted from my workout. Now, I ignore speed. This machine that I loved so much was showing some imperfections. I noticed also that when the resistance changed, my speed on the display changed even though in reality, my speed did not change at all. The explanation I received from Horizon was that the ride is similar to the gearing on a bike and when you move to more difficult gears, you go faster. That is an absurd bit of logic since ellipticals are supposed to mimic running, NOT biking. If ellipticals were supposed to mimic biking, than why would Horizon try to achieve a low “Q factor?” Bikes do not have low Q factors.
This ride is unbelievable however, and the integrity far outweighs these other issues. Therefore, I would still give this a high rating. I never looked forward to running, but I look forward to my 35 minutes on this elliptical. I use the elliptical almost every night simply because I enjoy it. My wife has never exercised much and she loves using the machine as well. I would give it a perfect rating if Horizon addressed the concerns properly.
When I stepped on this machine at Dick’s Sporting Goods, it was far superior in its smoothness and integrity when I compared it to other Horizon models. It was even smoother than the Sole E25. (Although the Sole was less expensive and had a nice display.) Your assembly instructions are amazing and the prepackaged parts that were labeled according to the appropriate installation steps were very helpful. I commented to my wife that I could tell that this would be a quality machine based on the assembly. I have had a few people try this at my house and two of them commented that this machine was smoother than their elliptical at their gym. I recently tried a high-end elliptical in the weight room of a hotel recently and liked the ride of this PSE7 much better than the one in the hotel.
After using this PSE7 for just three times, I am already impressed by that smooth ride quality and respectable stride length. This machine is strong and smooth - most customers would appreciate that. I certainly do. I thoroughly appreciate the low “Q factor.” The low Q factor was a driving force behind my purchase.
Random point: I over-tightened a screw and broke a piece of plastic. I then called the company and the replacement piece was in the mail that day. Customer service was helpful and courteous.
Suggestions:
1. My feet slide a bit to the sides during my workout and render the low Q factor less effective. If your feet pads were more like the sharp, clear plastic “stomp pads” on snowboards, then feet would not slide much in any direction.
2. Provide better instructions on using eTrack and Custom programming.
3. Create a message board/discussion forum for the PSE7 on your website much like Apple does with the iPod. People can share ideas and you might even tap into that forum for excellent, reliable customer feedback.
4. My wife is a 5’4” and has a hard time reaching the hand grips. You should provide a second set of hand grips so that many customers would be comfortable on your machine. In fact, the next model should have the grips closer together.
Complaints:
1. The heart rate monitor takes far TOO long to adjust to my actual heart rate to be useful. Sometimes I have to grip the electrodes for over a minute to get an accurate reading. (I know that I am gripping them properly.) The heart rate seems to have a default immediate reading in the 70s and then it takes a few seconds to move up one beat. If my heart rate were 145, this would take MINUTES to get to the correct reading.
2. I was doing the “interval program” on level 9 for 31 minutes and the speed was jumping at increments that were too far apart. This was very frustrating. The jumps in speed were exactly 4.7, 5.5, 6.3 and 7.1. I know that I was traveling at speeds between these, yet the speedometer would jump at larger increments. During my cool down, I finally saw different numbers. This was so frustrating that I was actually distracted from my workout. Now, I ignore speed. This machine that I loved so much was showing some imperfections. I noticed also that when the resistance changed, my speed on the display changed even though in reality, my speed did not change at all. The explanation I received from Horizon was that the ride is similar to the gearing on a bike and when you move to more difficult gears, you go faster. That is an absurd bit of logic since ellipticals are supposed to mimic running, NOT biking. If ellipticals were supposed to mimic biking, than why would Horizon try to achieve a low “Q factor?” Bikes do not have low Q factors.
This ride is unbelievable however, and the integrity far outweighs these other issues. Therefore, I would still give this a high rating. I never looked forward to running, but I look forward to my 35 minutes on this elliptical. I use the elliptical almost every night simply because I enjoy it. My wife has never exercised much and she loves using the machine as well. I would give it a perfect rating if Horizon addressed the concerns properly.
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Please check each store for the best price.
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