January 18, 2003
NordicTrack purchase
Michelle and I had been discussing getting an elliptical exerciser for the past few weeks. She's been using them a lot at the YMCA this past several months when she isn't leading a step class. She likes how smooth they are. Treadmills hurt her hips and she finds the stationary bikes hurt your derriere after a while.
Michelle wanted to get one for the house for several reasons. There are the times like this past week when it's bitter cold. She also won't be able to use the YMCA Kids Stop after delivery because they (understandably) don't watch newborns. And sometimes it just seems like an hour of driving is too much for a quick workout.
The brands the YMCA uses are models from LifeFitness and Precor. Both of those lines are sold in town but they have a perverse sense of "affordable" "consumer grade". We stopped by a local shop that sold the LifeFitness line after our workout at the YMCA this morning. It's exceedingly hard to get motivated to spend over $3k on a single use piece of exercise equipment. Further research showed that Nordictrack made some reasonable (well, relatively speaking) models. After the boys' nap we made a road trip down toward the Pheasant Lane Mall to the local Nordictrack store to see them up close and try them out. Quiet, smooth, nice features, a fraction of the price. We ordered the CXT990 model which should arrive in about a week.
My name is Seth Revoal. I was searching for information online about the NordicTrack cxt990 and I came across your site. I am thinking about getting one and I was wondering how you liked yours. How has it held up and are you able to exercise without holding on to the arm pieces? Do they get in the way? Any information you could provide would be most appreciated.
Thank you and best wishes,
Seth Re'voal
Eugene, OR.
Posted by: Seth Revoal at April 17, 2003 03:55 PMHi Seth,
We got ours about 2 months ago. It took a couple of visits from the setup crew for it to be "right". One of the axis points wasn't right and so things wouldn't thread correctly. Once it was right, things have been ok. But as I said, it's only been a few months. I went to epinions.com and there were some pretty nasty things written about them getting noisy after a while. We'll see.
It's relatively quiet so far and my wife thinks it's providing a decent workout for those times when she can't drive to the YMCA.
Posted by: Scott at April 17, 2003 05:35 PMHi Scott and Michelle,
Like Seth, I came across your site when I was looking at reviews for the NordicTrack CXT990 Elliptical. It has been about 6 month since your purchase, how has it held up? I'm planning to purchase one next week.
Edie
Posted by: Edie at July 20, 2003 08:42 PMMy wife still uses the Nordictrack about once a week to supplement her trips to the nearby YMCA. It's working pretty well. The vertical arm handles have a bit of play in them that's a little bit annoying but nothing excessive. They can pull away from the center post about a quarter of an inch. So when you're pulling them back and forth they have a little left/right travel that can make a little noise. I may be able to tighten them but haven't had a chance to look at it. Overall, the Nordictrack does what it says. The higher end elliptical machines at our gym cost three times as much but are designed to withstand continuous usage. This model seems to be holding up for the usage it's getting.
Posted by: Scott at July 23, 2003 10:23 AM