Elliptical machines

[Icon]

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on buying/keeping one of these at home. I loved the thing when I was going to the gym, but now I prefer to exercise at home. I have seen some more or less within budget:

Lower range:
http://buy.yahoo.com.tw/gdsale/gdsale.asp?gdid=3440826

Top:
http://buy.yahoo.com.tw/gdsale/gdsale.asp?gdid=2514070

Comments? Suggestions? Where to buy? I have seen some good ones in Danshui.

[finley]

I'd suggest you just keep going to the gym. For the price of a good elliptical you can get a year's membership at the gym. The home use ones are horrible to use because they usually don't have enough mass in the moving parts - you can't keep a comfortable cadence going.

If you still want to buy one, go for Johnson. They are one of the few Taiwanese manufacturers that insist on quality. They're good value, too; not cheap, but very competitively priced for what you get. Go for a mid-range one, not the low-end home-use type ("home use" means "stuffed in the garage and never used more than twice"). There are some Johnson showrooms around Taipei where you can try them out.

[Icon]

I'd rather not go to a gym now -the one close to home closed down, and other options are rather inconvenient, too expensive and some really icky- plus I have a skin condition which is not contagious, but I'd rather stay away from those crowded, sweaty places. Not to mention I hate being stared at...plus at home I have the TV/AC. I already do the walking machine watching my favorite program/movies, and at the gym I had my routined tuned to CSI. I do not want to leave pets alone too much, either.

Anyways, yeah, some of those machines are really flimsy. I have an "allowance" that I can spend at certain sports stores, and I was thinking than rather than a Goretex coat, an elliptic machine would be a nice complement and it can be useful. A bicycle is difficult to use everyday, but with discipline, I can get to the elliptic just like I do walking the dogs.

Johnson is top of the line, but it is rather pricey. Any other local options?

[finley]

Can't think of any others. The home use machines are all made in the same factories, using the same subassemblies. Just different brand names stuck on the side. It's a very small industry. I've seen the machines being made, worked with the people who make them, and stripped down a few for (job-related) research. They're (nearly) all crap.

I go to the TAISPO show every year and I've never seen anything I'd pay money for except Johnson. No, I don't work for them

I really think you should reconsider the gym option though. Don't shut yourself away just because you've got skin problems. And learn to enjoy being stared at. Gyms are usually friendly places and the staring is not aggressive (well, except from the gay guys, occasionally...). The whole point of going to the gym is to look good, and if you look good, people will look at you. It's the meathead equivalent of saying "you go, girl". Apart from anything else, you'll get a better workout. I've rather lost interest in CV machines lately and prefer to focus on weights, which gives you a good CV workout anyway if you're doing it right. Unfortunately, if you wanted to buy yourself even a set of dumbbells, that would set you back NT$60K minimum.

[Formosa Fitness]

Johnson is not such a bad brand. They're certainly doing a better job than some other equipment manufacturers here.

If you're going to spend the money, I'd like to throw out another option: the Concept2 Ski Erg

We got one of these for my new gym and it's a killer. I love it. Very hard workout and the footprint is tiny, even smaller than an elliptical.

[finley]

+1 to that, although personally I'd prefer a standard rower. Concept machines are top-notch kit. Not cheap, though, AFAIK.

Funny thing about Johnson is that 10 years ago (I visited their factory) they were every bit as crap as all the other Taiwanese manufacturers. Probably more so. I'd love to know what they did to achieve their current standard, which is world-class. Meanwhile, the competition have made no changes whatsoever.

[Icon]

This one I saw today, tried it out, held my weight OK:
http://www.momoshop.com.tw/goods/GoodsD ... rpCategory

I think I've seen a couple of similar ones to the video, not exactly, I'll look it up.

Suggestions, keep em coming.

[zender]

That picture of one you just linked to looks mighty purdy.

I go to a community center gym that has some Chanson elliptical machines. I'm guessing they are the cheap sort that goes for under NT$10,000. Although the digital readouts seem very primitive, and the machine moves around a bit when in use, those machines never seem to be down.

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I got me machine delivered today. Cherry on top: it was set up by a hunk of a Taiwanese, like 6 feet of young, well set muscle, Englishee spoken.

Oh boy, am I motivated to exercise!

[finley]

Details, Icon. Have you invited him over for personal training sessions?