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Sole E35 Elliptical - Better Than the Ones We Tried at the Gym
by Kathleen M.
(Palm Springs, CA USA)
My husband and I have used ellipticals in gyms for a few years now, and over time, we began to like them a lot better than regular treadmills. When we decided to buy an elliptical, we did our homework. We went to every store we could find that sold any kind of elliptical and tried them out. If we liked one, we came home and did online research. My husband was leaning toward a Precor model that we tried at Sport Chalet - but on "sale", it was selling for $4,000. I think that's way too much to spend on home gym equipment.
We got Consumer Reports reviews of ellipticals, too, and then started researching the ones they recommended or said were "Best Buys". Number two on their list was the Sole E35 elliptical trainer, so I did extensive online research of Sole ellipticals. I found a few trainers' reviews - and they all really liked the Sole. The model most of them were suggesting was the Sole E25, which they said ran around $1,000 - but was more than worth the money. We read every consumer review that we could find - and there was barely a negative word written about the Sole E25 or E35 elliptical trainer. In fact, the only negative comments we found were regarding assembly. In 2004, I was single and purchased a treadmill - a new model that was like a stair-stepper - and my 12 year old daughter and I had to put it together. It was heavy and awkward and I had absolutely NO experience putting anything mechanical together. It took us many hours. Sadly, there were many problems with those early treadmill models and my machine was repaired several times and finally completely replaced by the company. I used the heck out of it - but it was never a very good machine and in 2004, I paid $2,000 for the mid-range model.
My husband and I finally went to the source - the Sole website and we were VERY pleasantly surprised by the price of the Sole E35 elliptical trainer and the free shipping to boot. Being that I did NOT want another experience like the one I had with the Treadclimber, my husband and I decided to pay the extra $239 for the "turn-key" delivery, where the elliptical was brought into the room of our choice and assembled. The day it arrived, the freight company sent two big burly truck drivers to assemble it. They were very nice guys, and though they said they had never assembled one before, they did a great job putting together our elliptical. I am so happy to be writing this review not having to complain about the assembly nightmare. Been there, done that.
We chose the Sole E35 over the Sole E25 because of the heart monitor, the fan, the MP3 hookup and speakers and the cup holders. The fan isn't that great - it can't be adjusted for height and there is only one speed - but we do like the other features a lot. Best of all, this elliptical trainer is even better than the ones we've tried at the various gyms we've used. It is a smoothe, gentle ride to say the least.
Don't expect an easy workout - but you have SO much variety on the Sole E35 elliptical trainer, you can keep your own pace. For me, I love that I can set up my own workout, based on my age and weight, and I can set the incline and difficulty levels as high or low as I want and also set the time of my work out. After I do a moderately difficult workout for 15 minutes, I just set the elliptical to manual and do whatever I want for as long as I want. If you press STOP, it will pause your workout and then you can press START to continue where you left off. Another great thing about it is if you do stop your workout - to take a drink or a phone call - you can still pedal at a lower pace until you're ready to continue. You never have to completely stop. I love that!
I couldn't imagine owning another elliptical. This is so worth the money. My hubby and I use the Sole E35 elliptical trainer every day - and gone are the hassles of the crowds at the gym or the long drive to get there. I'm sure anyone who buys this elliptical is going to love it.
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Sole E35 Elliptical - Very Pleased with My Purchase
by Pat Fletcher
(Southeast Texas)
SOME BACKGROUND ON ME:
I am 54 years old, 6'2" tall, 285 lbs., a pretty big man. I've been somewhat of a "treadmill" fan for most of my adult life and have owned three different models over the years. Last September hurricane IKE rolled through my home town and brought with it 4 ft of flood water, that whipped out the first floor of my home AND my most recent treadmill.
I started researching a replacement and simply thought I'd give one of the new ellipticals a try. The positive reviews, good warranty, and high weight limit led me to the Sole E35.
BOUGHT IT ONLINE:
I ordered my 2009 Sole E35 elliptical trainer online from SoleTreadmills.com (free shipping) on 5/28/09. I found the salesperson to be polite and knowledgeable and was told to expect the unit to arrive in "a couple of weeks". I was quite pleased when my unit arrived a FULL WEEK earlier than originally promised.
ASSEMBLY:
The factory might suggest otherwise but I'm here to tell ya.... assembly of this thing is no walk in the park. I had access to an appliance dolly and figured as long as I could get it in the house and into my "spare bedroom", putting it together wouldn't be a problem. UGGG! The instructions are adequate, I found them overly detailed though and at times confusing. The real problem however is dealing with that giant "wheel assembly". The footrests and all the "arms and levers" are pre- assembled (attached) to that giant "wheel assembly". This makes for an EXTREMELY awkward and VERY heavy unit that you really need 2 people to properly handle. I did finally manage to get that monster out of the box and assembly went pretty smoothly after that. It took me about 3 hours to assemble, GET A HELPER!
THE CONSOLE:
As I stated in the beginning here, I don't have any experience with other ellipticals for comparison. Having some treadmill background though, I am pretty familiar with the electronic "consoles" and user features that normally come with exercise equipment. One of the few complaints I've read about this unit is some users feel the control console is somewhat primitive. I think the 2009 model was upgraded but it's still nothing fancy. I found it very adequate for displaying the basic information. I leave it in SCAN mode and it cycles through the info. It would have been nice if you could set SCAN as the default. As it is you have to set it up every session. Not a big deal just a suggestion.
There are a few important features that I think make the Sole E35 worth the few hundred dollars extra over the E25 elliptical trainer.
1) The HEART RATE MONITOR is one of them, it is VERY VERY NICE, much more accurate than having to squeeze the palm sensor. I haven't used the heart rate control programs yet but I wear that monitor EVERY workout, IT IS GREAT!
2) The FRAME is heavier on the E35 and really built for a big guy like me.
3) I really like the ramp and tension adjustments in the handlebars, that is worthwhile and very nice feature.
THE RIDE:
The Sole E35 elliptical is smooth and sturdy. I have it on a tile floor. One thing I learned was that getting the unit perfectly level was important for eliminating noise. I had a few creaks at first but once I got it settled in and level the little noises are gone. I have been walking on this unit (25 to 30 minutes) nearly every day for almost 2 months now. I've actually lost about 15 lbs. and I am really liking this machine.
One thing I would like to comment on is this. I read where the engineers designed the adjustable footplates because some users were complaining about their feet going to sleep. I personally find the footplates to be angled "FORWARD" too much. The adjustments don't really help me because they need to adjust BACKWARDS a couple of degrees. What happens is my toes keep getting crunched up in the front of my shoes. I have to take my weight off of each foot and sort of drag my feet back into proper position in my shoe. This is a minor problem though, certainly not a deal breaker.
In summary I think the feature set on this Sole elliptical trainer is very adequate and this is a nicely balanced unit at this price point. I've only had it a couple of months but I have been very pleased with my purchase and would definitely recommend the Sole E35 elliptical, especially to any of you big guys like me.
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Sole E35 Elliptical - Well Built, Looks Great
by Jerry
(Chicago, IL)
I bought my Sole E35 elliptical locally. But it's hard to beat online pricing with free shipping and no tax. I did negotiate with a local chain sports store for $100 off down too $1200 plus tax which put me about $17 over the internet. Not bad for wanting it right away. So do try to haggle with local shops.
Please note I did haul it home myself. The Sole E35 weighs almost 300 lbs so make sure you have a vehicle to carry it. You must have help removing this bulky box from your vehicle. Open the box and carry all the parts to the assembly area.
The flywheel is very awkward, I read other reviews about removing the arms which made things much easier. One screw removes the cover and one bolt holds the arm in place. You will need an Allen wrench. I borrowed I believe was a 9mm Allen wrench that fit. Remove the arms and now you have just the flywheel (approx. 30 lbs) which I carried down the stairs myself.
Assembly of the Sole E35 is straight forward, about 3 1/2 hrs alone while watching TV. Having a good set or ratchet wrench both American and metric sockets helps a lot, also a good set of Phillips screwdrivers should be used as well. The tools provided are cheap, the stubby screw driver won't fit. Buy some good tools if you need to.
Tighten all metal to metal screws as tight as possible. Do not over tighten the plastic covers as they could crack.
This machine is very solid and should last for years. If you want to buy the Sole E35 elliptical do not worry; it's well built and looks great.
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