The E55 continues Sole Fitness's reputation for producing high-quality elliptical trainers. Treadmill Doctor describes it as "Good quality, quiet and surprising adjustability in a $1,500 package," and AllEllipticals.com gives it five out of five stars.
One feature of particular note: The E55's pedals have a slight 2-degree inward slant. This helps alleviate the toe, foot and ankle numbness and discomfort that sometimes results from using an elliptical trainer for long periods of time.
Eddy Current Braking
The Sole E55's reputation for being whisper-quiet is due in large part to its eddy current braking system. The elliptical's flywheel spins between two variable magnetic fields. If you adjust the elliptical's resistance higher, an electromagnet positioned near the flywheel is exposed to higher levels of the magnetic current, which in turn generates more resistance. The result: Instantaneous adjustments in resistance--the E55 offers 20 levels--and few moving parts to make noise or break down.
Features
The Sole E55 has all the standard features you'd expect to find on a well-built elliptical trainer, including moving handlebars for an upper body workout, handgrip heart rate sensors and a backlit console display. It also comes with water bottle and accessory holders, a built-in cooling fan and a chest strap heart rate monitor.
The E55's most unusual feature is a power-incline ramp that adjusts between 15 percent and 40 percent incline, letting you target specific muscles as you work out.
Programs
You can either control the E55's resistance manually or select a preprogrammed workout to adjust the resistance for you. It comes with six workouts, plus two user defined workouts that you can customize and save. If you use the included chest strap heart rate monitor, you can also use either of the two heart rate control programs; they automatically adjust resistance to keep you within your target heart rate zone.
Specs
The E55's maximum user weight capacity is 375 lbs. It features a fixed, 20-inch stride length--long enough to fit most users comfortably.
Price and Warranty
As of September 2010, the Sole Fitness E55 has a manufacturers suggested retail price of $2,499 but sells for $1,499.99 direct from the manufacturer. This sort of steep, constant markdown is such common practice in the fitness industry that reviewers usually evaluate products for value based on the so-called sale price, instead of the full MSRP.
The E55 comes with a lifetime frame warranty, five-year parts warranty and two-year service warranty.
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