Both Treadmill Doctor and All Ellipticals give the Spirit XE 550 elliptical trainer high marks for value; it offers the standard range of elliptical features with a high quality build and a good warranty, at less than $2,000. Although the XE 550 is no longer available direct from the manufacturer you can still purchase it for about $1,700 as of January 2011.
Resistance and Stride Length
The front-drive Spirit XE 550 has a respectable 20-inch stride length, long enough that most exercisers should feel comfortable on it. It offers 20 levels of push-button adjustable magnetic resistance. You can choose to either control the resistance manually or use one of the six pre-programmed workouts to adjust the resistance automatically.
Additional Programming
The Spirit XE 550 also features two heart-rate control programs. Put on the wireless chest-strap heart rate monitor that comes with the elliptical trainer and it will monitor your heartbeat, automatically adjusting resistance to keep you within the target heart-rate range. You can also customize either of two user-defined workouts and save them for later use.
Features
Notable features on the XE 550 include articulating footpads with an adjustable forward-to-back angle so you can select the most comfortable setting. The pedals also tilt inward at a slight 2-degree angle, which is meant to combat the "sleepy foot" syndrome and the knee and ankle discomfort some elliptical users report. The XE 550 also comes with a built-in cooling fan and handgrip heart rate monitor.
Specs and Warranty
The XE 550 measures 82 inches long by 27 inches wide by 67 inches high, an average footprint for this type of machine. The machine itself weighs 203 lbs. -- lighter than many elliptical trainers of a similar size -- and has a sturdy 400-lb. maximum user weight limit. The warranty offers lifetime frame coverage, five years of parts coverage and two years of labor coverage.
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