 Good Product & Good Company |
| Review Date: July 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Steve B., California |
I have owned a lot of exercise equipment, and the Lifecore LC-985VG Elliptical Trainer is a very good machine. Unlike some others I have tried, it has a very smooth action, is quiet, and is easy to use. It's also smaller than several other models I've tested, so it fits nicely in most rooms. Further, because it is lightweight and has two front wheels, it's easy to move.
The assembly instructions are not the best, but I've seen much worse. Regardless, it's pretty obvious where most of the parts go. It took me about one hour to assemble by myself, though it would be easier and quicker with two people.
Recently I moved the machine to a different room and one of the front wheel casings cracked. I don't know if this occurred because of a defect or because I went over a bump too quickly. I called the manufacturer (toll-free number) and received prompt and courteous service. When I bought the machine I registered it online, so my information was quickly found by the company representative. I described what happened and the representative was surprised because it was unusual for a wheel casing to break. Nevertheless, without any trouble he promised to ship me a replacement part free of charge (still under warranty). I called on a Friday afternoon and received the part on the next Tuesday. Changing the part (only one screw) was simple and took about two minutes. It's nice to know that there are still some companies that stand behind their products and provide good service to their customers.
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Best thing I ever did for my knees! I Love this machine.
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| Review Date: June 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: mopar109, Colorado |
| For years I've either walked outside or on a treadmill attempting to improve my flexibility and cardio. I never felt comfortable on a treadmill (too narrow) and walking outside always has it's limitations. I've always questioned myself as to whether any of this was working for me. Finally I decided to buy an elliptical. I had heard so many positive reports about these things I felt I had to give it a try. When I first started to look I soon realized there are scores of manufacturers and hundreds of models from which to choose. I needed some way to quickly narrow the field. I decided to check out Consumer Reports. I've gone this route before and have rarely been disappointed. After reading their findings, I decided on this model. They rated it a best buy. I thought about going to several stores to check out all the different models but ultimately decided to shop online. While you can spend several thousand dollars on one of these machines, I decided that I would limit my budget to $1000. It was easy to assemble. The only thing I had trouble with was figuring out the computer. I think the manual could have been written more clearly. Once I mastered the computer, I found the exercise to be fun and challenging. And, when I step off the machine, my knees feel great. I feel energized and my knees don't hurt as with regular walking or the treadmill. The settings on the machine are such that you can tailor your workouts to the level of your skill or fitness. This may take a few sessions before you can get into a routine. Once there, it's fun to keep pushing yourself to do more. And for me, the more I do the better I feel. I'm very pleased with this product. I think it makes exercise fun again. |
Very impressed
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| Review Date: April 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Ricardo Herrera, Brownsville, TX |
| I purchased this machine a few months ago a I couldn't be more satisfied. I'm 6' 220 lbs and it fits me and my wife who is 5' 4" tall, no problem. The Lifecore 985VG is smooth, compact, easy to use and still running as great as when I first got it. I read the review from Consumer Reports on this machine, and they are absolutely right about it. I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking for the most bang for their buck. |
Good bang for your buck
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| Review Date: September 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: H. Williams, |
I just purchased this machine from a local retailer that I've used and trusted for years. This machine fits my husband and I's requirements perfectly. 1) The price point was perfect (we happened to purchase it during a sale and the sales person threw in an extra discount). 2) The height. Our home gym is in our basement where the ceiling is only 82" high. With me being 5'8" and my husband being 5'10" this elliptical provided a lower step-up than most machines as well as minimized the "bounce" during use. We placed the machine between the floor joists just to be safe, but we really didn't need to. 3) Resistance. Both my husband and I are weight lifters (recreational) and need a higher resistance to get our heart rates up without having to get the RPM's up really high. This machine offered a good resistance that was really easy to change during a workout and had a really smooth transition from one level to the next. 4) Durability. My husband is 215lbs and can get aggressive with his workouts so wobbling/tipping was a concern of mine. We both feel safe and secure on this elliptical.
Assembly was pretty easy and didn't take long at all, though perhaps that's because between my husband's construction experience and my growing up with furniture out of a box, we're used to this kind of work.
I spent quite a bit of time researching elliptical's before purchasing, and I'm confident that we made the right choice. |
Great Product - Very satisfied
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| Review Date: August 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Rob, Ann Arbor, MI USA |
I used Precor machines at a club in the past, and wanted to build my own "cardio theatre" at home--saving the trip to the club.
This machine appealed because it's less bulky than many, and the price of course is much lower than many machines.
The price is low, but the quality is quite high. The machine feels sturdy, and while using, it's so quiet that I don't need headphones to hear the TV, I can listen at a normal volume level...very happy.
Assembly time for me was 45 minutes from cutting the box open to being finished. The assembly instructions are clear.
Top things I love:
1. Compact size
2. Quiet operation
3. Feels "solid" and well built
4. Pre-designed programs are easy to see and select
Things that aren't perfect:
1. The computer isn't 100% intuitive, but there's a detailed instruction card which is large with pictures and large fonts...if you read it, you'll have no problem.
2. There's not a magazine holder, so if you'd rather read than watch TV while using, you'll need to design your own solution
3. Your heart rate is monitored by hand-contacts on the stationary hand rests. This is just like machines I've used in the club, but as with those, my hands aren't on these contacts very often, so I'd rather have a chest strap for heartrate. An optional accessory chest strap would be nice, but I don't see one offered.
Even though I can see some room for improvement in the design, this product exceeds my expectation for a great home elliptical at a budget price, so it's still a 5-star for me.
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A happily satisfied customer!
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| Review Date: April 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Nicole Fish, Portland, OR |
This elliptical is exactly what I was looking for! It's light and easy for me, a single women, to move around and yet it still has a good solid feel when I go up to higher levels. Very easy to operate and the assembly was pretty self explanatory.
Good buy~
A happily satisfied customer! |
Outstanding Elliptical Trainer
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| Review Date: October 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer: William G. Holbert, |
| I Purchased this Elliptical Trainer in August, and it has been outstanding. It's very well made and smooth and quiet. The Electronics are excellant too. I also have both called and emailed Lifecore with questions and they have been very responsive and helpful. I highly recommend this trainer to anyone who is interested in purchasing an elliptical trainer for the home. |
Great product!
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| Review Date: April 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Becky S. Bates, Mesa, AZ |
| I recently purchased the LC985VG elliptical and absolutely love it. I did my homework, comparing this elliptical to others before I purchased. This is a top of the line product, very user friendly and the price was right. Wonderful for those of us with arthritis. Very comfortable! |
Solid quality, problem free
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| Review Date: November 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Hsu-tai Liu, Baltimore, MD USA |
I have owned this unit for over 6 months. I have been using it at least 3 times a week and at least 30 minutes each time. It works great. No squeaks or noises. All I can hear is the very low humming of the wheels.
The assebly is easy because the wheels are already assembled, and this is also the reason why the unit has fewer problems than those units that require assembly of the wheels. One caveat though. The assembly starts when the unit is still in the box. Read the instructions before you do anything with the unit. |
love this elliptical!
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| Review Date: April 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Shults, las vegas, nv |
| I have had this machine for a little over 6 months and I love it. I use it 3 to 4 times a week and so far no problems. Its design is very compact and the computer is user friendly. very happy with my purchase and would recommend this to anyone looking for a great workout. |
love it.
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| Review Date: February 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Wanda C, San Antonio, TX USA |
| I actually own the lower version the 980 and love it. I have had it for two years now and it still works great. This machine is sturdy, quiet, and easy to move out of the room. I am 5'3" and I can tilt it and move it to another room. You can't adjust the pedals to go higher or lower, but can adjust the intensity of the pedaling. Great workout in conjunction with other excercise. High recommendation. |
Really great
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| Review Date: January 15, 2010 |
| Reviewer: A. Davis, Centerport, New York United States |
| It's such a pleasure when something turns about to be beautifully-designed and made - all too rare, it seems. This trainer is compact, silky smooth, and essentially silent. Two heads up: (1) the directions could be a bit clearer, i.e., laid out more according to the steps one takes from start to finish in using the computer, rather than by function, but 1 or 2 uses is all it takes to figure it out. (2) If you happen to have an audio loop in the room to transmit TV/etc. audio to hearing aids, the wireless pulse receiver on this unit might pick up the signal and give a phantom pulse reading; just turn off the loop transmitter when you're using the trainer. I found an old chest band for a wristwatch pulse monitor - the trainer picked up the signal easily and lets me keep using the arm trainers whil getting a continuous pulse reading. This unit is really terrific. And dealing with customer service when I was getting the phantom pulse reading was great. |
Quiet and Efficient Cardio at Home
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| Review Date: January 23, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Legend, |
I bought this a few weeks ago, and so far it is great. I can get a good cardio workout while zoning out watching TV.
The good:
1. Very quiet. I don't have to turn up the volume on my TV while using this. There's no vibration or anything that could cause noise complaints from the people living below my apartment.
2. Very smooth.
3. Build quality seems pretty good.
4. Low price.
What could use improvements:
1. The control panel takes time getting familiar with.
When I first used the control panel, I scrolled around different parameter settings like time, distance, and calories because after you set time it automatically proceeds to make the next parameter active for selection. If you set distance or calories, the computer will stop the clock once you reach the distance or burn the number of calories you put in. If you're like me and only care about time, just set the time and push the start/stop button. If you do set the calories/distance, set them back to 0 to effectively turn them off.
2. Shipping options. I think I used UPS 2nd day air with Prime. UPS gave me an automated phone call asking if I would be home today without specifying a time slot. I happened to be on vacation that day, so it worked out. But I could imagine problems for other people.
Other thoughts:
1. Compared to the much more expensive Precor and Lifefitness machines that I have used at gyms, this trainer's base resistance level seems higher. It seems comparable to level 4 on the expensive models.
2. I have had knee issues due to IT band syndrome. I highly recommend using a foam roller to loosen the IT band and iron out muscular knots that cause ITBS after using this. I typically do an hour of cardio, use a foam roller, and then stretch, and my legs are much healthier than they were a month ago. |
THE BEST
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| Review Date: February 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Reading critic, USA |
This is the quietest elliptical that I have seen. It's quality is unsurpassed. It was realitively easy to assemble.
I have nothing but supurlatives to heap on this professional elliptical.I highley recommend it and Amazon.com. |
Great value at a great price
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| Review Date: November 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: MarknDC, Washington, DC USA |
| I just got the elliptical today and was very pleased with the whole process. I ordered it on a Monday and it arrived on Friday. A shipping person called the day before to choose a time of delivery and I picked a 12 to 5 window. They arrived at 12:05! The elliptical was easy to assemble - took about an hour by myself - and is much sturdier and much quieter than I expected. I live in a 1-bedroom condo and was afraid it would dominate my place but it fits nicely in front of my sliding glass door on a rubber pad to protect the floor (might not be necessary for you but I have hardwood and wanted to be extra careful). It is so quiet! I was afraid my downstairs neighbor would object but there is no vibration at all. I am really surprised! I will be able to use it first thing in the morning without disturbing anyone. The computer control board is more elaborate than I expected and while I think it is a little more than I need (I like to simply choose a manual workout), it does have a dozen or so to choose from. The ride is smooth but if I had any negative feedback it would be that the one at the gym (a huge cybex elliptical) is smoother... but for this price, you cant beat this one. I've only used it once so far so if anything changes I will update my review but this has been a very pleasantly surprising experience. Absolutely no buyer's remorse , just eagerness to keep working out. |
Elliptical
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| Review Date: April 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: SCB, California |
| This product is wonderful! I just recently started using this product and already I've started to feel great! It has very fluid motion and its consistant! I love that it already has preset programs that way I can challenge myself and not stick with the same-ole same ole. Light weight...EVEN BETTER! I can move it from room to room, wether I'm watching T.V or Looking outside! Talking about it makes me want to use it. I recomend this to anyone! |
Good machine, well constructed
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| Review Date: April 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: K. Hornik, San Diego, California |
I recently purchased this machine. It works great, although I've only used it about 5 times. The only beef I have, and it's pretty minor, is that the digital display is a little hard to understand when programming your settings. Not very user friendly. Of course, it would probably help to read the entire manual..but some exercise equipment,you don't need to read a manual to figure out how everything works. It's usually a no brainer. With this one, you do. Other than that, it was easy to put together, it's well built, quiet and doesn't take up too much space. A well deserved 4.
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Good Value
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| Review Date: June 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kenneth Landis, Los Angeles |
| This is a good mid-priced machine that was easy to put together, very sturdy, well engineered, and relatively easy to use. I say relatively easy only because my wife who is the main user complained some when getting the computer dialed in. In all we are very pleased and I know my wife already recommmended this to someone at her work. |
Excellent mechanical action, poor user interface
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| Review Date: January 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: TH, Alabama |
As delivered, the box containing the LifeCore LC985VG Elliptical Cross Trainer was only in one piece courtesy of yards of packing tape applied by UPS. The box was far too flimsy to hold equipment weighing well over 100 pounds. I accepted deliver reluctantly, but happily the damaged internal packing materials protected the contents.
This device is mostly preassembled especially when compared with similar exercise equipment from other manufacturers. Being able to view assembly instructions for this kind of equipment on-line is essential. LC985VG assembly instructions were relatively clear although they could be improved on two points. Step 5 quite correctly informs the assembler that a second person is required to connect the computer to the motor/flywheel. However, even in a brightly illuminated room a flashlight or better yet a headlamp would help the person making the connection. Step 5 does not make clear how critical it is that this connection be firm and solid. Only when the entire machine is assembled can this connection be tested, and returning to Step 5 would be an irritating and time consuming process of disassembly. Also, step 5 or the beginning of step 6 omits the need to place the "hat cover" (a plastic sleeve) onto the upright tube. In step 6 the user is told to attach six bolts and then to slide the hat cover over those bolts. At that point it is too late to slide the hat cover over the bolts unless the bolts just put in place are removed. This sleeve is cosmetic except that it covers what amounts to a black hole for bolts and washers. I elected not to add the hat cover and quickly lost a washer. No spare parts are included for this kind of problem.
All necessary tools are provided, but a bright flashlight or head lamp is very useful especially when attaching the computer/control panel with four small black screws under the panel and the foot pedals. Also, I had to tap one bolt with a hammer (almost any hard object would have been sufficient) to clear metal shavings that were partly blocking a hole.
The mechanical action of the LC985VG is very smooth although I have only used it for an hour, so only time will tell whether it remains that way.
The computer/control panel is horribly designed, and the printed manual is badly written. I had hoped that the DVD that accompanies the LC985VG would help, but it is devoted almost entirely to exercise and not the device itself. One problem with the manual is that it appears to be written for two models of this machine. For example, it references a MODE key when there is no such key on the model I have. Similarly, the manual references UP and Down keys that are no where in evidence. The latter is a trivial matter because my model contains a knob that is turned clockwise for up and counterclockwise for down, but it is symptomatic of the poor quality of the manual. The computer's menu structure makes everything irritating. For example, at one point I tried to change the calorie setting, but instead I ended up changing the resistance level.
This machine comes with 12 preset exercise profiles with automatically varying resistance levels. By trial and error with little understanding of what I am doing I have been able to select one of the profiles. The mark of a well designed computer interface is that its use is obvious on its face. The LC985VG interface is user hostile.
The mangled shipping box, less than perfect assembly instructions, and stupidly designed and badly documented controls aside, this device compares favorably to much more expensive commercial equipment that I have used especially since it takes up much less space. |
LifeCore Elliptical pretty good
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| Review Date: February 1, 2010 |
| Reviewer: R. Becker, |
| This machine is a decent at home machine. My husband was able to put it together quite easily and it arrived faster then they said it would. One thing that is totally different then the ones I was used to using like say at the Y, is the fact that although the motion is pure elliptical the distance front to back is not large at all leaving me with the sensation of a stair master more then elliptical. It gives a great work out. It is not the most user friendly computer however, once you play around with it you get it. The heartrate monitor is wonderful. One down side and for me a big one because I like to read a lot, no book holder available to add on. If you want quality with a decent workout in your home get it. Its perfect. Also, one thing very important to a lot of people, it doesn't take up very much room at all. |
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