The Fuel FE 46 Elliptical Review - A high quality elliptical at a budget price under $900

Ohiyo!

Every day the Treadmill Sensei gets in reader email asking about a treadmill or elliptical we haven't covered yet on the site - most of the time it is about low quality Proform or Nordic Track ellipticals. However, from time to time a reader sends in a note asking about an intriguing piece of equipment and it spurs me to send out my feelers for a model to test out.

In this case, about a month and a half ago, a number of readers wrote in asking about the new line of Fuel ellipticals found at Dick's Sporting Goods stores and online. At first I was a bit surprised because I hadn't heard anything specific about the units. Everyone in the industry was aware that Dick's had been pursuing its own line of budget ellipticals and treadmills for quite sometime, but it was still a bit of a shock to see it actually launched. Luckily, Dick's has a lot of experience in what works for an elliptical -- and how to keep customer service issues from popping up with them -- and that shows in these new ellipticals.

First off, when our Fuel FE46 Elliptical arrived at the shop and we unpacked it, we all immediately suspected that it was an elliptical produced by the same manufacturing plant as the Sole, Spirit and Red Zone equipment, Dyaco out of Taiwan, or one of their sister plants. A lot of the parts looked interchangeable with the higher priced Sole, Esprit, Spirit and much-higher priced Red Zone ellipticals. The flywheel (sometimes rated as 21 pounds, sometimes as 25 pounds and sometimes as 30 pounds, depending upon what a manufacturer is trying to sell you on) on the Fuel FE46 elliptical seems to be very similar or just about identical to what you see on the Spirit XE100/XE200/XE300 or Sole E25/E35/E55 ellipticals.

Moving on to the assembley, as with any elliptical, the assembly is a bit trickier than that of a treadmill. Figuring on it taking you about 45 minutes to get together if you can have someone help you hold pieces while you attach them to the unit. If you're doing it alone, count on 90 minutes and a lot of swearing. This is pretty standard for all ellipticals.

In regards to the Fuel FE46 elliptical itself, the unit is very comparable to the Sole E25 ($995) and Spirit XE100 ($1099) ellipticals - which are all almost identical units except for strangely varying prices. If I was forced to guess, I'd have to say the Fuel FE46 is just a repainted version of the 2006 Sole E25 Elliptical. That's not a bad place to start, especially when you consider the Fuel FE 46 elliptical is priced $100 lower than the current Sole E25 and $200 lower than the nearly identical Spirit XE100. The only real differences you'll find are in the number of rails -- the FE46 is a single rail elliptical versus the dual rails on the Sole E25 -- and in the lesser warranty on the Fuel FE46. If Dick's had raised the warranty to 3 years on parts, this would have been a home run unit for them.

The Fuel FE46 elliptical is an excellent choice if you're looking for a more budget version of the Sole E25/E35 or the Spirit XE100/XE200/XE300 ellipticals and don't mind the lesser warranty. For about $899 you're getting the awesome feeling adjustable foot pedals that Sole/Spirit are known for, a solid flywheel, one of the most comfortable elliptical workout feels available for under $1300 and a well built, solid and sturdy elliptical in the Fuel FE46 Elliptical. Fuel has put together a unit that could very well be a best buy elliptical award contender for next year's Ichi-Ban Best Buy Elliptical Awards for under $1000. However, if the warranty is more important than saving money, I'd check out the Sole E25 elliptical for a slightly beefier $100 upgrade.

For being an excellent, very sturdy and comfortable elliptical with a so-so warranty, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Fuel FE46 Elliptical 4 out of 5 Golden Buddahs.

The Fuel FE46 Elliptical gets a very respectible 4 gold buddahs out of 5 for being well built and well designed.


The lowest price for the Fuel FE46 Elliptical is at Dick's Sporting Goods. Act now and Save Even More with Free Shipping and Inside Delivery when you order online!

Fuel FE46 Elliptical Specifications
Stride: 20"
Flywheel: 21 lbs.
Display: LCD
Programs: 15
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Resistance: 15 Levels
Max User Weight: 325 lbs.
Elliptical Weight: 190 lbs.
Articulating Pedals: Yes
Price: $899

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

The Spirit Esprit EL3 Elliptical Review - Old Elliptical, New Name, Great Value

Ohiyo!

Happy Post-Holiday Season! Now that the Christmas season is over and visiting family will soon be heading back to their own little corners of the world (most exciting is that my den won't be doubling as a second guest room for too much longer), the Treadmill Sensei can get back to work and to you, my loyal readers. I absolutely love Christmas-time, but I feel more tired the day after Christmas than almost any other time of the year. Of course, large numbers of my wife's family can have a draining effect on anyone!

One of the most confusing parts of the Treadmill Sensei's job is to delve in to the naming game a lot of manufacturers like to play. Much like the electronics industry, fitness manufacturers like to put different names or labels on units when they're sold through different outlets. If a unit is sold at Costco or Sears it may have one name, or if a unit is sold online versus offline it may have a different name. The Icon Health and Fitness companies (Proform, Reebok, Image, Weslo and so on) are masters at this game .

Another company that has been guilty of this is Spirit Fitness. As I was the first one to let the cat out of the bag last year, we all now know that Sole and Spirit treadmills and ellipticals were almost identical units pre-Summer 2007. In spite of semi-shady rankings to the contrary, their units came off of the same assembly line and used the same parts. The only difference came in the QC process done once units reached the US, in customer support and warranty support. That has changed a bit this year with both Sole and Spirit redesigning their units independently of one another.

Now, while Spirit has been getting hit pretty hard by experts everywhere over the decrease in quality of their X-series Treadmills and Ellipticals, they have done an incredibly smart thing. Spirit has put together a brand new line of equipment, made up of award-winning older units under a brand new name. The Esprit line of treadmills and ellipticals from Spirit is made up largely of last year's best buy award winning Sole Ellipticals and Treadmills. Better yet, these units are all around $200-$300 cheaper than their poor-performing Spirit X-Series cousins. The best thing Spirit could have done was the give these great units their own brand in order to keep them from the stigma of the current Spirit X-Series reputation (easily one of the poorer perfoming lines on the market right now). Besides, why pick a brand new unit with a new, untested design when you can pick up a design that has been tested and highly rated for 4+ years...AND get it for more than $200 cheaper?!

That brings us to the new Esprit EL3 Elliptical, formerly known as the 2006 Sole E35 of years past. This unit has been one of the best and most consistantly performing ellipticals on the market for 3 or 4 years and has dominated its price range. The Sole E35 has won just about every consumer and expert award on the market, and the Esprit EL3 is the exact same unit with a new paint job.

The Esprit EL3 Elliptical has the same 2% inward incline in the pedals which Sole has been known for. The 2% incline, when added to the smooth 20" stride and articulating pedals, gives the Esprit EL3 (and Sole E35) the best elliptical feel and workout available in a best buy elliptical under $1000. It is easy to see why owners love the comfort and natural stride the El3 Elliptical gives them.

I do want to talk for a moment about the Esprit EL3's flywheel...and the flywheel on the new Sole E35. They're both ranked as 25 pounds for some reason this year -- 5 pounds less than the Sole E55 or Esprit EL5. It's nonsense. They all use the same flywheel and should be rated the same. There has been no change in the size of the flywheel since last year and the Esprit EL3 has the same 30 pound ranked flywheel that last year's Sole E35 had.

With the price at under $1000, the Esprit EL3 may be one of the absolute best buy ellipticals available for under $1000. You're getting the exact same great feel, the exact same solid frame, the exact same best buy award winning elliptical as the 2006 Sole E35, but with the Esprit EL3 you're getting it for more than $200 off the comparable Spirit XE200/XE300 ellipticals. In comparison to the Esprit EL3, the Spirit XE200/XE300 ellipticals are incredibly over-priced and under featured, especially when you consider the large number of reported problems on the Spirit Ellipticals this year.

Save yourself $200+ and check out the Esprit EL3 Elliptical by Spirit. It is head and shoulders above the Spirit X "equivilent," the Spirit XE200/XE300, in design and manufacture, and blows away the competition.

For being the same great unit as the old 2006 Sole E35 elliptical, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Esprit EL3 Elliptical by Spirit 4.5 out of 5 Golden Buddahs.

It was a great elliptical as the 2006 Sole E35 Elliptical and it's a great elliptical as the Esprit EL3 Elliptical, getting a best buy elliptical ranking of 4.5 gold buddahs.




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Spirit Esprit EL3 Elliptical Specifications
Stride: 20"
Flywheel: 25 lbs
Programs: 8
Resistance: 16 Levels
Display: LCD
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip and wireless
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Max Weight Capacity: 300 lbs
Elliptical Weight: 190 lbs
Price: Under $1200

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

The York T780 Treadmill Review - High quality backed by a so-so warranty

Ohiyo!

The Treadmill Sensei is always amazed at the odd assortment of equipment which makes its way here to the DOJO. About 3 weeks ago we had a set of York T780 Treadmills roll in to the DOJO for installation at a local YMCA. You're probably thinking exactly what I thought when they arrived - York Barbell makes Treadmills? Yes they do, but the things just don't pop up very often at all. Let's see how they faired up against 12 days of testing by the Treadmill Sensei crew.

York Barbell was founded back in 1929 and has a long history of producing some very solid weight lifting equipment. York began producing treadmills in the mid-1990s and their equipment is well-known in the industry for having some of the best rated treadmill motors around. In fact, their treadmill motors produce a reported 7 times the torque of most other home or light commercial great treadmills. What that means to the everyday user is that the treadmill will operate much more consistantly even when running at higher speeds, higher inclines or under maximum load conditions. In other words, York treadmills will out-perform just about every other treadmill in their class and their motors tend to have a much longer life-span without repair.

The York T780 Treadmill we received here at the DOJO was very easy to put together. Total assembly time for us was right at about 10 minutes with 2 people. For someone going solo, figure it will take 15-20 minutes and should cause very little frustration at all. York has done an excellent job in the machining of their parts.

In putting the York T-780 together we noticed some very interesting things. First off, the cooling system for the motor is top-notch and one of the best we've seen. Keep your motor cool is one of the key components to a longer life for the entire treadmill and the York's high volume fan produce excellent results.

The next thing we noticed was the high-quality, 4-ply treadbelt on the York T780. The diamond cut design is such that it gives some great traction while running. A lot of home grade treadmills have thinner belts with a much slicker surface that can be a bit slippery to run on. The thickness and design of the York belt also prevents it from stretching and becoming misaligned, allowing for fewer belt replacements over the life of the York T780 Treadmill.

Finally, the rollers on the York T780 are works of art. Both front and rear rollers are crowned and fitted with precision bearings. Those two things, when factored together, ensure proper alignment and position of belt and roller, greatly reduce lengthening (or stretching) and give users a much quieter operation, less maintenance and add to the life of the treadmill belt.

When you add those components in with the monster 3 horsepower, ultra-high torque motor and rock-solid steel-welded frames, what you come up with is one of the most durable, most reliable and, just as important, most comfortable treadmills around for under $2000.

While the York T780 treadmill ranks high in components, design and performance, there are a couple of minor issues I've got with the unit. First off is the size of the running area, where the York T780 comes up a little short when compared to competition in its price range. The 20"x55" is just a tad short for what most people expect from a just under $1800 treadmill. Keep in mind, though, that for most people 20"x55" is actually more than enough. Only the super tall (6'4"+) or those doing intense running/marathon training will even notice the difference between a 20"x55" deck and a 20"x58" one.

The second nitpick I have is with York's warranty. For a treadmill that performs as well and is built as solidly as the York T780, it is a shame to see a 10 year motor and 5 year deck warranty. I'd love to see both of those upped just a bit.

For being an excellent machine, and a solid contender for a best buy treadmill award next year, the Treadmill Sensei gives the York T780 Treadmill 4 out of 5 golden buddahs.

The York T780 Treadmill gets 4 gold buddahs for one of the best motors on the market.


Get more information on the York T780 treadmill and find the lowest price online. Save even more with Coupon Code TMSENSEI.

York T780 Treadmill Specifications
Motor: 3HP
Max Speed: 10mph
Max Incline: 12%
Running Area: 20" x 55"
Belt: 4 ply
Display: LED
Readouts: Time, speed, distance, calories, pulse and elevation
Programs: 7
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Folding: Yes
Max User Weight: 330lbs
Unit Weight: 240lbs
Price: Under $1800

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Top Elliptical Deal for the End of the Year: Sole E25 Mega-Sale

Ohiyo!

A few days ago your Treadmill Sensei posted what had to be one of the best sales for a treadmill he's ever seen. To follow up with that sale, and at the request of quite a few of my loyal readers, I wanted to post a great Elliptical Deal going on right now. As with the Quantum Treadmill sale, Amazon has a simply amazing deal on one of the top ellipticals on the market today (and a two time Ichi-Ban Best Buy Award Winner for Best Elliptical Under $1000), the Sole E25.

Featuring all of Sole's patented fitness technology: a heavy duty 23+ pound flywheel, large articulating foot pedals with a natural feeling 2 degree inward slope to increase workout comfort, 16 levels of resistance, the best 20" stride available on a home elliptical, heart rate monitoring, 10 program options and a 325 pound user weight. The Sole E25 is fully loaded and it is very easy to see why it is a best buy award winning elliptical for under $1000.

Now on sale for $899.99, the Sole E25 Elliptical is an Ichi-Ban Best Buy Award Winning Elliptical for Under $1000

Now, for however long Amazon's sale goes on, it is the absolute best buy elliptical you'll be able to find for under $900. That's right, Amazon has dropped the price on the Sole E25 Elliptical Trainer another $100 and made it available for $899.99! This is the single best deal you'll be able to find for a top rated elliptical for under $1000.

As with the Quantum sale, I have no idea how long Amazon will offer the Sole E25 at this mind-blowing price or how many units they have left. If you're looking for a commercial quality elliptical for under $1000 -- and under $900 -- then run, don't walk over to Amazon and check out the Sole E25 elliptical for $899.99, you won't be disappointed.

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Treadmill Deals of the Year

Ohiyo!

Just a quick post today as things continue to be crazy here at the DOJO for the Treadmill Sensei. We've received in quite a few notes from readers about a simply fantastic (I'd call it almost crazy) deal going on over at Amazon.com this holiday season.

It seems Amazon reduced the price on two of last year's best buy treadmills, the Quantum Q2.5 treadmill and Quantum Q3.0s treadmill, to a price that can't be ignored.

The Quantum Q2.5, which we gave a best buy treadmill award in 2006/2007 is priced at under $950 for a commercial grade 2.5 horsepower motor with a 22"x60" deck - check out my original Quantum Q2.5 review HERE.

Or, for under $1200, you can get the Quantum Q3.0s treadmill with a gigantic 3 horsepower motor and the same 22"x60" deck. Check out the full Quantum Q3.0s review HERE.

Both of these units are normally priced at over $1700 and $2200 respectively, making this Amazon.com sale a truly incredible find for those looking for a commercial grade treadmill at an affordable price. I'm not sure how many they have left in stock or how long the sale will go on, but it's worth checking out for sure. There are no other treadmills available at those rock-bottom prices which can match the Quantum treadmills, especially when you factor in the free shipping Amazon.com gives its customers.

If any of you come across great deals like this, feel free to send them in and I'll post them for everyone to take advantage of.

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com