Schwinn 430 Elliptical Trainer

Great product which does the job with everything you need. Quiet and stable, the elliptical has an even and smooth motion. There are many levels to choose from and an array of programs. My only gripe is that it's really hard even on the 3rd or 4th level. I may be out of shape but the machine is quite tight. I would recommend it for someone looking for a solid workout.

I thought this product was wonderful for the price. It did take a long time to put together, but with two people it was fine. I do have the problem that others have stated with the heart rate sensor, but as long as I hold them for a good 30 seconds I get an acurate reading.

Performance:
We bought this model 3 weeks ago, after researching elliptical trainers on Consumer Reports as well as in stores. The Schwinn took about 3 hours for my wife and I to setup (2 people are definitely recommended), and we have both been using it about 4 times a week for an hour each. So far, its smooth and relatively noiseless (we have it on the recommended Ironman mat). The display is a bit difficult to see, but its not an issue if the area is reasonably well lit.

Shipping & delivery:
The package arrived about 4 days after ordering it, and while that was pleasantly quick, it was bulky and heavy (as expected). I ended up dismantling it in the garage and moving it down to the basement piece by piece.

Overall, we're very satisfied. You get the rock solid and stable feel of gym machines, without the associated exorbitant cost.

My wife and I were very excited about our purchase of the Schwinn 430. However, from Day 1 this has been a disappointing experience.

For starters, be wary of shipping on Amazon. Although its free, it only includes delivery to the front door of your building. That being said, if you live in apartment, they will not bring the item to your actual apartment unit. This particular item is at least 150 lbs so be prepared.

Next, it took us some time to put the item together. Some of the parts did not align quite right. So that can be a potential issue.

Now, the biggest problem is that after putting the item together, we had two major problems.

1st, the flywheel was making loud thud. 2nd, the computer display had a rattling noise right out of the box, and after mounting it and connecting the power cord, it did not work.

So we contacted Schwinn, who sent a new flywheel and a technician out to our home to fix the flywheel. It now works okay. He said it was likely bent.

The other big issue is that the display is on back order from Schwinn. Schwinn does not plan on having a new display out to us until late December. Thus, one cannot change the tension on the machine making it effectively useless.

I contacted Amazon but because its out of their 30 day window, they claimed that nothing could be done from their end. I always had great customer experiences from Amazon but this has been an overall nightmare.

So basically we paid $600 for an exercise equipment that we cannot use.

In retrospect, I would not have bought this item from Amazon. In addition, I would not have gone with a Schwinn product. Please be wary.

I bought the Schwinn 430 8 months ago and found the assembly to be straight forward. I was very happy with the performance of the machine for the first two months, but started to have issues with squeaking from inside the flywheel assembly. These would typically start only after I had been on the machine for 20 minutes and get worse. The 90 day warranty for labor passed and the problems with noise from inside the front came and went. A few weeks ago the machine broke while I was on it - the resistance went away and didn't vary with changing the settings. I called Schwinn first thing the next morning and after being on hold for 10-15 minutes was given the option of leaving a call back number, so I did. The following morning I still hadn't gotten a call so I tried again. This time I got a person. I had registered the machine online, but was told they have no record of that registration and that the online registration often doesn't work. We spent time registering the machine, after which I described the issue. After some discussion I was told it was probably the motor and that one would be mailed out for me to use in repairing the machine. A week later I called back to find that they had never started the paperwork to ship the motor. I was assured they would ship the motor, but I should expect it to take another week to arrive. The motor finally arrived yesterday so I started to disassemble the machine last night. Guess what - its wasn't the motor that failed, it was the belt (which had clearly rubbed up against something which is why it had squeaked). Given my experience so far with Schwinn I'm guessing I'll see a belt in another couple of weeks. When the machine is working its excellent value for money, but the company is a huge pain in the neck to deal with when it's broken. I deeply regret not buying an extended labor warranty on this elliptical since I assume I would have just made one phone call to get things fixed. And I should have taken the unit apart to precisely diagnose the problem before calling Schwinn to avoid the delays due to their wrong assessment of the problem.