Schwinn 431 Elliptical Trainer

Fretted over machines for about two weeks but after reviewing this site and trying out a few different machines at the big boxes I decided to go with the Schwinn 431. Some of the machines at the stores claimed to have an 18 inch stride but they were very restrictive. The Schwinn is very comfortable, has good resistance and it's small footprint fits exactly where I want it. I'm 5'10" and it fits me great.
Except for one bolt that was a pain in the butt the machine went together very nicely. I'm not very mechanically inclined but I followed the directions and took my time and in about two hours I was moving.
As far as the Heart rate monitor goes. Anytime you check someone's heart rate you count for at least thirty seconds and then multiply by two. This machine is no different. It is simply scrolling through numbers while it is counting. I notice that the average heart rate at the end of the workout is fairly accurate while during the workout it's all over the place. Do not rely on this feature. Learn to take your own pulse and consult with your Doctor as to what your target heart rate should be. That would be the only true measure of your actual rate.
Other than that the machine is great. I greased all the right moving parts with some spray white lithium grease. Even the ones that were already lubed up. There is still some noise but when you stop and think about it, it is a machine with moving parts there is bound to be some noise.
I am a true nobody who is just trying to lose some weight and have fun doing it and the Schwinn so far has been exactly what I needed. I just thought I'd put in my two cents and let people know that I'm happy with my machine and I hope those of you who buy this have the same luck and good fortune as I have had.
Thank's for reading I hope I didn't bore you. P.S. ABF freight A+++++++++ Great Driver!

I am currently on my second Schwinn 431 elliptical trainer as the first one I received did not work properly. I had numerous problems with the first machine including the E-2 error message, a bad motor, little to no resistance and a bad console. Because of the good reviews this elliptical has received I decided this bad machine must be an isolated case. I went through the on-line return process at Amazon and had a new machine within a week. The delivery company took the old machine so it could be returned to Amazon (of course I had to disassemble the machine and put it back in it's original packaging).

Now that I have an elliptical that works I can say this is a very good product. There are lots of programs and the resistance levels are very challenging. The machine is sturdy and quiet. I am 6-0 and weigh 230 pounds. This machine seems to handle my larger size very well. FYI...I use this machine in a room that has a 7'8" ceiling. I probably have 7" of clearance at this ceiling height. Keep ceiling height in mind when ordering this machine.

Although I had problems with my first machine, I give Schwinn customer service lots of credit for trying to fix these problems. They were receptive to my concerns and did what they could to resolve the issues. I also give Amazon credit for processing my return request in a timely manner and getting me a new machine within a week. It's nice when companies stand behind the products they sell instead of giving you the runaround.

After reading many reviews on this Elliptical and others, I decided this was the best deal for my money. Even with the Super Saver Shipping, it arrived in 4 business days after I ordered it, you can't beat that! I put it together in about 2 hours, and the instructions were very simple to follow. I am very impressed with the quality of this machine, and could not believe how quiet it was. I put it on a rubber gym mat to protect my hardwood floors, and you can't even tell it is in use from the room directly below it.

My only complaints are that the fan doesn't really do much, and as someone else mentioned, the calculations to get your heart rate are a little weird because it always goes through the same sequence of numbers: 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 128, 130, 132, 134, 136, 156 (assuming your heart rate is up to 156) so it takes about 45 seconds to get your correct heart rate. However, neither of these things really bother me because I haven't really seen an Elliptical with a good fan on it, and the heart rate thing isn't that annoying.

We (me and my wife) picked this model since its launched in 2008. It was easy to assemble and get it running. Its a good product if someone wants to do a light exercise at home; however, we do hear some creaking sound while operating it.

My Schwinn 431 Elliptical was delivered and the box was beat up pretty badly. It looked like ABS Freight had a fork lift battle with it but it is packaged really well. The driver let me inspect it and it was in good shape with minor scratches. I advise downloading the assembly manual from the Schwinn website prior to machine arriving becuase it helped me in the assembly process to be familiar with the product. It took around 2 hours to assemble including cleaning up the shredded box and shipping materials.
I have used it several times and it is a solid machine that works almost as well as my gym's Procor ellipticals. I am 6'1" 260 lbs. and the machine is solid, smooth, has great tension when wanted, does not rock, and is fun to use. The stride is nice for my height and fits great in my small office at my house. I like to use it when I don't have time to go to the gym, or as a supplement to the gym. It works great and I would recommend this elliptical. Thanks for all the Amazon reviewers and for the Treadmill Sensei for recommending this machine.

UPDATE: 7/30/08
I use this elliptical at least 5x a week and it works great. The fan had a short and they sent me a new console/ fan and I recieve it in 2 days.
I decided to leave the fan off and put a little bigger clip on fan where the original one was and it works much better. I think I had a defective right foot plate because when I first assembled it would almost touch the wheels underneath and my heal would hit the floor every once in a great while. Well, The weld cracked and I recieved a new one in 2 days and it fits properly and works great. I think the product is good but some parts can be defective.
I still stand by my rating because I recieved the new working parts in 2 days and customer service has been great in my experience.