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Elliptical Trainers..New Balance 8000 Elliptical Trainer Review
New Balance 8000 Elliptical Trainer Review
New Balance 8000 Elliptical Trainer Review
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enthusiast for the past few years. Of course New Balance shoes have been
a favorite of runners and cross trainers for many years. The company’s
fitness equipment is made in China and Taiwan is marketed through
Fitness Quest of Canton Ohio. Fitness Quest also markets several other
brands of fitness equipment including Ab Lounge, Edge and Total Gym.
Recently the company has begun marketing the New Balance 8000
elliptical trainer. As luck would have it, an acquaintance of ours recently
purchased an 8000 and was breaking it in. She is a fitness freak like many
of us and had already ridden the machine for 50 hours. We asked her if we
could test the elliptical out and do a review and she gladly assented.
We used 5 test subjects to conduct the New Balance 8000 elliptical trainer
review. They ranged from 6 months to 4 years in experience in using
elliptical trainers. The weights of the testers ranged from 109 pounds to our
265 pound linebacker. We asked each to conduct 3 normal workouts over
a period of a week. They were to note the ease of use, smoothness, fitness
programs, stride length and comfort, sound levels, stability, total body
comfort, perceived workout level, electronics and over all fit.
According to the brochures the 8000 model weighs in at about 180 lbs and
has a 40 by 30 inch foot print which should give it relatively good stability.
It is also rated to 300 lbs. Our testers initially really liked the foot pedals due
their size. The ability to change the stride length from 18 to 20 inches is a
good feature but a better one would be a fully adjustable stride length. Two
of the testers wanted a little more stride than 18 inches but not the full 20.
The stride length was not a problem when work at normal speeds but
when conducting an intense workout these testers ended up having to use
the shorter stride.
Stability was not too bad even for our football player who really made the
machine rock and roll on the pad. A more durable or harder pad might have
added to stability. Sound levels were comparable to all but the loudest of
ellipticals allowing one to watch TV without headphones at moderate
workout levels. Testers felt that the workout programs would probably
satisfy all but a few home exercise buffs. The display was easy to read but
blacked out on one of the tester during her workout. We were unable to get
the console to repeat its failure so we are unsure as to the cause of the
failure.
All testers gave the 8000 a 3 rating out of 5 in terms of smoothness of
operation when compared to the more expensive commercial elliptical
trainers. In addition everyone found it easy to use the upper body handles
to enhance their workout.
We were not able to determine the durability of this unit based on the short
time that it was in use. To date there are few reviews of the New Balance
8000 that would give a real clue as to any problems with this model. It
should be noted that Fitness Quest does not have the best record when it
comes to customer service. As a result we would recommend an extended
warranty to cover the electronics and parts. New Balance or Fitness Quest
provides a standard 10 year frame, 2 year electronics and one year parts
warranty but labor and shipping costs are not included.
With an overall score of 3.75 out of 5 our testers felt that the New Balance
8000 would probably be a good purchase for the average home fitness
enthusiast. The greatest concern given was the fact that this elliptical
trainer was marketed and serviced by Fitness Quest which does not have a
good reputation among fitness people.
New Balance 8000 Elliptical Trainer Review
a favorite of runners and cross trainers for many years. The company’s
fitness equipment is made in China and Taiwan is marketed through
Fitness Quest of Canton Ohio. Fitness Quest also markets several other
brands of fitness equipment including Ab Lounge, Edge and Total Gym.
Recently the company has begun marketing the New Balance 8000
elliptical trainer. As luck would have it, an acquaintance of ours recently
purchased an 8000 and was breaking it in. She is a fitness freak like many
of us and had already ridden the machine for 50 hours. We asked her if we
could test the elliptical out and do a review and she gladly assented.
We used 5 test subjects to conduct the New Balance 8000 elliptical trainer
review. They ranged from 6 months to 4 years in experience in using
elliptical trainers. The weights of the testers ranged from 109 pounds to our
265 pound linebacker. We asked each to conduct 3 normal workouts over
a period of a week. They were to note the ease of use, smoothness, fitness
programs, stride length and comfort, sound levels, stability, total body
comfort, perceived workout level, electronics and over all fit.
According to the brochures the 8000 model weighs in at about 180 lbs and
has a 40 by 30 inch foot print which should give it relatively good stability.
It is also rated to 300 lbs. Our testers initially really liked the foot pedals due
their size. The ability to change the stride length from 18 to 20 inches is a
good feature but a better one would be a fully adjustable stride length. Two
of the testers wanted a little more stride than 18 inches but not the full 20.
The stride length was not a problem when work at normal speeds but
when conducting an intense workout these testers ended up having to use
the shorter stride.
Stability was not too bad even for our football player who really made the
machine rock and roll on the pad. A more durable or harder pad might have
added to stability. Sound levels were comparable to all but the loudest of
ellipticals allowing one to watch TV without headphones at moderate
workout levels. Testers felt that the workout programs would probably
satisfy all but a few home exercise buffs. The display was easy to read but
blacked out on one of the tester during her workout. We were unable to get
the console to repeat its failure so we are unsure as to the cause of the
failure.
All testers gave the 8000 a 3 rating out of 5 in terms of smoothness of
operation when compared to the more expensive commercial elliptical
trainers. In addition everyone found it easy to use the upper body handles
to enhance their workout.
We were not able to determine the durability of this unit based on the short
time that it was in use. To date there are few reviews of the New Balance
8000 that would give a real clue as to any problems with this model. It
should be noted that Fitness Quest does not have the best record when it
comes to customer service. As a result we would recommend an extended
warranty to cover the electronics and parts. New Balance or Fitness Quest
provides a standard 10 year frame, 2 year electronics and one year parts
warranty but labor and shipping costs are not included.
With an overall score of 3.75 out of 5 our testers felt that the New Balance
8000 would probably be a good purchase for the average home fitness
enthusiast. The greatest concern given was the fact that this elliptical
trainer was marketed and serviced by Fitness Quest which does not have a
good reputation among fitness people.
New Balance 8000 Elliptical Trainer Review