"Best Budget Elliptical Buy"
 The Schwinn 420 Elliptical Trainer is the 2011 version of the very popular Schwinn 430. The Schwinn 430 has been out for several years, and it has proven to be one of the best budget elliptical trainers on the market. The satisfaction of this low cost machine is apparent with the near 5-star rating it gets from hundreds of customers on Amazon.com.
In the past the Schwinn 430 received a "Best Buy" rating for several years from a prestigious consumer magazine. That honor has past on to the Schwinn 420 in 2011. In Fact, it received an "Excellent" for construction.
Realize that there are some pieces of @#%& in this price range. So to get a relatively durable elliptical for under $600 is exceptional. Schwinn has typicallly managed to build some very reliable machines at an inexpensive price.
Note: Last I checked the Schwinn 420 Elliptical Trainer was selling for $549 with shipping — a good value. Go to
www.Amazon.com
for the lastest deal.*
The Schwinn 420 elliptical takes the best of the Schwinn 430 and makes some minor improvements. And I do mean minor, because there is not a great deal of difference between the two ellipticals. When you got a winner why mess with it.
Schwinn 420 Elliptical Trainer Features
18" Elliptical Stride — This stride length is best suited for average height individuals that are no taller than 6'. There are ellipticals with longer and smoother strides, but for the money the Schwinn 420 has a comfortable elliptical motion.
Articulating Foot Pedals — The pedals angle with the elliptical stride to limit heal lifting. This reduces stress and strain to your ankle and foot.
 LCD Display — This is an inexpensive display by industry standards, but it does provide simultaneous data like speed, calories burned, time, watts level and distance. It also has a chart that shows your levels of resistance and progress.
152" Unit Weight — This is not the heaviest elliptical on the block and not the most stable. They put the user weight limit at 300 lbs., which I feel is excessive. I would place it at around 240 lbs. Regardless, the Schwinn 420 is much more stable than many of the budget models like Weslo, Image, Horizon and ProForm.
Warranty — This is where Schwinn comes up short. You get 1-year parts and 90-days labor. There are many comparably priced ellipticals that offer 1-year parts. You may want to consider getting additional coverage. Although, most of the customer feedback would suggest the Schwinn 420/430 holds up well.
Our Review — Schwinn 420 Elliptical Trainer
It appears the Schwinn 420 offers the same quality workout and durability found on the 430. I would have been surprised if they introduced the next generation and it was inferior.
It should be noted that this is a budget elliptical trainer. That means it is not engineered to be a heavy duty machine. What I mean by heavy duty is that it is not designed for strenuous use and/or multiple users working out several hours a day.
However, for $599 with shipping (The price on Amazon.com), it is a very good value. In fact, it is the best value at $599.
Amazon Customer Reviews
Overall, the customer reviews on Amazon were impressive for a budget elliptical trainer. There were a couple of complaints. First, several customers said the manual is not very informative and difficult to follow. Second, they mention that there is a cup holder description, but that seems to be a misprint. Finally, a customer had a bad experiences with the shipping company showing up with a semi and not be able to make it up their 1/4 mile driveway. Bummer.
Here are some comments:
 The elliptical itself feels sturdy and well built. I am 300 pounds and it supports my weight without shaking or wobbling. The 18" stride and the handles feel comfortable for my 5'10" frame. I heard some complaints from the salesmen at the sports store that the handles were to far forward but I did not have that problem. The console is pretty basic but what was expected for the price.
Bottom line is if you are looking for a sub $600 elliptical that is well built, this is the one for you.
My Recommendation: I would not recommend this elliptical for someone weighing 300 lbs., but this user had no issues.
I've been working out with Precor elliptical machine at a nearby gym and I quite liked it but decided to purchase Schwinn 420 for my exercise room at home (did not want to pay thousands of dollars).
The assembly took just under 2 hours and you do need 2 people. The package is quite heavy as well so do not attempt to build this on your own. The workout is smooth and quiet which is a real treat. I also found setting the custom work-out was a bit hard but I figured it out eventually.
And no, the WATER BOTTLE HOLDER is NOT INCLUDED in this purchase.
Overall you will not be disappointed with this machine especially at this price. It looks good, makes you work out hard and keeps you in shape. I'm short (5' 2") and my husband's 6' but we both find the size of this machine suiting.
 The mechanics of the machine are great and the elliptical is one of the sturdiest and quietest I have ever experienced. Keep in mind this is a $600 machine for personal use at home and not an extravagant model you would find at popular gym. There is no wobbling at all (assuming you leveled it correctly during assembly), and there was no squeeking or excessive noise. After two months of use, however, the left footpad began to squeek. Solution: I took the footpad off, applied WD-40 to the part, and reassembled the pad. The fix took me less than 10 minutes and it took care of the problem.
I would definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a solid elliptical machine for under $700. My mark-down on the grade is for: cupholder, fit test, and only one programmable user allowed.
Click here for more customer reviews
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