I think this is an awesome elliptical for the money. I don't give out five stars very often, but this one ALMOST deserved it. A couple minor things led to a four star review: 1) the fan on the face is pretty much useless, 2) the electronic display is very basic, I was hoping for a little more 3) one of the tracks doesn't perfectly line up w/ the step roller so every once in a while it will come off if its bumped. Other than that, it works very well and is well made. My wife and I use it about 5 times a week each and we've had it about 3 months now... so far so good.

I just got the e55 yesterday and I could not be more pleased. I had my reservations before I bought it because people said it makes noises. It is true if you do not assemble it right. I have the noises my self and I took the area where the sound was coming out apart and put it back together and the noise was gone. Beautiful machine. I am looking forward to many hours of enjoyment and lose some weight on the way.

We have had the E55 for a month now. We ultimately purchased it from Amazon. They had the best combination of financing and shipping options. The price was the same at every site and at our local Dick's sporting goods store.

Delivery
You'll need to plan the logistics of how this 200 lbs. machine is going to get wherever you want it to be. We didn't pay for in home delivery. We expected to have to pull it off the back of a semi-trailer and muscle it into the house and up a flight of stairs. We engaged family and a refrigerator dolly to do just that. To our surprise, the delivery company showed up with a lift-gate straight truck, two capable men, and their own equipment. Other sites, including the manufacturer, want an additional $100 for this service.

The Workout
One of us is new to aerobic exercise this year as part of a New Year's resolution, and has turned into a regular endorphin junkie. Before this machine arrived, we used an old Nordic track ski machine. The comparative workouts on the two machines don't come close. The Sole elliptical is a great workout and really outclasses the skier. I can accomplish more in 90 minutes on the Sole than I could in 3 hours on the old Nordic track. Moreover, a treadmill barely elevates my heart rate and hurts my knees. The Sole is more efficient in terms of cardio gains and calorie burned versus time spent.

The Machine
The Good:
* It is excellent at its core function, and this important because if it were not, I'd be returning it. It provides a great workout and when it is not squeaking, it really is quiet.
* The handles provide a great upper body workout. We can actually use them rather than have them along for the ride
* Assembly, as promised by the manual, was really easy. Sole put some thought into it. I strongly encourage the use of real tools over the ones provided. The stamped steel wrenches included don't allow one to apply sufficient torque to the fasteners.
* Assembly tip, don't try to move the flywheel buy lifting or muscling it. Instead, leave it in the box and use it to slide it into place. The flywheel and attached foot pedal rails are too awkward to move safely.
* I don't come close to hitting my head on the ceiling while working out. Some reviewers expressed concern about this. At 6'4" I estimate I've got a 3 inch margin of clearance on our 8 foot high ceiling.
* The included chest strap heart rate monitor allows the user to keep their hands on the handle bars.
* The nice, thick, tubular frame is very rigid. We prefer the beefier frame of the E55 over the E25.
* It is longitudinally very stable. Laterally it can rock during a workout.

The Bad:
* The mast squeaks intermittently, about 50% of the time depending on temp and humidity. I've tightened it with regular wrenches to no avail. The foot pedals click intermittently. The rails that support the rear rollers squeaked before I supported them with a book and some shims.
* The machine contacts the floor in 6 places. Sole provides adjustable feet to level the machine, but only on four places. The front of the machine does not have adjustable feet. Shims work, but aren't attractive.
* At lower levels of resistance, my toes get numb. Increasing resistance results in leaning forward and no numb toes. The manual claims that the foot pedals are biomechanically correct. For whom? No amount of adjustment to the pedals alleviates the numbness. I would prefer to have the pedals articulate rather than have to have my foot follow designed motion. Foot pedals on my bike move with my foot, why shouldn't these?
* The fan provided is not powerful enough to move enough air to cool either of us. We can't detect a difference when it is on or off.
* The various programs included in the machine are of little value to us. We use the manual setting. We would prefer a mounting device for a flat screen T.V. in place of the computer screen and speakers.
* Some cosmetic plastic pieces covering a bearing connecting the arms to the feet broke after the first three weeks. After assembly, I noted that they interfered with each other, but on one side only. Switching the pieces, reversing the side they were located on, and even lubricating the contact points didn't prevent them from breaking.
* The machine's footprint could be wider. I'm tall and can really lever the machine around when I'm working hard. A wider stance would bring some needed stability.

The Unexpected
* We bought the machine because of the autopilot feature. The machine varies resistance to keep your heart rate in a target zone. We learned that we don't need this feature. We have learned that we can sense or heart rate within about 5 beats per minute and regulate it ourselves.

On balance, we would purchase the machine again, but would question whether the E35 would better suite our needs and at a better price.

I suggest buying this equipement from a local store. Amazon shipped this item through ABF freight and it was a horrible expieriance. First you have to set up an appointment, which no one told me. After I set up the appointment it was late. I called the company and asked how long it would be and they told me the shipment would be there in 2 hrs. After 3 hours I called back and they told me they forgot to load it. They said they would have one of their drivers load it in his pick-up truck and deliver it on the way home. I asked them if they could just setup a morning delivery. They said they would make a note, but it would probably be delivered in the afternoon. I guess I will just sit around all day again and see if it comes...VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH AMAZON!!

I've had the elliptical for a week now. It is a smooth motion, but is not the quietest machine. The plastic foot pedals make a creaking noise constantly, and there is a sqeek on one of the rails. I have the foot pedals as tight as possible, and it still sqeeks. I'm not sure why the wheel on the rail is making noise. I cleaned it and even tried a little oil, doesn't help any.

After a long process of analyzing elliptical trainers and physically trying about 18 different units consisting of front, mid and rear wheels, we finally settled on this one. Surprisingly, it came down to 3 manufacturers: Life Fitness, PreCor and Sole as all others we looked at either were poorly made or had an annoying issue (e.g., many front wheel systems other than the Sole E55 and E95 have a lttle "kick" at the end of your backstride making your knee respond sharply and uncomfortably). The price of the models we wanted varied from the Sole E55 with a price tag of less than $1500, the Life Fitness was $3299 and the PreCor was $4299. The Dick's sporting goods store just opened in San Antonio and the E55 was on sale for $1199. It was such a great deal we went ahead an grabbed one the minute a new shipment came in as they were sold out of their original shipment the first day we went in. We grabbed one of the two that arrived and they are sold out again that day. Now the price is back to $1499.

I decided I could save $100 and handle delivery in my little Ford Ranger truck that I keep around for hauling. The box fits perfectly in the bed of the truck (it would probably fit into an SUV with the seats down) and with a common 300 pound dolly I was able to handle taking it into the house without any assistance. If I would have had more than a couple of stairs to traverse I would have needed some assistance but not a lot. Be sure to keep the unit in the box until you get to the final room location as the legs are attached to the wheel and it becomes hard to handle once they are out of the box as they want to flop around.

Assembly was fairly simple except I began working from the first step of the instructions and didn't realize until I was to step 2 that I as reading the E25 steps and not the E55. I was beginning to think I didn't have the right parts but once I started reading the correct page, everything came together nicely. All screws and bolts are heavy duty except a few self-taping screws that finish off some plastic parts that are mainly for looks and to keep little fingers from being pinched. The plastic parts actually bolt down nicely to the frame but they have these cheesy screws that work to hold them together more cleanly and they have a tendency to strip the plastic (I had 2 strip a little and won't tighten down). They have no affect on functionality or form as the parts are secured pretty well. I guess they do this to ensure the seam is closed tightly. I just hate a screw that doesn't tighten down. Total assembly time took me 2 hours although it would have been 30 minutes less if I had started on the right page. I recommend assembling this yourself if possible as it will provide some familiarity with the machine if you have any issues later. Sometimes the people from the store don't do such a great job of assembly.

As for usage, wow what a nice machine. It is smooth as it can be but when I get on (I weigh 230 pounds) I get a small click during use that you can't feel but can hear sometimes. I think I have tracked it down to a bolt on one of the arms that I will need to tighten although Sole recommends that the unit be leveled with one of the 6 leg levelers if you experience any noise and I haven't tried that either. My wife (she weighs 150 pounds) doesn't experience this click so it isn't on my high priority list just yet. :-)

I saved so much money I went ahead and purchased Dick's 3 year warranty on the unit for $129. That way they will cover something that goes wrong due to system use in addition to manufacturing defects.

I would absolutely buy this system again. I like it better than the E95 because of the LCD display allowing me to see many aspects of my workout instead of toggling through an LED display. I hope this helps you to make up your mind on an elliptical.