REVIEW: Schwinn 431 Elliptical Trainer

I’ve been using the Schwinn 431 Elliptical Trainer for about a week now. Here is my review!

About Elliptical Trainers
Elliptical trainers have several advantages over treadmills and stationary bikes. They are very low impact, quiet, offer almost a full body workout, and don’t take up a lot of room. These were the three biggest factors in my deciding to go with an elliptical over other exercise equipment. And so far, I’m very pleased with my choice.

How to Choose an Elliptical Trainer
OK, so you’ve decided to get an elliptical. Now what? There are several things you need to keep in mind when you shop around for an elliptical, as explained in a previous post of mine:

• stride length: a longer length is good, especially if the machine is going to be used at a fast rate. This will allow the user to maintain a more natural stride that isn’t cut short. I’m 5′9″, and the 18″ stride on the Schwinn 431 (measured from the front foot to the back foot at max length on the machine) is perfect. If you are much shorter or taller than you may prefer a different length.
• magnetic resistance vs. belt tension. Magnetic resistance is very very quiet! Try to avoid belt tension if your budget allows. All of the Schwinn ellipticals use magnetic resistance.
• heavy flywheel: Heavier flywheels give the machine a smoother feel when in use. Lighter flywheels are more jerky because they have less momentum as it spins. The 431 uses a 25 pound flywheel and is extremely smooth. If you don’t weigh much you can probably get away with a lighter flywheel.
• support for users that are 300 pounds or more. This implies the machine is sturdy and well constructed. The 431 has a max user weight of 300 pounds.
• a good console. More built in programs are better, as they make exercising everyday less monotonous. More on these programs later.
• size: if you live in an apartment or a small home then this is very important. I leaned towards the Schwinn 431 because of its small footprint: it is 4′9″ long and 2′2″ wide. It can be lifted from the rear and rolled to easily store in the corner. Schwinn’s top of the line elliptical, the 438, is a full 7 inches longer.

Schwinn’s Elliptical Lineup
At the moment, Schwinn has three elliptical trainers. The $549 (on Amazon) 430, the $689 (with automatic $100 checkout discount) 431, and the $999 438. You can see from the Amazon customer reviews that all three models are well received.

As for the differences: the 430 has a 275 pound max user weight and eight workout programs. The 431, as explained above, has a 300 pound max user weight, a built in fan, and 16 workout programs. The top of the line 438 has a 300 pound max user weight, a built in fan, 21 workout programs, and a wireless heart monitor (more on the usefulness of this later). The 438 is also 7 inches longer than the other models. All three models have a 25 pound flywheel, an AC plug for the console, and a grip heart rate monitor. They can also all be used forwards and backwards to work different muscles.

I went with the 431 because I felt it gave the best bang for the buck among the three models. Without Amazon’s $100 discount I might have leaned towards the 438 since it has the useful wireless heart monitor.

Ordering
The best price I was able to find for the Schwinn 431 was on Amazon. The price comes out to an impressive $689 with free shipping after $100 is automatically deducted at checkout (this deal is only good until August 31, 2008.) There is also a $10 off $50 coupon code, but I have not tried it. This also expires on August 31, 2008.

Shipping
Shipping from Amazon was free, which is quite frankly incredible for a product of this size (click to enlarge):

Schwinn 431 Elliptical Box

This thing weighed a hefty 174 pounds (79 KG). The shipper called a few days before the delivery date, and notified me to expect the package between 1 and 5PM. On the day of delivery, they called again to make sure somebody would be there to receive the package. They arrived at 1PM, unloaded it from the overly massive big rig, and helped me bring it inside. I signed the receipt and off they went. It was about 1.5 weeks between the day I ordered and the day it ended up inside the house. Not bad for a package of this size.

Checking the Contents
The box, as pictured above, was pretty beat up. But the contents were well protected due to heavy use of Styrofoam. Here is a picture of the box with the top flaps open:

Schwinn 431 Packaging

I put all the pieces on the ground and made sure I wasn’t missing anything. By the way: unless you are an Olympic weight lifter it helps to have two people unpack the box. Here is a pic of the box contents:

Schwinn 431 Box Contents

One thing that threw me for a minute was the cup holder. The cup holder isn’t a separate piece, but is already attached to the console mast. The manual states it is a separate (but removable) piece.

At the top of the picture (click the pic to see it better) are 2 small white packages. These contain all the various bolts, washers, and tools required to build the machine. The different bolts and washers are labeled on the package and need to be kept separate from their similar looking siblings. One useful tool (that wasn’t included) to help build it is a mallet. I used a small hammer, covered with overlapping burlap fabric, to lightly hammer a few stubborn parts together.

Putting It All Together
It took a little over 2 hours to put the 431 together. I read the Assembly Manual carefully every step of the way but still found myself having to undo a bolt every now and then.

The very first piece that is built are the rails:

Schwinn 431 Rails

Once completed, the cross bar on the left of the picture is where the machine is lifted to roll around. This is a very handy feature.

There were only 2 difficult parts of the assembly process. The first was the installation of the arm pivot rod into the console mast. This was where a mallet would come in handy as it required a bit of pounding to get the rod into the console mast.

The second problem was with the lower right handlebar and the right leg assembly. These 2 pieces are attached using a cotter pin, a bolt, and a washer. The left side was no problem, but the right side would not line up. It took 10 minutes of twisting and pulling to get everything to line up properly. Here is a picture of the area in question:

A Pain in the *ss

One reviewer on Amazon claimed some pieces (the 4 large washers) are not used. This isn’t true: every piece is needed to complete the elliptical. If you aren’t very mechanically inclined get somebody else to do it for you.

1 Week Later
It’s been 1 week since I’ve put the Schwinn 431 together. The only issue I’ve run into is a small squeak where the lower right handlebar attaches to the leg assembly (the same pieces I struggled to attach together as described above.) I loosened the bolt about 1/8th of a turn and the squeak has not come back.

Overall, the best thing I can say about this elliptical is how quiet it is. I watch the TV at the exact same volume when I am using the elliptical as when I am not. A small amount of noise comes from the built in fan, which Schwinn should try to make quieter. The sound of the legs rolling on the rails makes a small sound as well, but nothing that wouldn’t be expected. Besides those two things, this elliptical is whisper quiet.

In addition to the quietness of the machine, the built in programs are also nice to have. There are 10 profile programs that mimic such things as riding in a park with small rolling hills or riding up a steep mountain. Another program is completely manual and allows the user to adjust the resistance on the fly. 3 programs allow the user to keep their heart rate within certain ranges. If you don’t know, keeping the pulse within a certain range supposedly helps the exerciser reach certain goals, such as weight loss or increased endurance. Here is a handy chart showing the different “exercise zones”.

Another program allows the user to work see how long it takes to cover a predetermined distance. I haven’t used this program, and I don’t see the usefulness of it. A fitness program is also included, and this measures the power output versus the heart rate. As your body becomes more efficient, you should be able to produce more power for a static heart rate. Lastly, there is an option to input the amount of calories you want to burn. As a side note, the calorie calculator shouldn’t be fully trusted on this machine or any other exercise machine.

After each exercise routine, the console displays a summary of the workout. You can see the average speed, the total amount of time for the workout, the “distance” covered, the approximate amount of calories burned, the average watts generated, and the average heart rate (if using the grip heart rate monitor.)

The only minor complaints I have are the placement of the water bottle holder and the usefulness of the grip heart rate monitor. The water bottle holder is a bit low on the console and makes it difficult to reach. And the grip heart rate monitor takes about 20-30 seconds to come up with an accurate pulse reading. I think this is normal for grip heart rate monitors, but it can still be frustrating. The wireless heart rate monitor included with the 438 and other higher end ellipticals would be much better if you’re trying to keep your pulse within a certain range. This will allow you to use the elliptical handlebars instead of keeping them stationary on the grips.

I’ll be posting again in the future with a longer term review of this elliptical. Stay tuned!

Conclusion
So, am I happy with my purchase? Absolutely! The awesome price of this elliptical combined with the quietness, size, and built in programs make it a great buy. I would recommend the Schwinn 431 Elliptical trainer to anybody who doesn’t have out of the ordinary requirements.

Useful Links
Schwinn’s Fitness Homepage
Schwinn 430 on Amazon
Schwinn 431 on Amazon
Schwinn 438 on Amazon
Sole, another good manufacturer of elliptical trainers

If you have any questions please post a comment!

Bay Area Barbeque Cook Off 2008

Bay Area BBQ Cook Off 2008

Now normally I’m not a big fan of BBQ sauces. I find the taste so-so (A1 is sooo much better for meats!) and ribs can get a little messy (I like to keep my hands clean, OK?) But I’m always willing to try something new, even if it is BBQ. So this past weekend a friend and I headed out to the Bay Area Barbeque Cook Off in Pleasanton, CA.

We got there around 11:15 in the morning, which turned out to be a good thing as the line to get in would be about 15 times longer at noon. There were longish lines at some of the vendors serving BBQ, and nonexistent lines at other vendors. The vendors with no lines had piles of ribs and would occasionally have to reheat them on the grill as they watched their competitors pulling in the big bucks.

We decided to try one of the vendors with a lot of customers (the lines had to be long for a reason, right?) Johnson’s Q Colonel BBQ had their trophies proudly displayed in front (picture above), with country music blasting towards the crowd. I tried a combo plate with BBQ ribs, pork, sausage, beans, potato salad, and bread. And I tell ya, it was pretty damn good. The beans and potato salad had a sweet taste: Southern style which I enjoy. The Texas style BBQ sauce wasn’t overly tangy or spicy, and complimented the meats very well. The meats themselves were very tender, I had no problem using my fork to pull off the meat from the ribs (I know, I know). For the first time in my life, I found myself wanting more BBQ! But I decided to hold my appetite for some other treats.

Another vendor had free samples of Southern sweet tea. This is something a little different than what us Californians are used to. It is basically iced tea that has been boiled to better mix the sugar in with the tea. We tried some, and all I’ll say is that I think I instantly got three cavities. On to the next vendor.

Next to the sweet tea booth, a couple people were selling sweet potato cookies. I like sweet potatoes so I was excited to try these cookies, and I’m glad I did. They had a very nice flavor to them, though they were a bit heavy on the molasses. I’d definitely eat them more often if they were more readily available.

Because most of the other foods were generic carnival fare like iced lemonade, funnel cakes, and ice cream, we decided to call it a day. I was pretty stuffed anyways.

So will I be going to the same event next year? You bet ya!

Not-So-Authentic Japanese Store in San Jose, CA

So there I was in a Japanese grocery store in California. Everything seemed authentic, from the traditional bento being sold in the corner to the pricey imported Japanese tea sets for sale near the entrance. For one small moment in time, I felt as though I was actually shopping in Japan. Until I saw this:

Jeff Foxworthy Jerky

Yup. Nothing says authentic Japanese like Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky. Yum.

Shih Tzu – Poodle Puppies

My friend’s Shih Tzu just gave birth to a litter of puppies. They are half Shih Tzu and half Poodle. The brown one in the back appears to be the runt of the litter: he isn’t as well developed and isn’t as active as his siblings.

Puppies

Click on the link for a bigger picture!

‘Confusion’ Defined

Actual conversation between me and a coworker, who was trying to rewind a DVD on a DVD/VCR combo:

 
Coworker: Why would they put a rewind button if it doesnt do anything?
Me: Because it is a DVD/VCR combo, the rewind button is for the VCR.
Coworker: I’m confused.
Me: Yes, yes you are.

Irrational Confidence

From today’s WSJ:

Zillow said that 62% of the 1,361 homeowners who responded [to a survey] said they believe the value of their home increased over the previous year.

How far off can those homeowners be from reality?

Zillow’s data show that 77% of U.S. homes depreciated in value over the past year, while only 19% appreciated.

Either Zillow interviewed people who still think it is 2001, or . . .

Perspective

From the WSJ:

Take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which owned 62,000 homes in the first quarter and were acquiring houses twice as fast as they could sell them. Fannie and Freddie now are statutorily backed by taxpayers, so taxpayers now are the real owners of nearly as many foreclosed houses as the rest of the country’s 8,500 banks and thrifts combined.

Yay . . . we’re all homeowners now!

401(k) Investing

The WSJ has a sad bit of news today. Seventeen years ago West Virginia school employees moved away from a defined benefit retirement plan, which guaranteed a monthly check, to a 401(k). Now, in order for a 401(k) plan to be successful, the investor needs to be somewhat knowledgeable about how investing works. According to the article, this wasn’t the case. As a result, 78% recently switched back to the pension plan. What happened?

In a nutshell: “Most [employees] felt poorly informed, and they invested too conservatively, putting the largest sums of money into a fixed-rate annuity.” As these employees retired, they found their savings to be too small to live on. They were so happy to have pension plans back that “teachers were jumping up and down and crying in the halls.”

The investors put their money into conservative investments probably because they heard these were ’safe’. Unfortunately, they were very wrong. Investing in money-market and bond funds for the long term are anything but safe. They grow at a very slow rate and may not even keep up with inflation. Using an annuity as an investment vehicle has its own issues. Granted, these types of investments aren’t as dangerous as keeping all of ones 401(k) money in a single company, like many Enron employees did. But it is still an unwise decision.

I’m not a financial advisor, but maybe one solution is for companies to automatically put their employees investments into target retirement mutual funds, such as those provided by Vanguard. These funds get more conservative as the individual approaches retirement. If the person investing wants to change the allocation to be more or less aggressive than hopefully he knows what he is doing. But employers should not let their employees fend for themselves, they should at least give them a reasonable opt-out option to start off with.

The Schwinn 431 Elliptical Trainer

UPDATED:
Here is a link to my review of this elliptical.

I’ve been looking at aerobic exercise equipment for the last week or so. I was looking for something that:

• is quiet
• has a small footprint
• is low impact
• costs less than $1000

I decided on an elliptical trainer. Decent ellipticals are non-impact and offer variable resistance settings. After researching them for a few days, I decided I wanted the following on an elliptical trainer:

• At least an 18″ stride. The stride is the max distance between the front and back feet while using the machine. A longer stride is beneficial for taller people and for using the machine at a fast pace. More expensive machines, like those made by Sole, have longer stride lengths.
• Magnetic resistance. The other option for resistance is via belt tension. Machines with belts are louder and don’t last as long.
• A minimum 20 pound flywheel. Heavier flywheels result in a smoother operating machine.
• Support for people 300 pounds or more. I don’t weigh 300 pounds, but a trainer that supports this weight will be solidly built and stable.
• A good console. This is highly subjective, but I wanted something that was modern both in function and appearance.

After a lot of looking, I shortened my list to the Schwinn 431, the Schwinn 438, and the Sole E25. I almost pushed the buy button on the Schwinn 438 when my friend noticed the $100 discount (until August 31) on Amazon for the Schwinn 431. That sealed the deal, and I bought it from Amazon for a total of $689 with free shipping. The trainer is supposed to ship on Friday (4 business days.) Wow, what a steal! I’ll review it here after a few days of using it.