HealthRider Stride Trainer 900 User Experience

by Scott Burton
(Memphis, TN - USA)

I purchased the HealthRider Stride Trainer 900 online and received the shipment within about 6-7 business days.

The elliptical is delivered in a large heavy duty box with multiple inner boxes that contain all the various parts. Assembly requires about 1 1/2 hours and will be easier if a helper is available in some sections.

The instructions are well written, but the assembly is fairly involved and will be challenging for even experienced product builders.

The HealthRider Stride Trainer 900 elliptical is well built and operates very smoothly and quietly. I typically watch TV while training and have no problems hearing the TV audio while exercising.

The built in fan works well and provides a gentle breeze to help you feel a bit cooler during intense workouts.

The built-in speakers are easy to use with the included patch cord for music players but the sound quality is far below what you'll hear through even average headphones.

The training programs include different workouts for toning specific body areas or increasing performance. Unfortunately, these programs are either short and easy, or hard and longer.

Workouts longer than 30 minutes reach extended intensity levels that even fit people under 150 lbs will find difficult to complete without frequent adjustments to the resistance. A 45 minute workout with a few brief peaks above the mid-range of intensity would be a very welcome addition.

The heart rate monitor is very inconsistent with swings of 50 - 80 beats in a matter of a couple of seconds. The manual claims that the reading gets more accurate if you hold onto the handles longer, but the heart rate reading is preempted every 60 seconds when the workout program reports and/or changes the intensity settings.

The left hand sensor is also non-functional on my unit but warranty service claims the HealthRider Stride Trainer 900 is designed to work this way. Response to questions asked via the support web site have been acknowledged within a few hours and answered within a day or so.

Healthrider H70e Elliptical

by Ronald
(Georgia, USA)

I love my Healthrider H70e elliptical.

I am very dissapointed that it did not come with a power cord. I called to purchase one and was on hold for over an hour waiting to talk to someone.

I eventually hung up because I was tired of waiting. I think that is sad to be placed on hold for so long. Poor customer service.

Editor's Comment: We read a consumer review on Buzzillions.com where someone tried for 6 months to order the power cord - online and by phone - and never got an answer. When he finally managed to talk to someone they charged him $25 shipping and handling for the $9.95 power cord!

HealthRider H95E Elliptical User Review and ICON Customer Service

by Lauren Allen
(Northern California)

I purchased the HealthRider H95E elliptical trainer from Sports Authority and out of the box, it didn't work. The ramp would not go up and down. I called ICON (as per the directions that came with the Healthrider) that day (2 days post purchase) and they agreed to send a technician. The technician came out after two weeks and said the electrical board didn't work. He ordered a new one and returned two weeks later. Same problem; there was something wrong with the wiring in the trainer. The new electrical board didn't work. I am now 1 month post purchase (spent $1200 with a full warranty). I called ICON and requested they send a new elliptical trainer. My case has been sent for review and apparently will take at least 3 weeks for them to decide if they will replace my trainer or send another technician out. It will be over 2 months before I even have an answer from when I first purchased this product.

The really ridiculous part is I requested information about who I could contact in the company to lodge a complaint about the issues I have with the HealthRider H95E elliptical because I was getting nowhere. Apparently, I can write a letter to the "Office of the President". No, I can not get the President's name because, "It's a privately owned company so we don't give out his name"! I own my company and my name is all over my product.

I want to warn everyone that ICON Fitness does not have good customer service. I need to add, each time I have called ICON I have been on hold from 20 minutes to over an hour! I put it on speaker phone so I can at least keep working while ICON wastes my time.

The store I purchased the HealthRider H95E elliptical from is now getting involved to help out my situation. I would just return the trainer but I bought it on a trip so the nearest Sports Authority from me is a four hour round trip drive. That is why I bought the full warranty.

My last comment is; I can understand a product not working but I can't understand terrible customer service. I am deeply disappointed, frustrated and will not purchase a product from ICON again.

Healthrider H95e Elliptical and ICON Fitness Customer Service

by Disgruntled User
(West Sacramento, CA)

We've had our Healthrider H95e elliptical for a few months and it works OK for us.

However, if you EVER expect to require factory warranty replacement parts, service, etc., forget it. ICON Fitness (Healthrider's parent company), is one of the worst companies I've ever worked with. When I called them to order a replacement part, I was either placed on perpetual hold (I quit after not hearing a human voice for 50 minutes) or got a recorded message saying "...heavy call volume, please call back later."

I wouldn't buy another ICON Fitness product based on the bad customer service.

Healthrider H95e Elliptical User Review

by Eric
(Gaithersburg, MD)

I bought the Healthrider H95e elliptical at Sports Authority. Do not buy this machine. It came with defective parts which prevent me from fully assembling it.

Reaching their customer service is problematic at best. I bought this Healthrider elliptical trainer two months ago and not a single calorie has ever been burned by this machine, unless you count the effort expended hauling it in from the truck.

Healthrider Club Series H140E User Review

by Margo
(New York, NY)

I give the Healthrider Club Series H140E ***** five stars!

We just recently purchased the Club Series H140E from Sports Authority, and me and my husband LOVE it! I can't say enough about it. It is a very HIGH QUALITY machine.

It doesn't need batteries or an outlet. It works off an internal generator as you pedal. Cool! It is very heavy, but that's a good thing - it means it's not cheap.

It was fairly easy to put together. Took my husband like 2 hours, but he took his time. We originally bought a Nordic Track ASR 700 -what garbage! Lucky for us Sears took it back, no problem. It broke after 2 weeks of use.

I HIGHLY recommend the Healthrider Club Series H140E. It's on sale right now at Sports Authority!

And just so you know, I researched ellipticals for a long time before buying this one - after my bad experience with NordicTrack.

Health Rider H90e Failure

by Martin Wibbenhorst
(Antioch, CA)

I had my HealthRider for a few years and used it only sometimes. You know, that weekend or two every other month. Well, I had two breakdowns in it. Since it is mostly plastic parts, I had one of the "ears" that come out of the wheel piece break on me. That was pretty interesting and it could have injured someone. The second piece happened to me the other day. The steel rail that leads to the wheel and also has the footpad on it broke. It appears it was from a faulty weld. I took photos of the damage and forwarded to customer service that politely asked for about $700 to order parts because the warranty period had expired. Heck, this break almost wrecked my knees when it broke.

Anyone wishing to see some of the photos please ask me for them. The bottom line is that the construction of this ellipitical is crap. Light weight steel, light weight tubing and all the plastic fails over time. I would not look at any similar product since this could happen to you. I was pleased with my machine until these damages occurred. I was not pleased with the way customer service flatly denied my claim. I felt that this was not a warranty item in that sense, not when an entire leg breaks at a stress point. Has anyone else heard of this happening?