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The Sole Fitness E95 Elliptical trainer features a 22 inch stride length and extra-large 9 inch display screen, to make sure you have everything you need for effective and enjoyable cardio workouts at home.
But how do you know if this is the best elliptical for you?
In this review we’ll walk you through the full range of design features, from 34 lb flywheel to the front-drive resistance system. We’ve also added a guide to each workout program, display console features, and comparisons with similar top-of-the-line ellipticals.
Design features
When it comes to choosing which elliptical trainer to buy, it can be difficult to find the right balance between cost and features.
One of the greatest areas for difference between machines in the different price ranges is the stride length. Where many of the lower priced machines will provide a stride length closer to 16 inches, the Sole Fitness E95 provides a stride length of between 20 and 22 inches.
Stride length can be seen as similar to the way the size of the running area on a treadmill differs between machines, where a longer stride length will suit a wider range of user heights than a shorter stride length.
The size of the flywheel is another area that will differ between price ranges. The Sole Fitness E95 is fitted with a 34 lb flywheel which forms part of a whisper quiet drive system that functions in both forward and reverse motion.
The larger flywheel essentially creates a much smoother running motion, which is improved further by relying on a magnetic rather than manual resistance system.
Sole Fitness E95 – Features Summary
- Power adjustable stride
- 20-to-22-inch maximum stride length
- Six standard programs
- Two custom programs
- Two heart rate programs
- Pulse grip and chest strap heart rate monitoring
- Includes heart rate chest strap
- LCD console with nine-inch display
- ECB resistance
- Built-in fan
- 15-inch pedals
- Includes sound system and water bottle holder
Workout programs
In the same way that strength athletes will regularly change their workout program to shock their body and keep seeing results, it’s important to find an elliptical that lets you workout to different programs and intensities.
The Sole Fitness E95 elliptical does this well by providing you with a variety of preset programs, heart rate controlled options, and even workout programs you can design yourself.
Custom user programs – Although Sole do provide the preset workout options, there will often be times where the way you want to train doesn’t fall into these categories.
This is when the custom user programs are so useful to have, with the built in computer able to store up to 2 of these workouts.
After providing some basic information, such as age and weight, you can then adjust the incline and resistance settings for the different stages of your workout.
Heart rate programs – The 2 heart rate controlled workouts that are included are an excellent way to ensure you are training at the optimum level for your fitness goal.
These programs are designed to keep your heart rate at 60% (HR1) or 80% (HR2), with the 60% level better suited to general cardio, and the 80% level best suited to endurance training.
Preset programs – Rather than all of the preset programs being designed specifically for cardio, each program will feature different resistance levels to allow you to achieve different goals.
The ‘Hill’ and ‘Fat Burn’ options gradually build up the resistance towards the middle of your workout, before fading back down towards the end.
A ‘Strength’ program has been included to help build strength in your lower body, with the resistance building much more quickly and maintaining that high level for much of your workout.
‘Cardio’ and ‘Interval’ programs are the other two types of workout that are preset, with Cardio designed to improve your cardiovascular fitness, and Interval designed to help your body use oxygen more efficiently.
This is achieved through the program moving through higher levels of intensity (depletes oxygen levels), followed by periods of lower intensity (replenishes oxygen levels).
Ease of assembly
With many of the negative reviews on fitness products often relating to the difficulty of assembly or poor instruction quality, we thought it would also be useful to include a section about the assembly of the Sole Fitness E95.
While the manual does start off with a very clear assembly pack checklist, the steps to setup this elliptical do seem a bit more difficult to follow than other models.
Although each step provides both an image and textual explanation, these are on different pages to each other, which can make it difficult to keep track unless you lay the pages side by side.
The steps could perhaps have also been split out a bit more, with only 3 provided there is a lot to follow before completing each stage of the setup.
That being said, this remains one of the highest rated elliptical machines on Amazon, and none of the customer reviews have anything bad to say about the assembly.
Display console design
One of the best things about buying a piece of cardio equipment from Sole Fitness is the amount of effort they have put into the design and usability of their display consoles.
Many elliptical trainers will provide a much smaller display console where the range of button functions and workout information displayed is much more limited.
Fortunately great effort has gone into ensuring the Sole Fitness E95 has one of the highest quality display consoles of any non-commercial elliptical trainer.
Although the display console is slightly larger than on some machines to include the cooling fan at the top, in our view this is a useful addition to your workouts which can help you train for longer at a higher intensity.
If you enjoy listening to music while you workout, there are two connector sockets situated below the control keys for plugging in your MP3 player and headphones. The recess between these sockets is also excellent for holding either your MP3 player, water bottle, or any energy supplement that you might need while training.
In terms providing feedback on your current workout, the large 9 inch LCD display screen contrasts white and black text with the blue backlight to make the information displayed as easy to read as possible.
This includes your incline and resistance settings, time, distance, heart rate, and the number of calories burned.
The quick select buttons to adjust both the incline and resistance are a useful option to have if you don’t want to keep holding down the arrow buttons to make larger adjustments to your workout.
Customer reviews
While the product information provided in this article should hopefully provide you with a clear idea of the Sole Fitness E95 features, customer reviews still remain one of the best ways to gather opinions from a wider range of people who have bought and used this machine.
With Amazon being such a trusted marketplace for fitness equipment, this can be a good place to start. Currently with nearly 90% of these customer reviews rated at either 4 or the full 5 stars, this is an encouraging indication that this is a high quality elliptical that is well suited to home gyms.
The following is a quick summary of the positives and negatives that can be found throughout the current reviews:
Pros:
- Smooth running motion
- Simple to follow assembly instructions
- The large handle at the back and transport wheels makes it possible to move around if required
- Quiet to use
- Excellent customer service
- Sturdy construction
- Variety of workout programs keeps your training interesting and enjoyable
Cons:
- A couple of reviews reported low quality sound from the speakers
- There were also a couple of reviews that reported a squeaking sound in the rails at the rear of the elliptical, but this was resolved by lubricating the rollers and rails
Warranty
The following manufacturer’s warranties against defects in materials and workmanship are provided:
- Frame: Lifetime
- Electronics and parts: Five years
- Labor: Two years
Review Overview
Overall Rating
4.5 / 5
With its large backlit display keeping your important workout information easy to read, even in dim light, the Sole E95 elliptical machine helps you track your progress at the same time as providing an effective cardio workout.
The combination of a heavy 34 lb flywheel and high gear ratio has resulted in an extremely smooth gliding motion, with 20 levels of resistance that will provide a challenging workout.
To help keep this a low impact form of exercise, oversize foot pedals that have been designed by Sole engineers to have a 2 degree inward slant, reducing ankle and knee stress. The foot plates also articulate for optimal user comfort and performance.
All in all this is an excellent machine for home fitness training, whether you are a taller user and looking for a longer stride length, or simply want to invest in an elliptical trainer from a company that offers an impressive warranty and respected customer service.
Product weight: 215 lbs Product dimensions: 27" (W) x 62" (H) x 83" (D) User weight limit: 400 lbs
USA Home Gym gives in-depth insights into gym equipment, supplements, and fitness training methods. The motivation behind USA Home Gym is to provide you with information that goes beyond what you can find in any user manual, customer review, or other online review sites.
We go to great lengths to ensure that our reviews are completely comprehensive, usually covering everything from the design features to the warranty coverage and exercise options. This is all to help guide you towards the home gym equipment that’s best suited to your goals and budget, whilst also being the highest quality option in your chosen price range.
