I finally broke down and contacted ElliptoGO about my creaky
handlebar stem. Naturally my call immediately went to voice mail. However,
around 5:00 pm I received a call back from a very nice Elliptigo technician.
She asked me a few questions, diagnosed the problem and then provided step by
step directions on how to fix it. I was impressed and appreciative for the
help. I haven’t fixed it yet but at least I know how.
Thursday 6:30 am
78⁰F
with just a hint of a breeze. Had a nice ride and was able to push hard enough
to keep my heart rate around 135 bpm. Still having a bit of a problem with 2nd
gear – another adjustment required. Total ride time 40 minutes.
Friday 6:30 am
Another great day for Elliptigoing. A little cooler than yesterday with a nice
breeze out of the east. Once again, with a little pushing, I sustained my heart
rate at 135 – 145 bpm for most of the 45 minute ride. Take a look at the heart
rate chart over in the right hand column to find your optimum.
Saturday 6:30 am
This was the first morning in the last 3 weeks that I was less than excited
about riding. But my enthusiasm improved once I got going. It was pretty steamy
hot with very little wind. Got my heart rate up in to the 130’s for about 30
minutes before I returning home.
Sunday 6:30 am
Final morning of my 3 week chronicle. Temps in the upper 70’s and not a breath
of air. Pushed hard for the first half of the ride and then cruised back to the
house, enjoying the scenery.
Week 3 Observations:
One of my biggest reservations about purchasing an Elliptigo was that I wouldn’t
enjoy riding enough to use it as a regular source of exercise. I “do” enjoy riding and it’s turned out to be a
GREAT source of exercise. It’s very low impact and I’ve had no muscle or joint
pain. At first I was a little unstable on the Elliptigo but my riding ability
has greatly improved. Now, I’m as comfortable on the Elliptigo as I am on my
bicycle. So bottom line – I give the Elliptigo a BIG THUMBS UP. Price is still
a huge issue and I have a hard time understanding why they are so expensive - but
I’m glad I made the investment.
Disappointments:
I have been a little disappointed in the number of adjustments required in the
first 3 weeks. This may not have been quite as big a deal if I had a dealer
nearby to do the work. But since I don’t, I’ve had to do my own repairs. The
Support Videos are very helpful and the Elliptigo technician that called me about
my handlebar stem was very informative. This was an unforeseen issue but not a
deal-breaker and I still give the Elliptigo a big thumbs up.
So here is a final analysis based on my original concerns...
WOW that’s a lot of money. More than my first car cost.
True - but worth the investment.
What if I don’t like it all that much once I buy one?
I really enjoy riding it.
At 6’6” and 210 lbs, am I too big for an Elliptigo?
Nope. I look freakishly tall but it fits great.
Will I get a decent cardio workout or will it be like my beach cruiser?
I've been able to consistently sustain a heart rate of 130 - 140 bpm.
Will it be too hard on my knees/hips/back – despite what the ads say?
No knee issues other than the normal (unrelated) aches and pains.
What if – like all first generation stuff, there are design improvements or the price goes down?
Only time will tell...
Post Script...
Shortly after I posted this entry I received the following 2 emails from ElliptiGO. Frankly I didn't expect to hear from them and I must say that I was VERY impressed with their response. Another plus in the ElliptiGO's favor.
Hi Don,
I would like to thank you for not just taking the time to post the blog, but to
forward it to us to share your insights and feedback. I totally appreciate the
effort and thorough examination of your entire purchasing and test riding
experience! Your feedback is invaluable and is something we can learn from that
will help us grow and continue to strive for providing the best product and
customer relationships as we can.
The ElliptiGO is an investment and one we take considerable
pride in, however, we know we can improve and it helps to have honest feedback
on everything from price concerns, to first test rides, to maintenance. I do
apologize you experienced a week plus of frustrations not having everything
perfect out of the box. I am your point of service here at ElliptiGO and while
we also support our dealers, if there is any questions you have or concerns or
issues, I hope you will give either your dealer or us a call to help
resolve/answer it. I truly hope you continue enjoying your ElliptiGO and keep
us posted on your many adventures! I enjoyed your blog and look forward to
reading more!
Sincerely,
Keri Cleeremans
ElliptiGO Inc,
Don,
Thanks very much
for posting your review. It felt very even to me (even a bit more positive than
I would have expected given the annoyances you’ve had with your ElliptiGO).
It’s really, really helpful for me to be able to get that kind of insight into
your experience. We’re working hard to deliver a quality product to our
customers and it’s tough to gauge how we’re doing. We clearly have a long way
to go to meet expectations across the board, but it’s nice to see that the
product resonates with you (as it does with almost all of our customers).
I
sincerely apologize about you receiving an ElliptiGO that had a mis-adjusted
shifter. I can provide a list of excuses as to how that got to you, but the
bottom line is that you should not have had to deal with that and we are
investing additional time and effort into preventing that in the future. I’m
confused about the creaking. I know you’ve been in touch with Keri about that,
but I have been traveling and now she is traveling, so I haven’t been able to
close the loop there. That is an unusual issue on the c-series ElliptiGOs. Was
Keri able to resolve it?
How did you feel about your customer service experience in general? Were there
other issues that you had? Did we help to resolve them?
Thanks again for taking the time to put this together – we really appreciate
it, not only for our education but also to help other potential purchasers get
a sense of what to expect.
Bryan
Pate
Co-Founder and Co-President
ElliptiGO Inc.
More...
For continued information on my experience and ElliptiGO
related topics, be sure to check out the
ElliptiGO Galveston Blog.