Deciding to Purchase an ElliptiGO...

The Elliptigo seemed to have many of the features I was looking for to get back into a regular exercise regime. It’s similar to an elliptical trainer but with the added feature/benefit of not being stationary. Easy on the knees and hips. Plus I was already doing some cycling as a “passive” source of exercise.

My goal – a good cardio workout for 30 – 60 minutes at a heart reate of 130 - 135 bpm.

This might be the appropriate time to mention that I’m kind of a tightwad.  I’ll spend money on things within reason but there is NOTHING within reason about the price of an Elliptigo. At $2,000 - $3,000 it is way out of my comfort zone!!!  This was the single most important factor I agonized over before shelling out the $$$ for a new Ellipigo. If it had been a thousand dollars or even fifteen hundred I would have bought one on site. But 2 grand – come on. And that was for the cheapest model.

Here were my biggest concerns:

WOW that’s a lot of money. More than my first car cost.

What if I don’t like it all that much once I buy one?

At 6’6” and 210 lbs, am I too big for an Elliptigo?

Will I get a decent cardio workout or will it be like my beach cruiser?

Will it be too hard on my knees/hips/back – despite what the ads say?

What if – like all first generation stuff, there are design improvements or the price goes down?

My Purchasing Rational:

For all major purchases, I usually have to come up with some kind of rationalization to justify the expense. Some of these can be quite elaborate (i.e. protect the environment, conserve energy, make the world a better place to live and so on). Here were my thoughts on the Elliptigo.

Regular exercise is important and you can’t put a price tag on your health.

I have the perfect place to ride.

If it doesn’t work out I can sell it on Craig’s List. I might lose a few hundred dollars but it’s worth a shot. 

The latter was the major rational I used before making my purchase.

Analysis and Research:
I first checked out all the info I could find on-line. As previously mentioned, there was some good marketing info from Elliptigo but unbiased reviews were limited. Besides, these days you can’t be too confident about anything you read on the internet.

Next, I made a trip to Houston for a test ride. It was a good experience BUT – I was surprised that riding the Elliptigo was not quite as intuitive as I thought it might be. It’s different from a bicycle and I was a little shaky riding around the parking lot. The test ride took about 15 minutes. Also, after getting off I immediately felt some muscle strain in the knee area. 

I drove home with more thoughts and questions then when I arrived. Still too much money, not an easy ride and some unexpected muscle/joint pain. It took me an additional 2 weeks of internal debate to finally pull the trigger. I ended up buying a 3 speed Elliptigo (green) from a local fitness store. They were very helpful and while waiting on the paper work I noticed that most of their treadmills and elliptical exercise machines were selling for $3 - $5 thousand. I quickly added that to my list of rationalizations and moved on.

Week 1 coming soon...