ProForm Hybrid Trainer

What customers say about ProForm Hybrid Trainer?

1. 178 of 186 people found the following review helpful

   
   Still pleased, in spite of the squeaking!, March 17, 2014

   By 

   Cristina S. (Chesapeake,VA) –

   Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

   This review is from: ProForm Hybrid Trainer (Sports)

   I’ve been looking for a new piece of exercise equipment for a few months, as I had spinal fusion surgery this past summer and was told by my orthopedic surgeon that I need to exercise regularly to get my back muscles back into shape. I had an old exercise bike for quite a few years, but trying to pedal without lumbar support was terrible. I’ve looked at quite a few elliptical machines and recumbent bikes (both on amazon & the local sporting goods store) but either the price was too high or the settings were too difficult for a novice. After reading a lot of the reviews I took a chance on this piece of equipment (the price was great, 2 for the price of 1) and the fact that most people complained about a “short stride” on the elliptical setting sold me. I am 5’2″ (about 115 lbs.) but I have fairly short legs and an even shorter stride. Most of the machines I tried at the sporting goods store had strides so huge that I felt like I was going to get thrown off into the wall!! So here are some of the things I encountered after ordering this trainer (sorry if my list is a little long, but I wanted to give answers to a lot of questions I had before ordering):

   *It took 7 days to receive the purchase (I used the free shipping so I was expecting about a week to receive the order).

   *The box is HUGE (according to the UPS man 125+ lbs.) luckily I have a nice UPS man who rang my doorbell and asked where I wanted the box stored. He wheeled it right into the garage. My husband was able to unpack the box in the garage and bring the pieces up separately.

   *It took exactly 2 hours for my husband to put it together, and that includes looking for a piece that happened to be missing. He’s not the handiest guy but he’s put together his fair share of IKEA furniture. ;o) We also had all of the necessary tools, phillips head screwdriver, rubber mallet, a ratcheting screwdriver set/wrench set. You also need 4 AA batteries for the LCD screen.

   *The pieces were actually packed in a coherent manner. I’m sure you’ve tried to put together furniture where none of the pieces are labeled and/or all of the hardware is thrown together in a baggie. The large pieces were labeled left & right with stickers and the hardware was all prepackaged on a cardboard sheet and labeled with the size/piece # of each screw and nut.

   *One caveat, however, my husband had to do a lot of contorting around on the floor to get the trainer put together. Not all of the screw holes were in convenient areas on the machine! He also stated that it seemed each nut only fit one particular screw, some went on easy and some not so much. His theory is that the company makes it “just hard enough” to put together that you think about saving yourself time by hiring someone to put it together!

   *We found a piece was missing, one of the seat handlebars. We were able to put it together without the piece. We also found 2 extra pieces that don’t even belong to this machine…weird. I called customer service, waited about 15 minutes on hold, but spoke with a very polite and friendly lady who ordered the part for me. Hooray! She didn’t seem surprised when I told her that one part was omitted from the package while we received 2 parts that we don’t need for this machine.

   *I tried the recumbent setting first. You have to lift each pedal, unfold the brace that is underneath and insert it into the pedal carriage. It’s not difficult to do once you are looking at it–one of our pedal braces was pretty hard to unfold and we needed to loosen the screw some to get it moving. After that it was easy to fold & unfold. You also have to pivot the console, so you can see it while you bike, also not hard to do. If you need to adjust the foot pedals you just loosen the pedal knob and slide the pedal forward or backward on the pedal leg.

   *For someone who has had very involved back surgery, the recumbent seat is pretty comfortable. No, it does not adjust but you can adjust the foot pedals and put a small pillow behind your back if you need extra lumbar support (which is what I did).

   *I easily switched the trainer back to the elliptical setting (I was able to leave the pedals in the same position as the recumbent), so it was just folding the braces back up into the pedals & pivoting the console straight again. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

   *Again, I have shorty legs so I thought the stride was just fine for me. Also, I was pretty much wheelchair bound by the time I had my back surgery…prior to that I had so much nerve pain in my legs that I couldn’t do many day to day activities (i.e. drive, play on the floor with my 2 year old, sit or stand comfortably). I was never a competitive runner or athlete so when I was looking for a new exercise machine, I needed something basic, not too fancy, something that will provide good back support and a machine that would fit my petite size. Take this into…

   Read more

   

   Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

   Was this review helpful to you? 
   

   
   |

    Comment (1)

2. 527 of 565 people found the following review helpful

   
   Assembly is your first workout! Proform Customer Service is horrible., March 3, 2013

   By 

   Rick (NJ/NYC) –

   Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

   This review is from: ProForm Hybrid Trainer (Sports)

   This product arrived in just one gigantic box the size of a small refrigerator. The UPS guy had extreme difficulty getting it up the stairs in front of the house and we had to go out and help him. It took the 2 of us 4 hours to put it together on a Saturday afternoon. I have assembled many products out of boxes and this was by far the most difficult one. If you have a power screw driver it might help. You should also consider paying a handyman to do the assembly for you. The product comes with an 800 number to call for a professional assembly but I am sure it will cost quite a bit. We were unable to get the heart rate monitor to work so I will try to use the manufacturer’s warranty for that. Keep in mind that it will be very difficult to return this product due to it’s weight and repacking challenges. We had to put a lamp near the trainer because the monitor has no back light. The trainer is completely silent and works well. The conversion from one to the other requires the removal of a hard to turn piece so you may have to keep some pliers handy.

   If you are really motivated for in home exercise that you can’t go wrong with this hybrid trainer. I removed one star for the very difficult assembly. If the trainer could be delivered completely assembled I would give it 5 stars for sure. Very sturdy material and looks great in just about any room. Used it a few times so far and love it.

   UPDATE: Apparently it is impossible to use the manufacturer’s warranty. I tried calling Proform and was on hold for 30 minutes before a live person answered. He then put me on hold for another 15 minutes and hung up. The same thing happened a second time. I called Amazon Customer Service and the Rep was treated the same way. His Manager also tried and was unsuccessful. I was told that Amazon may delete this item from the website until this problem can be resolved. The warranty is only for 90 days anyhow and Proform is apparently trying to discourage the customers from using it until the warranty expires.

   UPDATE: The shipping weight of this product is 148 pounds according to the UPS label. The Amazon description has the wrong shipping weight.

   UPDATE: It has been 6 weeks since the delivery and still no repairs. Every time I call the parts are on back order.

   UPDATE: It is now over 2 months and I am still unable to get any service for the trainer. Parts were on back order all this time but have finally been received. Now the problem is the authorized service agent – Mac Services. Each time I call Mac there is no answer and I just get voice mail.

   0

   Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

   Was this review helpful to you? 
   

   
   |

    Comments (25)

3. 364 of 390 people found the following review helpful

   
   Nice, but the stride is too short, March 21, 2013

   By 

   Snowbvi –

   Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

   This review is from: ProForm Hybrid Trainer (Sports)

   Not great, but not bad.

   I just got this for my wife and myself.
   So, some quick stats on the two users for this
   Me 6’2′ 175 Lbs
   Wife disabled with a 5 lbs weight limit.

   We have had this unit for less than a week.

   Ordered this and the first hiccup was the “free shipping” was only available if you had amazon prime…
   So I signed up for the free trial. To bad the joke is on them, that box weighs 150 lbs give or take and we live in Hawaii, go go $12 for two day delivery.

   Box was delivered on time, but getting the FedEx guy to bring it inside just to inside the door, less than fun.

   The instructions were very easy to follow, its only 20 pieces give or take that need to be snapped together. I was able to put it together solo in just under two hours, after working a 32 hour shift.
   One of the fun parts of this machines layout is this: In places where if it breaks, you could sue, everything is very well made, to the point where you dont even need the three screws per join.
   In places where if it breaks, you could not sue, its so bad its not even funny. ( cup holder, monitor)

   They say it has a stride of 15″, WATCH OUT, I work for people that are 80+ years old and have a longer stride than that. When I use it, its like I am shuffling, very uncomfortable. Over time I will get the hang of it, but make sure you take a look and see what a normal stride is for yourself.

   Livestrong.com has a nice article about stride length.
   AllEllipticals.com recommends 16- and 18-inch stride lengths for users 5 feet 3 inches or shorter. If you are between 5-3 and 5-7, select an 18- to 20-inch stride length. If you are over 5-7, select a stride length more than 20 inches

   You can still get a good work out, but wow does it feel odd.

   The resistance works well, im not sure how fast it will burn up the AA batteries it needed.
   Testing it before my wife got on it, I did a resistance 1 shuffle as fast as I could, maxing out the RPM speed. The unit was very stable.

   The heart monitor does not work, so I will give them a call this weekend and see what hoops I have to dance thru.
   With the size of the box and all the little boxes that goes in side of it, its a one way trip, shipping it back..would be more than it cost I would think.

   Pros: Works well, feels safe, does what it says. Wife likes it
   Cons: non vital parts are poorly planned, 15″ stride means I can’t run to work out, but I can shuffle really fast!

   Update: Wife loves it, she is on it most days. My self… not so much, that stride is a killer ( and i am lazy ).

   Heart monitor works ( ish) , and it worked out of the box, the handle had white strips covering the chrome, they need to be removed.

   0

   Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

   Was this review helpful to you? 
   

   
   |

    Comments (17)