Octane Fitness 37e Elliptical Trainer Review

© 2010 Peter Free

 

21 August 2010

 

Octane Fitness 37e elliptical trainer is recommended

 

Octane Fitness’ 37e is an unusually stout, extremely stable, reliable elliptical trainer.

 

It is shorter in length than the competition, which makes it somewhat more appropriate for small rooms.

 

I prefer the Octane to all its home equipment competitors.  Among commercial units, only Precor’s EFX546i Experience Series beats it for some of my purposes.

 

The Precor EFX546i better simulates uphill hiking, to which I am partial.  On the other hand, the EFX546 is noticeably harder on my knees.  In the long run, would not be so good.

 

Qualifications for this review

 

I used to be cardiovascularly tested on a regular basis by the University of Colorado’s Human Performance Lab.  I was always in the elite athlete category.  Due to severe joint disease, I am no longer.

 

Military bases often have top-of-the-line fitness equipment.  I have regularly used some of the best machines on the market.

 

My experience with the Octane

 

We’ve had the Octane 37e for 32 months.  It gets a fair amount of use each week.

 

Much of my time on it came from rehabilitating after a hip replacement and two major shoulder surgeries.

 

It has also been a partial substitute for the running that my decrepit joints forced me to give up.

 

Performance

 

Unlike other home units, the Octane’s biomechanical design works against permitting the user to cheat by taking advantage of machine-induced bounce-back.

 

The machine’s stability has also been helpful.

 

The three surgeries left me somewhat off balance ─ the hip for obvious reasons and the shoulders because their bulky slings and spacing pads interfered normal one-armed motion.

 

I generally use the elliptical’s manual setting, so as to instantly crank resistance up and down.  My wife uses the other programs.

 

I don’t take the 37e’s calorimeter seriously, but it works very well for a rough comparison between work-outs.

 

Mobility

 

This is a heavy unit.

 

It has wheels on the front, but they are too small to roll reliably on heavy carpet.  They work well on tile and wood floors.

 

The footrest/leg assemblies are easy to take off (once the plastic housing is removed).  This reduces the length of the unit by about 8 inches (20 centimeters).  The reduction is just enough to maneuver around corners in tight places.  I have moved it by myself a few times.

 

Only one criticism

 

Even when previously turned off, the machine turns on by itself during recoveries from power outages:

 

The 37e’s electric console works through a transformer on its power cord.  If you leave the machine plugged in, in its normal sleep mode, and there is a power outage and recovery, the machine’s readout will turn on by itself.

 

The display will stay on (showing gibberish), until (a) you unplug and replug the power cord and (b) initiate the electronic shut-down sequence.

 

This is an annoying trait.  It would have been wiser to have implemented an on and off button that prevents magical start-ups.

 

The work-around is to unplug the 37e, when leaving home for extended periods.

 

Overall ─ a great machine

 

This is an outstanding unit for people who like its biomechanical design.