There’s some stiff competition out there at the moment, with NordicTrack making a few impressive machines in this price range, I love their 9.9 elliptical, and companies like Bowflex and Life Fitness are not far behind. But it’s Sole Fitness that truly excels in the under $2000 price range. The Sole E95 elliptical isn’t a super high-tech machine, nor is it the best looking, but it’s the best built, and thats what you should care about most.
Rock Solid Elliptical With a Silky Smooth Motion.
This thing is heavy. It weighs 236lb out of the box, which is almost commercial heavy, and this is what you want because all that weight keeps the E95 planted to the floor. Stability is all important when pedaling an elliptical. But it’s how smooth the E95 feels that users love most; those dual rails with “real wheels” keep the pedals running straight and smooth, and that heavy 27lb flywheel just adds to how good this machine feels when in motion.
It’s certainly an elliptical I want to take a closer look at, and today we’ll look at everything this machine has to offer, including any drawbacks. Also at the end of the review, I want to compare it to the Sole E55 elliptical, a slightly cheaper machine, but the specs are very similar, so it will be interesting to see how they match up,
Product Specifications
Product dimensions – 66″ X 23″ X 34″
Weight – 234lb
Resistance Type – Magnetic
Resistance levels – 20
Pre-programmed workouts – 10
Folds for storage – No
Flywheel weight – 27lb
Weight capacity – 400lb
Stride length – adjustable to 22″
Transport wheels
Why Do We Like The Sole E95 Elliptical?
Let’s talk again about those dual rails. You get one for each pedal and wheels that work, not plastic sliders like many ellipticals use in this price range.
The dual rails are there to help keep the path of the stride nice and straight, and the wheels really help to keep things smooth. This is a feature you’ll find on most Sole ellipticals, giving their ellipticals that little edge over the competition.
Now, if we move to the front of the elliptical and were to open up that flywheel housing, we’d find a heavy 27lb flywheel and a frictionless resistance system; these are two more features that help to deliver a smooth elliptical motion.
If you combine the frictionless resistance system, the dual rails, and the 27lb flywheel, what you’ll have is the smoothest elliptical motion for under $2000.
Most Impressive Warranty Out There
Something else I love about this elliptical is the warranty. You get a lifetime on the frame, five years on all parts, and two years labor. This is proof that these guys believe in their products.
When you’re spending this kind of money on any fitness equipment, the warranty becomes just as important as the elliptical features because if something should go wrong a few years down the line, you want that peace of mind that it will get sorted and won’t cost you a buck.
Suitable For Users Up To 6’4″
The stride length is important because it determines who can use the machine. Most commercial machines, the ones you use in your local gym, are equipped with a 20″ stride. They choose a 20″ stride because it fits most people, with a height range of 5ft to 6’2″. Still, you can go one better and buy a machine with an adjustable stride.
The Sole elliptical E95 has a power-adjustable stride, it doesn’t adjust by much, but it will adjust from 20″ to 22″, which makes it an excellent choice for taller users. This is about as good as it gets for a home elliptical. And great to see on an elliptical costing under $2000.
Impressive 20 Levels of Power Incline
So far, Sole has got everything right with this elliptical. It has the build quality, the weight, a smooth elliptical motion, and an excellent stride length.
The next essential you need with your elliptical, especially a front-drive elliptical, is a decent incline feature, and I’m happy to say Sole got this right too.
The reason an incline feature is so important on a front-drive elliptical is that front-drive ellipticals mainly work the anterior muscles of the legs, and thats because you tend to stand on the front of your feet as you have to push the flywheel to get it spinning, unlike a rear-drive elliptical where the flywheel is behind you making you pull the flywheel to get it spinning using your posterior muscles.
Burn More Calories With Incline Workouts
It’s all well and good giving the quads a good workout on your front drive elliptical, but you dont want to leave out your large posterior muscles like your glutes and hamstrings.
The glutes are the largest muscle in your body, and the hamstrings are three times larger than the quads. These large muscles have a much higher caloric output demand than the smaller anterior muscles. If you want to burn more calories, you need to contract these large muscles as much as possible, and to achieve that on a front-drive elliptical, you need an incline feature.
Pedaling on an incline will shift the focus of your workout from the anterior muscles to your posterior muscles, and the Sole E95 has one of the best power adjustable inclines on the market, boasting a 20-level, 20-degree incline, more than enough to build and strengthen the glutes and hamstrings.
To adjust the incline of the Sole E95, you can either use the one-touch buttons on the monitor or you can use the handlebar buttons, which are great as they save you from having to lean forward in the middle of a workout to adjust the incline from the monitor.
Slightly Disappointing Monitor For Price Point
Sole Fitness are known for their build quality and getting the essentials right this is where they put all their effort, but where they lack is their monitors, and it’s the same with all their fitness gear; the monitors are basic.
Still, the monitor includes everything you need, all the important stuff like wireless heart rate monitoring, BlueTooth, workout programs, and those nice large one-touch buttons are there. Still, there’s no HD color touchscreen like you have with the NordicTrack ellipticals and no cool features like automatic trainer control.
With Sole Fitness, you get all the basics, and the monitor is very easy to use, which is always a good thing.
Also, Sole Fitness throws in the HR chest strap, saving you a few bucks, and you get handlebar controls for resistance and Incline. You’re only really missing a color touchscreen. And the LCD on the Sole E95 isn’t even a touch screen which is what I found disappointing, especially in 2023. Still, it’s backlit and a good size measuring 10″, so it’s easy to see all your workout stats.
Other features include cooling fans, speakers, tablet and water bottle holders.
And lastly, the monitor is adjustable, so you can adjust it depending on your height which is a handy feature.
Is The Resistance Strong?
Unless you’re a serious athlete in training, you will not have any issues with resistance strength. The Sole E95 boasts a 27lb flywheel which is heavy and will ensure resistance in the upper levels is very strong and enough for most fitness levels.
The Sole E95 uses a magnetic resonance system, which is the best choice for ellipticals. Why? It’s frictionless, which means it feels smooth. There’s nothing jerky, and because the magnets never have to make contact with the flywheel, it’s whisper quiet. You can watch TV or listen to music, and you won’t be disturbed by the sound of the machine.
You get 20 levels of resistance with the E95, which can be adjusted from the monitor or the handlebar buttons.
Stationary and Moving Handlebars
Most ellipticals come with a moving and static pair of handlebars. The stationary pair of handlebars are great for beginners because they allow you to get used to the elliptical motion. And once you’ve built your confidence, you can move on to the moving pair of handlebars for a full-body workout.
Still, even experienced elliptical users love to use the static pair of handles just to focus on the lower body. As you can grip these, adjust the resistance to a high level and give the legs a really heavy workout.
Anything Else Worth Mentioning?
The worm drive for the pedals is a useful feature. Worm drive basically means they’re adjustable. It allows you to dial in exactly where you want the pedal to be angled. This will help reduce the numbness in the toes and reduce soreness in the Achilles tendon, two common problems when using an elliptical.
Set Aside an Afternoon For Assembly
It won’t take everyone a whole afternoon to assemble this elliptical, but ellipticals can be tricky to assemble, and you want to get it right, so it’s best to take your time. 50% of the problems that arise with ellipticals are because they are not assembled correctly.
This is a large, heavy elliptical, so you’ll need two people for assembly, especially when unboxing and getting it in place.
A detailed illustrated manual is provided, as are all the tools for the job.
The Good
Rock solid – can handle 400lb
Dual rails with wheels – helps keep pedals aligned and motion smooth
Adjustbale stride length – allows for a user height range of 4’11” to 6’4″
Impressive 20 level, 20 degree power incline
Adjustable foot pedals
Excellent warranty that includes 5 years on parts and 2 years labor
400lb weight capacity
Pulse grips and wirless heart rate monitoring – includes HR chest strap
Built in tranpsort wheels, speakers, cooling fan, BlueTooth and tablet holder
The Bad
Monitor LCD isnt a touchscreen which I thought was disspointing
Only 10 built in workout prorgrams
You’ll need a lot of space to house this beast
Alternative
Sole E55 Elliptical
Some call the Sole E55 the Sole E95’s little bother, but it’s not that little. The E55 still weighs 216lb which is heavy for a mid-level elliptical, and it means the E55 elliptical is almost as heavy-duty as the E95 despite costing $300 less.
These two ellipticals are very similar when it comes to the specs. Both are heavy and well built, as I just mentioned, boast that impressive 20-level power incline, both have 20 levels of magnetic resistance, both include the excellent dual rails and four wheels, and both include a fairly basic monitor with ten workout programs, wireless heart rate monitoring and the quick touch buttons.
So as you can see, the E95 and E55 share a lot of features; however, they differ in size. The E55 is 10 inches shorter, and it’s not as wide. Overall, it’s a more compact machine, which is a good thing if you’re tight on space.
Also, the flywheel weight of the E55 is 7lb lighter than the E95, and the stride length of the E55 is 20″ and not adjustable. Still 20″ is the desirable length an elliptical stirde so its nothing to complain about, you just dont get that extra 2″ so not such a good choice for users over 6’2″.
In conclusion there isnt a huge difference between these two machines; I would say the Sole E95 is a slightly more heavy-duty machine because of its extra weight, and you get a 1/3rd heavier flywheel which means resistance in those upper levels will be that much stonger.
To Sum Up
I think the main reason the Sole E95 Elliptical remains the best elliptical under $2000 is there’s nothing else out there that gets this close to the feel of a commercial elliptical in this price bracket. It has all the features, including the duel rails to deliver the smoothest of elliptical motions, and it has a 27lb flywheel which keeps resistance strong in the upper levels where you really need it.
And you get the peace of mind that the E95 is built by a company that stands behind its products, you have one of the best warranties I’ve ever come across for any elliptical, and I’ve been reviewing them for years. And thats why I like these guys; they do great on all the important stuff, build quality, the essential feature like the flywheel, the incline, the elliptical motion, the warranty, everything that should be impressive, is.
Yes, you dont have a fancy monitor with an HD color touchscreen, but it’s not a deal killer, as I feel everyhting else about the E95 more than makes up for the lack of an HD screen.
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