Review: Smooth Fitness CE-3.6 Elliptical Trainer
Pros
Rear-drive system, visible electronic display, ergonomic pedals, program variety, 18″ stride length
Cons
No power incline, no reverse mode, 300 pound user weight, unethical behavior by brand?
Overall Rating |
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The CE-3.6 is one of eight elliptical trainers offered by Smooth Fitness. It features a rear-drive system, an 18″ stride length, and ergonomic foot pedals. The LCD display is backlit and tracks distance, time, speed, heart rate, resistance level, and calories. Included is an iPod docking station, a built-in adjustable fan, and 16 resistance levels. The maximum user weight is 300 pounds. It comes with 10 programs, including ones for fat burning, heart rate, interval, endurance, and manual. The CE-3.6 is backed by a 5 year warranty on parts/electronics with 2 years in-home labor. Dimensions: 64″ L x 24″ W x 29″ H; 175 pounds.
The Positives
Rear drive system. Compared to front drives, they have less moving parts and creates a more natural motion. Users can get a better posture and ultimately a better workout. Rear drives have more inertia and give you that smooth feel.
Electronic display. While there is nothing particularly special about it, there are no glaring issues either. It’s a bit small compared to some other displays in this price range, but it’s backlit and pretty easy to read. It displays all the basic feedback such as time, distance, speed, heart rate, resistance, and so on. The integrated iPod docking station is a plus.
Pedals. They have gel foot pads for comfort, and pivot to adjust to your natural motion. They keep your lower body aligned by preventing strain on the hip, knees, and ankles.
Operates quietly. Since I don’t actually test these ellipticals in person, I tend to rely on customer reviews for how quiet or noisy they are. All the ones I read said that it was very quiet. To be honest, for $1300 it should be quiet.
It is extremely quiet which is a huge plus
- jds
Program variety. Included are over 50 different program profiles to challenge you over time. You also get a manual program if you want to personalize it. With the fat burning, interval, endurance, and heart rate control programs, there is plenty of variety here for users.
18″ stride length. 20″ is usually the magic number for me, but 18″ on a rear drive is pretty much like 20″ on a front drive. Needless to say, it’s suitable for most people.
The elliptical has tall handlebars and an 18″ stride, which is comfortable for a taller fellow like myself (6’3″).
- Rhea Massey
Warranty. A 5 year warranty on parts/electronics and 2 years labor is impressive, which rivals what is offered on the Sole E55. This shows that Smooth Fitness stands behind their product, and also believes that it’s durable.
The Negatives
No power incline. The Livestrong® LS10.0E is $300 less, but has this feature. For an elliptical in this price range, there is no reason why it shouldn’t have an adjustable ramp.
No reverse. Unless I am missing something, there doesn’t appear to be an option to go in reverse. If there isn’t, then I would wonder why this feature wasn’t included.
300 lb max user weight. This isn’t a huge deal, as it’s similar to comparable models. However, the Horizon Fitness EX-79 is $300 less and has a max. user weight of 325.
Unethical behavior? A customer over on Amazon had this to say:
I like my elliptical a lot. What I don’t like is the message I just got from Smooth, offering me a $20 gift certificate to write a positive review here on Amazon, plus an extra $5 to write one on their FaceBook page. What good are online reviews if they can be bought? So beware of positive reviews for Smooth products, they may well have been bought and paid for!
- Abra Bennett
If this is true, and I have no reason to believe it isn’t (why would she lie?), then this is pretty telling. I don’t know how prevalent this is among other elliptical brands, but we do know that Smooth Fitness is one of them. The question is, why would they have to buy positive reviews? Do they feel that their product isn’t good enough? Or are they just trying to get as many reviews as possible?
Summary
The Smooth Fitness CE-3.6 is built similar to some of the ones in the $1000 price range. The rear drive separates it from a lot of others, plus it has a sufficient 18″ stride length and a number of programs. Customers reported that it’s well-constructed and operates quietly. The warranty is also very consumer friendly. However, it does lack some features and a customer noted that Smooth Fitness offered her money to write a positive review.
