Horizon fitness 7.0 AE elliptical vs Schwinn Airdyne Pro

This is a comparison of the Horizon fitness 7.0 AE elliptical and the Schwinn Airdyne Pro including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

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Overview and review of the Schwinn airdyne pro

The Schwinn Airdyne Pro comes in at $999 - $1200. In this article you will learn more about the product itself, its Pros and cons and alternatives you might want to consider. This article has originally been published in the overview "Which conditioning equipment to buy from Rogue".

Overview of the Schwin Airdyne Pro

Schwinn has been in the game of producing bikes for over a century now. The Schwinn Airdyne pro is their flagship take on the Airbike market. The special features of this design are the handles and how the fans are formed. This machine will blow some serious air into your face. Great if you train in a hot environment. The handles of the Airdyne pro give you many options to vary your ride and burn calories.

Air bikes are unique as the resistance increases the faster you go. This makes for very intense workouts which burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. You also have less impact than on a treadmill. The Airdyne comes with the following specifications:

Length 42”
Width 20”
Height 52”
Color black

This is a solid option for your gym which looks a little more space than comparable products. If you care about looks, that is, but why have a gym otherwise.

Pros of the Schwinn Airdyne Pro

The pros of the Schwinn Airdyne are

Noise canceling design
Handles
Design
Experience
Price

One of the biggest pros of the Schwinn is the noise canceling design. Schwinn was one of the first Airbike companies in the market to look into belts rather than chains to propel the wheel on the Airbike. This makes the bike more reliable and silent. Since then it has become an industry standard.

The new handles are clever and take a leaf out the treadmill and elliptical industry. Most Airbikes have simple handles which leave fewer options. I personally liked and some might say this can get in the way of a very intense workout.

Design is always a matter of taste. I personally like the Schwinn. It looks spacey and tasteful and might even make it even a little interior design statement if out in the right spot. I don’t see that happening with other, more down to earth, models in the market.

Schwinn has been building bikes for a while now. You can be sure you will get a top-notch product with a great finish.

For the quality, you are getting it is aggressively priced just around the $1000 mark. Most other Pro/elite/sport models are usually priced nearer to the $1200 to $2000 mark.

Cons of the Schwinn Airdyne Pro

Specificity
Price

What you do on an Airbike is not specific to most sports. Most bikes do not have self-moving handles or blow air in your face while riding them. A gym which trains athletes who compete in team sports will still have to invest in equipment like treadmills and run rockets to offer specific training.

If you only want an Airbike and don’t care that much about design or noise canceling there are cheaper options which can be had to get an Airbike into your place.

Alternatives to the Schwinn Airdyne Pro

Alternatives to the Schwinn Airdyne Pro Are:

Concept 2 bike
Rogue Echo bike
Concept 2 Rower

A concept 2 bike will come in a little cheaper than the Airbike and is more specific for cycling indoors when you can not get out on the road. It will not burn as many calories in the same amount of time but offers you a solid alternative.

The Rogue echo bike is a very solid alternative if you want an Airbike. It sells like hot cake and is very popular in the CrossFit community. It is built like a tank and comes in at a good price. Like everything from Rogue, it is designed to work, not to look pretty. In some gyms, it might look displaced.

The concept two rower is solid, time tested machine to build cardiovascular endurance. If you are a fan of water sports this is probably the better option for you than any of the bikes and treadmills. The only downside is that it takes a bit more space than other options.

Summary for the Schwinn Airdyne Pro

The Schwinn Airdyne Pro has a good design at a good price point. For a flagship product, it is reasonably priced and comes from a vendor with experience in the market. If you are budget conscious there are also solid Airbike options at a lower price.

Overview and review of the Horizon fitness 7.0 AE elliptical

This is an overview of the Horizon fitness AE 7.0 elliptical including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was first published in Which Horizon fitness elliptical to get?

For the most up to date information and asking direct questions you can follow me on Instagram.

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Overview of the 7.0 AE elliptical $999

The 7.0 AE elliptical is the best value for money option in the Horizon elliptical lineup. This is mainly due to the most modern console out of all the Horizon ellipticals. The size and layout are more than enough for home gym use. In a commercial setting, you might want to bet on something with a bigger frame and different warranty options. The full specifications are:

Frame Type: Six Star Non-folding

Flywheel: 23

Stride Length: 20

Incline Range:20 Levels 0-100%

Resistance Range: Magnetic, 20 levels

Step on height (inches): 10 3/4"

Extras: Built-in Speakers, Fan, Tablet rack, Water bottle holder

Electrical requirements: 120V - 60Hz

Weight: 194lbs

Assembled dimensions: 76" x 24" x 65.5"

Max user weight: 325 lbs.

Warranty - Frame: Lifetime

Warranty - Brake: Lifetime

Warranty - Flywheel: 1 year

Warranty - Parts: 3 year

Warranty - Labor: 1 year

Pros of the 7.0 AE elliptical

The pros of the 7.0 AE elliptical are:

Price
Compact design
Console

This is a great elliptical for under $1000 to put into your home. The updates to the console to make it YouTube friendly and more compatible with the devices you already own is a big step forward for Horizon fitness. We hopefully see more of that in their treadmill and bike products to catch up to Peloton in terms of gamification of workouts. This is the Best Buy from Horizon in my opinion if you are looking to get an elliptical for your home.

Cons of the 7.0 AE elliptical

The cons of the 7.0 AE elliptical are:

It’s an elliptical
Not best for commercial use

There is not a lot I can find wrong with the 7.0 AE for an elliptical except ... that it is elliptical. I personally prefer something that can really hit hard for my cardio like an Airbike or even the BlazePod system. Ellipticals are great and easy on you but just not the preferred choice for cardio. But, if you are into a good workout that does not put you at risk of injury, this is it.

For commercial use, the 7.0 AE frame might not be the best. Go a bit upmarket for $1500 upwards to get an elliptical that is not foldable and has a bit of weight on it so it can take some of the weirder crowd that comes with running a big commercial gym.

Alternatives to the 7.0 AE elliptical

Alternatives to the Horizon 7.0 AE elliptical are:

The Horizon Evolve 3 is bigger than the 7.0 AE and foldable. If you are invested in the idea of a foldable elliptical this is the better choice even though the console is not as up-to-date.

The Nordictrack SE7i is currently the low-end option for entering the elliptical market with this brand. This can be an option when you want something fast and Horizon is out of stock.

The Rogue Echo Bike is in my opinion the best solution on the market for someone who does not want to pay a leg and an arm and have intense cardio workouts on a small footprint. The Rogue Echo Bike is high quality at an affordable price. It will kick your butt I’m a good way. The copycat lower-cost competitor of the Rogue Echo bike is the TITAN fan bike.

Conclusion for the 7.0 AE elliptical

If you like Horizon fitness as a brand and want an elliptical for your home, the 7.0 AE is the best choice for bang for your buck as long as you have the space to place it in.