Horizon fitness Evolve 3 elliptical vs Concept 2 skierg

This is a comparison of the Horizon fitness Evolve 3 elliptical and the Concept 2 skierg including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

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Overview and review of the Concept 2 skiErg

The Concept 2 SkiErg comes in at $770. 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 concept 2 skiErg

The concept 2 skierg is a machine which simulates cross country skiing. The concept 2 rower flywheel has been adapted to keep the athlete in an upright position. This way of going about solves several challenges.

The design of the skierg uses a lot less space than bikes, treadmills, and rowers. Mounted to a wall it takes almost no floor space which makes it a great option for home gyms with limited space. Based on the nature of the movement it can also be used by athletes who have disabilities or rehab from injuries. You can still get a great workout in while seated with the skierg. The skierg has the following specifications:

Assembled in the us
Color black
Weight 46 LB
Length 52”
Width 24”
Height 85”

The concept 2 Skierg is great value for money, especially if you want to mainly focus on your upper body.

Pros of the Cncept 2 skiErg

The pros of the concept 2 ski erg are:

size
Can be used by people with disabilities
Price

The size of the concept 2 skierg is one of its main benefits. Mounted to a wall it takes up no floor space in your gym whatsoever. This is especially good if you want to fit a big rack into a small space and still be able to do cardio.

The concept 2 skierg is one of the few options for endurance training on the market which I know that suits people who can not stand or walk because of their wheels. The only other option I would know is the hand driven ellipticals which are bigger and provide less bang for the buck.

The price is also very attractive to many other cardio options. From the rogue website, it is one of the lowest priced options available.

Cons of the concept 2 skiErg

The cons of the concept 2 skierg are

Specificity
Not a real full body workout

Not many people compete in skiing, at least compared to running which is applicable to almost any team sports. Therefore the skierg will not provide a specific movement relevant to the sport your athletes and clients do, except you live in Norway or Switzerland. This means you will also have to provide another machine apart from the skierg.

Even though the marketing claims it is a full body workout I would doubt that you get the same amount of a response from the skierg than a rower or a fan bike. The legs are just too stationary and passive for that. Still a hard workout.

Alternatives to the Concept 2 skiErg

Alternatives to the Skierg are

Rogue Echo bike
TrueForm runner
Concept 2 rower

The Rogue echo bike will probably give you the better full body workout at roughly the same price. You will need minimally more floor space. This is a great option if you want to burn maximum calories per minute per square foot.

The TrueForm runner would be the best option in the market today to simulate real conditions on a treadmill as close as possible. This also comes at a hefty price tag. Based on the reviews I have seen it is worth every penny.

The concept two rower would be the solid option for a full body workout for every age group. I think this one of the best options for home use if you have the space for the entire family. The only downside is that you would have to free up quite some space to fit it into most homes.

Summary for the Concept 2 SkiErg

The concept 2 skierg is a great machine which fits in any corner. With this, you can train hard and burn your calories. The only downside is that you will mainly focus on your upper body while the legs stay stationary.

Overview and review of the Horizon fitness Evolve 3 elliptical

This is an overview of the Horizon fitness Evolve 3 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 Evolve 3 elliptical $1,199

The Horizon Evolve 3 elliptical is a commercial-sized machine that can be folded up when it is not in use. The console is one of the older generations with no integrated touchscreen. This is the middle-of-the-road elliptical from Horizon if you are interested in a big frame. The full specifications are:

Frame Type: Six Star Folding

Flywheel: 18

Stride Length: 20

Incline Range: N/A

Resistance Range: 20 Electronically adjustable

Step on height (inches): 10

Extras: Built-in Speakers, Energy Saver Mode, Passport ready, Tabet rack, Water Bottle Holder

Electrical requirements: 110 Volt / 220 Volt

Weight: 175 lbs.

Assembled dimensions: 69"x 28" x 69"

Max user weight: 300

Warranty - Frame: Lifetime

Warranty - Brake: 3 years

Warranty - Flywheel: N/A

Warranty - Parts: 3 years

Warranty - Labor: 1 year

Pros of the Evolve 3 elliptical

The pros of the Horizon Evolve 3 elliptical are:

Folding mechanism
Price
Size

The folding mechanism is the distinguishing feature of the Evolve series of Horizon ellipticals. It is easy to use and sturdy. If you are looking for an exercise machine that is big enough to take a big person doing a proper workout, but then can shrink to a smaller footprint, then the Horizon Evolve 3 will tick the boxes.

The price of $1.199 is great for how many ellipticals you are getting for the price with a proper folding mechanism. Many competitors with similar-sized ellipticals charge more in the range of $1400 to $1600. The only downside might be the console that has no Touchscreen/Tv Screen included.

This elliptical has a great frame that can take a beating. If you have no concerns about the size of your machine you will get a lot of frame for little money with this elliptical.

Cons of the Evolve 3 elliptical

The cons of the Horizon Evolve 3 elliptical are:

It is an in-between solution
Console
Other cheaper options for hard workouts

The Horizon Evolve 3 falls victim to what I would call the “in-between” trap of product design. The foldable frame makes it a suboptimal choice for commercial use as sturdy frames are better in this scenario. The size and build push it in a price range where many home buyers hesitate to pull the trigger. Walkers might be intimidated by its size while dedicated home warrior won’t take it seriously as it is an elliptical.

The console lacks a TV screen/touchscreen to browse the Internet or extent your devices to. You can plug them in via an audio link but the console is majorly used to navigate the pre-installed programs of the Horizon Evolve 3. In times of peloton and YouTube follow-along videos, this is a little being the time.

If you are someone who wants to go hardcore on your workouts and does not need any entertainment onboard there are cheaper versions of machines out there that will torture better to make gains.

Alternatives to the Evolve 3 elliptical

The Horizon Evolve 5 is the big brother of the Evolve 3. Its main distinguishing feature is the bigger flywheel which translates to a smoother ride and more mileage to be taken before needing to be serviced. I personally don’t k ow whether the extra money is worth the bigger flywheel. I would consider this when more than one person in the house will put significant mileage on the elliptical, otherwise stick with the Evolve and invest the mo way saves to get one of your old television mounted on the wall near the elliptical.

The horizon AE 7.0 is in my opinion the best value for money elliptical from Horizon fitness due to the upgraded console which is more media-ready. If you do not need your elliptical to fold up after use in your home, trade up on multimedia and even save some money with the AE 7.0. Commercial gyms might consider the Evolve line when TVs are installed already nearby or when you get a whole Horizon fleet of different machines for your cardio area.

The Nordictrack SE7i is the lowest-priced elliptical from Nordictrack currently available. If you need an elliptical fast and Horizon has no stock, this elliptical is similarly priced to the Evolve 3. Nordictrack is also a little ahead on their IFit subscription service in an industry where everyone is playing catch-up to Peloton. Horizon is further behind in this regard but catching up with new products like the AE 7.0 or GR3.

The Rogue echo bike is in my opinion the best option for cardio at home for someone who wants go hard after the calories and interval training. This machine has no extra bells and whistles but all the basics have been drilled to perfection at a competitive price for an Airbike. The copycat competitor of the Rogue echo bike is the TITAN fan bike with bigger wheels at a smaller price.

Conclusion for the Evolve 3 elliptical

The evolve 3 elliptical is in my opinion one of the weaker options in the Horizon elliptical lineup. If you want to save Money go for the EX-59. If you like the design you might as well go for the Evolve 5. The best choice for the home gym is the AE 7.0 as I don’t believe that much in the space savings of a foldable treadmill or elliptical.