NordicTrack FS10i vs Assault Airbike

This is a comparison between the Nordictrack FS10i elliptical and the Assault airbike. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Assault airbike

The Assault Airbike comes in at $699 - $999. 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 Assault airbike

The Assault Airbike has been given an overhaul to live up to the highest standards of athletes. The company in charge is LifeCORE fitness in California, even though this bike is not built in the US. The assault bike comes with the following specifications:

Color Black
Weight 99LB
Length 50.9”
Width 23.3”
Height 48.4”

Airbikes work with the resistance of the air and give you a challenging full body workout. The faster you pedal the higher the resistance becomes. These are a great alternative for your home gym to treadmills and ellipticals as they take up less space and provide a better workout if it is burned calories you are after.

Pros of the Assault Airbike

Pros of the Assault Airbike are

Sturdy design
Band propelled
Long years of experience

The assault air bike is heavy and has a sturdy steel frame. This prevents swaying during the ride compared to other models form the past. The weight of your Airbike is a good indicator whether it has been built thoroughly or whether the vendor took some shortcuts.

Compared to older models the Assault air bike has the advantage of being band propelled. Older models were chain propelled which lead to more noise. This is becoming more and more of an industry standard and is therefore not as much of a differentiator than it used to be.

With Assault you are buying into a range of products of a healthy company which has been around for years. This company is very likely here to stay and won’t go anywhere.

Cons of the Assault Airbike

Cons of the air assault bike are

Specificity
Not the newest design

The first one goes for all Airbikes. While they provide a great workout to get you in sweat it is not specific to most sports. Treadmills and normal bikes score better in this regard. If you are outfitting a gym for an elite athlete you will also need to get treadmills.

The Assault bike design is solid, but not the newest one of the market. My hunch is that Assault is good at looking at the market and then outsourcing the production cost effectively to China, but I might be wrong. The Assault bike was a copy of the Schwinn and the Assault air runner is a copy of the TrueForm runner.

Alternatives to the Assault Airbike

These are alternatives to the Assault air bike

If you like the design of the Assault bike and the company you can also take it a step up by opting for the elite. The elite comes with an even heavier frame and newer computer to match the highest of standards.

Concept 2 provides a solid range of cardiovascular machines with their rowers, skiergs, and bikes. If you just want a regular bike for spinning classes or to save some space their bike is an alternative.

The Rogue echo bike is Rogue's take on the Airbike market. Manufactured in Columbus Ohio this machine is the no-nonsense approach to Airbikes and currently the best value for money option on the market.

Summary for the Assault Airbike

An assault air bike is a solid machine which you can add to your arsenal. If the design is to your liking and fits your overall gym go for this one. If you don’t care about these things you might want an interesting alternative in the Rogue Echo bike.

Overview and review of the FS10i Free Stride $3999 - $2999

This is a review of the Nordictrack Fs10i model. You will learn about the specifics, pros, cons and alternatives of this elliptical to ake a deicison. This article was originally published in "Which elliptical to get from Nordictrack".

Overview of the Fs10i

The FS10i free stride is the newest addition to the center drive elliptical product line of Nordictrack. In 2020 it comes with a hefty price reduction of $1000 which makes it an attractive buy on the high end of the portfolio. As long as this remains, it is definitely the better option over the FS9i model. The main features of this machine are its center flywheel, the 10% incline option, 10-inch monitor and the free moving ellipticals which make it a stepper, ellipticals, and treadmill in one machine. The full list of features includes:

10" Smart HD Touchscreen
Includes 1-Year NordicTrack iFit® membership**
Bluetooth® Audio Capabilities
Two 2” Digitally Amplified Speakers

AutoBreeze™ Workout Fan
SoftTouch™ Upper Body Grips
Oversized Cushion Pedals

Center Drive
20 Lb. Effective Inertia-Enhanced Flywheel
SMR™ Silent Magnetic Resistance
32" Auto-Adjustable Stride
24 Digital Resistance Levels
0 – 10% Incline
OneTouch® Controls
Commercial Solid Steel Construction
Oversized Levelers
375 Lb. User Capacity

Transport Wheels
Water Bottle Holder
58.5" L x 29.5" W x 74" H Footprint
10-Year Frame Warranty
2-Year Parts Warranty
1-Year Labor Warranty

This is the newest machine in the line up for free stride from Nordictrack in 2020 with a killer price. Observe how it will develop in the future as this value for money offer might not extend to the future.

Pros of the FS10i

The pros of the FS10i are:

All bells and whistles
Three for the price of one
Long stride
Free adjustments
Low impact

The FS10i still has all the bells and whistles in the Nordictrack Free stride line up. You or your clients will have little to desire when you opt for the FS10i as your free stride machine of choice.

The concept of the middle flywheel for your elliptical enables that you can move more freely. This makes the FS10i a stepper, treadmill and elliptical in one machine. If you were considering getting all of these different machines the FS10i is still a bargain in terms of price and footprint which is being used up compared to getting three instead of one machine. Never mind the maintenance and energy consumption of the other machines.

With 32 inches of stride, the FS10i provides longer stride than the Front and read-drove ellipticals from Nordictrack as there is no flywheel in the way. This will especially help your larger athletes or clients.

The free adjustments of the movements will be beneficial for homeowners with big families or commercial gym owners with a wide variety of clients. This is the main engineering idea behind these free stride machines which move the flywheel to the middle of the machine, rather than having it in the front or back.

The low impact on knees and ankles is one of the main health advantages of ellipticals compared to treadmills. If you have an underlying condition or work with a lot of clients with weak hips and legs, this is a better machine for health reasons than a treadmill with a higher impact.

Cons of the FS10i

The cons of the FS10i are:

High price
No big screen
No remote control in the handles
Floating experience
More prone to error
Low-calorie burn

Even when the price is reduced to $2999 the FS10i is still a considerable investment. There are lower-cost options for free striders in the Nordictrack portfolio. Especially if you are not bought into the free stride concept as you do not have to provide a lot of variety or comfort with the machine you buy, definitely look somewhere else. $2999 can buy you a rack, barbell, and plates for a full gym setup if you invest it somewhere else. It depends on your goals, available space, and training preferences.

As the flywheel is in the center of this design the FS10i has no real stand or option to attach a big screen as other treadmills or ellipticals would have. In a home gym, this can be solved with a screen on the wall or no screen whatsoever. In a commercial setting, a screen on the wall can become quite small for individuals who are for away or want to do their own thing while they are exercising. If you think that entertainment options are a must for yourself or your clients over the experience of the free stride than opt for a front-drive elliptical or a big treadmill where a big screen can be attached.

Compared to the FS9i Nordictrack model the FS10i has no controls to adjust resistance and incline in the handles. These are positioned in the console. This is the only main advantage I can see for the Fs9i over the FS10i. If you like this convenience, go for the Fs9i instead.

While the fleeting experience is great when you have great body awareness and like to experiment, it can be stressful for someone who just likes to have a stable, repeatable experience. The many options you have with the FS10i which require a bit more fine motor skills than on a traditional elliptical might not be for everyone.

Moving the flywheel from the front or back of an elliptical to create more options and a longer stride poses two engineering challenges. One is that the flywheel can not be as big as with front- and rear-drive options, as you have less space. Second is that you need more moving parts to make the machine go in multiple directions at different angles. The smaller flywheel and the more intricate design make the Free stride models more error-prone than the front and rear drive options. While it is unlikely that you will break this as a home gym owner by yourself, the commercial gym owner should consider how much mileage each machine will go through depending on where it is positioned in the gym and how many machines you have.

General consideration for elliptical machines is that they burn fewer calories on average compared to bikes and treadmills as the exercise is less intense. If you are generally healthy and want to maximize the calorie output per minute, the elliptical machines are not the right buy for your need.

Summary for the FS10i

The FS10i is the best buy from Nordictrack in 2020 for a free stride elliptical with all bells and whistles. As long as it is cheaper than the FS9i this will hold. This is a good machine for the home gym owner with a big wallet and some health issues, who still want to exercise regularly. For commercial buyers, the price will be too high for someone who is thinking to buy more than 5 units at a time. Boutique gyms that work with a lot of clients with very specific needs will find this machine useful.