Nordictrack FS7i vs Assault airbike

This is a comparison between the Nordictrack FS7i 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 FS7i Free stride $1999

This is a review of the Nordictrack Fs7i model. You will learn about the specifics, pros, cons and alternatives of this elliptical to make a decision. This article was originally published in "Which elliptical to get from Nordictrack".

Overview of the FS7i

The FS7i Free stride is the oldest model in the Free stride elliptical range of Nordictrack. Its main features are the 7-inch touch screen, 20-pound flywheel, and 10% incline. This is a solid free stride model at a reasonable price and the full list of features includes:

7” Smart HD Touchscreen
Includes 1-Year NordicTrack iFit® membership**
Pivoting Integrated Tablet Holder
Auxiliary Music Port
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
Power Adjustable 0 – 10% Incline
OneTouch® Controls
Commercial Solid Steel Construction
iFit® Bluetooth® Smart Chest Strap Included
Oversized Levelers
375 Lb. User Capacity

35 On-board Workouts
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 was one of the first free stride models on the market with the flywheel in the middle of the installation. With this, you get a three in one design combining a treadmill, elliptical, and stepper. The FS7I is also reasonably priced compared to the FS9I and the FS10I.

Pros of the FS7i

The pros of the FS7i are:

3 in 1 design
Price
Long stride
Novel experience

The three in one design makes this machine especially interesting for home gym owners or for boutique gyms that do not have the space to fit out multiple machines for different preferences of their clients. As long as you have enough balance and finesse to control the floating experience this is a big bonus.

The price of the FS7i for the type of engineering it provides is also good. The FS10i and FS9i are quite a bit apart from the FS7i in price. So if you want to invest in a free stride machine from Nordictrack without completely breaking the bank, this can be a good option.

If you are a tall athlete and can not work with the shorter stride of the front and rear drive ellipticals than the free stride provides 32inches of stride length which can be varied. If you want to train for a longer stride for your long-distance runs, this is the machine to get.

The last pro of the FS7i is the novel experience you will have compared to a treadmill or traditional elliptical. This machine will make it varied and interesting for many days to come.

Cons of the FS7i

The cons of the FS7i are:

Free-floating
More error-prone
No big screen
Low-calorie burn

The free-floating experience of the Nordictrack free stride series is not for everyone. If you like the stable, predictable rotation of traditional ellipticals from your local gym, stick with a front or rear-drive elliptical.

The FS7i has more moving parts than traditional ellipticals to create the three in one experience. More moving üarts means more parts that can break, This is a relevant consideration for any commercial buyer that wants to invest in a fleet of machines. Homebuyers will very likely not put enough miles on a machine. Just take extra care that no one walks into the machine while you are exercising.

As the FS7i has its flywheel in the center you can not attach a big screen to it. Front-drive ellipticals are a better fit for that as they provide a stable rest for a big screen to be attached.

As with all ellipticals they have quite a low-calorie burn per minute given that you put in the same amount of effort. This is the price of comfort and having less stress on your joints while exercising.

Alternatives to the FS7i

Alternatives to the FS7i are:

The Nordictrack 12.9i is a front-drive elliptical in the same price range as the FS9i. The bigger flywheel and fixed ellipsis make it a better option for mass roll out or if you feel uncertain about the three in one design of the FS7i.

The Nordictrack FS10i is the newest model in the free stride line p of Nordictrack. Compared to the FS9I and the FS7i it has the best value for money ration at $2999. This might be a limited time offer due to the developments of 2020, so stay tuned and observe how prices develop when Nordictrack starts to roll out this model globally.

The VersaClimber H/HP is the home version of the VersaClimber. It has limited warranties to make the price more palatable for the home buyer. If you want to maximize your calories burned per second and train your calves like mad, this is the machine to go for.

The concept 2 rower is the classic machine for endurance training with low impact. You will also have less friction in your nether region compared to a bike when exercising. Out of these alternatives, it is the first one to be under $1000.

The Rogue Echo Bike is my personal favorite for home gyms when it comes to calories burned per minute at a reasonable price. The Rogue echo bike comes in at $700 and gives you a challenging workout to train in intervals easily.

Summary for the FS7i

The FS7i is the most affordable free stride machine out of the Nordictrack line up. If you like this design, but do not want to break the bank, go with the FS7i. This is mainly a machine for boutique gyms or a "special corner" machine for commercial gyms with massive floor space. If you are buying for the home I think this is a great machine for a multi-generation family with different needs. If your home is filled with hardcore fitness freaks you are better off investing your money in a VersaClimber and Rogue echo bike in my opinion.