Nordictrack Grand Tour vs X9i

This is a comparison of the Nordictrack Grand Tour and the X9i including pros, cons and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the X9i 2199

This is a review of the NordicTrack X9i including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article has been originally published in “which NordicTrack treadmill or elliptical to get in the UK”. Follow the links for more details.

Overview of the Nordictrack X9i

The X9i treadmill comes in at a price of 2199 pounds at the time of writing. Its main features are the 3 horsepower motor, 40% incline, and 7-inch touch screen. With this, it is a treadmill at the higher end of the price spectrum and relatively big features and incline and screen real estate. The full list of features runs as follows:

7" HD Touch Screen Display
iFit Integrated
Smart BlueTooth Chestbelt included
Includes 1 Years iFit Family Membership
Dual 3-Inch Speakers

Reflex™ Cushioning
Tablet Holder Included
55 x 152 cm Tread Belt

Dual AutoBreeze™ Workout Fans
3.6 CHP Motor
0 – 40% Incline - 0 – 6% Power Decline
0 – 20 km/h Speed
2.5” Precision-machined and
Balanced Non-flex Rollers
EKG Grip Pulse Heart Rate Monitor
135kg Max User Weight
Out-of-the-box Easy Assembly

Large Boxed Item - This item can only be delivered or delivered and installed to a ground floor room location.
Free Installation Included With Mainland Customers
Product Weight 135kg
Boxed Weight 175kg
Assembled Dimensions - 178L x 100W x 181H cm
Boxed Dimensions - 227L x 103W x 64H cm
Warranty - Lifetime Frame Warranty, 10-year Motor Warranty, 2-Year Parts & Labour upon warranty registration within 28 days of purchase.

All of this makes the X9 a good machine for the UK market if you are interested in a 40% incline and a touchscreen.

Pros of the Nordictrack X9i

The pros of the X9i are

40% Incline
7-inch touch screen

The X9i shines on the incline and the touch screen options. This is a high-end treadmill that you can either use at home or in a commercial setting.

Cons of the Nordictrack X9i

Price
Older model

2000 pounds is a high price for a treadmill either to buy for your home or in bulk. Really think hard about whether you will need the 40% incline on a regular as this is the main reason for driving the price up. If you only will use it occasionally you might want to look into other options with less incline.

Another point is that the X9i is one of the older models in the Nordictrack incline treadmills line up. The newer models are the X11i, x22i, and the X32i. These models are not available in the UK yet, but you may want to have a close look at the US website first. Especially if you can wait for half a year to a year with your purchase.

Alternatives to the Nordictrack X9i

Alternatives to the Nordictrakc X9i are:

The Nordictrack FS5i is a three in one elliptical which can be used as a stepper, treadmill, and elliptical which is available in the UK. This might be the better choice for someone who buys for use at home by multiple people. Especially the fitness levels are a bit lower. A commercial buyer might not want to go this way, is the ellipticals with the flywheel in the middle are more error-prone than the front / rear-drive flywheels or treadmills. Commercial buyers with space might want to split up their fleet in specialized machines.

If you are really sure that you need the 40% incline but want to save a little bit of money you can go for the X7i instead of the X9i. It is basically the same machine, except that the screen is not a touch screen. This city a little of the budget while you still almost get the same specifications for what you are buying. If you are insisting on a 40% incline and think that this is your main use case you right also want to look at the VersaClimber product range. This is usually the better pick for maximizing the calories burned per minute.

The Nordictrack C7.5 would be the treadmill of choice of you ditch the idea of a 40% incline. This is a solid machine for home or commercial use which is more affordable and still does the trick. Definitely look in this area of the Nordictrack portfolio if you think %40 is overkill (which I would say in 999 out of 1000 cases).

The last option would be to go for something completely different. The Rogue Echo bike coma in at a price of about 700 pounds. It is compact, easy to move, and you can burn a lot of calories per minute with the interval settings. This is the machine that I got for my personal gym as I prefer tor un outdoors.

Summary for the Nordictrack X9i

Nordictrack X9i is one of the most modern incline treadmills available for the UK market from Nordictrack at the moment. Still, you are investing a lot of money into a machine that has been overtaken with new models in the US. I am personally not a fan of spending a lot of money on something which I know will be outdated very soon. Combined with the fact that most people do not get a lot of use out of the 40% incline option the X9i is not one of my favorite options and would go for the X7i instead to save some money if you are insisting on 40%.

Overview and review of the Nordictrack Grand tour 1299 (US)

This article discusses the pros, cons, and alternatives for the Nordictrack Grand Tour.This review was originally posted in “Which Nordictrack bike to get”. Follow the links for more details.

The Grand Tour from Nordictrack addresses the spinning classes market for NordicTrack in the US. The other model is the Grand Tour Pro. The main features of this model are a 7-inch smart touch screen, a freewheel clutch, and a 10% incline. This makes it a good model to buy in bulk for spinning classes. The full list of features includes:

7” Smart HD Touchscreen
Integrated Tablet Holder
Includes 1-Year NordicTrack iFit® membership**
Auxiliary Music Port
Two 2” Digitally Amplified Speakers

CoolAire™ Workout Fan
Oversized Cushion Seat
Horizontal and Vertical Seat Adjustment
Extra-Wide Ergonomic Pedals with Adjustable Straps

Upright Articulating Cycle
3 Piece Crank
Freewheel Clutch
SMR™ Silent Magnetic Resistance
24 Digital Resistance Levels
-10° to 10° Incline and Decline
OneTouch™ Controls
Oversized Levelers
350 Lb. User Capacity

Included 3 Lb. Dumbbells
Integrated Handle Controls for Incline and Resistance
Front-mounted Transport Wheels
Water Bottle Holder
59.2" L x 23.3" W x 56.2" H Footprint
10-Year Frame Warranty
2-Year Parts Warranty
1-Year Labor Warranty

The Grand Tour is a great option when you want to take your spinning classes to the home. A commercial buyer might want to get spinning bikes with fewer multimedia and casing options to save some money to buy in bulk.

Pros of the Nordic track Grand tour

The pros of the Grand tour bike are:

10% incline
Freewheel clutch
7-inch touchscreen

For a bike including a touch screen and incline option the Grand tour is reasonably priced for a Nordictrack bike. The Grand Tour is great value for money as long as you like the way it works for biking. Some might prefer the inertia of a flywheel for use of use. The 7-inch touch screen is the cherry on the top to round up the picture.

Cons of the Nordictrack Grand Tour

Cons of the Nordictrack Grand tour:

Small screen
Freewheel clutch
No Bluetooth

The grand tour has a relatively small touchscreen compared to the wider Nordictrack portfolio which reaches up to 32-inch. If you want a bigger screen with the experience of a spinning class you can go for the Grand Tour pro. This bike has a 10-inch instead of a 7-inch touchscreen.

The freewheel clutch might not be liked by every user. If you are used to spinning classes this will be the preferable bike option for you. If you usually use flywheel bikes on the general gym floor, go for the VU19 or GX line instead.

As with most Nordictrack bikes you do not have the option to use your Bluetooth headphones to follow the instructions of the Ifit classes. This is a little irritating when you spend more than 1000 bucks on a piece of equipment you can not hook up to your wireless headphones.

Alternatives to the Nordictrack Grand tour

Alternatives to the Nordictrack Grand tour are:

The Grand tour Pro is the big sister of the Grand tour bike. For an additional $200 you get a bigger touchscreen than with the Grand Tour. If you are shortsighted or use the Ifit classes a lot, get the Grand Tour pro instead of the Grand tour. If you think that 7-inches are more than enough, spare yourself the extra expense.

The Nordictrack 6.5 Si treadmill is one of the smaller Nordictrack treadmills which are available in the US. If you want a solid low budget option from Nordictrack this is the one. The T series has been recently released in the US and is more likely to be continued than the C series of treadmills that has seen its best days. If you want to run and put some miles on the treadmill without going overly fast, this is a solid option.

The Nordictrack SE7i is an elliptical in the same price range as the Grand tour bike. An elliptical can be a better compromise for all members of a gym or family to get their cardio in than a bike. Not everybody likes sitting on a saddle for 30 or more minutes to burn their calories. Just make sure that you have enough clearance to the ceiling when getting an elliptical as this can be an issue. An elliptical will also take up more floor space than a bike.

The concept 2 model D rower is a worldwide standard and you can not go wrong with it if you are interested in an indoor rower. This bread butter machine from concept 2 does its job and will also save you some money compared to the Grand Tour. Commercial buyers will also appreciate that package deals are easier to obtain from concept 2 then from NordicTrack when the unit count climbs.

The Rogue echo bike is my personal preference for use at home. I like to go hard and blast my ears with music from my bose earphones when I work out. The Rogue echo bike is just perfect for that, it does not cost a leg and an arm and can take my 105kg muscle with layer fat.

Summary for the Nordictrack Grand tour

If you like spinning classes and want to do them from home this is a good way to go. I would still go for the Grand tour Pro if I was in the market for one. If I do spin classes at home I want the instructor to be as big as possible. A 10-inch screen will be better for that than 7-inch and the two models are only $200 apart. That is not really a lot of money in terms of cardio machines. Of course, $200 can buy you a lot of jump ropes made from plastic, but that is a different debate to be had.