Schwinn 430 Elliptical Trainer

8.0
8.0 score
[Editors rating (8.0)] = (Garage Gym Ideas - Ultimate Home Gym Design) score (8.0)/10


0
Editor rating: 8.0 / 10
User's rating: based on 0 user ratings
1 star
0%
2 star
0%
3 star
0%
4 star
0%
5 star
0%
Add your Rating
Schwinn 430 Elliptical Trainer Review Facts

Schwinn has been an American institution for over 100 years. Over that time, they have developed a stellar reputation as a producer of quality cycling and fitness equipment. Schwinn moved into the elliptical market in 2014. Since then, their elliptical range has been small but specialized. Schwinn ellipticals are so intuitive, it’s almost as if they can read your mind. They provide increased stability, customizable workout programs, and amazing comfort. In this article, we review the Schwinn 430, one of the best they have to offer.

Editor's Pros & Cons
Pros

Dual track monitoring

22 workout apps

20 resistance levels

Stride length is 20 inches

Quiet and smooth ride, propelled by a front wheel with magnetic resistance

Two user profiles

Excellent stereo speakers

Supports up to 300 pounds

Cooling fan with three speeds

Cons

Big and bulky

Cannot connect to external heart rate trackers

Pedals and handlebars tend to break

Manually adjusted incline

Inaccurate calorie counting

Features

The 470 is one of the only Schwinn ellipticals that comes with a backlit console, making it much easier to read your training data. You get 13 training programs that have been created by world-class personal trainers. The Schwinn 470 provides you with a long 20-inch stride, allowing you to feel greater activation in your glutes and hamstrings and giving you a more natural, fluid feel to your workout. The ramp of the 470 is motorized, so you that you have automatic incline adjustment. But you can also manually adjust the incline, and you have six degrees to choose from, with the lowest one being nine. This gives your muscles some extra resistance for better muscle toning. The cushioned, articulated foot pedals follow the motion of your ankle as you work out. This provides less impact and significantly reduces your risk of injury. The handlebars move smoothly, and they have a slight curve which keeps your hands in a natural position. The calorie counting is a great option, but some users report that it is quite inaccurate, so don't rely on this one that much. The LCD is Dual-track, which means that there are actually two displays that show you all the data you could ever need (up to 13 different results): the time, RPM, distance, speed, resistance level, pulse, calories, intensity meter, heart rate zone, user indicator, and the very important Goal Achievement.

The flywheel of the 470 is positioned at the front of the machine, allow the pedals to be positioned closer together than many competing models. This provides a more natural feel with less strain on the hip. You can even charge your tablet or other electrical devices on the console of the 470. Schwinn Connect Goal Tracking allows you to upload and track your fitness progress to Schwinn Connect online.​ You can connect the Schwinn 430 with these apps thanks to the very stable Bluetooth connection that it offers. The 430 comes with a little tray where you can set your belongings, and a three-speed cooling fan to keep the sweat out of your eyes. The LCD is not that big, but then again it's not small either -it's right there in the middle, so don't worry about struggling to read it.

Workout Programs

Considering the relatively cheap price of the 430, it has plenty of good programs for show. The Schwinn 430 has 22 programs to offer you, which is more than what we're used to seeing with other ellipticals. First, we have the Quick Start, which is actually the manual mode. There's nothing special about this one, you just pedal and the pretty console tells you how good you're doing. But this makes it ideal for beginners who are not quite sure about what they're supposed to be doing. Other programs include the Nine Profile, Eight heart rate control, Two user-defined, and two fitness tests, both for beginners and advanced users. The moving handlebars have heart rate sensors which are neatly built into them, which is a good thing considering the fact that the 430 does not support wireless heart rate trackers.

Size

Since many of you will be buying this machine for your home, you're probably wondering just how large it is. Well, the Schwinn 430 is rather bulky and large, which means that you will have issues with fitting it into your home. And not even is it not compact, but it cannot be folded either, so you're just stuck with this chunky machine staying the way it is. The 430 is about 65 inches tall, and you will have to add a few inches more to your height to calculate the proper ceiling height for the machine, as you need to step onto the pedals. The 430 is 28 inches wide and just a little bit over 70 inches long, so you will have to look really hard to find a good spot for it in your home or gym. And it's not that lightweight either! It weighs about 170 pounds, so you won't be able to move it around that easily. And let's not forget that this unit, in fact, does not have any transportation wheels (although it does have rubber ends to protect your floors), making moving it around by yourself pretty much impossible if you lack the strength, or if you care about your floors!

Construction

The Schwinn 430 is a rather hardy machine, at least when it comes to the frame. The 430 can support up to 300 pounds, which really showcases it as a very sturdy machine. Plus, it has a ten-year warranty, so even if something does break you can easily replace it. Putting it together is also quite easy. The unit is shipped bit by bit, with a very comprehensive manual on how to construct it. You even get all the tools required to do so. Users report that it took them 45 minutes on average to construct it! The oversized crossbar tubing gives it the stability it needs, while the central frame support gives it all the strength to support as much as it can. But some users report that the handles and pedals are not too sturdy, and they tend to break after a year or so, but you still have that warranty, and if you followed the instructions for care and use carefully, you can always just get these parts replaced. The labor warranty covers only 90 days though, which is much less than what you'd expect for this price.

The flywheel is in the front, making the ride smooth and quiet. It weighs 13.2 pounds, which makes it heavy enough to provide you with a jitter-free ride. The resistance is magnetic, which is second-best only to electrical resistance. You can choose 20 different precisely calibrated resistance levels, so you'll always have a good challenge. As we said, the incline can be adjusted both manually and automatically.

Apps

You can connect the 430 with a myriad of very helpful apps, the first one being the massively popular MyFitnessPal. This app is an excellent calorie counter (which is good since the calorie counting on this elliptical is not so reliable). All you have to do is input all the food you ate, which the app likely already has inside the comprehensive diary, and then just select how long you worked out for, and the app will do the rest! You can also share your progress with the community, find friends, and look at all the glorious recipes it has to offer. You can download all the data the console collected to see it all written out in colorful graphs. Schwinn also has its own unique app, Schwinn Connect, that motivates you to stick to your goals and surpass yourself.

Value

For such a high-quality machine, the Schwinn 430 is surprisingly cheap. It's one of their cheaper ellipticals, costing about 800 dollars, plus whatever you need to pay for shipping. This does make it look like it's not that cheap, but if you compare it with other ellipticals with the same features as the Schwinn 430 has, it definitely is cheaper considering that these units cost about 1500 dollars on average! You probably do not expect the 430 to last that long since it's not that pricey. But it's surprisingly durable and smooth, and it's relatively quiet too, with a front end magnetic flywheel, something that again only costlier units have. You also get a myriad of features which serve to enrich your experience with the 430!

The Final Word

Schwinn has built a century-old reputation for excellence in the fitness industry. Their stable of elliptical trainers is high on performance and functionality. Schwinn’s most popular offering is the Schwinn 470, which features a 20-inch stride length, motorized ramp and a front positioned perimeter weighted flywheel for maximum performance. The Schwinn 430 features deliver dual-track monitoring, 22 workout apps and 20 levels of resistance. The resistance is magnetic, quiet, and digitally controlled by a mid-sized LCD console with two screens that show you 13 different measurements. The sound system supports mp3 players, and the stereo speakers are extremely good with amazing sound quality. Plus, the 430 is cheap for everything it brings to the table!

However, we should say that the 430 is a chunky machine which you may have trouble fitting into your home. The pedals and handlebars may not be able to withstand all that wear and tear damage, plus the incline has to be adjusted manually. The plastic rollers wear down fast, and the calorie estimates are quite inaccurate, according to plenty of users. The labor warranty only covers 90 days! So weigh your options carefully, and if you're after a budget elliptical, go for this one.