Cardio Climber Stepping Elliptical Exercise Machine for Home with 8 Levels of Magnetic Resistance, Performance Monitor, Full Body Workout

I recently purchased the Sunny Health & Fitness Cardio Climber Stepping Elliptical (SF-E3911), and I can’t say enough good things about it! Hands down, the best part of this unit is the ease of assembly. I’ve never seen such a simple and well-thought-out setup process. Each part was clearly marked, and the assembly manual provided step-by-step directions that were a breeze to follow. The parts even came on a piece of cardboard with clearly defined labels AND pictures of the pieces, bolts, washers, etc.—so even after removing them, I could easily identify each item and its corresponding part number. It took me a generous 25 minutes max to assemble, and I’m not particularly handy! Pro tip: Having a 1/2” socket helped with the bolts, though everything you need is included.Once assembled, the unit operates quietly, the computer works perfectly, and the ease of use makes it ideal for a home gym. We opted for the classic version, and it offers plenty of benefits for our goal of 1-2 years of use before upgrading (thanks to the progress we’ll make exercising!) to a more expensive machine or possibly joining a gym. The value for the price is fantastic, and I highly recommend this elliptical/stepper to anyone considering it. Sunny Health & Fitness really hit it out of the park with this one!

I love this machine! But, I decided to update my review to describe a problem and report the solution. The pulley wheels became damaged after a few months of use (the rubbery black material flaked off, see first two photos) and the machine became noisy. (It did still work, however). This is an issue that others have written about. I had several exchanges with the company and was told I had to buy the part (it was past warranty) but it was not available for many months, probably because of supply chain issues. That was fine, because the machine worked; it was just noisy. Today I received the new wheels and they are a different material! It's a hard white plastic/nylon (see third photo) instead of the black rubber. They were easy to replace (with allen and socket wrenches) and now it is quiet again! I assume that Sunny changed the material because of the reports of the black wheels breaking down. I'm writing this now to let people know that, if their CardioClimber has this problem, it can be fixed. The wheels cost only $18 per set plus $10 shipping. Customer service was great, by the way.Otherwise, here is my previous positive review. I do still love the machine. Our space is limited (a small alcove off the dining room) and it is perfect for that. It is more challenging than a regular elliptical because it has a climbing component (however, this does mean that the horizontal range of motion feels shorter than you might expect with an elliptical; it doesn't bother me at all because I wanted the climbing feature). The 8 resistance settings are very useful...I often do intervals and ramp up the resistance, alternating with easier settings. It had a couple of minor defects (that didn't prevent its use) and I was able to easily reach the company by phone and email and they are mailing parts, though shipping is delayed, probably due to demand during the pandemic. I recommended this to a friend and she loves it, too. Also, it feels very sturdy and well made and putting it together was quite easy. Directions are clear and all parts are packaged and well-labeled. It's very quiet so I can listen to podcasts or music, or watch the iPad, while using it with no distraction at all. While it is heavy, which is necessary for it to be as sturdy as it is, the wheels are convenient for moving it when needed. By the way, the company has some very good exercise videos, for this machine and more generally.

First and foremost, it's great for the price. And they're not trying to sell you some trash monthly service thank gosh. That being said - they have a fatal flaw: the pulley wheels which the foot pedals ride on wear down and begin to grind - there's a ton of reviews on this. I've had this model for about 6 months, I've got maybe 20 total hours on the machine, I'm under the weight limit, and one of the pulley wheels is already grinding. I previous had a lower model (SF-E3914) and it lasted me about 2 years before it finally died, which is fair given the price.On the positive side, if you contact Sunny Health and Fitness and are patient enough, they will sell you new pulley wheels for around $10/ea, so they're not gouging you on price. But it will take ~2 weeks and the new wheels will wear down in a matter of weeks to months as well. I believe they're cast polyurethane, and they're not of the best quality: eventually they'll grind down to the point where you hit an air bubble, then you'll have a terrible banging noise every rotation.There is one more fix that worked great for me: go to (Xometry, Hubs, iMaterialize etc.) 3D printing service and order 3D printed replacement wheels. I ordered a set of SLS nylon pulley wheels for about $15/ea and they lasted me over a year on the last machine. I might update this review with a Thingiverse link to an stl for replacement pulley wheels.Dear Sunny Health and Fitness. Have someone from your engineering or manufacturing department contact me. I have solutions for you.