| Smooth Fitness CE-7.4 Elliptical Trainer | 
| Brand: Smooth
Category: Sports
Department: Sports and Fitness
List Price: $3,297.00
Buy New: $1,599.00
as of 9/10/2010 02:04 CDT details
New (2) from $1,599.00
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 150,494
Color: Metallic Grey
Shipping Weight (lbs): 210
Dimensions (in): 83 x 27 x 67
MPN: SME-CE-74
Model: SME-CE-74
Release Date: May 21, 2010
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 3 to 5 days
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| Features:
| • | 21-inch stride length is comfortable for multiple users of varying heights | | • | Ergonomic, pivoting foot pedals emulate the natural motion of your ankle as the pivoting foot pedal maintains proper alignment | | • | Wireless heart rate monitor is included; automatically adjust the intensity of your workouts to reach your optimal fat burning zone | | • | Deluxe four-window, dot matrix LED display allows you to easily read course profiles and track your RPM, speed, watts, time, distance, pulse, heart rate, calories, resistance level, metabolic equivalents, and target heart rate while working out | | • | Warranty information: lifetime on the frame and braking system; three years on all other parts; one year on labor |
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Product Description
The most beneficial attribute of an elliptical cross trainer is its ability to provide an exceptional cardiovascular and weight-bearing workout without jeopardizing your joints or back. Ellipticals should have an effortless glide and an intuitive feel that works in concert with your body. The CE 7.4 from Smooth Fitness offers all of these essential characteristics while also providing a great workout with a fluid motion and ultra-quiet performance. Built for a wide range of users, from the beginner to the avid exerciser, the CE 7.4 offers ergonomic pivoting foot pedals for maximum productivity by minimizing discomfort, as well as orthopedic cushioning for a more enjoyable workout. A long 21-inch stride will accommodate even the tallest users comfortably while a heavy-duty flywheel eliminates the aggravating "bump" sometimes felt with other elliptical cross trainers. An electromagnetic braking system allows for smooth transitions and stops during strenuous workouts while wireless heart rate control allows you to set your preferred heart rate, strap on the chest monitor and the resistance of your routines will automatically be adjusted as your heart rate changes. Eight challenging workout programs allow you to vary your exercise routine--from interval training to fitness-level training. A heavy gauge oval steel frame is engineered to be stronger and adds a stylish flair to the CE 7.4. Finally, track your essential workout metrics with the four-window dot matrix LED display with easy-to-read course profiles, RPM, speed, watts, time, distance, pulse, heart rate, calories, resistance level, metabolic equivalents, and target heart rate.
Key Features:
- Workout Programs: 8
- Handgrip Pulse Sensors
- Resistance Levels: 16
- Forward and reverse motion
- Roller-less design for smooth and silent operation
- Dimensions: 83 inches long by 27 inches wide by 67 inches tall
- Tilt-and-Go wheels for easy mobility
- Supports up to 350 pounds
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
 You get what you pay for June 29, 2010
H Giersberg (Woodstock, Ga United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've had the 7.4 for a month and have found that it's a great addition to my workout equipment which includes a Totalgym for strength and an Ablounger for crunching. What makes the 7.4 such a great addition? My wife is using it every day as well.
ASSEMBLY: The 7.4 comes in a very large box. It is well packaged for protection. Even though I could tell the box had taken a beating, the 7.4 was unharmed. Save the box for 30 days! After unpacking the 7.4, I found that assembly was made easier if two people are involved. You will at least need help getting the base section out of the box. It also helps to have a second pair of hands hold some parts while you connect wire plugs. Tucking the wires into the frame was a little difficult but I took my time. Assembly was not that difficult if you follow the directions. I did apply a small bit of lithium grease where the arms connected and backed of those bolts 1/4 turn while using Locktite on the locking nuts. Not seen in the photo is an electric plug attaches on the back end of the 7.4 right at the floor level. It's a bit inconvenient in getting to it each day ad when you lift the back end to change the location of the 7.4. Lifting the back end of the 7.4 to move it is not very difficult. Small wheels on the front base engage immediately and the machine rolls with ease. You will want to plug the 7.4 into a surge protector according to the instructions.
ELECTRONICS: I was considering a treadmill with an iFit chip. The 7.4 does not use iFit but I think it provides all the features you would get anyway. It has several programed workouts including "random" as if you were walking a outdoor trail going up and down hills. It also has strength, interval, fatburn, and manual. It does ask you to enter your age and weight as it calculates your heart rate activity and calories burned. The iFit also asks for gender and height but I assume the 7.4 uses averages for this data instead. The 7.4 also asks what metabolic or "Met" setting you want. It has settings of 1 to 16. The instruction sheet says 1-3 are light indor activities while 16 is like a full wind sprint activity. That is, set it at 16 and do a 30 minute workout would be like running a marathon for 30 minutes.I have not used it yet for anything over a three so I have a lot of room to grow before I max out the 7.4. The 7.4 does calculate how many calories you are burning. There is a wireless heart monitor you can wear and the 7.4 will show you what percentage of your heart rate you have achieved. If you do not wear the monitor, you can hold the handles and it will read your heart activity there but if you let go of the handles, the machine resets the heart rate activity and it has to build it up when you take hold of the handles again.
EXERCISE: The movement of the 7.4 is smooth. The footboards move a bit by design to add to the comfort. I do not find them to be too far apart. My wife and I did try out some different machines on display at a local sports superstore and we came away satisfied that the 7.4 was well worth the premium price. The other devices we tried were jerky and uncomfortable. It's hard enough to exercise... Having a jerky machine to use would probably take away your motivation or at least discourage you from a 30 minute workout. You get what you pay for so get the very best you can. The other machines were very complicated in their design with multiple pivot points. One even had roller bars that looked like a maintenance nightmare. The 7.4 has three pivot points on each arm. That simplicity probably has a lot to do with the smooth movement. The 7.4 is quiet. You can watch TV but I like to use a fan when I'm working out and it's the fan itself that makes hearing the TV difficult. There is a small tray to hold a drink cup or and iPod. Your feet will like to slide forward on the footboards but the sides of the footboard trays will keep your feet from sliding off.
SPACE: It is big and long but you can tuck the flywheel in an out of the way area to best utilize your space. While the 7.4 is long, it is also narrow.
 Quite a disappointment June 12, 2010
D's mom
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased a Smooth CE7.4 almost two years ago and have to admit I barely used it the first nine months---imagine that just having it in your home won't actually make you use it. Anyway, when my husband then started using it we found that it squeaked terribly while just being operated at a moderate speed. My husband is not a big man either, so it wasn't a weight thing. Plus, the hand grip heart rate monitors didn't work. I reported a ticket into Smooth which continued my disappointment. Even though I was within the 1st year of ownership, I was shipped some parts to fix the sqeaking problem instead of getting a technician out. Plus, I was given a story about the hand grips that I must have had a heart rate monitor too close because it's an either or option---can't have both. We ended up not using it again for sometime and were just too busy with life to call back. Fast forward to now and we're trying to use it again---now the computer is periodically reporting speeds that are just WAY off. I've put another call into Smooth and hope to have better results.
I bought this over a Reebok version which cost about $1000 less because I thought this was going to be worth the $$$---but it's just been a disappointment.
 Worst Customer Service Ever - Don't Buy February 16, 2010
NWArkGirl (Northwest Arkansas)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Let me be upfront - I have no idea if this machine works. Since I got mine 2 months ago it has never worked. Smooth has admitted it has electrical problems. But more to the point, let me tell you about the customer service of this company.
I got the unit and paid for delivery and set up. The logistic company who delivered put it in the room, took away some of the packaging and said "we are only paid for 1/2 hour" and just left - with the unit in pieces. This was a Saturday so I left a voicemail for Smooth Customer Service. After hearing nothing for 4 days I called again during the week. Smooth dispatched same company. This time, the guys stayed for longer, but had never put together an elliptical. They were reading from the booklet, when things didn't work, the openly talked about jamming things together. After 5 hours they go to turn it on and it doesn't work. I'd lost a whole day of work and still didn't have a working machine. So I call Smooth again. After a week they dispatch a local handyman, again who has never seen an elliptical. He absolutely destroys the machine - pounds on it with a hammer, scratches every part trying to pry parts open. So once again I complain again to Smooth. They want to send him out AGAIN. I refuse. After two weeks go by without contact, I call again. They ignore my complaints about how the machine looks now and dispatch one part. They finally invest in getting an actual fitness machine mechanic to work on it. The part doesn't solve the problem - machine still doesn't work. (Another day of work missed). I asked for a new machine. They refuse. They send yet more individual parts. Also, each time they send parts they send the via UPS ground so it's a 10 day delivery time.
The new parts come, the parts still don't fix the problem because - not surprisingly - the whole unit has been put together wrong. I ask again for a new machine to be dispatched, but demand a discount. At this point I have taken 3 days of vacation - out of my 2 weeks a year. I hear nothing from them for 3 weeks. Today their absolutely awful customer service manager calls and says, "we will give you a new machine". In total, I have lost 3 vacation days and over 2 months of time. I say, "for a discount?" (This is after I read reviews on their own site talking about how they used to offer discounts for minor inconveniences and I consider what happened to be to be pretty major). He says no, no discount.
So I said forget it - get the machine out of my house and give me my money back.
Truly, I don't think I've ever had such a horrible experience. Maybe it's new management or maybe it's just this particular customer service manager, but given that they are internet only and you have no store/local option for service and support, do not trust them. Their machines are not reliable enough to have this little support.
It's too bad because I have seen the other reviews and I wish I'd gotten to see if it worked.
 I Want to Love My Smooth CE 7.4 Elliptical Trainer February 2, 2009
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Update #1 :
My elliptical is fixed and working fine. I finally got the attention of the service people at Smooth Fitness, but had to resort to subterfuge. If you call their number with a service or repair problem, my experience is that you should NOT select the menu option for service or repair. That one invariably dumps you into voicemail where your message might get answered eventually, but it won't be anytime soon. Instead, pick the option for people who want to buy equipment. That way you get an actual human being on the phone. Not the RIGHT human being, but the one who answered my call and listened to my tale of woe apparently went over to the service department and rapped someone on the head because I got a call back from them 10 minutes later. They took down my information, told me I would receive a parts order in the next few days and that I would hear from the repair guy shortly thereafter.
That's pretty much what happened. The parts they shipped me were the two halves of the plastic shroud that covers the flywheel mechanism. I guess they figured out from my problem report that they would need to be replaced, and they were right. Chris from Atlantic Fitness showed up a couple of days ago as scheduled and had me fixed up within an hour. Chris seemed to think that whoever originally assembled the machine might have overtightened the shroud mounting screws to the point where something broke. Could be, but it seems equally possible that it happened during the shipping process. This machine is very heavy and it's easy to imagine how rough handling during shipping could generate enough torque to damage the shroud mountings. Anyway, Chris was able to fix that problem with the new parts. The noise it turns out was the result of a drive belt rubbing against the housing. Chris said there were several internal positioning adjustments that could be made to get the drive train all lined up, and he got the belt positioned correctly. The machine is now whisper quiet.
I'm going to upgrade my rating to three stars. I'm still not impressed with the Smooth Fitness customer service operation. This appears to be a good piece of equipment, reasonably inexpensive, apparently well designed, and mechanically solid. However, getting it serviced should be a lot easier. Chris the repair guy from Atlantic Fitness was great to deal with. I wouldn't hesitate to do business with him or his company in the future. But it's pretty faint praise when the best thing about your customer service operation is the performance of a subcontractor.
Anyway, the equipment is working now and working well. Let's see how it holds up over the next few months. I will be updating this review as things develop.
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After weeks of scouring the internet for information and reviews on elliptical trainers, I settled on the Smooth CE 7.4 as the leading option. I was impressed with low price, reported quality, a good warranty, and dimensions apparently designed for a relatively tall person like me.
I ordered the machine over the holidays when I'm sure the company was dealing with a surge of orders and holiday absences, so it took a little longer than expected to hear back. But it was just a few days longer, so no big deal. Shipping was timely and the shipping company delivered the crate right to my garage vs. the curb. Good thing too because that box is ginormous! Heed what everyone else says about the need for a couple of able bodied people to hoist this thing around. You are definitely NOT going to be dragging the main assembly up any stairs by yourself.
It went together easily. The whole assembly probably took just a little over an hour. While assembling the machine, I noticed that the two halves of the flywheel cover (the big wheel in the back) didn't exactly mate. It seemed as if there was possibly some damage in shipping. But it didn't look serious.
During my first session, it was obvious that something was not right. Instead of the smooth quiet mechanism I was expecting, I got a machine that generated a loud scraping noise with each revolution of the flywheel. Maybe that shipping damage wasn't so trivial after all. Oh well, I told myself, good thing I went with a company that offered a decent warranty.
What I didn't count on was the difficulty of getting any response from the company when I called to take advantage of that warranty. Forget about emailing the customer service department. If anyone is actually reading that email, you would never know it. I've written them half a dozen times with no response. And calling is not much better. I left a number of messages on the customer service line before finally getting a return call from "Jimmy". Unfortunately, I wasn't able to answer the call, so all I really have is voicemail apologizing for the delay in responding and citing a phone outage. Phone outage? Well maybe, but it sounded a lot like the old dog ate my homework excuse.
I have now left some more voicemail on Jimmy's phone, so hopefully he'll call and I will have some better news to report. If so, I will update this review. But at this point, I'm not feeling like a well-served customer. Smooth Fitness needs to hire some folks to answer the phones and read the incoming email. Otherwise, what is probably a fairly decent product is going to be eclipsed by stories like this one and customers are going to shop elsewhere.
Jimmy, I really want to love my CE 7.4, so please give me a call and let's get this thing fixed.
so far so good January 18, 2009
Giles A. Tune III (montana)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
i got this trainer 3 weeks ago. so far i LOVE IT!! assembly was just like there name SMOOTH. you dont even have to read the words, just follow the pictures. it took me about 30 min. to assemble, but this sucker is big and heavy though, so get a friend to help.i was lucky the delivery guys put it inside my house even though i didnt pay for it, but the box was to big to go into my workout room. so i was on my own from there. it does have wheels on it, so once i got it out of the box( not easy to do) i wheeled the main piece(flywheel and base) into the room myself.every bolt hole lined up PERFECTLY!! there was no fighting to get it together, VERY well machined piece of equipment.
So how was my workout once i got it together?? a little weird at first.it felt different than other ellipticals. the foot pedals do take some getting used to, but if you center your foot in the pedal its great. Also compared to other ellipticals, you are VERY close to the stationary handle bars, which felt VERY weird at first. this takes some getting used to, as there is no reaching forward to change settings, its right there.also, if you were a REALLY fat person i would think your belly might hit the handle bars.( not trying to sound mean or anything).
i never really thought an elliptical would work your arms, but i was WRONG!! if you put this on level 6,7,8,9(depending on your strength) your arms come into major play ecspecially on a 30 min or longer run. after i got used to the body position( say 1 week) i loved it.this thing will work you pretty darn good.it is one of the most STABLE pieces of equipment ive ever been on.
i really cant see what can go bad on this machine other than the bearings( which will last for years). most ellipticals dont even have bearings just bushings(metal on metal). i do mechanical and electrical work for a living, and ive looked this machine over extensively.if you have to change a bearing they are VERY easy to change and easy to find for sale at almost all auto parts stores or online( unless they are pressed on). just be VERY careful with the wires when you assemble this piece of equipment. make sure no wires are in the way before you tighten the bolts.
other than that ENJOY, THIS IS A VERY WELL MADE ELLIPTICAL!! NOW PUT IT TO USE!!
also, use the smooth5 coupon code on there main web site and save 5%($1888 instead of $1988 and if you call, you get a free mat, a $45 value)
GOOD LUCK AND TAKE CARE
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
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