The Schwinn 470 is the most affordable elliptical we reviewed, and its MRSP is more than $2,000 below the most expensive machine, the Sole E95.
The 470 has a 20-pound flywheel, which is the minimum weight recommended for a high-quality machine. Its 20-inch stride length is average. It incorporates Schwinn’s Precision Path Foot Motion Technology, which is designed to simulate a natural running motion. It has large footplates to help you maintain comfortable foot positioning, but testers in our lab said the pedals were “squishy” and made their feet slide forward. Our reviewers preferred the pedals on the Nautilus E618. Although the Schwinn is lower priced, our testing panel considered the Nautilus a better value.
This elliptical has moving handlebars that are ergonomically positioned. Its convenience features include a 3-speed fan and a center-mounted water bottle holder, and its sound system has sealed acoustic chamber speakers. It also has a USB charging port, and its handles have pulse grips to track your heart rate as you exercise. It is also enabled for telemetry heart rate monitoring, but you must buy a chest strap separately. Telemetry monitoring tracks your heart’s electrical activity throughout the course of your workout and can also monitor blood-oxygen levels and blood pressure.
The Schwinn 470 has 25 levels of eddy current resistance, which uses an electromagnet near the flywheel to produce resistance. It also has a 10-degree motorized incline ramp to make working out more challenging. Like each machine we reviewed, it has transport wheels to help you move it.
Weighing just 164 pounds, the 470 is the lightest machine we reviewed. The heaviest machine we evaluated, the Bowflex BXE216, weighs 99 pounds more. Not surprisingly, this makes a difference in user weight capacity. The Bowflex elliptical’s maximum user weight is 400 pounds, but the Schwinn’s is only 300 pounds. Also, one member of our testing panel said the Schwinn 470 felt more cramped than the other elliptical machines we evaluated, and she hit her knee on its frame several times during her workout.
When you’re working out on the Schwinn 470, you have 29 workout presets to choose from, including heart rate control programs, fitness tests and custom options. The console can store up to four user profiles, and you can monitor up to 13 feedback categories including time, distance and calorie goals. You can transfer your workout data to the Schwinn Trainer app, along with MyFitness Pal, GoogleFit, UA, Apple Health, MapMyRun/Ride and RunSocial.
This elliptical has a blue backlit LCD screen that is five inches wide. It has a dual track display like the Nautilus E618’s that lets you see workout data on the bottom screen when you’re using the tablet rack, which blocks the top screen. We prefer consoles like the Proform SMART Pro 12.9, where the tablet rack doesn’t block the display at all.
Schwinn provides standard shipping of the 470 for $99, and the company’s $249 assembly fee is in line with pricing across the board. The elliptical’s assembled footprint is 70.1 x 28.2 x 63.2 inches (length, width, height).
While the best elliptical machines’ warranties offer lifetime frame warranties and at least one-year coverage on labor, Schwinn backs the 470’s frame with just a 10-year warranty and gives you only 90-days of warranty-covered labor. If you need customer service, you can reach Schwinn by phone, email and on Facebook.
