Elliptical Machine Buying Guide Types, Designs & Specifications
Choosing the right elliptical machine begins with understanding four key attributes:
| ◇ Pedal Motion Geometry | Horizontal Stride / Vertical Lift / Tilt |
| ◇ Smooth Resistance | Flywheel / Kinetic Transfer / Low Impact |
| ◇ Pedal Torque Range | Intensity / Resistant Level |
| ◇ User's Power Output | Workload / Calorie Burn |
Look for a balanced combination that fits your physical condition and fitness goals.
Page Content Index
- Types of Elliptical Machines
- Designs & Specifications
- Pedal Motion Geometry
- Smooth Resistance & Low Impact
- Pedal Torque Range & Resistance Level
- User's Power Output & Calorie Burn
- Summary
Types of Elliptical Machines
Elliptical machines are commonly classified into three types based on the flywheel position: Rear-Drive, Front-Drive, and Center-Drive.
Elliptical machines are linkage systems. There are two basic mechanical designs that are widely adopted: 1) Four-Bar Linkage and 2) Glide Linkage.
Every type/design comes with its advantages and trade-offs for different applications.
Other Classifications ...
Other classifications mix or overlap various categories by design, features and intended use. They are:
- Elliptical Cross Trainer
- A cross trainer is an elliptical machine with a pair of handlebars linked to its foot pedals. Users can push and pull the handlebars in coordination with the pedal motion to engage both the upper and lower body. Most elliptical machines are cross trainers.
- Compact Elliptical
- A compact elliptical is designed with a shorter coupler bar and/or a smaller flywheel to reduce its overall size, often sacrificing stride length and motion smoothness.
- Glide Elliptical
- A glide elliptical uses a glide linkage design. The coupler bar of the elliptical glides along a fixed rail or on the crank joint. Most front-drive and center-drive elliptical machines are glide ellipticals.
- Recumbent Elliptical
- A recumbent elliptical is an elliptical machine with a seat. The user performs an elliptical pedaling motion while seated.
- Commercial Elliptical
- A commercial elliptical is designed for frequent use in gyms and fitness centers. It usually comes as a rear-drive elliptical with a large flywheel, simple structure and sturdy construction.
- Mini Elliptical
- A mini elliptical is a very small, under-desk elliptical intended for light activity. It usually does not have a flywheel but instead uses a motor to provide resistance.
Designs and Specifications
By comparing three well-known, highly rated elliptical models, we explain their distinct designs for the categories they represent.
For these models, relatively more product data could be gathered through online search for comparison.
Rear-Drive Elliptical
Life Fitness Integrity CLSX Elliptical represents a typical mid-range commercial rear-drive elliptical. Widely used in hotels, corporate fitness rooms, and commercial gyms, it has earned a reputation for reliability and durability. It is one of Life Fitness's workhorse elliptical models.
| Stride | Lift | Tilt Range |
| 18" | 8.3" | -2° to 13° |
Rear-drive ellipticals are a traditional planar four-bar linkage design, typically characterized by a long frame and a large rear-mounted flywheel.
The large flywheel provides the needed kinetic energy storage for achieving a smooth, low-impact exercise experience.
Front-Drive Elliptical
Front-drive ellipticals have become increasingly popular for home use because their glide-linkage design allows a relatively short machine to achieve a decent Pedal Motion Geometry.
NordicTrack AirGlide 14i represents a well-developed front-drive elliptical.
| Stride | Lift | Tilt Range |
| 18" | 19" | -3° to 16° |
The roller-glide design allows the AirGlide 14i to achieve a balanced Pedal Motion Geometry with a decent horizontal stride, vertical lift, and a proper pedal tilt.
Its large 32 lb spoke-type flywheel provides excellent motion smoothness for the designed torque range.
Center-Drive Elliptical
Landice Elliptimill represents a high-end center-drive design. It has two solid-disc flywheels positioned in the middle.
Elliptimill is a premium commercial elliptical targeting health clubs, rehabilitation centers, and high-end home gyms.
This center-drive elliptical uses a roller-glide-on-rotating-crank design to achieve a long, flat stride intended to replicate the feel of a treadmill.
ElliptiMill features an adjustable stride length ranging from approximately 17 to 23 inches by changing the position of the hinge connecting the coupler and rocker.
In a center-drive design, the pedals are positioned above the flywheel. To keep the pedals close to the floor while providing the desired kinetic energy storage, ElliptiMill uses two small-diameter, solid-disc flywheels (2 × 20 lb).
Characteristics of Conventional Ellipticals
Low Flywheel Speed
Linkage type elliptical machines come with low flywheel speed. Their linkage system drives the flywheel directly. As a result, the flywheel rotates at the same rate as the pedal stroke.
Low flywheel speed limits the kinetic energy storage of the system.
Low Torque Range
Due to their limited kinetic energy storage, linkage type elliptical machines are typically designed to operate at a lower torque range.
Therefore, linkage type elliptical machines are more suitable for low-resistance aerobic exercise than high-resistance strength training.
Introducing LB007 Vertical Elliptical
The LB007 Vertical Elliptical from Bluemov belongs to a category of its own.
◇ Lift: 11"
◇ Tilt: -1° to 18°
| Drivetrain Data | |
| Crank | 65 mm |
| Coupler | 420 mm |
| Rocker | 224 mm |
| Ground Link | 405 mm |
| Crank-wheel | ⌀ 240 mm |
| Pulley S11 | ⌀ 66 mm |
| Pulley S12 | ⌀ 191 mm |
| Pulley S2 | ⌀ 36 mm |
| Flywheel | ⌀ 240 mm |
| Transmission Ratio 1:15 | |
The 15x flywheel speed allows the LB007 to achieve an upgraded kinetic energy storage, making a significant difference in performance and applications.
How does LB007 differ from conventional ellipticals?
Broad Torque Range
LB007's high speed flywheel can carry the drivetrain through the "dead-spot" smoothly at a higher torque. Therefore, LB007 is designed to provide a broad torque range while maintaining a smooth resistance.
At 1 pedal-stroke/second, LB007 provides:
| Torque Range | 5 - 43 N·m |
| Power Output | 30 - 270W |
Vertical Elliptical 5x11
The small flywheel and compact drivetrain lead to a unique vertical elliptical design with 5" horizontal stride and 11" vertical lift.
This combination allows LB007 to offer a wide range of applications — from low resistance cardio exercise to high resistance strength training.
Pedal Motion Geometry
Pedal Motion Geometry determines the biomechanical performance of an elliptical machine. It affects muscle engagement, user experience and exercise effectiveness.
Pedal Motion Geometry is defined by three motion ranges: horizontal stride, vertical lift and tilt.
Horizontal Stride
Horizontal stride determines how far the feet move forward and backward. A longer stride produces a more walking- or running-like motion with greater hip movement, while a shorter stride creates a more compact stepping motion that is easier to sustain at higher resistance.
Vertical Lift
Vertical lift determines how much the body is raised during each step. Greater lift requires more work against gravity, increasing lower-body muscle engagement and exercise intensity. Lower lift produces a flatter, less demanding motion.
Pedal Tilt
Pedal tilt determines how much the foot rotates during each pedal cycle. A moderate tilt promotes natural ankle movement and comfort, while excessive tilt increases ankle motion and may reduce comfort during prolonged exercise.
Smooth Resistance & Low Impact
Low Impact
Ellipticals are known for low impact exercise because of:
| User Attribute | Feet remain in constant contact with the pedals |
| Equipment Attribute | Smooth Resistance — No abrupt impact on the joints |
Smooth Resistance is determined by flywheel's kinetic energy storage capacity.It is a key attribute to look at for selecting a low-impact elliptical machine.
Flywheel & Kinetic Transfer
Elliptical machines have an inherent dead-spot issue. It causes jarring resistance, which can adversely impact the joints.
What is Dead Spot?
Dead spot is a pedal/crank position where the downward stepping force produces no torque to rotate the crank. It occurs whenever the crank arrives at its upright or straight-down position.
Surrounding the dead spot is a low-torque zone, where the stepping effort less effectively transfers to torque.
Dead spots cause motion continuity problem, torque fluctuation, producing jarring resistance which can adversely impact our joints.
A flywheel mechanism is used to solve the dead spot issue. As the flywheel rotates, it stores kinetic energy, and at dead spots, the stored kinetic energy is transferred back to bridge low-torque gap, maintaining a smooth resistance.
KE Storage
Kinetic Energy (KE) Storage is a quantitative measure for evaluating motion smoothness and low-impact attribute of an elliptical machine.
A well-designed elliptical maintains sufficient KE storage and smooth energy transfer throughout the pedal stroke, minimizing resistance fluctuation. This reduces abrupt changes in joint loading, resulting in a smoother and more comfortable low-impact exercise experience.
Flywheel Size and Speed
The KE storage capacity of a flywheel is determined by the flywheel's size, weight, shape and rotational speed.
The following comparison demonstrates the influence on KE Storage by flywheel size, weight and speed.
| Equipment | Weight | Diameter | Speed | KE Storage |
| AirGlide 14i | 32 lb | 20" | 60 RPM | 16 Joule |
| LB007 | 5.5 lb | 9.4" | 900 RPM | 111 Joule |
When KE storage is insufficient...
Some compact-design home-use elliptical machines adopt a scaled-down flywheel. These machines are not able to maintain sufficient kinetic energy to smoothly carry the drivetrain passing through the dead spots.
As a result, the motion is jarring, and the resistance fluctuates.
When the KE storage is insufficient, the user needs to deliberately push the pedals in horizontal direction and rely more on the pulling and pushing the handlebars to pass through the dead spots.
Flywheel Shape
Most elliptical machines adopt spoke-n-rim type flywheel. Some compact-size elliptical machines adopt solid-disc flywheel. For the same weight, spoke-n-rim flywheel, due to its mass distribution, has higher inertia than the solid-disc flywheel.
Flywheel is a key factor in evaluating the motion smoothness of an elliptical machine. For conventional linkage type ellipticals, flywheel size and shape are critical, whereas for LB007, flywheel speed is the more effective factor.
Pedal Torque Range & Resistance Level
The resistance level/value of elliptical machines is best represented by the pedal torque on the crank.
Elliptical machines usually offer adjustable resistance to accommodate different muscle work intensity and workload.
In general, conventional linkage type elliptical machines are designed to provide a lower resistance range for aerobic exercise because of their kinetic and geometric constraints.
LB007, by contrast, provides a broad resistance range due to its upgraded KE storage capacity.
Manufacturers usually list how many resistance levels their elliptical machines have. However, the number does not indicate the actual resistance value.
Number of Resistance Levels Clarified...
Manufacturers often advertise the number of resistance levels, but the number does not indicate the actual resistance value.
For example, one manufacturer may divide a resistance torque range of 5–30 N·m into 12 levels, while another divides the same range into 24 levels. This does not mean the 24-level elliptical offers a broader resistance range. It is just that for the 24-level elliptical, users will need to press the plus button more times to feel the increase of resistance.
LB007 Vertical Elliptical provides a broad resistance range from 5 to 43 N·m, adjutable in 8 level.
Power Output & Calorie Burn
User's Power Output
User's Power Output is commonly used by athlete to assess the resistance level and intensity of an elliptical machine.
The Power Output can be calculated from the torque at a given pedal cadence.
| Pedal Torque (N·m) | Measurement of resistance torque of an elliptical machine. |
| Power Output (W) | Calculation of user's mechanical power output at a given pedal stroke rate. |
User's Power Output of LB007
LB007 provides a broad resistance and user's power output range because its upgraded kinetic energy storage assures smooth resistance at a higher torque range.
| KE Storage Capacity | Pedal Torque Range | Power Output Range |
| 111 Joules | 5 - 43 N·m | 30 - 270 W |
User's Power Output Reference
It is important to understand user's power output range in order to choose the right elliptical machine that fits your physical condition and fitness plan.
Below is a general reference of power output range for various applications
| Torque* (N·m) |
Power Output (W) |
Application |
|---|---|---|
| 5–8 | 30–50 | Light Exercise Warm-up, recovery, and low-effort daily activity. |
| 8–16 | 50–100 | General Cardio Comfortable continuous exercise for cardiovascular health and basic fitness. |
| 16–32 | 100–200 | Fitness & Endurance Improve stamina, aerobic capacity, and calorie expenditure. |
| 32–48 | 200–300 | Advanced Training Demanding workouts for well-trained users and serious endurance conditioning. |
| 48+ | 300+ | Competitive Athletes High-intensity intervals and elite-level endurance training. |
*Equivalent pedal torque calculated at a crank cadence of 60 RPM. At lower cadences, achieving the same power output requires proportionally higher pedal torque.
Actual effort varies with fitness level, body weight, cadence, and workout duration.
Calorie Burn
Calorie burn is largely determined by user's power output. Power output measures the rate at which a user performs mechanical work on the exercise machine. Since this work is supplied by the body's metabolic energy, higher power output generally leads to greater calorie burn.
Summary - Elliptical Machine Buying Guide
Choosing the right elliptical machine is ultimately about finding the right balance among four key attributes:
| ◇ Pedal Motion Geometry | Determines stride, lift, tilt, and overall exercise biomechanics. |
| ◇ Smooth Resistance | Depends on flywheel design and kinetic energy storage for low-impact exercise. |
| ◇ Pedal Torque Range | Determines the resistance capability for cardio, endurance, or strength training. |
| ◇ User's Power Output | Represents the user's mechanical workload and relates directly to exercise intensity and calorie burn. |
No single design is ideal for every application. Rear-drive, front-drive, center-drive, and transmission-driven ellipticals each make different engineering trade-offs in pedal motion, motion smoothness, machine size, and resistance capability.
Understanding these engineering principles allows you to evaluate elliptical machines based on their actual performance rather than marketing claims, making it easier to choose a machine that matches your physical condition and fitness goals.