Star Trac E-TBT Elliptical Review

Brief Overview

The excellent TRx with a 15" personal HD TV to boot. You're better off buying a separate HD TV from Best Buy and mounting it on the wall. Star Trac's E-TBT elliptical is a high-quality unit from a company that is struggling financially. Star Trac, after emerging from the State of California's version of bankruptcy has stabilized as a much smaller company but it is still to be determined if they will be able to survive an increasingly competitive landscape.

Overall Quality

Unless you just must have an integrated personal TV screen, buy a big-screen LCD TV for the wall.

The Star Trac E-Trxi is an excellent treadmill. However, it costs a staggering $,9,990. The biggest difference between this model and the E-TRx, besides the fact that you save more than $1,000 on the E-TRx, is that the E-TRxi comes with a 15" high definition television. We suggest saving the money and buying an HD TV to stick on the wall.

The walking area is quite large. The belt measures in at 21.5" x 60". This is 1.5" wider than the standard 20" x 60" walking belt that is found on many of today"s treadmills. Users with a wider stance may find this model to be more accommodating than most.

A terrific motor powers this machine. There isn't a single treadmills that we reviewed that offers more power-producing capabilities. Speeds of up to 15 mph are attainable, so almost everyone will be able to challenge themselves.

A good cushioning system comes on this model. Soft Trac triple cell neoprene rubber suspension is used to reduce the impact that running has on your joints and back. Very few treadmills have running surfaces that are more forgiving or durable, but a few that are cost as low as $4,000.

As far as projected reliability is concerned, this machine is very impressive. Besides the Woodway curve, there isn't a single treadmill that has a longer life expectancy than this one has. The quality of parts used is higher than any other treadmill we looked at, aside from the other Star Trac models.

The warranty on the Star Trac E-TRxi is very good. The headphone jack, iPod connector, and USB are covered for 90 days, labor and wear items are covered for 1 year; other parts are covered for 2 years, and the motor and MCB parts and labor are covered for 5 years. Consumer home use increases the warranty on parts to 10 years.

Conclusion

This is the only StarTrac elliptical option that we really try to warn people to think twice about buying. It is a great machine and an OK value. The problem is that you are paying a lot to have the thing pre-wired for entertainment options. If you can afford this unit go ahead and get the E-TBTi with all of the entertainment options. If you want them and can't afford it, there are some machines from Freemotion that you might consider.