The Proform 675 Elliptical Trainer is a low priced entry level CardioCross trainer. It is priced at $299.00 which is well below the minimum price of $1000.00 we recommend people pay for a good elliptical trainer. It has a number of good features including
- Oversized wide pedals
- A large console with an LCD screen that allows you to keep track of speed, time, distance and calories.
- EKG grip pulse sensors for heart rate
- two speed fan
- Icon Silent SMR Magnetic Resistor
However, it only has a very short stride length of 14 inches, which prevents anyone with normal-length or longer legs from using this elliptical trainer comfortably. We decided to purchase the Proform 675 elliptical trainer and give it a full test run. It arrived just 2 weeks after our order. However, it was broken and could not be assembled for our tests. We contacted customer service to get a replacement. This request was denied but a technician was scheduled to repair it.
The repairman took another 10 days to arrive and immediately said it was not repairable. After 3 more weeks, we received a replacement 675 elliptical trainer. After setting it up, our smallest tester, who has literally hundreds of hours of elliptical training time, took it for an initial ride. Everything went well for about 30 minutes when it started to generate considerable noise. After some adjustments to the elliptical trainer, the test was continued. After an hour of riding the Proform 675, our tester took a break and let our second tester take the elliptical for a ride. It was immediately noticed that the display console was not working. Despite several attempts to get it to work, we came to the conclusion that he was dead. Again we called customer service for help. They were clearly irritated with our request for a new console and a visit from the tech. They did not reply to our emails and only because we had access to the supervisor numbers at Icon were we able to resolve the issue. All of this required another 12 days of delay.
The technician came and replaced the console on the Proform 675 elliptical and it worked fine, but while we were testing it an additional problem developed. The technician noticed that something was wrong with the magnetic resistance. After examination, he stated that the SMR silent magnetic resistance unit was failing and would need to be replaced. Once again, we spent a lot of time on the phone with customer support as they did not respond to our emails. We decided to request a refund under the 30 refund clause. We were told that it had been more than 30 days since we purchased the Proform 675 elliptical trainer and we did not qualify.
In gathering background information on this unit, we came across quite a few customer reviews who found the Proform 675 to be very poor fitness equipment. Complete lack of any quality and extremely poor customer service was a common thread running through most product reviews. We strongly recommend that you do not purchase the Proform 675 elliptical trainer. Again, it is not advisable to purchase an elliptical trainer that does not have a starting cost of at least $1000.00. It is essential that you check customer reviews before considering buying any elliptical trainer.