The Vision Express X6100 cross trainer is a great bit of kit for a home gym (though we’d still have struggled to fit it in our old place). As we bought it second-hand (£550, roughly double that in dollars) I don’t know how difficult it was to put together, though I’m assured by the person I bought it from that it was relatively easy and didn’t take long. The vendor advertising this on Epinions lists it as $1,600 for a new machine. (In fact the previous owners had bought it for £800, roughly equivalent to $1,600. The machine had moderate use for a year before we got it.) Obviously this puts it outside the price bracket of a lot of people (we had to think long and hard before making the investment), but it’s a very good machine even for that amount of money. The fact that it’s had a lot of use by us is testament to that.

The X6100 is a folding model, and it fits quite nicely in a corner without taking too much space up when folded. It’s not among the largest cross trainers I’ve seen even when in use, though obviously it’s still quite big. The person we bought it from had it set up in a flat (apartment), which must have meant there was precious little space for anything else! We have it set up in the garage which is great as the garage never gets hot. It can be a little fiddly to fold up (getting the feet to clip into the holding attachments isn’t always a easy as it could be), but it’s not much of a problem and unfolding it for use is a doddle. It is a little on the heavy side and awkward to move single handed. Overall though it’s quite compact for what it does.

The most important thing for me with any cross trainer is smoothness and naturalness of the elliptical arc that it follows while you’re using it - it has to be comfortable or you’ll never actually get on the thing. It’s not quite the best in this regard (the Life Fitness 9500 beats it for that) but it’s got a well measured arc that feels equally natural for people with long legs (me) or small legs (my wife!). The handles are positioned well and also feel comfortable. It does have a heart rate monitor, which takes only a few seconds to get up to speed, which is located on a central handlebar under the console.

The console is well designed - a nice clear LCD display, compact design, and gets all the information you could reasonably want on the display at the same time - distance travelled, current resistance level (there are 16), time elapsed, calories burned, speed, and wattage. The display is crystal clear and unfussy, and is even quite readable if there’s a reflection on it at the time. Every so often an encouraging message scrolls along the top - “YOU CAN DO IT”, “THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT WORKOUT”, “DON’T FORGET TO DRINK PLENTY OF WATER” etc. As well as the resistance level being shown as a numerical figure at the bottom right of the display, there’s a bar readout at the top so you always know where you are.

There are several workout programmes available though I tend to stick to manual. You can do a random workout, interval, increasing incline etc. Though I’m more used to cross trainers having 20 different resistance levels, I found 16 to be quite enough. The machine is equally happy going forwards or backwards. The foot pedals are qutie big and have a rim at the fton and sides - though not at the back, oddly enough. (I've never been in any real danger of slipping off though!)

The machine isn’t too noisy though it’s not the quietest machine ever. If I did have one major criticism it would be that it doesn’t always feel very stable; you can sometimes feel yourself going very slightly to one side. I’ve never actually fallen or felt that I’m particularly likely to fall, but it is a little alarming all the same! To reduce noise and increase friction, having it on a carpeted surface would probably be best - though that might create too much wear on the carpet. Naturally, having the machine exactly on a level is important.

Cross trainers have always been my favourite type of exercise equipment and are equally suited to short bursts of intensive exercise or long periods of more moderate exercise. I find the Vision Express X6100 to be an excellent piece of equipment, and thoroughly recommend it if you have the space and money. It has a robust design and will serve you well for a long time to come - as I’m sure mine will. If like us you buy second-hand, make sure you have a chance to try before you buy - don’t just take my word for it, you might not agree with me! (Actually if you buy first-hand I’d advise trying it out first too… but that’s just common sense… isn’ it?!?)



Other Cross Trainer Reviews

Reebok Body Trek Elliptical Trainer
Reebok Body Peak Elliptical Trainer
Life Fitness 9500 HR Elliptical Trainer



Recommended: Yes