An elliptical trainer is one of the largest investments that you will make in setting up a home gym. It’s important to ensure that you’re purchasing a quality machine that will do what you want it to. One way to do so, it to make sure that you are going with an established, reputable manufacturer.
Nautilus is one of the most reputable fitness companies in the industry. Today, we take their E614 Elliptical for a test drive to discover whether it’s an investment you should make.
Nautilus E614 Overview
The Nautilus E614 is a medium-priced rear flywheel elliptical that provides a smooth workout with 20 resistance levels and 22 workout programs.
Nautilus History
Nautilus revolutionized the fitness industry in 1970 with the introduction of the Nautilus cam of circuit training equipment. In the mid-1990’s, the Nautilus company was acquired by Bowflex, who then entered into the cardio equipment market.
In 1999, it became a publicly traded company under the name Nautilus Inc. In 2011, the company focused entirely on the home fitness market. The company is based in Portland, Oregon.
Ergonomic Design
The Nautilus E614 Elliptical Trainer has been ergonomically designed to work with your body. The 20-inch Precision Path stride length allows for a very natural elliptical lower body movement. The perimeter weighted flywheel sits at the back of the machine providing a good balance and improved functionality.
Cushioned Footplates
The large, articulating footplates of this elliptical feature cushioning that provides underfoot protection and comfort, along with a non-slip treadmill to keep your footing position secure while you are working out.
6-postiion Incline
The E614 provides you with a six-position incline to allow you to dramatically increase the intensity level of your workout. The calorie burn is greatly enhanced when you train on an angle. However, the incline on this unit is not automatic. That means that you will have to get off the machine in order to change the incline.
Large Console
The Nautilus E614 comes with a DualTrack LCD window, which provides you with two displays. One of these windows will deliver all of your important training diagnostics, and then some. It will monitor your workout heart rate, distance traveled, resistance and program settings. The window will scan through your training diagnostics, which can be annoying for some people.
The console also comes with a media shelf that allows you to securely hold your tablet. What’s more, your device will only cover the top half of the console, meaning that you will still be able to see your key training data.
The media shelf also allows you to charge your device by way of a charging dock. That means that you will never have to worry about your tablet running out halfway through your workout.
The E614 console allows you to store training data for two users. Extra features on this console are a cooling fan and an iPod dock with speakers.
The one negative regarding the console is that it is not backlit. This may make it difficult to see your workout stats in bad lighting.
Heart Rate Monitoring
The E614 provides you with the means to monitor your training pulse rate. It does so by way of hand-held sensors on the handlebars.
Nautilus Connect
The E614 pairs with the Nautilus Connect app. This provides you with online tracking of your training data. Nautilus Connect provides you with an easy to use interface that provides plenty of opportunities to review your training performance and set future goals.
Nautilus Connect syncs with the MyFitnessPal and RunSocial apps.
20 Levels of Resistance
With twenty levels of magnetic resistance, the E614 provides you with the increasing challenge potential to keep making progress as you get fitter. The transition between resistance levels is smooth and natural.
22 Built-in Workout Programs
The Nautilus E614 provides you with twenty-two workout programs as follows:
- 9 profile
- 8 heart rate control
- 2 custom
- 2 fitness tests
- 1 quick start
This allows you to follow training programs that have been created by top level fitness trainers and designed to target specific workout goals.
20-Inch Stride Length
The stride length of an elliptical is its most critical component. If it’s too short, then the machine simply isn’t going to give you an efficient workout, regardless of what other bells and whistles it has. Even some of the best mid-priced ellipticals come up short in this regard. That’s why we are so pleased to see that the E614 provides you with a decent 20-inch stride length. This will allow most people to get in a comfortable workout which does not restrict their natural elliptical motion.
What’s Not So Good?
For a mid-priced home fitness machine, you get a lot of good value with the Nautilus E614. Yet, there are a couple of things that are not so impressive:
Manual Incline
The six-position incline on this machine is manual as opposed to automatic. That means that you have to get off the machine in order to make the adjustments. This will slow down the momentum of your workout.
Limited Warranty
The E614 comes with just a 90-day labor warranty. As a result, you could be out of pocket if something goes wrong on Day 91. To be fair, the other aspects of the warranty are good. You get 10 years on the frame, 2 years on parts and one year on electronics.
No Dual Action Handlebars
The handlebars on this machine do not allow for upper body movement. This means that your workout ability is limited effectively to the lower body.
Bottom Line
The Nautilus E614 Elliptical Trainer is a very effective mid-priced home use cardio trainer which impresses with its core features. The 22 workouts, 20 levels of magnetic resistance and DualTrack LCD window system provide you with a very effective workout. It lacks such higher specs as auto incline and dual action handlebars, which are features aimed at more advanced trainers. As a result, we recommend the Nautilus E614 as a great investment for beginner to intermediate level home fitness users.