The E95S is Sole’s newest addition to their elliptical lineup. With this model, they basically took their highly popular E95 and made it even more impressive by adding a heavier flywheel and a heavier duty frame.
Oh yea, they also added power adjustable stride length, giving you the ability to change the stride length during your workout with the push of a button.
This is a nice feature because you can tailor the stride length to fit you perfectly, regardless of your height.
And with a sales price just under $2000, the Sole E95S is a serious contender for the title of best home elliptical, period.
This review will provide you with an in-depth look of all the key specs and features this elliptical has to offer. After reading, you’ll now everything you need to know in order to decide whether or not this is the right elliptical for your home gym.
The Sole E95S Elliptical
It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Sole Fitness. I’m only bias because they come out with the best products. I like that they don’t waste a lot of time on frivolous features. Instead, they focus on the stuff that matters- performance.
Sole offers an extensive lineup up cardio equipment. They mostly focus on treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes, but they do offer a rower and even a cardio climber.
The brand is known for high-quality products that won’t break the bank. Common features include heavy-duty frames, robust motors, heavy flywheels, and generous warranties.
Sole products don’t usually come with massive workout libraries, just the basics. But their machines are highly effective at providing good workouts and lasting for years.
The E95S is their newest and most advanced elliptical trainer to date. For info on how all the different Sole models compare, check out my Sole elliptical guide.
Pros
- 30 lb flywheel
- Power adjustable stride length (18″ – 24″)
- 10 pre-programmed workouts
- 15 levels of magnetic resistance
- Bluetooth speakers
- Bluetooth compatibility with fitness apps
- USB charging port
- Multi-grip handlebars
- Custom designed pedals for added comfort
- 10.1″ LCD display
- Chest strap heart rate monitor included
- Integrated tablet holder
- Resistance and step length buttons on moving handles
- 400 lb max weight capacity
- Awesome warranty
Cons
- No adjustable incline
Stride Length
Stride length is easily the most important spec you should consider when looking at a new elliptical. That’s because this number tells you a lot about how comfortable the machine is gonna be for ya during your workouts.
To make sure we’re all talking about the same thing- the stride length is how far the foot pedals move front to back during use. This distance is measured in inches.
The gold standard for quality home ellipticals is 20″. It’s been shown that machines with a 20″ stride length are capable of fitting most people of average heights comfortably.
If the stride length is too short or too long for you, your workout is going to suffer.
Too short and you’ll feel like you’re marching in place. Too long and you’ll feel like you’re having to stretch too far to reach the pedals. Both situations suck.
The Sole E95S comes with an adjustable stride length, meaning you can change the stride length automatically by pushing a button on the console.
You can set the stride length between 18″ and 24″.
This is wide range. With this much room to adjust, the E95S should be able to comfortably fit any user, especially the taller folks. If you’re under 5′ tall, the lowest setting of 18″ could be a little long. Otherwise though, this elliptical will fit all shapes and sizes.
The adjustable stride length can also be used during workouts to target different muscle groups or based on speed- longer stride lengths are usually used with higher speeds.
For more info on finding the proper stride length, check out this article.
Not only is the stride length easily adjustable, but this elliptical is rock solid too. The frame is constructed with high-grade welded steel, allowing this elliptical to safely accommodate users weighing up to 400 lb.
The elliptical itself weighs about 265 lb fully assembled. This is heavy for a home elliptical, but that’s a good thing (not when it comes to moving it) because it makes for a more sturdy base.
You won’t have to worry about the E95S feeling flimsy or wobbling during use- just ain’t gonna happen.
Overall, this elliptical scores very highly with a power adjustable stride length. Few home ellipticals offer this, which is unfortunate because it’s a great feature. The rock solid frame and high weight capacity are almost unmatched in this price range.
Flywheel
I like to examine the flywheel next because that’s another important spec to consider when it comes to the comfort and “feel” of an elliptical.
Most ellipticals use weighted flywheels to create the resistance, just like spin bikes. And like it is with spin bikes, heavier is usually considered better.
As you pedal, these flywheels spin. The more weight you have, the more momentum the flywheel builds up. This momentum actually helps the pedals go around a little, thus reducing any lag or gaps in the pedal cycle.
That’s why heavier flywheels usually create smoother operation. Heavier flywheels should also theoretically provide more overall resistance (after all, you’re pushing against more weight).
Twenty pounds is usually considered the cutoff for high quality home ellipticals. At this weight, the flywheel is usually heavy enough to provide a smooth workout.
Keeping this in mind, the E95S comes with a 30 lb flywheel.
This is a lot of muscle under the hood.
With a flywheel this heavy, the E95S isn’t going to have any problems providing a silky smooth pedal stroke. And with 15 levels of quiet magnetic resistance at your disposal, this elliptical should be able to challenge event the most gifted athletes.
The only thing missing on the E95S is the ability to adjust the incline angle. My guess would be that Sole had to eliminate that feature to get the power adjustable stride length working appropriately.
So, no inclines, but I think it’s worth it for the power adjustable stride length.
Overall, the E95S scores highly in the flywheel department too. The massive 30 lb flywheel should ensure smooth workouts as well as provide enough resistance to challenge folks at any fitness level.
Features
The Sole E95S Elliptical comes with the following features:
10.1″ LCD console- this elliptical comes with a large display making it easy to see all workout stats and make selections. This isn’t a touchscreen, so all selections are still made through the push buttons on the console.
10 built-in workout programs- this isn’t a ton of workouts to choose from, but it’s everything you need to get the job done. Workouts include 6 standard (hill, fat burn, etc), 2 custom, and 2 heart rate based.
Bluetooth speakers- I’m glad to see that fitness equipment finally joined in on the bluetooth speaker frenzy. With these built-in bluetooth speakers, you can easily listen to your smart phone or tablet without having to worry about any wired connections.
Fitness app compatibility- you can download the free Sole fitness app for fitness tracking. You can also share data with the following fitness apps: Fitbit, Apple Health, Mapmyrun, and Record.
Custom designed pedals- not only are the foot pedals are large and textured, but Sole patterned with a physical therapist (nice!) to help design them for optimal comfort. The pedals have a 2° inward slope to reduce chances of ankle and knee discomfort during use. To make things even better, you can adjust the position of the foot pedals for optimal comfort.
Multi-grip handlebars- the large handlebars offer several grip positions, giving you the ability to target different upper body muscles during your workouts.
Integrated tablet holder- the tablet holder is located above the console, making it easy for you to watch your tablet without blocking your view of the display.
USB charging port- the charging port allows you to charge your devices during your workouts. PS- a USB cord isn’t included, you’ll have to use your own.
Cooling fan- the built-in fan will help keep ya comfortable during those more strenuous workouts.
Chest strap heart rate monitor included- not only is this elliptical compatible with wireless heart rate monitors, but Sole even includes a chest strap with purchase.
Assembly
Putting the E95S together is a fairly straightforward ordeal. Sole does a decent job with the assembly manual, but there is some room for improvement.
I like that they provide a large image of all the hardware for each step, but they do this for all the steps before you start assembling.
It would be nice if they provided the hardware image for each step while you’re on that step. Also, there’s a lot going on in each step- it would be easier to follow if they had broken the procedure down into more steps with less happening in each one.
That said, if you’re good at paying attention to detail, you should be able to get the job done without too much headache.
All of the necessary tools are included (couple wrenches, a screwdriver, and an Allen wrench).
Keep in mind how heavy this machine is- this bad boy weighs 265 lb fully assembled. It would be nice to have another set of hands available simply due to the weight of this unit.
Warranty
The Sole E95S Elliptical comes with the following warranty:
- Lifetime frame
- 5 year parts
- 5 year electronics
- 2 year labor
This is a great warranty for this elliptical, no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. I can’t think of anyway this guarantee could be improved on.
You can’t beat lifetime on the frame and 5 years is about as good as it gets when it comes to parts. Even the 2 year labor warranty is better than most.
Overall, a grand slam in the warranty department.
Final Thoughts
There’s really no debating the fact that the E95S is a nice elliptical. This machine is packing impressive numbers in all the areas that really matter.
I love the heavy flywheel and awesome warranty, but it’s the power adjustable stride length that really stands out. This is the feature that sets this elliptical apart from most of the other ellipticals on the market.
There just aren’t that many ellipticals offering it. And it’s such a convenient feature, especially for homes with multiple users (even more so if those users aren’t the same height).
The only thing missing is the adjustable incline. To me, it’s a good trade, but if you want an elliptical with this feature, the E95S isn’t for you (but the Sole E95 may be).
It’s also lacking in the workout department, with only 10 workouts to choose from. Personally, I’m ok with this, but if you want a more extensive workout library, this may not be the right option for ya.
With a sale price under $2000, I think the E95S is one of the best elliptical deals around. I might even go as far to say that this is the best home elliptical available to date. Highly recommended.
