Octane Fitness Xride XR6ce Seated Elliptical Cross Trainer

I purchased my xride locally after going into a brick and mortar store looking for a new treadmill. Having always been a treadmill guy, I wasn't really thinking I would really go with an eliptical but I did like the feel of the Octane products they had displayed. Very smooth, heavy duty, and offered a variety of workouts modes. Then I hopped on the "sit down" eliptical and I was hooked. Like the stand ups, it was smooth, quiet, and heavy duty. I am 6' 3" and about 210 (220 at the time I got the xride) and like exercise equipment that doesn't move when I am on it (like some of the cheaper machines. This one isn't cheap but I was willing to invest in something I could get years of use out of (plus I had a coupon for the brick and mortar which made the price less painful).I had it delivered and it took them about a half hour to set up. If you were going to do it yourself, it did look fairly straight foward. It is heavy, so you would want two people to help move the boxes around. It is about the same length as a treadmill or stand up eliptical, and width (at least where the arm levers stick out). It has rollers so that once set up you can move it easily with in the room. I put mine on a rubber mat.The question everyone usually asks is, other then the arm levers, what makes it that much different from a recumbent bike. I can only say that the motion of the pedals to me is much smoother, especially once resistance is introduced (1-20 settings) and I like the full size "pedals" which your whole foot goes on. The seat adjusts both up/down (16 positions) and has 5 recline postions. You can use the pedals, pedal/arm levers/ or arm levers alone.I generally use the pedals alone. I rotate the seat through a few postion that I have found comforatable, but work the legs a bit differently. Console is decent (I got the plainest one). Hasn't given me any back or leg problems, and in fact I broke my 5th metatarsal 5 weeks ago and have been using this machine thru out as it puts almost no strain on my foot. Had I not had this I would have been unable to work out on anything else.I am down about 10 pounds since I got the unit (last July) and it has fit nicely into my lifting rountine. I wanted to keep muscle and cut fat and this has helped. I can either workout intensely on this machine or on off days just do a warm up type pace instead. Biggest thing I can say about this machine is I do not ever dread it. There are days I can put on the music and focus on getting an intense workout, but other days I am not some motivated (but know I need to work out) I can watch TV when on it, play games on my phone, surf the web on the phone, etc...... all while getting a workout. If you have a tablet computer I think that would likely work fine to. It has been those extra days of use (or extra minutes as I have got focused on a game and didn't notice I was 10-20 minutes over the time I planned on stopping) that have been the most beneficial to me.Overall very pleased with the unit and would highly recommend it to others. Just keep in mind I would shop around for the best price, but it is a commercial quality unit and worth the little extra if you are serious about using it over time.