While the machine was great when it was new, I slowly started to have problems with it.

As a mechanical engineer, the main issue that I have with this machine is the frame design. In two words, IT SUCKS!!!!

As mentioned by another review, the screws that hold the upper half of the machine to the lower half of the machine become fatigued and break. The reason is because the pivot point for the handles is approximately two thirds of the way up the main neck of the machine. Connected to the handles are both foot "skis" (for lack of a better word) which you stand on and stride back and forth on. So, most of your body weight is transferred to this pivot point, way up high on the main neck of the machine. As you're working out, your weight constantly pushes and pulls on this point way up high on the neck.

The neck of the machine basically acts like a big cantilever beam, which (through mechanical leverage - think of a pry bar used to nails out of a board, the longer the pry bar, the easier it is to remove the nails) magnifies the stresses that are seen where the four bolts attach the neck to the bottom half of the machine. This constant pushing and pulling on these poor four bolts eventually causes the bolts to fatigue, which means they eventually break - causing headaches for you and whoever else uses the machine. Once one bolt gives way, the other 3 aren't far behind because they're now carrying 1/3 of the stress instead of just 1/4th of the stress they were originally carrying.

Once the bolts break, the machine is noisy (squeaks like crazy), flimsy (the neck moves all around inside the lower half of the base of the machine), and nearly unbearable to use.

I've replaced the bolts (there are four that hold the upper half to the lower half) at least six times in the three years that I've owned this machine. Sounds like an easy task right? Wrong! Since the bolts break, you can easily remove the heads of the bolts (they pull right out), but the threaded parts of the bolts are left in the lower half of the machine. So, I have to bring out my drill, and drill out the remaining part of the bolts. This takes about 20-45 minutes per bolt (depending on how sharp my drill bits are at the time). That's about 80 minutes (minimum) of laying on the ground (the bolts are way at the bottom of the front part of the machine) removing bolts. I'm a big guy (6'3", 230 lbs), so this is no easy (or comfortable) task.

When the bolts aren't broken, I'm constantly tightening them. I've tried using a thread locker on the threads, and that doesn't even help. There's just too much stress on the bolts.

I've tried various grades of bolts as well. Hard bolts, soft bolts, medium bolts, combinations, and nothing works! I've given up as I'm only fighting physics at this point, and it's obvious that unless I can somehow change the design of this piece of crud, I can't fix the problem.

It's only a matter of time before the welded nuts on the inside of the lower half of the machine get stripped because I'm drilling the bolts out that have broken off.

Another reviewer had problems assembling the machine. If you're mechanically inclined, it shouldn't be any problem putting this thing together. It comes with all of the "tools" (i.e. cheaply made tools made from stamped sheet metal) that you'll need to put it together. But, you're probably better off with your Craftsman tool kit (be sure you have metric tools as you'll need 'em). You will need some help getting it out of the crate though as it's fairly heavy and cumbersome to move around without someone holding the other end (most of the weight is in the flywheel). If you can follow directions, and turn a wrench, you shouldn't have any problems.

The only other problem that I had with this machine is that the rubber belt inside the flywheel area once came off. It took me a while to figure out what happened, but I pulled the fly wheel cover off and was able to put the belt back on it's track. Not sure how it popped off (I think it was because of a sudden direction transfer - i.e. going forward and quickly transitioning to going in reverse). Slow down before changing directions, and you should be OK.

I only wish that I had been able to try this thing out in a store before I bought it. Don't get me wrong, when the machine is working, it works great. But, sooner or later, if you haven't had to replace the bolts, you will. I'm sure if you're a smaller person (under 150 lbs.) you can get quite a bit of use out of this machine before you ever get to that point. But, since I'm a larger guy (and I'm not the only person that uses the machine - my girlfriend also uses it), there's just nothing I can do to prevent the problems that I described above.

Bottom line? Keep your money. Spend a little bit more on a better machine. Unless you own a stock in a bolt company or like fixing things because of cruddy design, find something else. You'll be happy you did. I'll be selling my Smooth CE before I move into my new house. Although, I'm sure now that I've written this review, I won't be able to give it away.

Recommended:
No