Stride length and flywheel mass, before any programme count
A cross trainer is bought for joints and judged on two figures that most listings bury under a programme count. The first is stride length, in centimetres, and it is the single number that decides whether the machine suits the body using it. A 30 cm stride is a shuffle; 40 cm suits most adults; above 50 cm suits tall users and feels unnatural to short ones. It is published by every maker worth considering, and its absence from a listing is itself informative. The second is the flywheel mass in kilograms, which decides whether the motion is smooth or lurches between pedal strokes. Heavier is smoother, and it is the figure that most separates machines that look identical in photographs. Where the drive sits — rear, front or centre — changes the path of the foot and the length of the machine, and centre-drive designs are the compact ones. Then resistance: the number of levels matters less than whether they are set by a motor or by a manual knob, and whether the brake is magnetic or friction-based. Step-up height is the figure that catches people in rooms with low ceilings, because it adds to the user’s own height on every stroke. And the published user weight, which on this shelf tracks frame quality closely. We compare stride length, flywheel mass, resistance levels, max user weight, footprint and console readings.
Air walker, 76 cm swing, folding
Not an elliptical but an air walker: the feet swing on two arms rather than following a closed path. The published 76 cm is a swing amplitude, not an elliptical stride.
Best for: Low-impact movement in a room where the machine has to disappear entirely
6 kg flywheel, 130 kg, suits 150–185 cm
A magnetic trainer that publishes the user height it suits — 150 to 185 cm — and connects to two named apps, Kinomap and Zwift.
Best for: Somebody who already uses Zwift or Kinomap and wants the machine to connect
Stride 42 cm, 8 kg flywheel, 150 kg
A 42 cm stride with an 8 kg flywheel and a 150 kg capacity, using a contactless magnetic brake and arriving eighty per cent pre-assembled.
Best for: Somebody who wants a long stride without the price of the longest
Stride 40 cm, 159 kg, 90 % pre-assembled
A 40 cm stride at a 159 kg capacity — the second highest here — assembled in a stated twenty minutes from ninety per cent pre-built.
Best for: A heavier user who needs the capacity more than the flywheel figure
Stride 47 cm, suits 1.57–1.95 m, 10 kg flywheel
The longest stride in this family at 47 cm, for users from 1.57 to 1.95 m, on a 10 kg flywheel — and the only machine here to name a TÜV report.
Best for: A tall user who needs the longest stride and the height range to confirm it
Stride 38 cm, 8 kg flywheel, rear drive, 120 kg
A rear-drive machine with an 8 kg precision-balanced flywheel and a 38 cm stride, with a 5.5-inch display and both fixed and moving handles.
Best for: Somebody who wants the flywheel mass and the drive position both stated
Stride 33 cm, suits 1.45–1.78 m, 6 kg flywheel
The shortest stride in this family — 33 cm — published with the user height it suits, from 1.45 to 1.78 m. The pairing is what makes the figure useful.
Best for: A shorter user for whom a long-stride machine would be a stretch
32 levels, 22 programmes, 8 kg flywheel, reversible
A rear-flywheel machine whose wheel turns both ways, with thirty-two resistance levels and twenty-two programmes — the most of either in this family.
Best for: Somebody who wants programmes and a fine resistance ladder more than a published stride
24 kg flywheel, footprint 104 × 53.5 cm, stride 34 cm
The heaviest flywheel in this family by a factor of more than two — 24 kg — and the only machine here to publish its footprint, at 104 × 53.5 cm.
Best for: Somebody who wants flywheel smoothness and needs the footprint measured first
Only the specifications at least four models out of five state. A column that is more empty than full compares nothing.
| Model | Price | Amazon reference | Console readings | Flywheel mass | Footprint |
|---|
Specifications: manufacturer sheets and Amazon product pages. Prices and availability: Keepa. No product on this site has been physically tested.
Most recent revision in this category: September 20, 2026.
