Schwinn 430 vs 470 – Which is the Best Elliptical for you?

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Schwinn has a great reputation for producing some of the best quality and best value elliptical trainers for use at home. In this post, we will help you to decide between two of their most popular models by comparing the Schwinn 430 vs 470. 

They are both great home fitness machines and would be a great addition to any home gym. But, the chances are that you are only looking to buy one so which is best out of the Schwinn 470 vs Schwinn 430? Read on to find out.

Schwinn 470 vs 430 – Quick Verdict

Both of these elliptical trainers are very popular with home exercisers and share many things in common, in fact, when you first look at them you may be hard-pressed to tell them apart. Look a bit closer though and you will see some important differences. 

Firstly, what are the similarities between the Schwinn 430 and 470? Well, the Schwinn 430 and 470 are both front-driven elliptical exercise machines. Both have a 20-inch stride length, a 3-speed fan, a charging station for your phone and a 2 window LCD display. 

The 470 elliptical machine is a couple of hundred dollars more though so clearly there is some extra kit involved to allow Schwinn to charge a bit more for what they consider a more premium machine. 

One of the key differences is the fact that the 470 has a backlit console. This makes it so much easier to see the onscreen stats and controls than it is on the 430.

The 470 has a motorized ramp, 5 more resistance levels and it allows you to store data for up to four different users (the 430 only allows two). On top of these features, you get an extra 7 workout programs on the Schwinn 470 vs 430.

Do you really need these features? Are they worth the extra? Maybe, but maybe not.

For most users, the 430 elliptical machine will provide everything that you need for a workout. The biggest difference between the two is the ability to change the incline from the console of the 470 during your workout thanks to the motorized ramp.

This is a great feature as it means that you don’t have to interrupt your workout to make the adjustment. For a lot of people, this is a feature worth paying for.

But, if you don’t think that you will use this regularly then you are mainly paying the extra dollars to get a nicer screen and better entertainment options. It is definitely a far clearer screen and it is nice to be able to see the stats clearly whilst sweat pours down your face but many people will not think it worth the extra.

 

 

Schwinn 430 Elliptical Review

The Schwinn Elliptical has a fairly unique design when compared to those of other manufacturers. The reason for this is the fact that there is a leveler and stability bar in the middle of the elliptical machine.

This is a nice design feature that ensures that you have a nice steady ride throughout your workout. We will now run through some of the other standout features of the 430.

What we like about the Schwinn 430

Smooth Runnings – The 430 has a high-speed inertia perimeter weighted flywheel. This provides a smooth, natural revolution each time you exercise. There is no unsteadiness or jerkiness, just a nice free-flowing exercise when you workout on this machine.

Easy to get on– Sometimes, when you try to get on an elliptical, you find that the pedals are set too high to get on easily. Not so with the Schwinn 430. The pedals are set at the perfect height to allow you to get on and off easily.

Plenty of room for your feet– The foot pedals on the 430 are nice and wide, so your feet have enough space to move around without your toes hitting the sides.

Natural Stride – The stride length of the 430 is twenty inches which is a very natural and comfortable distance as it mimics our natural stride. The stride movement also allows you to maintain an upright posture, with ideal spinal alignment. This stride length is one of the reasons to pay a bit more for your elliptical since the budget ellipticals only offer a shorter stride pattern.

Entertainment – It’s a simple thing, but the dual console of the 430 monitor is designed so that you can place a tablet on the console and watch whatever you like whilst working up a sweat.

All important stats – A secondary display screen allows you to keep track of your stats and see your time, distance, speed and calories burned. You can set it up with your name, age, weight and height to get personalized calorie burning and other feedback. The 430 allows you to set up profiles for two people.

On the Pulse – the handgrips of the 430 feature pulse sensors so that you can keep track of your training heart rate. We did notice that this wasn’t all that accurate and cut out some of the time. Don’t panic, your heart is surely still beating!

Quiet, but with great speakers – No one wants an exercise machine that is noisy. Upsetting the neighbours and family isn’t what this is about. So we are pleased to report that the operation of the 430 is nice and quiet. If you aren’t around other people and want to make some noise you can crank up the excellent quality speakers and listen to your favourite music.  

Train in Comfort– Working out is hot work so you will be sure to appreciate the cooling breeze provided by the in-built fan. You can tilt it to the right angle to make sure that you are getting cooled down where you need it most. 

Adjustable Incline – You do get an incline adjustment with the 430, it is just that you need to do it manually (unlike on the 470). While it is manual, it is no bother as the controls are pretty simple. There are six different levels that can be changed by moving a handle. You will have to get off to do this so there will be a brief moment to catch your breath!

Track your Training – The 430 comes equipped with Schwinn Connect goal tracking which can be linked to an app on your phone. This will give you a detailed analysis of your workout and show you how well you are progressing towards your goals. By teaming with the myfitnesspal app, you can also analyze your nutritional intake.

Dual handlebars – the 430 provides you with two sets of handles. One is a set ove moving handles that mimics the natural stride motion of your feet. The other set of handlebars is set in a fixed position so that you can rest your arms when you want to focus on a lower body workout.

 

What we don’t like about the Schwinn 430

There is a lot to love about the Schwinn 430, but we have identified a few drawbacks.

Console is not Backlit – The screen on the Schwinn 430 can be quite hard to read as it is not lit up. It will depend on how well lit your room is and the angle of sunlight etc but it can be hard to read at times which is annoying

Manual Adjustment of Incline – If you like to change the incline a lot then you may get bored of having to jump on and off the machine to make the adjustment. If this is the case, keep reading as the 470 doesn’t have this issue.

Pulse Monitor – The handheld heart rate sensors on the 430 do not give a very accurate reading of your pulse rate. They aren’t a million miles off but if you are trying to keep within a range and monitor this closely you may need to look at measuring your heart rate with another device.

Schwinn 470 Elliptical Review

The Schwinn 470 is a top of the range, premium piece of home exercise equipment. It has proved to be very popular with owners as you can see from these reviews. In this section, we will take a deeper dive into what makes the Schwinn 470 great (and not so great).

What we like about the Schwinn 470

Great Display Screen– The console of the 470 benefits from having a backlit screen. This makes it really easy to read your training stats whilst you are exercising. This is an area where the 470 shines when compared with the 430 (almost literally!)

Easy Strider – A longer stride length means that you will use more muscles, burn more calories and have an overall better workout stretching your glutes and hamstrings. The 470 has a 20 inch stride which is perfect for a natural stride and better than most home ellipticals. It is the same as the 430 so in this regard, the 430 vs 470 battle is tied. 

Auto Incline –  The 470 has a motorized ramp which is quite an advanced feature for a home elliptical and a clear area where the 470 trumps the 430. It means that you can instantly adjust the angle of the incline from the console without having to interrupt your work out by getting off the elliptical.

Comfy Feet – The 470 has nicely cushioned foot pedals that are big enough to allow your feet to move about whilst you are exercising. The deals are closer together than you find on a lot of ellipticals. This is a much more natural position and reduces the strain on your hip.

Charge It Up– The 470 comes with a USB charging point so that you can charge up you phone or tablet whilst exercising. This also means that you can watch movies or listen to music without worrying that your battery will run out of energy before you do. 

How’s Progress? – The 470 works with the Schwinn Connect fitness app so that you can upload all of your training data to your tablet or phone.  You get a whole load of useful data that is really good for motivating you to meet your fitness goals. The Schwinn Connect app can connect to myfitnesspal, which allows you to monitor your nutritional progress.

So Many Workouts – There are 29 built-in exercise programs with the Schwinn 470, including 12 pre-set heart rate programs, two fitness tests, a recovery test and four custom programs. It’s like having your own personal training guiding you through your exercise regime.

Connectivity – The latest version of the 470 comes with Bluetooth connectivity so you can use your portable devices without needing to plug them in. You can also Sync with the free downloadable Run Social App and run through 19 locations with 27 routes alongside people from all over the world in real-time or use the Explore the World app which adjusts your pace as you explore some stunning landscapes from around the world on your phone or tablet.

Resistance – The 470 gives you 25 levels of magnetic resistance which gives you loads of scope to increase the intensity of your training as your fitness improves. If you work out regularly you will soon find that your strength and fitness rapidly improves and you will be keen to challenge yourself by upping the difficulty settings. 

Dual Handlebars – Like the 430, the Schwinn 470 has two sets of handlebars.One that moves along with your strides, so that you can work on both your upper and lower body. The second set is stationary for when you want to only work your lower body.

What we don’t like about the Schwinn 470

Unreliable heart rate monitor– The handheld sensor that measures your heart rat whilst active is not that great and gives a lower reading than other fitness trackers. It is a shame that Schwinn did not include an external chest strap for monitoring heart rate, as they have done with the Schwinn 170 upright bike. 

Dancing Display – The display screen is one of the big differences between the Schwinn 470 and Schwinn 430. Overall the one on the 470 is better but we weren’t so keen on the way that it constantly switches back and forth between the different display screens. It means you see everything, but you can’t watch a certain factor constantly throughout your exercise. 

Heavy Lifting – The Schwinn 470 is really heavy, tipping the scales at 163 pounds. If you plan to move the machine around a lot this could be a bit of an issue as it will be a hassle and maybe a struggle to move it around. If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated space to keep it in, this won’t really be an issue and you can rest assured that the weight is down to the solid construction. 

As you can see the 470 is a pretty serious piece of kit but is it worth the extra money compared to the 430? Keep reading our Schwinn elliptical 430 vs 470 comparison to find out.

If you are in the market for a compact elliptical you might also like to consider the Bowflex Max Trainer M6 or Bowflex Max Trainer M9. Those links will take you to our reviews of each or you could check out my Bowflex M6 vs M9 comparison.

Schwinn Elliptical 430 vs 470 – Key Differences

By now you should have a good idea of what each of the machines has to offer, and we have pointed out some of the differences in the descriptions above. Now we need to sum up our Schwinn 470 vs 430 elliptical comparison and deliver a verdict of whether the Schwinn 470 is better than the 430 and worth the extra dollars.

We will briefly highlight the key differences again so that it is clear where one of the 470 vs 430 is superior to the other. 

Incline – The Schwinn 470 has automatic adjustment of incline. This means that you can increase the intensity of your work out without needing to stop and adjust the machine like you do with the 430. 

If you are cross-training you may find the auto-adjust feature useful, but we don’t think that it is absolutely essential. But undoubtedly it is better than having a manual adjustment so clearly the 470 is better than the 430 when it comes to incline adjustment.

Resistance – The Schwinn 470 has 25 levels of resistance compared to just 20 levels of resistance for the 430. It is important to note that the maximum resistance level is the same on both machines, it’s just that there are a few extra levels on the 470. 

Given this fact we do not think that this is a very important difference and most people will be perfectly happy with 20 levels of resistance. More resistance levels allow you to fine-tune your workout and have a more precise level of resistance and a more gradual increase in difficulty. But 20 is still pretty good which is why we don’t think this is a deal breaker.

Connectivity – If you like the idea of immersive training then the 470 has better connectivity and you can use cool apps like Explore the World to make your training more enjoyable.

Workout Programs –  The 470 offers a few extra workout programs: 29 compared with 22 for the Schwinn 430. 22 seems like plenty to us and most users will be perfectly happy with that, but of course, 29 is a bit better.

Console Display – The Schwinn 470 has a bright and clear backlit display, whilst the 430 does not. This is one of the big points of difference as it is far easier to read the screen on the 470 and you can see the display from a variety of angles and in all lighting conditions. 

Multiple Users– Both units allow you to set up user profiles that offer personalized data and monitoring of progress. The difference between the 470 and the 430 is that the more expensive 470 allows you to set up 4 profiles rather than just 2 on the 430. 

This is a useful feature to have so if you expect to share your machine with several friends or family members the 470 is your best bet. 

Schwinn 430 vs 470 – The Verdict

We hope that you have enjoyed reading our Schwinn 430 vs 470 elliptical comparison. 

Both are excellent elliptical machines. They look great (and very similar) and are really well-built so should last well. They offer lots of functionality and comfort and you will be able to have a great workout on either machine. 

The 430 has enough features to please most home users, there are 22 workout programs, 20 levels of resistance, and a high speed weighted flywheel. 

It is always worth checking the prices as you may be able to grab a bargain on either of these machines, but at the time of writing the 470 is about $200 more than the 430.

The main difference is that the Schwinn 470 allows you to automatically adjust the incline during your workout and it has a better, brighter screen. It also has better connectivity so that you can enjoy an immersive workout. If these features are important to you then they are probably worth the extra money. 

If you are happy to jump off and adjust the incline and don’t mind squinting at the screen, then you can save yourself some cash and get the Schwinn 430. It will still give you a great workout but will leave you with a bit of extra money in the bank.