Brenda DyGraf's Mini Strider X

I bought this with the intention of taking it to work to put under my desk but after I used it for the first time at home I knew I wanted to keep it at home as well so I ordered a second one - that is how much I liked this. Even though I cannot adjust the tension I can still really feel the muscles in my thighs burning. I also love that you can open and close from side to side because I can really feel the muscles in my outer thighs firing and then the skating motion really works the inner thighs so I feel like this gives decent muscle movement considering I'm just sitting. I did take a star off because putting this together was rather difficult given the opening for one of the legs wasn't correct and I had to use a hammer to pound it in which bent the bottom part. Are you going to work up a sweat using this, not if you're just sitting going back-and-forth and side to side but I definitely feel my muscles being worked and I'm burning more calories than just sitting alone. Well worth the purchase for me and I can't wait to get my second one to bring to work.

I'm a transcriptionist, so I spend at least ten hours a day sitting at my desk. I've experienced a lot of weight gain not because my eating habits have changed, but because I've been inactive for so long. I considered getting a mini cycle and mini stepper, but the reviews weren't overwhelmingly great. I'm so glad I clicked on the Mini Strider. It's much more reasonably priced than the cycles and steppers. Additionally, there's more movement options than just up and down or back and forth, so more muscles are used.The Strider fits underneath my desk, even with the keyboard drawer pulled out. I'm 5'2", so my legs are shorter; but I am able to perform a lot of the movements even with the limited space under my desk. I read a lot, so that also contributed to the long hours of inactivity. The Strider has helped there because now I'm at least moving. I'm Striding as I write right now!The foot pedals can be difficult to pop in. I attached the pedals to the rods by gently stepping on the pedals (before the rods are attached) where the rod was located under the pedal, being careful not to break the pedal, of course. Then I attached the rods to the unit. It wasn't difficult at all. I just figured out which slots I preferred, stepped carefully, then attached the rods.

at work where a peddler doesn't. It doesn't feel like much of a work out at first, but if I focus on bringing my knees closer to my body it can get a little rough after several minutes. It did squeak a fair amount when I got it. At that volume I could use it at home but not at the office. Easily fixed by rubbing down the pivot points with paraffin wax. The squeaking starts back up after a couple days, so I just keep a candle in my drawer at work to give it a rub down every now and again. Doing anything besides forward and back is quite tiring, and honestly makes my knees ache. So i'll do that a couple times a day, but mostly I just do like a moderate speed with as large of a stride as I can. It's nice though that I can sit and get some kind of a workout while I'm at work though. Whenever I stop for a moment me lower body gets all tingly with blood flow and that's always a nice feeling knowing I'm not just sitting on my ass doing nothing to better myself.

I appreciate the accessibility it allows me to over legs. I keep the mini slim Strider at work, under my desk and it works well. So, my pros/cons are...,PRO- My knees do not hit my desktop, quiet, came with the rubber mat & DVDCONS- Assembly could be easier with better written instructions, only truly portable if you remove footrests (and store those parts while transporting), angle desk so the side to side movements don't hit the sides of desk, No tension, inability to do legŕfoot circles because with both feet at the same time (lack of weight will have the entire strider flip or fall to either side). It is a nice sturdy piece, when assembled and DVD has 5 short, but good motivating workouts. You'll have to be creativeto make it challenging down the road.

I love elliptical machines but they take up too much room. So, I bought this & I haven't had any problems in using it. However, I took away a star because the instruction book was confusing. It had illustrations but it took me a while to actually understand how to put everything together. I also had an issue with the pedals. They didn't snap on like I had assumed. I actually needed help because I thought I was doing something wrong. It took us about an hour (seriously) to try to snap them on. We used industrial lubricant but that didn't help. Eventually we got them to snap. Another issue is the locking key. I put it in so that the machine doesn't close on me but the key/stick eventually falls out after use. I think I'm just going to use a piece of packing tape to hold it in place during use.

I work in a cubicle and wanted to get some more movement in my day while sitting down. This fit perfectly under my desk and it works well as far as being able to swing and move my legs. I read in the previous reviews that it was difficult to get the pedals on. Well whatever they changed the pedals come off too easily now. As much as I do like using it I have to pull it out from under my desk every ten min or so because the pedals have popped off and I need to pop them back on the bars.

Perfect for under my desk. I'm a leg bouncer and this is my new outlet. It's silent, light weight, and works great for my purposes.If you are looking to build up leg muscles or cheat the fitbit, this isn't for you. But if you are looking for a great way to keep those legs in motion while the body is still, give this a try, Great price point too.I have read reviews about how hard it is to put together and I'm going to say this - It's not as hard as some say, but also not the easiest thing I've ever put together. It took us about 25 minutes start to finish. Just make sure you have everything you need before you get started and set it all out in front of you. It makes a difference!

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