The Body Champ BRM3671 Cardio Dual Trainer is a stationary bike and an elliptical trainer in one piece of home fitness equipment.  It is our experience that fitness equipment that tries to combine two types of equipment doesn’t do that good a job with either one. However, the manufacturer, as you would expect claims that they have solved this problem to be able to provide two pieces of exercise equipment that can both give you a great workout.

This is a popular machine for those people looking to save on the expense of costly home exercise equipment when working out in their own home. It offers feature such 10 workout programs, adjustable seat horizontally and vertically and a walk through design. But, does it live up the promise of the manufacturer or is it a jack of all trades and master of none when it comes to providing a way to exercise at home?

Specifications

• Dimensions: 39 x 24 x 12.5 inches
• Visual Display: Yes
• Resistance Levels: 10
• Weight: 90 lbs
• Weight Capacity: 275 lbs
• Stride Length: 14-Inch
• Warranty: Limited – Frame: 1 Year, Parts: 90 days

The Pros

Flexible: This is a great feature of this trainer. You can use it as an elliptical trainer on day one and as an exercise bike on day two, or even use both on the same day in the same session. This is appealing as the different forms of exercises use  different muscles leading to better all round results

Gym memberships are expensive and buying home fitness equipment can help avoid this and is an attractive idea to many. It makes good sense to get as much bang for your buck as you can and buying a dual trainer for less than $400 (or below $300 when discounted) certainly fits the bill. This dual trainer resistance levels are tough, so you can definitely get a proper work out using this machine.

Cost: It would be very difficult to buy both an elliptical trainer and an exercise bike for less than the price of this dual trainer. And you would probably find that you would have to give up a certain level of quality to get the total cost to be below the full price of it. You can get this trainer at less than $300 when discounted and this appeals to a lot of people when they are getting together their home gym particularly those who are on a tight budget. It makes for a good buy for those getting started and you get some variety in your exercise routine which will help to avoid boredom while they workout.

Weight: This is a very light piece of equipment weighing in at 90 lbs. This makes it very easy to move the machine around for storage and getting it to the best place for exercising. But see below for some concerns caused by the lightness.

Assembling: It comes with simple to follow instructions and this coupled with it being lightweight make it an easy job to put together. Most people have said they can get it up and running in around 1.5 hours from unpacking it.

The Cons

Length Of Stride: Some people will find the stride length of 14 inches to short for them. If you are 5’5″ or under you may be OK with this length, but people over this height talk about it feeling uncomfortable and find it difficult to get used to the restricted length.
Most gym machines have a length of stride of at least 20 inches.  This issue is far more apparent when using it as an exercise bike, because there are many elliptical trainers on the market for home use that have a similar stride length to this. People who are over 6′ tall are probably not going to feel very restricted because of this.

Sturdy: As was noted above when a machine has been designed to be light it can cause other issues in particular the sturdiness of the machine. If you weigh over 200 lbs or you are looking to push yourself hard this machine is not really designed for this intensity of exercise. It is OK for moderate exercise.  It starts to wobble at higher speeds and tightening bolts, nut and screws does not help. Some well made stabilizing bars would help in maintaining the balance and preventing the wobble without affecting the weight too much.

Level Of Resistance: The resistance levels start off tough which is surprising considering it is a lightweight machine and can be seen as a suitable machine for a beginner. For beginners it is normal to have a resistance level that makes it easy to get started and then they can increase the resistance as they feel up to it.  The lowest level of resistance is fairly tough which can be disheartening for a beginner and also not very helpful when you are doing your warm up and warm down routines.

Should You Buy The Body Champ BRM3671 Cardio Dual Trainer? 

Dual trainers have a number of benefits and this trainer is definitely one of the top ones available. For those who are just getting started on home fitness and equipment and on a budget will be able to find value in buying a dual trainer where you get two machines in one. You get a variety of exercise types with this machine and it is to simple to set up and can give you a tough workout at moderate speeds. It is also lightweight making it easy to move around.

It is worth noting that the stride length is not really suited for people over 6′ in height or who do not have the leg strength to overcome the resistance. In these cases it is worth looking at some alternative exercise equipment that will be better suited to their requirement. The Body Champ BRM3671 Cardio Dual Trainer is not really suitable for the serious athlete but for someone beginning their fitness regimen or those looking for moderate exercise it is worth considering.

• Related post: Livestrong LS10.0E Elliptical Trainer Review