ProForm Exercise Bike - Dead at Less Than A Year

Mon, December 18, 2006 — Category: Advocacy

After less than a year, my ProForm exercise bike has malfunctioned and the console no longer works

ProForm XP 90 Exercise Bike - Dead at age 3/4 of a Year. This one gets filed under “consumer advocacy”, last April 2006 I purchased the ProForm XP 90 exercise bicycle at Sears for $299.

Cheap(ly Made)

“Not a bad price” I said to myself as I ordered it online. After having had the Elliptical trainer for more than 2 years with no complaints but an abnormal amount of squeaking, I decided again to buy ProForm. However, I will never buy from that company again after my recent phone call with their service department

ProForm Exericse Bike - Broken after 8 Months

I don’t care that it only has a 90-day manufacturer’s warranty - if the product breaks in 8 months time so it’s unusable, then I should get a replacement part free. After explaining that the bike’s computer console malfunctioned for the past month and half, and finally died last night, they wanted $200 for a replacement console - on a $300 piece of equipment.

ProForm Values “Extended Warranties” Over Quality

I explained to them, that as a customer, what they are telling is to “never, ever buy ProForm products again.” And their representative refused to let me discuss it with a supervisor, then changing her story that I had actually gone through improper channels (the 800 number on the proform web site)…and should’ve called another 800 number from the user manual.

Bottom Line - Buy Schwinn Instead of ProForm

The bottom line is, while ProForm Exercise equipment is cheap, and somewhat attractive, plan on buying a new bike or exercise machine within the year. My recommendation is to forget about ProForm unless you get it free from a neighbor or friend, and look into spending an extra $100 on a better quality piece of equipment, Schwinn is one that comes to mind for exercise bikes.

For the Price of an “Extended Warranty” - I Could’ve Had a Schwinn

I could’ve spend $100 on a 1-year warranty, which would’ve *barely* saved me in this case since it was under 1 year. But that doesn’t make much sense - forget “extended warranties” and buy a better bike.

7 Comments »

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Comment by Steve

September 14, 2007 @ 6:50 pm

WHAT A PIECE OF SH_T!! DO NOT BUY PRO-FORM OR BUY FROM SEARS!! THEY KNEW WHAT THEY SOLD PEOPLE.

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Comment by ed croxford

November 25, 2007 @ 12:00 pm

Agreed.. My xp90 console just died…i’ve only used it a few times in the last 2 years… Definately Junk. I will not purchase at sears again or a ProForm product…. Is this made in america junk or made in china junk.

Thanks for letting me rant.

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Comment by Dana

March 11, 2008 @ 3:40 pm

I agree! I bought this p o s bike, I moved it 80 miles.
When we got it home it just didn’t work anymore.
Sears wanted more to come out to service it then the bike almost cost. Bad move by me!!!

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Comment by dohfiddle

July 14, 2008 @ 3:49 pm

yeah sounds like a crock,thanks for the warning

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Comment by Marie S. M

January 25, 2009 @ 3:40 pm

I wish that I read these reviews before I got the Pro-form XP90 last year. It last only 9 months and it broke - the right pedal just fell off and it was the end of it - thought a $400.00 bike on sale for $329.00 + taxes would be a good one, but you are talking about a “ripe off” thanks God I did not buy
the Sears warranty. I will know to do my research next time.

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Comment by J. Evans

May 22, 2009 @ 12:26 am

Sorry to hear so many complaints… there are bound to be bad apples and defects in every product line, but what really bothers me is the treatment that the customer service gave the reviewer was very unfair. I don’t know if I’m just one of the lucky ones or if the reviewer just got a defective console, but I have had my xp90 for 3 years know and it works just as well now as it did the first day I bought it. For me this has been a very reliable machine that has served me very well. I use it 4-5 days a week (when I’m keeping up like I should) and I use it for about 30 min to 1hour each work out. I usually just use the manual programming, but I’ve also used the preprogram menu in the past and that is a very effective work out. My only complaint is that if you’re not going to use it for a prolonged period of time you should remove the batteries because they will burn out just the same even if you don’t use the bike- just not as fast; but as long as you don’t use the big blue backlight the batteries last a very long time.

Again, I’m sorry to hear about the bad experience a few of you had, but my bike is one of the very best deals I’ve gotten in a long time. I could have paid 3 or 4 hundred more for one of those overpriced monsters, but instead I bought this and I’m very glad I did. I saved a chunk of change and after 3 years it shows no signs of wearing out. If it last me several more years then I think it was well worth it- instead of paying $800 for something that could break down just as easily. The bottom line is I’m much healthier now than I was 3 years ago!

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Comment by Kat Ambrose

June 8, 2009 @ 3:59 pm

I bought a pro-form XP from Sears in October 2006. I was smart enough to buy the 2 year repair warrenty. The console died after about 1.5 years. It was replaced free. Now it’s dead again. Sears says $100 for repair guy and approx $180 for new console. Terrible…I hate to waste a huge piece of equipment, but I might as well buy a new bike. Why so much to replace the console?

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