ProForm PRO 12.9 EllipticalProForm Pro 12.9

Web Price: $1,999 | Sale Price: $1,399

Another one of the newer models along with the Pro 16.9, this one has a 7″ web-enabled touch screen, heavy flywheel, 20″ stride and tons of great features, including iFit Coach.

Overall Rating From Elliptical Review Guru: 4.0 / 5.0

Capacity:
Resistance:
375 lbs
26
Stride Length:
FootPrint:
20″ adjustable
66.24″L x 25.5″W x 79.1″H

Click Here To Save On This Popular New Elliptical Now!

Overview: The ProForm SMART Pro 12.9 elliptical is a brand new model in the series, along with the up-level Pro 16.9. Both are packed with great features including web-enabled touch screens, adjustable strides, incline and iFit Coach, among other nice touches. The Pro series is the company’s higher end, with better construction and heavier flywheels, along with stronger warranties than the other machines.

Let’s take a look at some of the best features…

Web-enabled Touchscreen Interface

The 12.9 has a bright, full color 7″ touchscreen with an Android browser so you can surf the web, check your social pages, watch videos or do anything else you like to do online will you work out. You can also access iFit technology, which we discuss below. For your reference, the Pro 16.9 has a 10″ touch screen, which is the only major difference between the two, besides the lengths of the machines.

iFit Technology

The SMART Pro 12.9 features iFit Coach built right into the machine itself. This program, available only on ICON Health brand machines, allows you to track all of your workouts, share with friends, and tap into endless professionally designed workouts on top of the 35 already included on the treadmill. But perhaps the best part of iFit is the ability to choose a destination anywhere in the world via Google maps, and see it unfold right in front of you either on the machine or on your tablet, whichever you choose. There is a yearly fee to use iFit but it is under $100 and well worth it. Plus the SMART machines sometimes come with one free year of iFit built into the price.

Incline Capability

You can easily adjust your incline up to 20 degrees with a touch of a button. This allows you to target different muscle groups and really make the most of your workouts. There are also 26 different resistance levels to vary your workout even further.

Heart Rate Training

One of the neat features included on the ProForm SMART Pro 12.9 as well as the 16.9 is a wireless chest strap that communicates with the machine and gives you a more accurate heart rate reading than just using the grips found on most machines. This helps you stay in your target zone throughout your workout.

Other Nice Features

The SMART Pro 12.9 is fully assembled, so you can take it right out of the box and use it within minutes. It is iPod compatible for your music, an adjustable fan, multi position hand grips, oversized adjustable pedals and transport wheels.

ProForm SMART PRO 12.9 Test Drive

The Pro 12.9 is essentially a shorter version of the 16.9, so we had a similar experience when we tried out this machine. Assembly was quick and easy as indicated. It’s literally three quick steps and you’re up and running. Very cool, especially on a higher quality machine that you would expect to require an extensive setup.

You have 35 different workouts to choose from, plus as we mentioned you can choose hundreds more through iFit. This gives you a lot of variety and you can literally do something different every time you step on the machine…especially with the incline and resistance levels. The heavy flywheel (32 pounds) makes the motion very natural and quiet, and it is very easy to change from one level to the next.

The sound system is pretty solid…we plugged our iPod in and the sound was very good. Playing your favorite tunes while watching the course you choose right in front of you is as close as you can get to actually running outdoors. It’s a great experience.

There is a lot of adjustability which makes the Pro 12.9 a great option for multiple users. You can adjust the stride length, the fan, the pedals and your grip. It’s nice that you can customize your workout so much, especially on a machine in this price range.

Any complaints? Not really. We were spoiled a bit with the 10″ screen on the Pro 16.9, but the 7″ screen here is just fine. Also, it would be nice if you could adjust the incline right on the handlebars rather than having to do it on the display. But that’s just nitpicking. Overall, not much to complain about on the Pro 12.9

Final Thoughts

The new SMART Pro 12.9 is a great addition to the series, giving you everything you could ever want in an elliptical at a very affordable price. You have a web-enabled touch screen, nice incline, a large amount of workouts, iFit technology and a ton of adjustability.

If you’re looking for a great elliptical under $1500, the Pro 12.9 is definitely a great option when it’s on sale with endless features to keep you motivated.