Horizon 7.0 AE Elliptical Review – 2023

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Last Updated: February 28, 2023

The Horizon 7.0 AE Elliptical is the premium elliptical in Horizon’s lineup. It provides a classic elliptical experience and a nice 20” long stride length. For those preferring a more un-plugged experience, the 7.0 AE doesn’t require a subscription and has built-in workout programs to choose from, or you can do your own thing. For those wanting some entertainment, you can place your phone or tablet on the rack and stream whatever you want. This elliptical is also a great budget pick. Keep reading to find out more about the Horizon 7.0 AE Elliptical, in our spec review.

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Why Trust Our Review Of The Horizon 7.0 AE Elliptical

While we don’t have the Horizon 7.0 AE Elliptical in our studio yet, we’ve spent time using other equipment from the brand. The Horizon 7.8 AT and T101 treadmills are some of our favorite treadmills to use. We also have extensive experience testing other comparable ellipticals like the NordicTrack 14.9, ProForm HIIT H14, and Sole E35. We have years of experience testing and creating reviews of all kinds of fitness equipment, so we’re bringing that expertise to the forefront in this spec review of the Horizon 7.0 AE.

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In-depth Review of Horizon 7.0 AE Elliptical

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Pre-Programmed Workouts

In our experience using the Horizon 7.8AT and Horizon T101 treadmills, they include built-in workouts that don’t require wifi or a subscription. Many elliptical machines, and fitness equipment in general nowadays, offer trainer-led content that you have to pay a monthly fee for. The Horizon 7.0 AE doesn’t, which is helpful if you’re looking to save some money.

There are 8 built-in program modes. These include 5k, calorie, custom, distance, fat burn, hill climb, manual, and target heart rate. This way you can follow along with structured workouts, and create your own. You can also do your own thing in manual mode and adjust the elliptical as you go. Compared to other equipment, this is a fair amount of workout programs.

Console

The console has less tech than other models such as the NordicTrack 14.9, but it isn’t lacking in functionality. There are plenty of adjustment buttons on the console, and a 7” LCD screen to see your stats and selected mode. As far as buttons, there are individual buttons to select whatever workout program you want. There are quick adjustment buttons for the resistance and incline, as well. Quick-touch buttons like these are our favorites on ellipticals and treadmills because they allow you to easily do interval training and they make using the machine overall more intuitive and streamlined.

So, even though there isn’t a touch screen, we don’t think you’ll miss it.

There is a device rack to place your phone or tablet on, however. This means that you can stream or read whatever you want. The ledge to place your device is just below the LCD screen, so when you use it, your device will cover the screen. There are some window displays beneath the rack so you should still be able to see metrics like your current speed and time.

The Horizon 7.0 AE has a cupholder for your water, built-in speakers, and a fan. While we’re unsure of how effective the fan and loud the speakers are since we don’t have this in our studio yet, we’re happy to see them included on the console. The speakers are Bluetooth-enabled so you can pair your device with them to play your own music, which is awesome and much appreciated.

Construction Quality & Durability

As far as the construction, we’re pretty impressed with what we see. Even though this elliptical is pretty affordable, it has some great specs. For starters, this isn’t a small or lightweight machine. It’s 76” long and weighs close to 200 lbs (194 to be exact). So, the 7.0 AE is heavy and probably challenging to move around. It does have a handle built into the frame at the rear to help with moving, though.

Frame

The SixStar frame doesn’t fold up, so the 7.0 AE is best to use in a designated space. It has the same frame type as the Horizon EX-59 Elliptical. The steel frame helps contribute to the overall weight and durability. Most fitness equipment is made out of steel, so we assume the 7.0 AE will feel stable and solid.

It also is rated to handle up to 325 lbs, so we anticipate that this elliptical is a pretty hearty workhorse, like other equipment from Horizon.

Pedals

The pedals appear to be oversized and textured. They don’t seem to be quite as padded as the NordicTrack 14.9, but their texture should help keep your feet in place. We assume most sized feet will fit on the pedals, too. I like that there are raised edges along the front and sides of the pedals so your feet can’t slide off.

The pedals have a 20” stride length, which is comparable to the Sole E35 Elliptical. It’s slightly longer than the NordicTrack 14.9, (only by a couple of inches), so we think that this length should be great for users of most heights. For reference, I’m about 5’1” and the full stride on the NordicTrack FS14i FreeStride Trainer is 32” which feels a bit too long for me. So, 20” should be comfortable for most.

The motion of the pedals is like other traditional ellipticals. It moves mainly horizontally, however, there is a small amount of vertical movement. It isn’t like a star-stepper motion, like on the ProForm HIIT H14.

Handles

We like that the 7.0 AE has two sets of handles: moving and stationary. The pedals most likely can be moved even when the 7.0 AE isn’t plugged in, so we’re glad there are non-moving handles. These are helpful to grab onto when you’re getting on and off the elliptical. They’re also beneficial for lower-body-focused training. These handles seem to have pulse grips to read your heart rate when you grip them, although we recommend using a compatible heart rate monitor for more accurate tracking. The stationary handles also have additional adjustment buttons for the incline and resistance to quickly change these features with your thumbs.

The taller, moving handles appear to move in a typical elliptical fashion, which is forward and back. They require you to push and pull with every stride, which activates your back and arm muscles. So, not only will you get a lower body workout with the pedals, but you’ll work your upper body, too. Of course, your core will be activated as well, for a total-body workout. We can’t speak to the texture or grip on the handles, but they appear to be slim and offer a long enough surface to give you a choice of where you grip. So, if you’re shorter like me, you can most likely grip lower without feeling like you can’t reach or are overreaching.

FlyWheel

The flywheel on an elliptical, contributes to the feel of the pedal stride. A heavy flywheel typically makes for a smooth, consistent stroke. The 7.0 AE’s flywheel isn’t the heaviest we’ve seen on ellipticals, but it isn’t lightweight either. It weighs 23 lbs, which is on the lower end of what we like to see on elliptical flywheels. It should be heavy enough to make this elliptical feel solid and smooth.

The flywheel is mounted on the front, so this is a front-drive elliptical. This placement should make the console feel sturdy since the bulk weight of the machine is centered below it.

Incline

Because the flywheel is at the front, the 7.0 AE is able to incline. There are a whopping 20 levels of incline to use from. In metrics, it is displayed as 0-100%. This amount of levels are on par with the 14.9 Elliptical from NordicTrack.

The incline on other ellipticals typically offers more variety to your training and can help target the back side of your body. We assume this range of incline on the 7.0 AE, should be effective with this, too.

Something to be aware of is that the incline will most likely position the pedals higher, so be sure you allow for extra headroom if you’re using this in a room with a low ceiling.

Resistance

The Horizon 7.0 AE has adjustable magnetic resistance. Like the incline feature, there are 20 levels to choose from, too. Adjustable magnetic resistance is typically smooth and pretty quiet, at least it is on other models we’ve tested. The Horizon 7.0 AE is most likely quiet and appropriate to use in most home spaces.

We can’t speak to how heavy the resistance feels, but 20 different levels is a pretty large range, so you should have a lot of tension to work with, or should I say against?

Warranty

What helps instill our confidence in the construction is the lifetime frame and brake warranty that Horizon includes with the 7.0 AE. Lifetime warranties are great to see and it indicates that this is a well-built elliptical. The warranty package also includes 3 years for parts, and 1 year for the flywheel and labor.

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