The Pro XS Sports 2-in-1 trainer combines a cross-trainer with an exercise bike. It is one of the simplest and most effective cross-trainers on the market. Making it a great value purchase for any home gym.
Combining two exercise machines into one, saving space and offering variety. The floor space taken up by the Pro XS is about 91cm by 51cm.
The machine is lightweight for what it is, weighing 29kg. This makes it easy, with two people ideally, to move around the house. I didn't find any slipping issues, as with the Hammer model we have also reviewed.
You will scarcely find anything lighter than the Pro XS. Although what you lose in addition to the weight is an electro-magnetic resistant flywheel. Electro-magnetic resistance based cross-trainers contain a heavier flywheel. These weigh up to 20kg, but they work silently and smoothly.
Not that the Pro XS has issues with performance. The steel frame is sturdy, the plastic might be a little plastic-y but the exposed frame is likely to age well. Nothing too vulgar going on here.
The foot-plates are about size 12 (in UK sizing), if you're a larger person this, combined with the compact overall size might mean you get a little cramped.
This is compounded by the small stride length, you're not able to extend this as it also has to work with the exercise-bike mode. At times you can feel caught between the two. You can adjust the height and reach of the handlebars. The seat drops away between modes.
So the Pro XS 2-in-1 is not ideal for the extremely large amongst us, but for the majority of the population, the Pro XS is ergonomic.
Whether you're in cycle mode or cross-trainer mode the Pro XS can track your pulse-rate. This is likely to be inaccurate to some extent, but if you're just competing against yourself this is fine.
The LCD display screen is small, it shows your pulse, the time you've been on, current speed and calories burned. Again take pulse and calories with a pinch of salt. The Pro XS comes with no set workouts, but you can adjust the difficulty of the resistance. Naturally, there are no pulse related workouts on offer either.
It is possible to do backwards running or elliptical movements on the Pro XS. Dual direction means you can target your hamstrings effectively. All in all, the Pro XS offers a good but not outstanding low-impact full-body workout.
The Pro XS has its flywheel on the front. That's not standard design on cross-trainers. Pro XS claim this is to improve stability, I definitely wasn't sliding around as much - and rather dangerously - as on the Hammer cross-trainer.
When using the exercise bike mode, you get to sit on the large comfortable seat. The seat does not go high enough for me, being plus 195cm tall, to get a proper cycling position.
it is unfortunate you cannot have some lower handlebars for cycling, especially as the pulse sensors are in a rather unnatural position compared to riding a bike.
There are some more pronounced drawbacks to the Pro XS 2-in-1, but for the price and quality offered elsewhere, these are easily forgotten. For reference these are covered below.
Putting the thing together depends on how technically minded you are, I found it moderately challenging. The instructions are included and you can find online demos, but the support from Pro XS is pretty non-existent.
A corollary of building it yourself is the tightness of the trainer. I found I hadn't done up a could of knobs as tight as I could, this slippage made some clunks before I found the culprit. As a result of this I wasn't as comfortable going hell for leather.
The parts aren't the greatest of quality. I think the paint on the metal is quite tough, I bashed it moving room, but nothing scratched off, on the machine at least.
There is no way to create your own workouts, you sort of have to do it as you're going along. This seems to be a standard feature on many current exercise bikes, but the cost of that computational is evidently too much. I think this plays for the Pro XS in many ways, most noticeably in the price.
The Pro XS is a great addition to any home gym. It is lightweight, thus easy to move around the house. Spending any more on a cross-trainer, you might hope for electromagnetic resistance, but the air and friction offered by the Pro XS is fine for beginners.
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