This under-desk elliptical machine came very well packaged and protected. Upon opening the box, I was immediately impressed with the quality and weight of the product. It's not overly heavy so you can move it around to different locations in your home however there was enough weight to it to know it's not a toy or a plastic infomercial product.When I first ordered this, I was concerned that it might hurt my knees. Shockingly, it does not. The movement is small. It's not like the big range of motion seen on a standing elliptical. (You are instructed never to stand on this). It feels more like a small degree of point and flex through the foot and therefore ankle increased mobility which is always a positive. You feel your thighs lift about 1-2 inches max. You are not going to feel a burn in the muscles from this because your hips bear the weight in the chair. You might feel some gain of exercise the first two days.But I suspected and it proved true that the benefit of this is to keep your legs "alive" when sitting. There is a good blood flow. Most of us have terrible posture at a laptop/desk collapsing forward with rounded shoulders and protruding belly which can lead to swelling in the legs and poor circulation. I figure, hey, if I have to sit there for any amount of time, I might as well be pumping them.I got the machine and didn't plug it in. You can still do the pedals. I plugged it in and there are power buttons on the unit itself. I mucked around and pushed here and there, and it was the same as not having it plugged in (because at that point I didn't understand that power and start are both needed). Had to get the instructions out. They were not helpful. They were in English and identified the parts of the machine but never told me HOW to use it. Not even where to plug the cord in. It's near the base in the front by the way. I went back to pushing buttons. I got a P1 reading and then pushed start. Only then did I realize this: being electrical the pedals will go on their own! I didn't have to push the pedals like I was when it wasn't turned on. That opened up a whole bunch of benefits! I sometimes would sit and push into the pedals, then get engaged with an email or research and forget to push. Well, thankfully, my feet were still going round and round! I love this feature. It's like the no-excuse option. The P1 goes so many minutes forward then stops and reverses direction. That's a nice feature.I was also concerned it might lead to bad posture when sitting at a desk. I would say it is the opposite. It almost forces me to sit up straight. Big points right there as I can easily slouch at my desk/laptop.There is no resistance to choose. That could lead to strain. There are speed options. I'm still figuring out the different modes since the pamphlet wasn't helpful. But I'm satisfied with the P1 mode.There is a remote and you supply the 2 AAA batteries. The remote is supposed to do all that the buttons on the unit do but it doesn't. I couldn't increase or decrease the speed with the remote. Not sure what the problem is there. But I can power on, select a mode and start/stop.I am recommending this machine for the athlete or non-athlete. I never liked standing desks--no improvement over sitting. I tried treadmill desks and there's too much body movement and it's difficult to work on the laptop. THIS I believe is the best option. It is quiet. There is machine noise, but it is minimal. The pedal action is very smooth. I've used it barefoot and with my very wide shoes and the edge of the shoes extends past the pedal, but it is fine and not noticeable. The pedals are firm not flopping forward and backwards. It could handle a large man's shoe easily.

Not everyone can have a full-sized elliptical machine in their home or apartment, so this gizmo is a more compact option for those looking to emulate that particular mode of exercise with limited space. As far as its pluses, this machine feel solid and well-constructed...yet it's relatively light and easy to move around, with a convenient handle-slot for gripping and handling. It has a fairly robust set of workout modes and programs...and with resistance, so you can certainly make yourself work up a sweat, if that's your goal.That being said, there are some space/usage issues that potential buyers should note. First of all, remember that this device is meant to be used while sitting: it isn't designed to take your full body weight when standing. If you are looking to get this as an exercise machine to use under your desk at work or home, you may be disappointed (unless you have a fairly high desk with plenty of depth-space underneath): for most normal desks, you will either find that you don't have enough depth-space underneath for you to fully cycle, or you may even find your knees bumping into the underside of your desktop as you cycle. Using this while sitting casually in your living room (maybe while watching TV) is likely to be a better option...but even then, you'll have to sit upright and more toward the front of your seat while cycling, which isn't the most comfortable of postures: you won't be able to sit (or lean) back comfortably in the depths of your chair/sofa while using this device.Even with all of these considerations, this could still be a very useful workout option for certain groups of people and places/facilities where space is at a premium. You'll just need to keep these in mind when determining whether this is the right device for you.

I work from home and lately I have not been moving as much as usual. This elliptical is designed to be used while you are seated. It is fairly quiet and has several manual modes and auto modes. It caught me off guard when one of the programs switched from forward to backward. I am able to use the elliptical without my knees hitting the top of my desk. If you have a chair with wheels on a plastic mat, you are likely to find that your chair moves a bit. The device has controls directly on top or you can use the remote that comes with it. If you have spent time on a regular elliptical, this one will not provide you with nearly the same intensity workout. It does, however, get you moving during times you would normally be stationary. It does meet my needs, and I have not experienced any issues with performance.

This is essential for anybody that works from home and is sitting at their desk all day or also somebody at the office who wants to be moving during the day and doing a little exercise. It fits nicely under the desk and is very quiet to use. No one even notices that you are doing exercise while you're working. Easy to use.

This pedal exerciser is quiet when operating. It is compact in size and light enough to move around when needed. The pedals are approximately 12.5 inches long and 4.5 inches wide and move smoothly like an elliptical machine.This plugs in to a normal outlet and has 3 programmed settings with varying speeds and changes in direction. There is one manual setting where the user controls the speed, direction and time duration. The digital display tracks time, distance, speed, steps and calories. This exerciser doesn't have an option to change the resistance, so if that is a concern you may want to try a different machine.