Buy Stamina 15-9003 Deluxe Conversion II Recumbent / Rower

I received the Stamina rower/bike a few months ago. I wanted to use it for a while before I wrote a review, so I could comment on durability.
Overall, I am very pleased. It is constructed well and it's very smooth.
It is an excellent value, considering you get an exercise rower and a recumbent exercise bike in one.

My rower/bike arrived in perfect condition. There was absolutely no damage from shipping.
It was fairly simple to assemble, and using my own tools made it even easier. It comes with a set of rudimentary tools that will do the job, but it just takes longer.
*A note on assembly: Some of the bolts and screws are pre-installed on the unit and are not included in the bag. During assembly, if you think you are missing a bolt, look on the unit, it's probably already in place.

I read some reviews stating the resistance was too light. Well, it might be a mechanical issue or something else with individual units , but for moderate exercise, there is plenty of resistance.
I'm 5'10 220lbs and an ex-college football player. On the rower, I can get a good workout starting at level 4 and ending at level 6 or 7.
On the bike, I start at level 3 and work my way up to level 5 or 6.
I'm sure over the next few months I'll be using level 8 at some point, but I haven't needed to 'max' it out yet.

The monitor is nice and I like the fact that it is built-in and doesn't sit on top like the less expensive model.
It has time elapsed, distance, rpm, calories burned, and heart rate. (the heart rate feature only registers while holding the hand grips for the bike, so it won't register if you are rowing)

The rower is very smooth and the motion feels natural.
The bike is also quite smooth and the recumbent position is comfortable.
I can really work up quite a sweat and get a great workout without leaving the house.

Now for the reason I only gave four stars, which was also mentioned in other reviews: The foot rests for the rower. They are the only drawback for an otherwise superb machine.
They simply don't hold your feet securely enough. My size 12 EEE's keep slipping out. No matter how tight I make the strap. So, what happens is it 1) affects concentration and 2)by holding my feet so they won't slip, after 30 mins. it's very painful.

So, here's my remedy:
I went to Walmart and bought a cheap pair of sneakers ($20) and an assorted package of bolts, nuts, and washers ($5)
I removed the foot rests for the rower.
I removed the insoles from the sneakers.
I held the sneaker in the same position as it would be while rowing.
I drilled 4 1/4"holes through the sneaker and through the foot rest.
I then pushed the bolt through the sneaker and the foot rest, (placing a washer on the bolt first) then popped on the nut and tightened all four bolts.
I used threadlock on the nuts so vibration/movement wouldn't loosen them.
I slipped the insoles back in the sneakers and reinstalled the sneaker/footrest combo.

It is now PERFECT.

No worrying about my feet slipping and no more pain.

For $25 it was a cheap and effective fix.

I would recommend this machine highly, with the caveat that you may have to make some modifications to the foot rest.



*I've added photos to the 'customer images' to show what the modification looks like.Get more detail about Stamina 15-9003 Deluxe Conversion II Recumbent / Rower.