The Spirit XE 195 is a soild elliptical with a less certain value proposition. Spirit packs a lot of quality into their machines, but the offering they sell though Costco have a much better value like the EL-555.
General Information
Spirit Fitness is a company that was started in the early 80´s and has produced many types of products and started producing fitness products in the late 80´s. They are known for product innovation. Their treadmills are typically mid-priced. Dyaco International purchased Spirit a few years ago and all of their production is offshore. The quality has been improving and Dyaco has made a huge investment in the Spirit brand.
Quality / Philosophy
The once totally US owned factory is now a subsidiary of Dyaco, who hails from Taiwan. The practice of putting good parts in their treadmills has continued once again and they are trying to fill the value segment with many decent choices. With heavy competition from Icon and Horizon, it will be interesting to see how they do.
Outlook
Dyaco has poured quite a bit of money into the Spirit brand to revitalize it and the results are showing. Their move to a more value oriented business should help their results.
