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The Carbon E10 is a smart elliptical with a 10-inch touchscreen display. In this review of the ProForm Carbon E10 Elliptical, I’ll review its construction, how it performs with the iFIT fitness platform, and more.
Updated: November 30, 2023
The ProForm Plus program offers the Carbon E10 as one of their free equipment options when you sign up for three years of iFIT training. This is a great deal for any elliptical user who wants a great machine and quality content at a reasonable price. With incline and resistance options, the E10 is great for beginners or experienced cardio enthusiasts. Because the E10 has a touchscreen display, you will want an iFIT subscription to get the most out of this machine. I’ll review the ProForm Carbon E10 Elliptical to give you my opinion as a fitness expert on its features and construction.
The ProForm Carbon E10 has a traditional elliptical build with a front flywheel. It is relatively more compact than other ellipticals, though it still has decently wide stabilizers. The E10 has leveling feet, but as far as I can tell, only the rear feet are adjustable. The front stabilizer has two transport wheels while the rear stabilizer has a grab bar to help you lift the elliptical. It weighs about 225 lbs and can support a user weight of up to 275 lbs. The E10 will require a dedicated spot in your home, and I would not recommend needing to move it around often. Though I have not tested the E10, the other ProForm equipment I have tried has been very stable overall.
The E10 has a 25-lb flywheel. It is mounted in the front of the elliptical. The E10 uses magnetic resistance, so a set of magnets moves progressively closer to the flywheel to slow it down as you increase the resistance. There are 24 resistance levels. Together the resistance and flywheel should be relatively quiet and smooth.
You can lift or lower the pedals to one of the few positions provided. The pedals have levers at the back that easily allow you to move them. The pedals are also oversized and textured so you can find the most comfortable foot position without sliding around. The pedals are cushioned, but I can’t speak to how effective the cushioning is in reducing foot numbness and soreness. Typically, the angle adjustments of the pedals help me a lot more.
The stride length is supposed to be adjustable. I don’t consider the ProForm Carbon E10’s pedals to be truly adjustable, because it is only the ramp that is adjusting. I consider this to be an incline adjustment, not a stride length adjustment. That said, if the stride is feeling a bit long, try raising the ramp. It could help. The stride is 19 inches long. This stride length should be comfortable for most users, though I cannot verify that. The width between the pedals and how far the moving handles move can really affect how the stride length feels.
The elliptical ramp does incline. ProForm states that it can incline up to 20 degrees, which is steeper than a 20% incline. While the incline does not make training harder, it can target your glutes and quads more than having it flat.
iFIT provides all of the onscreen content for the ProForm Carbon E10. Therefore, the console has all of the necessary features to ensure your experience of the premium training service is awesome. The ProForm Carbon E10 is a smart elliptical with the latest training features.
The ProForm Carbon E10 Elliptical has a few console buttons. There are quick adjust buttons for the resistance. There are also plus and minus buttons. The ramp can be adjusted up and down with the arrows on the left of the console. There are also controls for the volume and fan. There aren’t controls on the moving handles, and those are the only buttons I feel that are missing.
A 10-inch touchscreen display is the most notable feature on the E10’s console. The screen does not adjust. Most users will have to look down quite a ways to see the screen. The only content shown on the screen is iFIT content, so you will want an active subscription if you want to use the screen.
The E10 has Bluetooth connectivity. Bluetooth allows you to pair headphones to listen to the iFIT coach or Feed.FM music quietly. You should also be able to pair a Bluetooth heart rate monitor. There are no built-in EKG pulse grips, so a Bluetooth monitor is the only way to train via heart rate zone.
The ProForm Carbon E10 Elliptical has two speakers. These speakers allow you to hear all of the iFIT trainer’s cues. The volume can be controlled on the console and on the screen. If the audio is insufficient, iFIT also provides closed captioning.
The E10 has a tablet rack and a water bottle holder. The tablet rack provides more content options if you don’t want to use iFIT. You can view training or entertainment content on your tablet or phone.
I haven’t tested the fan, but my previous experience with ProForm cardio machines suggests it should be effective. However, if you tend to run really hot when training, you may need to supplement the elliptical fan’s strength with a floor or ceiling fan.
If I am able to test the ProForm Carbon E10 in person, I will update this review. My general impression of the E10 elliptical is that it should work for most users. The style of handles is not my favorite, because there is only one grip option. There also aren’t resistance or incline controls on the handles.
The resistance and incline levels should provide adequate training variability to let you train for an endurance effort or up the intensity for shorter bouts. I don’t think that a fast cadence would work best on this elliptical. If you want to work harder, I suggest relying on those resistance levels. If you want an elliptical that allows you to go faster, consider the ProForm HIIT H14 instead.As a part of the ProForm Plus program, you can get the best deal out of this elliptical when you get it free with 3 years of iFIT. iFIT is a yearly or monthly subscription-based program that has on-demand classes. The elliptical content is filmed indoors in a studio and also outdoors. The unique outdoor content follows coaches as they hike, ski, rollerblade, and more, but the coaching is geared toward the elliptical. It is a really unique way to adapt outdoor content to the elliptical, and I have had a great time touring new locations virtually.
iFIT also provides trainer-led content for a variety of other cardio equipment and off-equipment activities. I like adding in some strength training to my cardio routine. It almost replaces a gym membership. With your 3-year membership, you can access all of these classes and create up to 5 user profiles.
Without iFIT, you can still use the Carbon E10 Elliptical, but you will be limited to the manual training screen. There may also be a few featured iFIT classes to try out.
The ProForm Carbon E10 Elliptical is a smart elliptical designed for a user who wants guided training. The 10-inch touchscreen provides a window into iFIT’s extensive virtual training library. With classes filmed all over the world, iFIT is sure to make your elliptical training more exciting. The E10 has 24 levels of magnetic resistance and 20 degrees of incline. While some features like the handles could be improved, it is overall a great value machine. When you buy the E10 through the ProForm Plus program, you get the elliptical practically for free and pay only for three years of iFIT.
