NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 Elliptical Review

Quick Summary

A favorite new elliptical with iFit, the NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 is “the complete package” yet has a moderate sale price. This unit is NordicTrack’s best front drive elliptical in terms of ergonomics and electronics, plus it carries the brand’s longest warranties for parts and labor.

Freshly updated for 2021 (and on the market as of November), the Commercial 14.9 now has a larger 14″ smart HD touchscreen with improved graphics processing and dual-band WiFi, ensuring crisp and seamless playback of your workout sessions. NordicTrack now also includes a 1-year family membership to iFit with purchase, allowing multiple users in the household to have saved profiles on the elliptical.

Learn more from our full NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 review below.

Specifications

Model	NordicTrack Commercial 14.9
Rating Our custom rating considers all of the elliptical's features, specs, warranties, and 100's of user & expert reviews, to save you time!	92.3%
List Price Suggested retail price, typically higher than the price you'll pay with our recommended retailers.	$1999
Best Price Since prices change daily, this link goes to our preferred retailer for the best price we've found.	$1,499
Resistance Resistance is what determines calories burned per stride. The more levels, the more precisely you can control the difficulty.	26 Levels
Resistance Type The type of resistance affects the performance of your elliptical. Magnetic and Eddy-Current are the most common types.	Silent Magnetic Resistance
Stride Length Stride Length is important for comfort and smooth strides. A stride length of 18-21 inches is ideal for most heights (5'3 - 6'7).	17.5" - 18.7"
Pedals Elliptical pedals can be cushioned and adjustable for maximum comfort and minimum impact on joints for injury prevention.	Adjustable & Oversized
Incline Some elliptical trainers can be set at an incline to increase difficulty and burn more calories.	0-20 degrees
Flywheel The flywheel controls the smoothness and resistance of your workout. In general, the higher the better.	32 lbs.
Programs Elliptical Programs allow you to complete a workout with changing speeds and inclines, without changing anything manually.	35
User Profiles For each profile the elliptical allows, you can create a custom user account with saved programs and goal settings.	1 User
Heart Rate Heart Rate programs allow you to track how many times your heart is beating per minute (bpm), and some control the workout for you.	CardioGrip™
Display Elliptical Display refers to the screen you'll look at to monitor workouts. LED and LCD displays are similar to TV screens.	14" HD Touchscreen
Max. Weight Max User Weight is the amount of weight, in pounds (lbs), that it can safely support, which can represent durability.	350 lbs
Dimensions Dimensions are included to help you figure out if this elliptical will fit properly (Length x Width x Height and Height x Depth).	n/a" x n/a" x n/a"
Upper Body Most ellipticals have handles to hold while you're working out that provide an upper body workout.
Accessory Tray Some ellipticals include an accessory tray for holding items such as water bottles, wallets, keys, or MP3 players like iPods.
Speakers Ellipticals that include a sound system allow you to listen to your MP3 player/iPod through built-in speakers (without headphones).
Cooling Fans Cooling Fans are designed to help keep you cool during an intense workout on your elliptical.
Folding? Some ellipticals are designed to conserve space by folding up. This is a convenient option, but some features might be reduced.
Quick Controls Quick Controls allow you to select speed, incline and even workout programs with the touch of a button (usually on the handles).
Warranty The warranty is an important part of your investment. The longer the warranty, the longer you can get free/discounted repairs.	Frame: 10 years Parts: 2 Years Labor: 1 Year

Our Rating

Rating: 92.3/100. The best NordicTrack ellipticals generally stand out — their colorful touchscreens with Internet are hard to miss — but NordicTrack has outdone itself with the Commercial 14.9. What makes this model special? It pairs NordicTrack’s flashiest electronics with top-notch components for performance and durability. The Commercial 14.9 can deliver comfortable and personalized workouts to novices and elite trainees alike.

Highlights of the NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 are a 32-pound flywheel, a power incline, 35 preset workouts, iFit wireless technology, and an HD touchscreen on which to stream live and on demand fitness classes via iFit.

Here are more points to consider about the Commercial 14.9.

Pros:

Very easy to assemble
14″ HD touchscreen
32-pound flywheel
26 resistance levels
Silent Magnetic Resistance (SMR™)
Auto-adjustable stride of 17.5″-18.7″
Adjustable pedal angle
Power incline of 0 degrees to 20 degrees
Resistance and incline controls on handlebars
Soft grips on moving arm bars
35 built-in workouts
iFit-enabled
Wireless heart rate monitor (Chest strap included)
Water bottle holder
Transport wheels

Cons:

The tallest trainees might prefer a longer stride
NordicTrack customer service gets poor marks from shoppers
Not a SpaceSaver (Does not fold for storage)
Average warranty of 10 years on frame, 2 years on parts, and 1 year on labor

Introduction

An all-around winner, the NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 is a best buy elliptical for home gyms. Physically it can support most trainees: The elliptical path adjusts up to 20″ long, the resistance is suitable for beginners through advanced athletes, and the weight capacity is 350 pounds.

The Commercial 14.9 is durable enough for an active family too. These important basics are complemented with an attractive full-color display screen, plenty of workout guidance and support for digital entertainment.

The web sale price of $1,999 includes delivery and a two-year warranty on parts.

Workout Programs

The NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 has 35 built-in workouts. Each was designed by a certified personal trainer to control the elliptical machine’s resistance and incline. The programs fall into four categories: Incline, Calorie, Speed and Heart Rate Control. The Heart Rate Control workouts adjust in response to your heart rate data, helping you exercise within your target heart rate zone.

For endless workout variety the Commercial 14.9 is iFit-enabled. With an iFit subscription you can use the console’s 14″ touchscreen or your own device to access new training sessions. You can download a custom-tailored iFit workout every day, train with high definition video workouts featuring famous personal trainers, and virtually tour the world with interactive Google Maps™ workouts. With Google Maps™ workout downloads the Commercial 14.9 can show a Google Street View for any route you set, plus the machine will adjust its pedal incline to copy the landscape.

NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 Features

The NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 elliptical has a power-adjustable 20″ stride. The elliptical path is ideally sized for most teens and adults, and the pedals have three angle settings for customization.

The flywheel weighs 32 pounds and offers 26 resistance levels. The resistance ranges from very light to very powerful.

For extra toning and calorie burn, you can use the power incline. Incline controls are built into the handlebars as well as the console.

The workout control center is a full color 10″ touch screen. From here it’s easy to navigate the 35 preset workouts and your iFit downloads. This screen also has an Android browser.

Although the Internet is on board, you might want access to your own apps too. This elliptical has a secure holder for your tablet computer.

For heart rate monitoring the Commercial 14.9 includes a wireless chest strap. It also has CardioGrip™ sensors on the handlebars.

The NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 is iPod-compatible. It has a jack and Intermix Acoustics 2.0 speakers.

Warranty & Guarantee

The NordicTrack Commercial 14.9 elliptical warranty includes:

– Frame: 10 Years
– Parts: 2 Years
– Labor: 1 Year

NordicTrack also includes a 30-day money back guarantee.

Conclusion

The Commercial 14.9 is NordicTrack’s most advanced front drive elliptical trainer. For $1,499 it probably provides all you need, plus lots of bonuses. The potential drawback is that people with very long strides could feel constrained. If you’re that person that wants a long stride, you might consider the best selling Nordictrack FS7i.

What’s Changed For This Year

Each year a few models get upgrades. Larger screens, or better tech are both common. Occasionally you will see two ellipticals with the same name on the manufacturers site, which is confusing enough for us experts, let alone a new consumer. Below is a quick breakdown of what is new on the latest version of this elliptical.

New for 2021 (November 2020 release)

Updated HD Touchscreen: Improved processing and dual-band WiFi compatibility will ensure a more seamless video experience when following along to live or streaming workout classes. Size has also been increased from 10″ to 14″.
New Mobile App: iFit is now also available as a mobile app for your smartphone.
Expanded iFit Offer: In previous years, these ellipticals would come with an individual 1-year iFit membership, but for 2021 these memberships have been upgraded to family memberships—perfect for households with multiple exercisers.