The Nautilus "One" Line of Machines?

Anyone here had any experience with this line, it has the dial to change the weights. What are your thoughts, good, average, bad? Ellington, I would appreciate your weighing in as well.

Thanks

All I know is I see them on eBay and they are real expensive .
Scott

I’ve used them a couple of times and they seem to work well.

Their promo videos show brief glimpses of the dial-based selector mechanism in operation. It looks pretty complex mechanically, so I imagine it is pretty expensive to manufacture. Not sure what that means with respect to reliability. They claim it is a low friction design. Certainly looks user friendly: just twist the dial, and you can adjust weights in increments of only 1-LB.

The leg extension and seated leg curl machines are Great. I could adjust the seat and levers just like needed. The seated leg curl is especially great. Probably better than any other leg curl machine I’ve ever used.

I didn’t like the row or pulldown much. I felt to big for the machines, like I couldn’t get to the fully extended, end range without the weight falling back down to the top of the stack. And the chest pad on the row machine was way, way to small. It was very uncomfortable.

The pressing machines felt OK I guess.

I have used almost all of the Nautilus ONE machines. They are very good. Very unique design of the “weight stack” (which really isn’t a stack) and how the weights are selected and lifted. They are heavy duty. Very smooth, low friction with no guide rods or cables. The abdominal was super, a modern version of the old clam shell. Best I’ve ever used. Really the only thing the present ownership of Nautilus still makes that even resembles the machines Nautilus made in the past. They no longer make the NITRO or NITRO PLUS, or the XPLoad plate-loaded line. New, they are very expensive. But, I feel they match up pretty well with the MedX selectorized machines. There are still some MedX machines that I like better however. The 1lb adjustment is an option I believe. The standard is 5lb adjustment.

Thanks everyone for your feedback, I just picked up the pec fly for a heck of a price, even better when it’s Cdn $

I think you’ll like that one. The round roller pads and handles allow you to use it like the arm cross on the old Double Chest or with the shoulder internally rotated like the 10 degree chest. Congrats.

Strengthmaster,

Admire your experience of the Nautilus lineup!

Can you tell me how the “One” series hold up weightstack-wise compared to for example the Nitro series (that I am familiar with)? Is it similar in feel/leverage?

I have read that they use the same weightstack on all machines in the “One”-series for easy maintenance and supply parts. This makes me wonder whether the stack is sufficient - too light on leg excercises (and opposed, too heavy on smaller muscle group excercises)? I am using almost the entire stack on the fantastic Nitro leg press.

Any drawbacks with the “one” series?

pettersson,

All the wt. stacks (really not a “stack” on the ONE Line) on all the ONE machines are 255lbs, except the Leg Press which is 430lbs. I would say the “feel” is even more smooth than on the NITRO machines. Given that there are no guide rods, it’s about the smoothest feel you’re gonna get on a selectorized machine. I’ve trained on most all of them multiple times at different places where they have them. The strength curves felt good on all of the machines I used. One that stood out to me was the Abdominal. It is a modern version of the original “clam shell” machine where your legs raise in combination with your trunk flexing. I really liked that one.

I believe the only questionable ones where the resistance available might not be sufficient would be on the Leg Ext., Chest Press, and maybe possibly the Leg Press.
I’m a pretty strong guy, but I use controlled 2-3 seconds up, 4-5 seconds down. I did not max out the resistance on any of the ONE machines, and I did not try. But, as an example, in our high school weight room (which I run) our 2ST Leg Extension has a 330lb. stack and when when we purchased the 2ST Chest Press we ordered the Super weight stack which was 330 (standard 250). Because the ONE machines are a little smoother, with even lower friction, I think 100lbs on the ONE machine might “feel” a little heavier than 100lbs on a NITRO machine for the same movement. If that makes sense?

Drawbacks? The only possible drawback I could see might be the long haul durability of the weight change/engagement gearing of the machines. Don’t get me wrong, everything about them is heavy-duty, but it’s a pretty tight sophisticated set of gears that engage and change the hooking up of the different sets of weight plates that are used.
The places that I have used them have had no issues with the machines, they have continued to work great. If you’re thinking of purchasing some, I would definitely go “road test” them to try them out. The advantage is the machines are still being made by Core Health and Fitness, so you should be able to obtain parts if you ever needed to.

As I said previously, to me, they are the only selectorized machines that the present owners of NAUTILUS make that are worth having. But new, they are expensive! A great deal on a set of used ones? If you have the money, and the space, they are definitely worth having. As background, I have owned, purchased for our weight room, or trained on every generation of Nautilus, Hammer Strength, MedX (including Avenger), and Pendulum machine that have been made over my 40+ years of training. With only a couple exceptions, these are the only brands I would buy or own.

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I should add, or re-phrase, that the MedX selectorized machines are very similar in smoothness and “feel”. They also have no guide rods and are a direct-drive system.
I really like most of the MedX machines as well. The problem with them is because of the short distance travel of the wt. stack(s), it allows you to lift more weight than a comparable machine. So, the weight available on some of the machines is not enough for some stronger individuals. They, like the Nautilus One machines, are very expensive.

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I have used the One line twice and was impressed with several of the pieces, most notably the Chest Fly and the Seated Leg Curl.