The ElliptiGO Review - pros and cons

I love my ElliptiGO and I'm so glad I made the investment. Even my husband has been making good use of it during marathon training.  I figured after three months, I'd breakdown the good and bad.

The workout
Pros:  It is a much tougher workout than I had imagined.  Especially on the hills around here!  I huff and puff all the way up....and my husband (who is in much better shape than I am) confirms this is the case for him too.   It makes what I do on the elliptical at the gym feel like a leisurely stroll.  My core and legs burn!  It's tougher than cycling but not as tough as running only because you do get to coast quite a bit (what goes up must come down!)... I'd say it feels a lot like track intervals.

Cons:  The only con here is that I don't feel as comfortable as I do on a bike.  It takes a lot of balance and while I can drink and signal on the bike, I almost crashed trying to wipe my nose on the 'GO other day.  So this means that I tend to do loops around the neighborhood and avoid any of the major roads.  This may get better with more experience.

Shifting
Pros:  It shifts soooo smoothly.  Because it's an internal gearing, you can shift on the fly and with tension, unlike a regular bike where you don't really want to shift when under a load like climbing a hill.

Cons:  It shifts opposite how I would expect (opposite my bike, basically).  So I have - on more than one occasion - ended up in a lower gear when I needed to be in a higher and so forth.

Maintenance
Pros:  I haven't had any issues.  I just inflate the tires and go.

Cons:  If I do ever have an issue, I haven't a CLUE how to work on it.  I have at least a working knowledge of my bike.  I'll have to hope the bike shop can bail me out. :)

Uniqueness
Pros: Cars give me SO MUCH CLEARANCE.  I don't get this but I'm sure it's partly a "what the heck is that?" phenomenon.  On the same roads, when I am on my bike, I might get a few feet of clearance.   Today, I saw someone go fully on the other side of a double yellow line to avoid me.  Hey, whatever works.

Cons: Unlike bikes, where there are shops and group rides and clubs, the ElliptiGO has very little of the social aspect.  Which is ok, I don't go to the gym to hang out with people either, but it would be nice to have a group ride as an option.

Anyone else own an ElliptiGO?