Classical vs Contemporary Pilates Reformers
Two reformers can share a name and still feel like different machines. One follows the proportions and fittings of the apparatus Joseph Pilates built. The other has been reworked over decades with ropes, pulleys, extra springs and footbars that stop in many places. Neither approach is wrong. The useful question is which one fits the method you teach or practice.
What does classical mean on a reformer?
A classical reformer keeps the original design choices: a shorter frame, four springs, leather straps on a metal pole, wooden handles and a footbar with only a couple of settings. The aim is to run the traditional order of exercises exactly as it was taught, with few adjustments to change between clients.
The Elina Classic 86 in reformers up close
Elina builds its classical machine in three versions: solid natural maple, walnut (sold as Classic Dark Wood) and anodized aluminium. All three share the same working geometry, which makes them easy to compare. Despite the 86 in in the name, Elina lists an overall length of 88.58 in.
- A frame 25.98 in wide with the bed 13.78 in off the floor
- Four classic-style springs on a spring bar with 3 settings
- A classic footbar with 2 positions
- Natural leather straps, a metal pole and a pair of wooden handles
- Carriage stoppers with 2 settings at the head end and 3 at the foot end
- A machine weight of 110 lb, light for a studio frame
A classic box and a padded jump board platform come in the package. If tower work matters, each version is also offered with a steel tower carrying eight classic springs plus wooden push-through and roll-down bars.
What makes a reformer contemporary?
A contemporary reformer is built to adjust. It usually carries five or six springs, ropes running through pulleys, a footbar with many positions and settings that change quickly between clients. That flexibility suits clinical studios, group classes and programs that modify exercises rather than follow a fixed order.
Elina's own studio line shows the range. The Elite Wood Reformer runs six springs with a quick-release footbar that stops in 7 positions. The Elite Advanced replaces fixed stops with a footbar that slides along the whole frame. The Master Instructor adds pulleys that move in height and width on an integrated mini tower, plus ropes that retract under the carriage. BASI takes a similar line, with three gear settings on each of five springs and pulleys that can be set anywhere on its half tower.
Peak Artistry sits between the two
Peak describes the Artistry as its most classical reformer. It is built in solid beech or walnut, measures 90 in long and has a four-position footbar. It runs a five-spring kit of one heavy, two standard and two light springs. The gear bar lets a studio work with four or five of them. Strap packages set the character. The leather version pairs leather primary straps and swivel handles with the rope and riser package, so one frame can host leather work in the morning and rope work in the afternoon. Rope-only and vegan synthetic configurations are offered too.
How to choose between them
Start with the teaching, not the timber. A few questions settle most decisions:
- Were your instructors trained in a classical lineage that expects leather straps and a set exercise order?
- Will clients of very different heights share the machine? That favors pulleys and many footbar stops.
- Do back-to-back sessions need spring changes that take seconds?
- Does the room call for a shorter frame?
Material is a separate decision. Classical machines come in wood or aluminium. So do contemporary ones.
Compare frames and finishes in our wood reformer collection. The full classical and studio line sits in the Elina Pilates range.
