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That Woodway treadmill story is finally up
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Here we go

http://www.slowtwitch.com/..._a_reality_6737.html


Herbert

And feel free to hit me up with questions.

H
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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I bought my Woodway off Dirk Bockell a couple of years back. It's been one of the better multisport-related purchases I've made.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreenPlease] [ In reply to ]
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I am also happy that I made the decision - despite the setbacks along the way. Running on it is so different when compared to other “dreadmills”
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Absolutely love "mine." We have two at my office gym. They rarely get used. Everyone else uses the Lifetime and PreCor machines (10+ of those).
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [logella] [ In reply to ]
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Why do you think that is? Because the display on the others is fancier?
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Good story, thanks.

I really like mine. The one odd thing I’ve noticed is that for the same HR and cadence I run slower on the woodway compared with outside or other treadmills (all measured using the same Stryd footpod). I suspect it has to do with more belt compliance having a higher energy cost but not certain. At any rate, it’s a very consistent finding of 15-30 sec:/mi at easy pace. Anyone else experience the same thing?
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Herbert wrote:
Why do you think that is? Because the display on the others is fancier?

No idea actually. Ours actually have a much nicer display than yours, including full TV with 50+ cable channels. I think they just don't recognize the name compared to the others. I'm not about to let to many folks in on the secret though. :-)
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Great to see your journey. I am just thankful for my personal fortune of scoring a used one delivered and set up in my basement for $2500 CDN (around $2000 USD) inclusive of taxes. Unfortunately, my local pool currently gets more mileage from my body than the treadmill but a time will come when it will be used full throttle again. In the mean time, my son seems to use it 5-7x per week, so it's not being wasted!
Last edited by: devashish_paul: Mar 31, 20 19:42
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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have you considered designing/incorporating better acoustics in your training room? adding acoustic panels might help dampen what i imagine is a fair amount of sound vibration/echoing in that room. a woodway is still on the to-be-purchased list but haven't quite had the money or the desire for it just yet (or the space, really). someday.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Did you have the dedicated circuit already set up in anticipation of the treadmill?
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [efernand] [ In reply to ]
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It was not initially set up that way but it was not a big deal to set up in this case.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [jkhayc] [ In reply to ]
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I will surely look into it, and yes I think the room amplifies the noise.

jkhayc wrote:
have you considered designing/incorporating better acoustics in your training room? adding acoustic panels might help dampen what i imagine is a fair amount of sound vibration/echoing in that room. a woodway is still on the to-be-purchased list but haven't quite had the money or the desire for it just yet (or the space, really). someday.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [jkhayc] [ In reply to ]
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We don’t have a Woodway, though it’s on my wife’s wish list. As for the noise, I can’t tell for sure from the photos, but if you currently have concrete floors, rubber flooring will help reduce noise. It made a big difference in our garage.
Last edited by: kenpetruzzelli: Feb 13, 18 10:36
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [kenpetruzzelli] [ In reply to ]
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But this is not the woodway curve machine, which is completely different from regular treadmill, as you are the motor, and you are seeing the pace. No plugging in required. I tried the curve and found it more taxing than a powered treadmill
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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we have 4 at the gym i run / swim at, and im trying to get us to purchase one at my work gym.

i DREAD running on anything other than a woodway at this point.

80/20 Endurance Ambassador
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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Man where did you find that deal!!! I am looking now. Best I am seeing is 3500 for a path that would included shipping to.

2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Toothengineer] [ In reply to ]
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I stalked Craigslist and eBay every week for a long time and found one at a very low price, $1200 from a show biz person’s assistant. The delivery and setup was a few hundred more.

Sharon McN
@IronCharo
#TeamZoot
Clif Bar Pace Team 2003-2018
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [SharonMcN] [ In reply to ]
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I got mine for $200 off CL. Had to drive 5 hours round-trip, load, unload and assemble, but again, $200.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Thread,

Which display do you recommend for a new Woodway?


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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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Since I use an iPad and have a TV I went with the most basic display
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Savvy 👍
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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With the newer displays you can connect to zwift. But I don't know if you can get that in the cheapest option.

Tiago
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Sponsors: : Blueseventy :
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [sylvius] [ In reply to ]
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I suspect it has to do with more belt compliance having a higher energy cost but not certain. At any rate, it’s a very consistent finding of 15-30 sec:/mi at easy pace. Anyone else experience the same thing? //

I have been running on Dan's, and I felt the same as you, that treadmill was definitely slower than all the others I run on in gyms, and my HOA. And those are all pro level commercial ones too. Then something interesting happened, we measured the belt on the 0% setting with leveling tools, and it came out .6/.7%. Then everything seemed to make some sense, we are running uphill slightly on the flats on the machine.

Now I dont know if this is the full reason for the slowness, but without an apples to apples comparison, have to go with that for now. Have you measured yours? My gut feeling is that even without the incline at 0, the machine is still slower than others. Only question is, are they just faster and the woodway is neutral, or the other way around?
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [BrzilianTri] [ In reply to ]
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BrzilianTri wrote:
With the newer displays you can connect to zwift. But I don't know if you can get that in the cheapest option.

i noticed they have a new built in "tv" model.

can you expand on what you know about how to run zwift on it? ive read on their site and its pretty vague regarding connections in the back for video display inputs.

80/20 Endurance Ambassador
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Our gym exclusively uses Woodways... they must have 120-140 of them. I have been very spoiled in the gym and every time I hop on my Sole at home I think "if only (I had spent a crap ton of money)" The most impressive thing to me is that one day I walked into the gym and a tech team from Woodway was there upgrading all of the treadmills. I chatted with them and they said they were replacing and upgrading the display and control modules because they wear out over time. They weren't replacing any of the belts or motors (or moving parts) because even with the abuse of the gym they were fine. Maybe when the Sole finally wears out:)

______________________________________________
Team Zoot
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [gregtay] [ In reply to ]
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gregtay wrote:
Our gym exclusively uses Woodways... they must have 120-140 of them. I have been very spoiled in the gym and every time I hop on my Sole at home I think "if only (I had spent a crap ton of money)" The most impressive thing to me is that one day I walked into the gym and a tech team from Woodway was there upgrading all of the treadmills. I chatted with them and they said they were replacing and upgrading the display and control modules because they wear out over time. They weren't replacing any of the belts or motors (or moving parts) because even with the abuse of the gym they were fine. Maybe when the Sole finally wears out:)

ditto. i had went to a gym that had a few woodways, so i was able to get a couple of them for my work locations gym. at home i was running on a sole, which i had gotten use to but i always pined for the woodway when i was on it!

80/20 Endurance Ambassador
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [damon.lebeouf] [ In reply to ]
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Their website is vague and the support is not that great either. I have one in my research lab that is from 2014, and that is too old apparently.
The person I got in touch was going to check if the control panel could be upgraded but he never got back to me. He said it probably wasn't though.
I assume that with the new control panels, they can send the speed to zwift so you wouldn't have to use a foot pod. I assume that is what the "smart" treadmills do.

Tiago
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Sponsors: : Blueseventy :
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [gregtay] [ In reply to ]
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Can anyone offer a comparison of Technogym and Woodway treadmills?

Ran on Technogym’s Skillrun today and was immediately impressed. Don’t have access to a Woodway for comparison.
Last edited by: GreatScott: Feb 1, 20 17:03
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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One of the gyms I go to has a 4 Front Woodway and Technogym Skillmill. Other than the Skillmill being curved, they seem pretty comparable. I'd love to have either in my house, personally.

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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GreatScott wrote:
Can anyone offer a comparison of Technogym and Woodway treadmills?

Ran on Technogym’s Skillrun today and was immediately impressed. Don’t have access to a Woodway for comparison.


+1 on being impressed by the Skillrun. Smooth, stable, was really plush feeling, especially for my arthritic ankles which do not like pounding one bit.

My only potential 'downside' of these plush-feeling TMs is what I think Herbert mentioned before - you might actually have to run outside several times before race day just to get your legs a little used to the road pounding, as these TMs do such a good reducing impact and the vertical motion you typically get with $1500 TMs.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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Techno gym Skillmills are not motorized and at Lifetime, they are used as a piece of CrossFit equipment.

I found them to be extremely awkward to run on for any length of time.

My concern with ANY treadmill using a built-in display is that historically, they break down quickly from the treadmill vibrating.

I would go with the Woodway, all the way, and mount a large monitor on the wall.

DFL > DNF > DNS
Last edited by: SallyShortyPnts: Feb 2, 20 11:54
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [gregtay] [ In reply to ]
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gregtay wrote:
Our gym exclusively uses Woodways... they must have 120-140 of them. I have been very spoiled in the gym

120 treadmills in your gym? What kind of gym is this?

https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [plant_based] [ In reply to ]
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plant_based wrote:
gregtay wrote:
Our gym exclusively uses Woodways... they must have 120-140 of them. I have been very spoiled in the gym

120 treadmills in your gym? What kind of gym is this?
A very large sports club situated by large companies where everyone gets a membership as part of their employment package. The main location has multiple large cardio rooms plus they have two other locations as well, all with Woodways. They try to do everything, fitness, medical(dermatology, podiatrist, etc) phisical therapy, spa, salon, childcare + preschool.
It's a nice place but at some point the size gets in the way, not the earliest/quickest place to drop in for a quick swim.

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Team Zoot
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [SallyShortyPnts] [ In reply to ]
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The Skillrun is a different model than the Skillmill, correct? Any experience with the Skillrun?
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Despite living in the Northeast, I run outside almost all the time (maybe 5 - 10 treadmill runs per year). Treadmill running turns an activity I love into a chore. I just look at the clock and countdown the minutes I have left.

I have an old Landice treadmill, which seems fine, but is nothing special. I’ve never been on a treadmill that made me feel differently about them. However, I have never been on a Woodway. Is there anything so special about these that it fundamentally changes how you feel about treadmill running? That’s the only way I could ever justify such a premium price.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Waingro] [ In reply to ]
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The way a Woodway is constructed (no belt and no wooden deck) is fundamentally different from other treadmills. Woodway comes from the German word Waldweg which should translate to forest path and not Woodway, because running on it feels like running on a forest path.

But it is hard to describe, but surely a gym, physical rehab place or even a private person near you has one you could try. I highly recommend it. This week I ran almost 49 miles on the treadmill and 28 miles on trails. Not a single mile on the road.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [plant_based] [ In reply to ]
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plant_based wrote:
gregtay wrote:
Our gym exclusively uses Woodways... they must have 120-140 of them. I have been very spoiled in the gym

120 treadmills in your gym? What kind of gym is this?

Lifetime Athletic in Summerlin (Las Vegas), Nevada had ~70 Woodways when I worked there. With membership costing $150/month, it bought a lot of nice things 😉

DFL > DNF > DNS
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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GreatScott wrote:
The Skillrun is a different model than the Skillmill, correct? Any experience with the Skillrun?

Lifetime had both Skillruns and Woodways. I strongly preferred the Woodway cushion. Skillruns felt no different than the Precor or LifeFitness treadmills also on the floor.

TechnoGym’s imbedded display units really formed my opinion that this is a BAD idea. Even with top-of-the-line equipment and maintenance, the monitors were constantly breaking down and not working. They almost always required a TechnoGym technician to fix.

Lastly, the most grisly experience I had with 10 years at Lifetime involved a fall from a Skillrun. A 70+ year old woman had her fingers amputated when they were caught between the belt and the housing. If you have children, I would not buy one under any circumstances.

DFL > DNF > DNS
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [SallyShortyPnts] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks, that second point on the embedded screen is material.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Herbert wrote:
The way a Woodway is constructed (no belt and no wooden deck) is fundamentally different from other treadmills. Woodway comes from the German word Waldweg which should translate to forest path and not Woodway, because running on it feels like running on a forest path.

But it is hard to describe, but surely a gym, physical rehab place or even a private person near you has one you could try. I highly recommend it. This week I ran almost 49 miles on the treadmill and 28 miles on trails. Not a single mile on the road.

So, the "Woodway" is NOT made of wood??? This just does NOT seem right. :)


"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Thread,

Anyone have suggestions for managing BLE dropouts between the 4Front with Zwift?

I’ve successfully paired my new 4Front with Zwift via Apple TV and show a strong signal, but am getting very glitchy, intermittent pace feedback. Basically a constant state of “stop and go”.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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My tv is too far away and thus I only use my iPad when running on Zwift and it sits nicely on that space in front of the display
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
I suspect it has to do with more belt compliance having a higher energy cost but not certain. At any rate, it’s a very consistent finding of 15-30 sec:/mi at easy pace. Anyone else experience the same thing? //

I have been running on Dan's, and I felt the same as you, that treadmill was definitely slower than all the others I run on in gyms, and my HOA. And those are all pro level commercial ones too. Then something interesting happened, we measured the belt on the 0% setting with leveling tools, and it came out .6/.7%. Then everything seemed to make some sense, we are running uphill slightly on the flats on the machine.

Now I dont know if this is the full reason for the slowness, but without an apples to apples comparison, have to go with that for now. Have you measured yours? My gut feeling is that even without the incline at 0, the machine is still slower than others. Only question is, are they just faster and the woodway is neutral, or the other way around?

So I finally pulled out the level and found mine was very slightly inclined at 0 grade but not enough to account for what I was experiencing. What’s more interesting is that I finally gave in and bought a runn and tried that. Its reading shows that the treadmill is close to correct but slightly slow. My Stryd was reading significantly slower than either despite being dead nuts accurate outdoors. The runn measured speed corresponds perfectly to rpe and hr compared to outdoor runs in similar temps. So at the end of the day my hypothesis is that stryd measures slow on a treadmill, about 25 sec/mile for me at Z1 pace. I think others have observed the same. Ultimately it doesn’t matter except I like accuracy and precision just for their own sakes.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [Herbert] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Thread,

Is it possible to pair a Garmin heart rate monitor with Woodway’s Quickset display?

I’ve attempted and failed, but am failing miserably in the daily battle with technology so am not sure whether it’s me or the mill.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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GreatScott wrote:
Hey Thread,

Is it possible to pair a Garmin heart rate monitor with Woodway’s Quickset display?

I’ve attempted and failed, but am failing miserably in the daily battle with technology so am not sure whether it’s me or the mill.
the woodway that i run on has the quickset and is both BLE and ANT compatible. either strap has to be within the appropriate distance and the display will automatically pick it up and display.

80/20 Endurance Ambassador
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [damon.lebeouf] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks; I’ve had a bunch of problems with my display and will add this to the list.
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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i read up a few posts and saw your pace dropout issue. i havnt had the first issue with pace drop out on zwift and the woodway... its rock steady. so ya... more fuel for your fire. :(

80/20 Endurance Ambassador
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [damon.lebeouf] [ In reply to ]
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Preliminary feedback from Woodway is that the 4FRONT will only pair with polar heart rate straps and Bluetooth polar heart rate straps. They are double checking this for me.

Your experience says otherwise. To be clear, you’ve paired a Garmin with the 4FRONT?
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Re: That Woodway treadmill story is finally up [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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yup. i use the garmin tri and run straps exclusively.

80/20 Endurance Ambassador
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