I've owned a Sole F80 for 7 years now. It's a good treadmill, but I keep mine in a garage that got condensation in the cold AMs for several years, which rusted out a lot of the parts over time. After 6 years, I had to replace pretty much the entire treadmill piecemeal. Still costed less than buying a new one outright since the warrantee covered the engine, frame (I had to pay for new console and board).

My experience from this is all is that the warrantee and service agreements seems to be one of the biggest cost differentiators between the TMs, with the pricier $3k+ ones have significantly better coverage and in-house service (I think Sole only had 1 year of in-house service, after that they ship parts to you) if anything does wear out.

As a 50mpw runner, you'll put a lot of miles on your TM as well, which will wear the parts. The parts that typically wear -
- Deck (wood for the <$2k ones, mine covered under warrantee but you have to switch it out yourself, mildly annoying to do)
- Engine (almost everyone covers this for life, they sent me a new one for free even though mine was fine, moderately annoying to swap out)
- Belt - Even if they're rated to a zillion miles, the cheaper ones can get stiff and fray after 5 years, which will overload your TM motor and make things run really hot.


Basically, you should probably get the most durable treadmill with best service warrantee you can afford, since odds are good that in 5 years, if you're doing 40-50mpw on it + your wife's running, it'll need some significant service.

As much as I have enjoyed my Sole F80, I'd be hesitant to refer it to a heavy mileage runner who intends to hammer on it for 5+years as the parts do wear out on it. The $3k+ treadmills do have better and longer lasting deck, frame, and belt materials from what I've seen in stores.

I can't comment on your listed treadmills. We've had a Proform 990 forever---like since 2001. My wife has regularly used it during the entire time. Its moved through 3 houses with us. I've trained for Marathons, IM, and now OD tri. A couple years ago I had to replace the controller board, and the main belt. So, while I can't attest to their quality today...that's what I've gotten out of ours.

Proform is a sister brand to Nordic Track made by the same MFG....and they often share parts between family members. I think Proform is considered the lower tier brand in the family.

I was very simliar to you, newborn, want a good treadmill but not willing to spend 3k+, considering Sole F80 or NordiTrack since pretty much every website review\compare suggest them.
However I end up picked up a Precor used one after I spent some time watched tons of treadmill maintain\service video, the differences are inside, you could easily tell big difference between a commerical grade vs consumer grade (for instance - motor). It is hard for me to believe that heavy use on those consumer grade treadmill won't end up some problems, or at least squeakers here and there ...
However, buy a used one do have risks, most commerical grade components are very reliable and sturdy, however the control unit normally not (caps could go bad), that's why you could see many control unit sale on ebay, make sure you test it over before purchase, and better to buy a non-discontinued one or very popular one in the past which you could still easily get components sale in ebay.

I actually strongly suspect that the motor is the LEAST likely of the parts to fail for most users.

If you compare warrantees for TMs like SoleF80 in the $1200-$2000 range, pretty much all of them have lifetime motor warrantees, which likely attests to how powerful the motors are. Sure, Lionel Sanders killed like 6 TM motors, but we also aren't Lionel Sanders.

The motor was the ONE part of my entire F80 that was working fine after 7 years. (I didn't replace the frame, but it has rusted significantly, even with my anti-rust spray treatment.)

Again, i strongly suspect the bulk of the cost and differential between $1.5k and $3k+ Tms are:
- Warrantee (biggest factor, pay attention particularly to at-home service coverage as well as what replaceables come for free over time)
- Frame materials

I'm sure the commercial motors are stronger/more durable, but again, given the robustness of the motor warrntees across the board, I doubt they are the limiting factor for most AGers. (Deck replacement is usually one of the first ones that happens in the 1.5k range.)

I agreed on your point. Commerical TM use AC motor while consumer TM normally used DC motor. AC motor is more powerful and duriable, but it may\or may not matter much with lifetime warranty (but you need to pay the cost swap out or DIY).
And also I suspect that DC motor durability is not linear, which may large depends on how fast your run. A competitive AG putting speedy workout on TM would still close to Lionel Sanders. Plus, if you run a consumer TM in 12 and running on it, you could notice noise is one concern, platform stability is another (better frame as also pointed out).

I bought a Landice L7 that was maybe 10+ years old for $500. The thing is an absolute tank. It may not look fancy and doesn't have any crazy technology but it serves its purpose. Very happy with that decision vs spending $3k on something new and flashy I was considering.

I have a Sole F80 (I think) from 2010 and its's still kickin. Paid like $1200 at Dick's.
Probably have ran over 1000 miles on it and ran it hard.
Just take care of it and it should last.

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Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
I got plans - https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...dotcom#trainingplans

I got a woodway from a used gym equipment store for $1500, definitely better than a brand new $2k treadmill

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Let food be thy medicine...

I've got a proform treadmill that has done the intended job this year. I couldn't honestly recommend it, or Nordictrack (they're both Icon fitness) though because their customer service is horrible. I had an issue with mine upon delivery that should have been an easy fix, and it took them nearly 3 months to get me parts from China.