The wife & I are in the market for a treadmill. Way too much information on the web. As an example, hard to determine which treadmills can handle 5 min/pace intervals. Wondering if you might be kind enough to share where we should start our research &/or share what you use.
Thanks in advance. Stay safe friends.
I’ve had a True PS100 for 5+ years now with zero issues. Most of my (and my wife’s) running during the school year has been on it. I’d guess there may be 7k miles on it. I’ve lubed the belt, but nothing else. Goes to 12 mph, and one of the things I wanted was the ability to get to speed quickly for intervals and strides. Less expensive models can take a while.
Of course, if money is no object, look no further than a Woodway.
Lots of informative threads on this topic if you search the forum.
FWIW I bought a Sole F80 last year and I’ve been very happy with it. Not as many tech bells and whistles as some others (so basically no HD touch screen) but extremely well built and capable of 12 mph (roughly 5:00/mi). Almost always on “sale” for $1500ish.
Is there a disadvantage to having a folding treadmill vs non-folding?
Thanks so far for the comments.
Another vote for the Sole F80 here. I bought it during Labor Day last year and it’s been rock solid ever since. Like someone else said above it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but for me that wasn’t a selling point. They give a great warranty on their items which was big for me with having peace of mind. The newer versions have Bluetooth which connects to Zwift seamlessly and is a nice add on to have if you already bike on their platform.
If I had to give one con and something I wish it did have it would be customizable preset speeds. If you’re doing intervals you may need to hit a 8mph button and then up the speed a few 0.1 increments. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but now that I’ve had it this long it would be nice.
I have a sole F85 that I found on Craigslist for $500 with only 200 miles on it. Think I’ve put around 1k Miles on it in 3 years or so. Never had an issue with it. Goes up to 12 mph and 12 or 15% incline I think.
+1 on the Woodway. Insanely expensive, but oh so nice. I saved up for a bit to buy one, and my only regret is not getting one sooner. We use it 6 days a week and has been worth every penny. So soft on your joints, and feels like running on a rubber track.
If I were to permanently settled down, I’d go woodway. I think they are totally worth it. I would go out to gym and use it. However with COVID, I wanted something for home and got a trueform trainer based on this review from TriRig https://www.tririg.com/articles.php?id=2020_06_TrueForm_Treadmills_Review
I just finished assembling it. I only did a short run but I like how it feels and does remind me of woodway. The manual part will take some getting used to but I like it and feels more like actual running.
Is it true all Sole treadmills display mileage in only 1/10th mile increments? Asking you and any other Sole owners who see this post.
I find myself unexpectedly in the position of shoppping for a new treadmill. Would like a Sole F80 based on everyone’s recommendations and not willing to pay commerical level money for a Woodway or Landice but the wife isn’t happy with how much it is. Leaning towards a F63 instead. But having a hard time finding them in stock but seems I’m not the only one (nearest retailer to me is 60 or so miles away it seems but they have 2 of them according to their website). There is a couple of F80s in stock closer but for some reason they are listed for “suggested retail price” or $2800 or so. Despite them being listed as $1599 directly from Solesl’s site (but disclaimer of 30 day delay for delivery).
So far only used Soles I’m seeing in my area are an F63 (2018 model year) asking $700, and F65 asking $925 and an F85 asking $1625. If I don’t want to piss off the wife I’m probably regulated to $1000 price target. I’m still leaning towards buying new just to get the Sole warranty because from what I can tell it only applies to the original owner. To me it’s worth spending full retail over used for an F63… unless I cna get that price down to $500.
You’re correct on the 1/10 increments. There is a small track display that shows your progress around the track which helps a bit.
The warranty does apply to the original owner only which is why I went brand new, too.
I have a Sole F63, bought it October 2016. Two weeks ago, something didn’t feel quite right with it. After inspecting it, I found a hole in the board under the belt. See picture. Sole will not cover it. Be careful with their warranty. It is for motor and frame only. The board under the belt is NOT part of the frame. Two weeks of back and forth with them and I still do not have a price for fixing this. I am 140 lbs so not putting excessive force on it
Good to know your experience… curious how much use you have put on it? Wondering if I should also consider an retailer “extended” warranty service plan on top of the factory one.
I’ve had some cheaper level fitness equipment fail on where I did purchase the service plan. Ended up getting cut a check for a portion of the original price I paid (minus depreciation). This was a long time ago though.
I have a Sole F63, bought it October 2016. Two weeks ago, something didn’t feel quite right with it. After inspecting it, I found a hole in the board under the belt. See picture. Sole will not cover it. Be careful with their warranty. It is for motor and frame only. The board under the belt is NOT part of the frame. Two weeks of back and forth with them and I still do not have a price for fixing this. I am 140 lbs so not putting excessive force on it
That wooden board under the belt is the ‘deck’. It’s probably the most common point of failure for all similar-type treadmills.
I believe the deck is warranteed for at least several years for the F80 and 85 - I had mine replaced for free once, but I had to buy a second deck on my own, costs about $200 online.
Replacing the deck is moderately annoying just because you have to loosen the belt, remove the bolts, and the deck is a bit bulky and heavy, but I did it all by myself in about an hour not including unpacking time as a total rookie. There are some youtube videos on how to do it but it’s not complicated or risky. Sole customer service should be able to talk you through it too - they did that with me when I called for my first deck replacement.
My best estimate is 2k-3k miles
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If anyone is looking for a Woodway, I stumbled on a run specialty gym offloading recently refurbished Woodway Desmo’s (December 19) remade to the 4 Front standard due to COVID. These were only in use for 5-6 weeks before the Covid shutdown.
Just pulled the trigger on one - the deal was within what I was going to pay to get a solid quality new one after I blew through my third nordictrack in two years, with warranty replacement estimated in January.
I can share the info - DM for details.
I’ve owned a Sole F85 for approximately 10 years. Never once had an issue.
For reference I’m 184lbs and have logged probably 700-800 miles per year on it.
Recently I added a Runn speed and cadence sensor to it, which allows me to get more accurate data and connect to running apps.
The only negative (can be a big one for many folks) is that it is extremely slow to speed up and down. Anything shorter than 2min intervals I have to first select a much higher speed so the belt pick ups quickly before I slow it down to the desire interval pace.
See, this is info I wouldn’t have found on the vast internet…
Looks like the Woodway is the Lexus and the Sole the Toyota. Fair analogy? (My wife & I both drive Toyotas so we’d be good with Sole.)
I wanted to second what KodioMN mentions about the Sole’s slowness in getting to speed. I have a Sole F80. It’s been super reliable, but it takes 30-45 seconds to change speeds, which is frustrating when I’m trying to do short intervals. You just can’t. I employ a similar tactic: if I want to do my interval at 8-9mph, I hit the 12mph button, let it speed up, then quickly hit the 8mph button and adjust to final speed. Same is true for slowing back down, but then I just hop off :).
I did buy my treadmill back in 2013, so this may not be the case with Soles anymore, but if you’re debating that brand and are concerned about that, definitely try it out!
In almost every town there is an outfit that sells commercial treadmills as they come off lease from gyms and fitness clubs. While a decently priced consumer-grade treadmill will usually be fine, I think that a used commercial treadmill is way better. Unless you are a dentist. At that point go and buy a Woodway.