Pulled the trigger on a new Sole F80 for our nearly complete home gym. We landed on the F80 after many night of decision and comparison. I expect to put 20 miles a week on it in peak winter.
Everyone has their opinions; tell me yours about treadmills and the Sole F80.
We’ve had the S77 for ~6 years. It’s been great. I figured, why buy a folding model, if I’m never going to fold it.
As long as it’s a continuous duty cycle motor, which it is, it’s fine for the training we do
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Pulled the trigger on a new Sole F80 for our nearly complete home gym. We landed on the F80 after many night of decision and comparison. I expect to put 20 miles a week on it in peak winter.
Everyone has their opinions; tell me yours about treadmills and the Sole F80.
Turning this Q back around if I may… tell me why I should get a Sole F80 !
I keep looking at TMs and am just bewildered about what is good/bad/ugly, unless I drop several thousand £££ on one getting a ‘commercial duty’ one.
I get that Woodway is the Rolls Royce. But that’s not happening. Especially as I’m in the UK so they are less common. I’m just not dropping the price of a new superbike on a TM.
(I’d be prob doing 10-15 miles a week on it as I’d still go outdoors when possible and certainly any long runs will be outdoors except for maybe 2 or 3 weeks a year when it’s too icy or snowy).
Pulled the trigger on a new Sole F80 for our nearly complete home gym. We landed on the F80 after many night of decision and comparison. I expect to put 20 miles a week on it in peak winter.
Everyone has their opinions; tell me yours about treadmills and the Sole F80.
My wife bought a S77 back in 2008/09 time frame. It has went through a basement flood and just keeps on ticking. I wish it would die so I can buy a Woodway, Assault fitness, or something stupid like that.
Very happy with my Sole F80. It came down to Sole or a NordicTrack 2450, and I chose the Sole because I read a bunch of horror stories about NordicTrack’s iFit feature and lousy customer service. The Sole is very solidly built and has been bulletproof so far although not as flashy as some other brands. My only real criticism (which is a common one) is that the motor ramps up sort of slowly, which isn’t great if you’re doing intervals. Other than that I love it.
I bought a used Sole 80 ~3 years ago and I’m happy with it. I just use it mainly for winter training (bricks and weeknight runs). My treadmill beeps for every interval (so either 1 min or 3 mins) which is pretty annoying. I’ve gone to the root menu to mute the noises but it doesn’t stick. I almost just went and removed the speaker but it hasn’t bothered me enough to do that.
I also agree with the slow response to pace changes. Slightly irritating for intervals but the lag is pretty consistent so you can make adjustments to your timing and still be ok.
I think you made a great choice. I ran on a Sole S77 for years because I didn’t need it to fold. It was solid as a rock and I only got rid of it because we moved to a warmer place and a smaller house.
I’m coming onto close to 2000 miles on mine and it’s been super solid. I had to replace the belt and deck after some stress cracks appeared (the belt got very noisy and would get very hot from the added friction). one chat with Sole customer service and they sent me replacements for free within 3 days. i’m happy
Pulled the trigger on a new Sole F80 for our nearly complete home gym. We landed on the F80 after many night of decision and comparison. I expect to put 20 miles a week on it in peak winter.
Everyone has their opinions; tell me yours about treadmills and the Sole F80.
Wow, you could find an F80. I looked and waited for weeks and finally bought an F85 from Dicks. I had a coupon from my daughters sports organization so the final price came out similar. I’ve run on it 5-6x. Feels pretty solid and other than the slow speed changes as mentioned by others, seems like a great buy.
I’m coming onto close to 2000 miles on mine and it’s been super solid. I had to replace the belt and deck after some stress cracks appeared (the belt got very noisy and would get very hot from the added friction). one chat with Sole customer service and they sent me replacements for free within 3 days. i’m happy
I too have a Sole F80. It’s great, but don’t be fooled - there IS a difference between the $4k+ Landice-tier and Woodway treadmills in terms of build quality and parts quality compared to the $1500ish F80.
If you’re lightweight, lucky, and keep your Sole F80 in a good environment, it will likely go a long time needing minimal maintenance. However, if you’re a serious triathlete/runner like myself, and beat the heck out of it regularly, it WILL need significant maintenance or part replacement, probably after the 4-yr mark. The deck is the first to go, usually, but is readily replaced.
I saw somewhere on the web from a TM repair guy that he estimates most TMs in this price class last 8 years before there is so much wear and tear on the parts that it’s more time-effective to just get a new one. That seems in line with my experience - mine is now 10 years old, but I have literally replaced the entire thing except the frame piece by piece (half of at my own cost as well) and the deck twice. I still made out cheaper than a $4k TM by over half, but there were some stressful days where I was awaiting parts, unable to train, and worrying if I’d be able to DIY the repair myself.
Sole F80 owner here, couldn’t be happier with my purchase. We got this a few seasons and still holding well. I am not very heavy (140 pounds) but run/train at a somewhat reasonable pace for an age grouper (2:44 marathon PB, ran a 2:49 solo this year) and have done thousands of miles on it with no issues including 20 mile runs non-stop in a hot basement.
Negatives:
-As others have mentioned, the incline and speed ramp up rather slowly. Just add about 10 seconds to your stride or interval.
-It maxes out at 12 mph which is just a tad slower than my mile pace, so it is rarely a problem. I add the missing “speed” by inclining it to 3% but if you are much faster than that and want to be very specific, you might need something else.
-I haven’t been able to find Sole’s lubricant here in Canada. I am using a more liquid one I got from Amazon, but it wears off a bit too fast. If anyone knows a of a good viscous lubricant, let me know.
-The fan is a bit undersized. I don’t like to use the bike trainer fan as it is not realistic to have a 50 kph wind effect all the time on your body when running, but something a bit bigger would have been nice.
I’ve owned mine going on a decade. Love it
Good decision. Great bang for the buck treadmill. Sole’s running belts need a little more constant lubrication than others, but its easy to do. Lube it and keep it clean and it should last you. That said, 20 miles a week is still a good amount of running on a consumer model tread, do not be surprised if you are in need of a belt every 2-3 years.
I have an old treadmill that works fine, but I’m waiting for it to die so I can upgrade. Is there a treadmill out there that has the following:
Speed adjustments with a knob or lever, instead of the stupid little buttons on my current treadmill.
Quick speed adjustments. My treadmill takes a while to speed up / slow down.
Stable running surface that isn’t bouncy.
Ability to decline.
Have not seen a treadmill with a speed knob in a long time.
I no longer have my Sole F-80 but that’s only because any treadmill just too much for my small condo. Neither the basement nor the garage was an option. If I had more room I’d still have it. Loved it. Strong motor, big rollers, wide and long belt. I’d say you made a good choice
Horizon models have a speed knob. Also an incline knob.
I just ordered a Horizon 7.4
Supposed to have a quick response motor as well.
Pulled the trigger on a new Sole F80 for our nearly complete home gym. We landed on the F80 after many night of decision and comparison. I expect to put 20 miles a week on it in peak winter.
Everyone has their opinions; tell me yours about treadmills and the Sole F80.
Quit being a sissy!
You made the right decision. Super warranty coverage AND they back it up. New deck this year for me and I didn’t even ask for it. I mentioned it was squeaky now and he was like, “sounds like you need a new deck.”
Boom!
Who cares about a few seconds lapse for intervals. You saved money, got a rock of a treadmill and will put it to use.
You won’t regret it. Get a good fan to angle up, as the fans on the treadmill are simply ineffective. Only thing I’d change.
I’m trying to add a pic for my corner of the upstairs…
TechnoGym has knobs. And Woodway has one-button speed adjust (I think in increments of 2mph), which is great for intervals