Treadmill comparison

[dutchgirl678]

My DH is 6'6" and a pretty serious runner. He runs at least 3x per week. We have a gym membership that is expiring and he hasn't been to the gym since February and is not planning to go anytime soon. So we are looking at treadmills. We have a large finished daylight basement where I already have an exercise bike set up and a TV. He uses is mostly to run indoors when the weather outside is bad (pretty much all winter here in the PNW). He likes the bigger decks for these (all 22x60) and the motor (4 CHP). I might use it for walking. Right now we are looking at 3 models:

Nordictrack 2450

Sole F85

Horizon 7.8 AT

The Nordictrack appeals to us because of the integrated LCD with iFit, the fact that it can go from -3% to 15% incline, and the solid construction. But the warranty is less than the others and there have been some reviews of treadmills arriving DOA or breaking in the first few months and customer service being a nightmare. iFit looks cool because not only do they have classes like Peloton, they also integrate with Google maps so you can map a route and it will match inclines for you along the route. $2299

The Sole F85 is very basic, no fancy features, but solid. $1999

The Horizon 7.8 AT says it connects with Zwift and lets you run along with Peloton. It has special quick dials for speed and incline and is said to change speeds and incline faster. $1999

Any experiences or other recommendations are appreciated. I have also seen the Peloton Tread, supposedly coming out in early 2021 for about $2500. I'm honestly not sure if we want to go that route. I got a cheaper exercise bike so I can use the $12.99 a month Peloton app. I don't need to pay $40 for the fancy version. And DH is mostly into running and doing intervals himself. He puts together his training schedule.

[campermom]

I have the Horizon and the speed dials are better than any other type of button speed switch you’ve ever seen.

[laterz]

I have a Sole and it's great - but it doesn't move between speeds quickly. That might be annoying to some people.

[dr.girlfriend]

I am having the absolute worst experience with ProForm/NordicTrack (same company), so I would not recommend. I can keep you posted, but I'm fresh off trying to contact customer service, inputting seven fields of my info including the serial number, and then being told "You have contacted us outside our customer service hours, which are 6 am to 5 pm Mountain time Monday through Friday" and then getting booted out of the customer service chat. It's noon Mountain time right now on a Monday.  There is no phone number available.  I have assembled #19 out of #20 steps of this thing and am ready to send it back despite the restocking fee because I'm so mad at the horrible customer service.  The sales and delivery people were actually horrible too but I just powered through because I really wanted a new treadmill.  If you buy I would buy from a local store so that hopefully they can intermediate the customer service.

ETA:  I guess I should have taken this as a warning of their quality control:

[dutchgirl678]

dr.girlfriend, I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. That is such BS and the restocking fee should be waived if they can't give you decent customer service.

We had already decided to eliminate the NordicTrack/ProForm from our list because we had read similar issues. I got a video from campermom and we are probably going for the Horizon 7.8AT. Since my DH likes the speed to change quickly when he does intervals and I would like to do some walking on it, I think that one makes the most sense.

[suzyp]

Is this where I can whine about my missed opportunity to buy a $11+K tread for $4K back in March? My amazing treadmill studio was going out of business, but we already had a treadmill. I was really tempted to buy it with my bonus money. Then the Covid lockdown hit and i was afraid if I spent that money, I would lose my job and really regret the purchase. So of course, our 2 year old $1K Treadmill is broken, has been for 6 weeks, have paid $400 to fix it and it's still not working right....

I came here for recommendations for a new one.

[dutchgirl678]

We ordered the Horizon 7.8AT. One guy came today to deliver it to our garage. He had such a hard time getting it off his truck. But with DH's help he got it without breaking. Now we have to figure out how to get it downstairs.

suzyp, I'm so sorry your treadmill broke down! I hope you can figure out something soon.

[campermom]

dutchgirl678 it was a 2 person job for assembly but I can’t wait to hear how you like it!

[dutchgirl678]

Thanks campermom, we decided to hire a local moving company to move it downstairs for us. We can manage the assembly ourselves I think. They will be here soon!

[suzyp]

Oct 16, 2020 14:14:17 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

Thanks campermom , we decided to hire a local moving company to move it downstairs for us. We can manage the assembly ourselves I think. They will be here soon!

Wanted to see how the new TM is! I am thinking of upgrading.  (the repair company traded out our treadmill to a new model and I HATE it, so I may just bite the bullet and get something I really want instead, but wanted to see how you like it - or dislike it!)

[dutchgirl678]

suzyp we were able to set the treadmill up a few weeks ago and thus far DH really loves it. I walked on it once as well and thought it felt like a professional gym treadmill. It was definitely worth the investment for us.

The only downside is sometimes he runs too close to the front of the treadmill and accidentally bumps up the speed on the quick speed dial. But the treadmill feels super sturdy and responsive.

[suzyp]

campermom, dutchgirl678,

I should finally be rid of the awful replacement treadmill I switched out with the repairs compny and plan to pull the trigger on the Horizon 7.8. One question - does it track the disance by .00 or just .0? I cannot seem to find a good picture of the display. One of the things I hate about my current treadmill is that I can only see my distance to .1 I am slow and don't run far, so I need to know if I am at 2.22 miles or 2.29 miles!

Thanks!

[campermom]

Dec 15, 2020 11:41:28 GMT -5 suzyp said:

campermom, dutchgirl678,

I should finally be rid of the awful replacement treadmill I switched out with the repairs compny and plan to pull the trigger on the Horizon 7.8. One question - does it track the disance by .00 or just .0? I cannot seem to find a good picture of the display. One of the things I hate about my current treadmill is that I can only see my distance to .1 I am slow and don't run far, so I need to know if I am at 2.22 miles or 2.29 miles!

Thanks!

.00 without even checking, I would have noticed if .0 is the case! That would be awful. Lol

[suzyp]

Dec 15, 2020 14:17:22 GMT -5 campermom said:

Dec 15, 2020 11:41:28 GMT -5 suzyp said:

campermom , dutchgirl678 ,

I should finally be rid of the awful replacement treadmill I switched out with the repairs compny and plan to pull the trigger on the Horizon 7.8. One question - does it track the disance by .00 or just .0? I cannot seem to find a good picture of the display. One of the things I hate about my current treadmill is that I can only see my distance to .1 I am slow and don't run far, so I need to know if I am at 2.22 miles or 2.29 miles!

Thanks!

.00 without even checking, I would have noticed if .0 is the case! That would be awful. Lol

I have never seen a treadmill that only goes to a .0!  You also have to hit the speed button every time you want to change the speed - I do intervals, so instead of hitting the button and holding it down to increase/decrease the speed, I have to press it 10 times or whatever. (because the speed buttons are weird numbers i don't use) The repair place gave us the newer version of our treadmill and both DH and I absolutely hate it. LOL.  Who knew that those little things would matter so much?!

[campermom]

suzyp I do intervals too which is why I love the 7.8. Once you get it you’ll have to let me know how you like it. Horizon does a military discount btw.

[breezy8407]

Bumping this thread to see if there are any new recs or feedback on recent purchases!

We are waiting to hear back from a repair place, but the tech was optimistic we can replace the control board. If not, though we are looking at a new one.

Sole F80 - this gets good reviews, but I am hung up on the fact it only gives distance to the tenths, not hundredths like mentioned above! I am sure I would get used to it?
Horizon - I have the 7.0 and 7.8 on my list

[jene]

Feb 3, 2021 16:29:53 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

Bumping this thread to see if there are any new recs or feedback on recent purchases!

We are waiting to hear back from a repair place, but the tech was optimistic we can replace the control board. If not, though we are looking at a new one.

Sole F80 - this gets good reviews, but I am hung up on the fact it only gives distance to the tenths, not hundredths like mentioned above! I am sure I would get used to it?
Horizon - I have the 7.0 and 7.8 on my list

If it sways you at all, I have a sole F80 and the motor recently went out on it. It’s 6 years old. I called Sole and after a quick troubleshooting session, they sent me a new motor within a week. It runs great now

[breezy8407]

Feb 3, 2021 16:51:41 GMT -5 jene said:

Feb 3, 2021 16:29:53 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

Bumping this thread to see if there are any new recs or feedback on recent purchases!

We are waiting to hear back from a repair place, but the tech was optimistic we can replace the control board. If not, though we are looking at a new one.

Sole F80 - this gets good reviews, but I am hung up on the fact it only gives distance to the tenths, not hundredths like mentioned above! I am sure I would get used to it?
Horizon - I have the 7.0 and 7.8 on my list

If it sways you at all, I have a sole F80 and the motor recently went out on it. It’s 6 years old. I called Sole and after a quick troubleshooting session, they sent me a new motor within a week. It runs great now

It does! The warranty seems to be one of the best. Does your model track distance to .1 or .10? I think I could get over this pretty quickly, but I am thinking about if you did a interval workout where you wanted to do .25/400m. Not that I am doing a lot of that right now...

[jene]

Feb 3, 2021 18:45:44 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

Feb 3, 2021 16:51:41 GMT -5 jene said:

If it sways you at all, I have a sole F80 and the motor recently went out on it. It’s 6 years old. I called Sole and after a quick troubleshooting session, they sent me a new motor within a week. It runs great now

It does! The warranty seems to be one of the best. Does your model track distance to .1 or .10? I think I could get over this pretty quickly, but I am thinking about if you did a interval workout where you wanted to do .25/400m. Not that I am doing a lot of that right now...

I think it only goes to .1, but it has a little track visual, so I usually go off of that. I’ve done a lot of intervals on it and have never had an issue with it

[ilovecandy]

We just bought a sole tt8 and like it. It doesn't fold. It was between this or the horizon 7.8 we decided the larger rollers and a few other things were worth it. Things that annoy me, it only goes to one decimal point not two. My husband says he feel the frame is extremely sturdy. It does take 8ish seconds for a speed switch. Horizon was in the running because if I am on the treadmill I like to do intervals.

[fryjack2]

Feb 3, 2021 16:29:53 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

Bumping this thread to see if there are any new recs or feedback on recent purchases!

We are waiting to hear back from a repair place, but the tech was optimistic we can replace the control board. If not, though we are looking at a new one.

Sole F80 - this gets good reviews, but I am hung up on the fact it only gives distance to the tenths, not hundredths like mentioned above! I am sure I would get used to it?
Horizon - I have the 7.0 and 7.8 on my list

I have a Sole.  It was about 2k on sale.  I like it.  I don't love it ( the tread feels very firm, like running on concrete and it isn't super quiet), but I don't love any treadmill and it works.  I haven't set up the bluetooth or other features.  I just get on it and run. Well, I did before I got our Peloton bike.  I try really hard to run outside ( did 10 miles today) and have not been on the tread in a good 8 months. 

Peloton is coming out with a cheaper version of their tread. It will be around $2400.  I've herd good things about it if that is a company/brand you might be interested in looking into. 

[breezy8407]

Feb 14, 2021 13:37:17 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

Feb 3, 2021 16:29:53 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

Bumping this thread to see if there are any new recs or feedback on recent purchases!

We are waiting to hear back from a repair place, but the tech was optimistic we can replace the control board. If not, though we are looking at a new one.

Sole F80 - this gets good reviews, but I am hung up on the fact it only gives distance to the tenths, not hundredths like mentioned above! I am sure I would get used to it?
Horizon - I have the 7.0 and 7.8 on my list

I have a Sole.  It was about 2k on sale.  I like it.  I don't love it ( the tread feels very firm, like running on concrete and it isn't super quiet), but I don't love any treadmill and it works.  I haven't set up the bluetooth or other features.  I just get on it and run. Well, I did before I got our Peloton bike.  I try really hard to run outside ( did 10 miles today) and have not been on the tread in a good 8 months. 

Peloton is coming out with a cheaper version of their tread. It will be around $2400.  I've herd good things about it if that is a company/brand you might be interested in looking into. 

Thank you! I do most of my running outside, too. The current stretch of subzero temps has been extra depressing this year. As of now we decided to repair the current treadmill, but might still get a new one. I am pretty sure we would be able to sell our current one based on what I saw out there for sale on Craigslist once we get it working again. 

I am curious about the new Peloton tread for sure. I have a Schwinn IC4 and already use the app, but H has no interest in using it at all. I realllllly want a Bike+ to get all the features especially the leaderboard, but its a big leap for the bike cost plus the $39 a month. If we were both using it it's a no brainer to me. 

[dutchgirl678]

Nov 4, 2021 6:35:36 GMT -5 sharimiul said:

I also decided to buy a treadmill during the lockdown and for a long time could not decide on a choice. I was advised to look at the treadmillreviewsite.co.uk and I ordered from them the most convenient option for myself. I didn't need a large number of fashionable modes, but I wanted to buy a high-quality and reliable treadmill. As a result, my treadmill was delivered to me in May 2020 3 days after the order and it is exactly what I wanted. During this time, it has never broken down and there have been no system failures. I advise you to take a closer look at them.

Are you answering the original post by me? That was from last year. We ended up buying the Horizon 7.8AT and my DH has been using it regularly since we got it and is very happy with it.

[Wines Not Whines]

Does anyone have the Peloton treadmill? How do you like it? I have the bike, so I’m already paying for the monthly Peloton membership. I want to get a treadmill for cold, dark, snowy winter days, and I’m thinking about getting the Peloton Tread because I know I like the classes.

[arielroux]

Dec 6, 2021 6:28:53 GMT -5 Wines Not Whines said:

Does anyone have the Peloton treadmill? How do you like it? I have the bike, so I’m already paying for the monthly Peloton membership. I want to get a treadmill for cold, dark, snowy winter days, and I’m thinking about getting the Peloton Tread because I know I like the classes.

I do! I have had the bike for a little over two years, and I just had the tread delivered about a month ago. I was really hoping to wait for the Tread+ to be re-released, but it really doesn’t look like that’s going to happen until late 2022 or even 2023 at this point, and I wasn’t willing to wait that long.

Anyway! I love it. It was slightly shaky the first few times I used it, but after researching, it seems other people had that issue and said that it stopped after about a week’s use. Mine stopped/settled in after about three uses. The only thing I would change is that I wish the screen was set juuuuuuust a bit higher. Other than that, I literally have no complaints. I’ve had zero issues, delivery was on time and as-scheduled (mine was delivered by JB Hunt), and it’s SO much easier to use for strength workouts than my bike, but this is because of how I have my equipment configured in my basement.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about it, and it was worth the money to me to have all of my workouts on the same platform. There are some really fabulous tread instructors, and I honestly use the tread more than my bike now.

[sadlebred]

With the treadmill has the issue that could hurt kids been resolved?

[breezy8407]

Dec 6, 2021 22:52:28 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

With the treadmill has the issue that could hurt kids been resolved?

They have two treadmills. The slat belt one (tread +) was recalled. They are currently only selling a regular belt treadmill. I don't own either, but from what I can tell they pushed out security features for both where you have to enter a code before it will operate plus the typical safety key. 

[arielroux]

Dec 7, 2021 9:16:44 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

Dec 6, 2021 22:52:28 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

With the treadmill has the issue that could hurt kids been resolved?

They have two treadmills. The slat belt one (tread +) was recalled. They are currently only selling a regular belt treadmill. I don't own either, but from what I can tell they pushed out security features for both where you have to enter a code before it will operate plus the typical safety key. 

This. The instructors also now remind you before classes to make sure any pets/kids are out of the way, and after class they always mention to take the safety key with you when you walk away.

I also have to enter a code in order to get past the initial log on screen, and the treadmill locks out and requires a code input after 45 seconds of inactivity, so even if you accidentally (or purposefully) walk away and leave it on with the safety key still engaged, you still cannot use it without entering the passcode.

[Wines Not Whines]

Thanks for responding, arielroux! I’m going to try to take my H to our local store tomorrow, and maybe we will order one. 😀 I still plan to run outside most of the time, but I’d like to have a reliable indoor option when I can’t run outside.

[arielroux]

Dec 7, 2021 17:51:00 GMT -5 Wines Not Whines said:

Thanks for responding, arielroux ! I’m going to try to take my H to our local store tomorrow, and maybe we will order one. 😀 I still plan to run outside most of the time, but I’d like to have a reliable indoor option when I can’t run outside.

Of course! I am a total Peloton devotee and never pass up the chance to talk up a product, lol. I wish I liked running outside in the winter. Hell, I wish I liked running outside in the summer. There are like 4 weeks out of the year where I find the weather suitable to run outdoors (lol) so a treadmill was practically a necessity for me.