Sole Treadmills F80 Review
I want to tell you about a product that I’ve heard about many times over the years, but only recently had a chance to try.
The company is Sole Treadmills, whom you may not have heard of before, unless you’ve stayed at a nice hotel. The reason is that Sole Treadmills has traditionally been an Internet-only company.
Sole pioneered the concept of In-Room Fitness by placing high-end Sole treadmills in individual guest rooms of some of the nation’s best hotels. Because, hotel guests kept asking where they could get one of these treadmills to use at home, Sole began to manufacture and sell them to the public a number of years ago. Since then they have expanded to produce elliptical trainers as well.
Recently the Sole F80 Treadmill
I’ve found actual floor models at Sears in Cupertino, Ca. at the Valco Shopping Center. And as far as I can tell they are the only place in California that have floor models. My first impression? Very nice! I now understand why they have gotten top ratings. Allow me to go into details of each aspect.
Style
The F80 has in my opinion the style and lines of a premium machine. It has elegance that shows nothing but class with a burgundy and black color scheme. Their folding frame design originated from the demand of hotels for a treadmill as mobile as a room service cart, yet still stable and powerful.
The Console
The layout of the console shows that some thought went into the design. All of the buttons are right where they should be and are very intuitive to use. The LED lights are the sharpest I’ve seen, which makes it very easy on the eyes to read. They include a lower accessory tray that is removable as well.
I’m not a big proponent when it comes to fans on exercise equipment, but with the Sole F80 they are placed in an ideal position at the top, and they are adjustable so as not to dry your eyes out.
This treadmill also comes equipped with two small speakers, so you don’t have to wear headphones after you plug in your MP3 player, and despite their size, they sound impressive. Sole also included a headphone jack so you don’t have to worry about yanking your iPod off the console with all of your bouncing around (I’ve done that so many times!).
The F80 comes with a heart rate monitor (my favorite option), with the wireless chest strap included, and banner style displays that takes the guesswork out of the set up. You’ll also get the 6 standard preset programs, along with, 2 customizable programs and 2 heart rate interactive programs.
The Motor
The F80 comes with a 3.0 horse power, continuous duty motor. Continuous duty is far superior then the Peak Duty that you see with lower-end products. This allows the treadmill to run up to 11mph with an incline of 15%.
The Deck
The deck size is 33×75 with a running surface of 20×55. For suspension they have what they call the Cushion Flex Shock Absorption Whisper Deck, that will reduce impact by 40% compared to running on asphalt.
Foldability
Folding the deck is really simple with the shock-assisted lever. It has a nice covering, so when the deck is in its upright position, you and your guests aren’t looking at the belt and frame underneath. The deck will lock into place 100% secured, and the safety latch, is placed up high where small kids with curious hands can’t reach it. Once you release the latch the F80 will unfold hands free.
With most other folding treadmills, when the deck is folded, you have to tilt the treadmill back toward you like a hand truck to wheel it around. And even then, you still don’t have much ground clearance. The folks at Sole thought ahead and made their treads with the option of either rolling the F80 on all four wheels, or with the help of an extended wheel design, you can tilt it back toward you with plenty of clearance (First time I’ve seen this). 
Warranty
I always explain to people, that if you want to know how good the quality of an exercise machine is, all you have to do is look at the warranty. The better the warranty, the better the quality and Sole Fitness has the best in the market.
Lifetime – Frame, Deck, and Motor. (wow)
5-Years – Parts and Electronics – Including wear parts! (You never see this)
2-years – Labor (You never see more than a year).
Here’s a recap of the specs:
Motor: 3.0 HP Continuous Duty, DC type
Speed: 0.5 to 11 mph
Incline: 15% maximum (Rack and pinion gear design)
Unit Weight: 250 lbs.
Deck Size: 33 X 75 – Cushion Flex Shock Absorption Whisper Deck
User Weight Max: 350 lbs.
Running Surface: 20 X 55
Belt: Double Woven 2 Ply
Rollers: 2 3/4 inches (industry standard is 2”)
Folding: Yes, with the Easy Assist folding feature
Heart Rate Control: Yes with wireless chest strap included
Hand Pulse Grips: Yes, and arm rest speed/incline controls
Display Color: Red LED Readout
Message Window: Yes – Scrolling Information
Standard Programs: Six
User Defined Programs: Two
Heart Rate Programs: Two
Cooling Fans: Yes
Price
At the time of this writing the Sole F80 treadmill retails for $1999. The Sole website, Sears, and Amazon.com all currently have it on sale for $1499 (I’ll provide links at the bottom)
Now that I’ve had a chance to see, and try the F80 in person, I like it a lot and highly recommend it. I also have a sneaking suspicion that my treadmill at home may be breaking down soon ; )
Other treadmill models to consider from Sole are:
If you have purchased one let us know what you think of it. Likewise, if you have any questions before making a purchase, let me know and I’ll do my best to answer any questions for you.
Live Healthy – Be Free,
Tony
iFitness101
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