Sole F80 Treadmill Review – 2023
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We were very excited to get our hands (and feet) on the Sole F80 Treadmill.
$1,899
This is a very highly advertised / publicized treadmill and one of the more well-known brands outside of Nordic Track, Pro Form and some of the other popular online names. So how did it stack up? Lets find out.
Sole is manufactured by Dyaco, a factory in Taiwan that also makes other treadmill models like Spirit and Xterra. This is a plus being made in Taiwan, as opposed to China. Another impressive factor about Sole is the price point of this machine – $1699.
This is a solid treadmill. The overall feel of this unit was rather good. It did not feel like it was going to choke under the weight of a 300 lbs. user. The frame felt solid, the uprights felt solid and we can see why Sole Treadmills offer a 375 weight capacity, we think this treadmill could in fact handle that weight too. The Sole F80 scored an impressive “A” for having a low amount of speed loss when a 270lb person was using the machine. Sole also had a very accurate “True Speed” rating in our comparison chart testing. All important features for a treadmill built for heavier users!
Another key feature we like is the belt size. The overall dimensions of the walking / running belt is 22” x 60”. This is a larger size than many other treadmills in this same price point. So, this means that you can be a bigger person who also wants to run and it is possible to buy a treadmill below $1700 to fit your needs. This is a big deal in terms of performance. Not many other machines can make these claims.
So why did we rate this treadmill 86 / 100? Why not higher? What did we not like?
3 rather big complaints. We did not like the suspension because it too hard. The running surface had very little give and that was not desirable, especially for bigger people. Now some people do like a more firm surface, and in that case it would be ok so keep in mind, this is our opinion. A hard deck can be hard on the knees, hips and ankles. We would like to see some more cushioning added. This is a similar complaint we had about the Peloton treadmill in our previous review. One of the main reason people buy treadmills is for the cushioning. People want something softer than running outside. Why not make the treadmill softer? We are a bit perplexed by this one.
The next topic is for the interval runners. If you plan to run and you like to do H.IT. (High Intensity Training) or interval running, you need to be aware that this treadmill does not accelerate fast. In our speed acceleration test, the Sole F80 took a whopping 22.01 seconds to go from 2mph – 8mph. This is one of the slowest treadmills we tested. Why is this a problem? Well, if you want to do intervals and it takes the treadmill 22 seconds to “get to speed”, your 30 second interval segment will almost be completed before you even achieve the desired speed. This means, you cannot do interval training on this treadmill. If you are not a runner, then this will not be a big deal.
We also did not like the position / height of the motor cover in relation to the uprights and upper display. If you are under 5’ 6” you may unfortunately kick the motor cover frequently when trying to touch the upper electronics board. This seems like an easy thing to fix so it is a bit confusing why this has not been addressed. So in order to not kick the motor cover, the user will have to stay back on the belt a little bit and lean forward. Again, not ideal.
Pros: Very well built, solid treadmill at a great price point. Big running area with plenty of room to move around. Easy to fold, unfold and move around.
Cons: The treadmill suspension was rather hard. Slow speed acceleration. A smaller person may kick the front edge of the motor cover while walking or running.
We were very excited to get our hands (and feet) on the Sole F80 Treadmill.
$1,899
This is a very highly advertised / publicized treadmill and one of the more well-known brands outside of Nordic Track, Pro Form and some of the other popular online names. So how did it stack up? Lets find out.
Sole is manufactured by Dyaco, a factory in Taiwan that also makes other treadmill models like Spirit and Xterra. This is a plus being made in Taiwan, as opposed to China. Another impressive factor about Sole is the price point of this machine – $1699.
This is a solid treadmill. The overall feel of this unit was rather good. It did not feel like it was going to choke under the weight of a 300 lbs. user. The frame felt solid, the uprights felt solid and we can see why Sole Treadmills offer a 375 weight capacity, we think this treadmill could in fact handle that weight too. The Sole F80 scored an impressive “A” for having a low amount of speed loss when a 270lb person was using the machine. Sole also had a very accurate “True Speed” rating in our comparison chart testing. All important features for a treadmill built for heavier users!
Another key feature we like is the belt size. The overall dimensions of the walking / running belt is 22” x 60”. This is a larger size than many other treadmills in this same price point. So, this means that you can be a bigger person who also wants to run and it is possible to buy a treadmill below $1700 to fit your needs. This is a big deal in terms of performance. Not many other machines can make these claims.
So why did we rate this treadmill 86 / 100? Why not higher? What did we not like?
3 rather big complaints. We did not like the suspension because it too hard. The running surface had very little give and that was not desirable, especially for bigger people. Now some people do like a more firm surface, and in that case it would be ok so keep in mind, this is our opinion. A hard deck can be hard on the knees, hips and ankles. We would like to see some more cushioning added. This is a similar complaint we had about the Peloton treadmill in our previous review. One of the main reason people buy treadmills is for the cushioning. People want something softer than running outside. Why not make the treadmill softer? We are a bit perplexed by this one.
The next topic is for the interval runners. If you plan to run and you like to do H.IT. (High Intensity Training) or interval running, you need to be aware that this treadmill does not accelerate fast. In our speed acceleration test, the Sole F80 took a whopping 22.01 seconds to go from 2mph – 8mph. This is one of the slowest treadmills we tested. Why is this a problem? Well, if you want to do intervals and it takes the treadmill 22 seconds to “get to speed”, your 30 second interval segment will almost be completed before you even achieve the desired speed. This means, you cannot do interval training on this treadmill. If you are not a runner, then this will not be a big deal.
We also did not like the position / height of the motor cover in relation to the uprights and upper display. If you are under 5’ 6” you may unfortunately kick the motor cover frequently when trying to touch the upper electronics board. This seems like an easy thing to fix so it is a bit confusing why this has not been addressed. So in order to not kick the motor cover, the user will have to stay back on the belt a little bit and lean forward. Again, not ideal.
Pros: Very well built, solid treadmill at a great price point. Big running area with plenty of room to move around. Easy to fold, unfold and move around.
Cons: The treadmill suspension was rather hard. Slow speed acceleration. A smaller person may kick the front edge of the motor cover while walking or running.
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