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Sole F63

*Est. $1,050

Reviewed October 2009
Sole F63

Best value for walking and some jogging

pros
  • Sturdy, durable
  • Wide 20-inch belt
  • Solid warranty
  • Good for walking and light jogs
  • 15 percent incline
cons
  • Expensive if you only want to walk
  • Belt short for tall runners
  • Maximum speed of 10 mph
 
 
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5 star:
(8)
4 star:
(3)
3 star:
(2)
2 star:
(0)
1 star:
(3)

Average Customer Review

(16 customer reviews)

for $999.99

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Great choice for this price range, October 7, 2009

I have owned this treadmill for two months and love it. I relied on ratings for this treadmill and several others in the price range from Amazon and several other on-line sites before making a decision between this and another treadmill. I knew I wanted to keep the purchase to $1,000 or less. So far, I am very happy with it! It is easy to use, quiet in comparison to treadmills at the gym, comfortable. It's a bit smaller than a treadmill you'd see at the gym, but there is plenty of room both width- and length-wise. I ordered direct from the company and paid the extra set-up fee. I knew I couldn't lift it no matter where they set it in the room in that box to move it out of the box and set it up on my own, so it was definitely worth it for me. It took the delivery company (two people for most of the time, then later one person) about an hour and forty minutes to set it up. It was clear that he was just following the written instructions, without any experience, and both delivery people seemed a little nervous about the project. However, delivery was smooth and everything was set up fine and works well. Others have commented on here about the sound system. I didn't expect anything fancy, but it works very well for what I expected and need. I plug in a portable dvd player to the sound system and it is plenty loud. Music works well, too. The fan isn't really very strong, but it helps mildly. I find another fan is necessary to actually keep me cool if I'm doing anything but a slow walk. I use it to walk fast on an incline, am not a runner, and I was used to holding the bars up front on the gym treadmills when I was on a higher speed setting. That's not really possible on this treadmill. The bars are too low and too close to the front. The result is one's feet hitting the front of the machine repeatedly. However, the side bars work just fine as a replacement if you do like to hold on to something while walking. I have found, too, that most of the time not holding onto anything works just fine on this treadmill. The inclines and the workouts are comparable to a gym, though the pre-set buttons jump from 2 to 4, to 6 and so - on. You have to use different up/down buttons to get finer differences in between. It takes a bit to get used to, but after a few workouts it is pretty comfortable. Mine also came with a heart monitor, though I haven't used it yet. I also used the idea another person mentioned - to go to a Fleet Farm type of store and buy a mat used in a horse or cow stall to put under the treadmill. It was cheaper than comparable mats of the same thickness I'd seen online (about $40). It works very well. I've noticed the beginning of a slight clunking sound as the incline is going up or down in the past week, but it doesn't appear to be affecting performance at all yet. I haven't yet looked in the manual to see whether I might be able to adjust something to remedy this. Overall, I am really happy with the treadmill. I use it every day and do not have anything but good things to say about its performance.

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Real results, from a real user, September 22, 2009

I have owned this treadmill since January of 2009. I normally don't write reviews on the internet, negative or positive, but I felt that I owed it to this company for the way they have changed my life. There are alot of reviews, both negative and positive on this treadmill, but they are all written shortly after the treadmill is received. I will say that right out of the gate, I had an issue with some wires coming out of the wiring harness before we got the unit assembled. I was disappointed, and wanted to return the unit. My husband convinced me to let Sole try to remedy the situation first. He contacted their tech support, and we were sent a wiring harness, which was installed by a very nice local repair man, and the unit was working perfectly within a week. After a few "I told you so's" from my husband, I got to use the machine, and I will never buy another brand again. The features are easy to use, the programs make sense, and I am within 10lbs of where I was when I graduated high school. The machine is quieter than most on the market, and I love the backlit screen. I had looked at a model by Smooth that was comparably priced, but I didn't like the display. I didn't realize then how much I would have hated not having the screen backlit. It allows me to workout early in the morning, without turning on a bunch of lights, and still see my stats. If you are serious about a treadmill, don't let the negative reviews fool you, and don't let the positive reviews sell you. Look at the specifications, and you will see, this treadmill really is in a class of it's own, and you won't regret the purchase.

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Looks great so far..., September 15, 2009

Ok, I just received my very first treadmill the Sole F63. Purchased it directly from sole for $999 with no tax and free shipping. It took me about 2 hours to put it together all by myself. I don't understand how some people are saying they had to buy new screws or this and that. If you follow the directions step by step and make sure you are using the correct screws for the holes they are intended for, you will have no problems whatsoever. Whenever it said to use this certain screw# I would look it up in the instruction manual that was provided to make sure I had the right ones before I used them. Maybe some people were just grabbing whatever and trying to put them in the wrong holes, who knows!! Well anyways, I haven't used it yet because I JUST got done setting it up. I will update in a few weeks after using it. For now, the treadmill looks very nice and seems well made. Oh and I forgot to mention, for some reason it says this model does NOT have heart rate control but it comes with a wireless heart rate monitor... hmmmm.. I'll try it out to see if it works..

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Sole F63, September 12, 2009

Machine works really well. The tread part does seem to take awhile to get up to speed; especially if you are on the heavy side. It does get there in about 10 seconds. The machine is capable of handling someone of large size. Just note that the machine is very heavy and they do not deliver it inside if you have steps. You will need at least 2 people; 3 is better to carry it in. It is about 350 pounds and the front end carries most of the weight. Although it isn't too difficult to put together, it is helpful to have 2 people to put it together. Recommend getting the matt for underneath.

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Good Enough 4 The $$$, August 26, 2009

I bought this treadmill at the SOLE website and ABF delivery (Los Angeles area) was crap. The delivery driver left me a message and gave me a phone number to someone's cell phone. Then never called back and decided to show up when I'm not home and dropped it off to my neighbors. The driver mentioned to my neighbor that if they had to come back, they will charge me for delivery. But that has nothing to do with the machine. My friend helped me moved this into the house and I was able to install it by myself (I'm 5'2" (155 lbs)). Installation somewhat frustrated me because I had to make a trip to Homedepot when installing the handgrip side caps. The screws provided were too short (go figure). The speed nuts clip were hard to install also. One thing I've noticed is that if you are at 15% incline and walking at a slow speed (1.7 or less), the motor will start to slip and it will start going faster and faster. If you try to decrease the incline, the motor will stop until the incline level comes down to the desired level. This was just a test that I did, I don't usually walk at 15% incline anyway but it is worth mentioning. At the gym, I can walk at 15% incline at any speed but that is a different machine which probably will cost around $5K. Sole stated on their website that the maximum speed is 10 mph, this thing actually goes up to 12 mph. Someday, I will be able to run at this speed. Other than that, my wife and I love the machine. We get a good workout without going to the gym especially now that we have a baby.

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Where To Buy
 
 

Sole F63 Treadmill

 (16 customer reviews)
Buy new: $1,899.99 $1,049.99   2 New from $999.99

In Stock. Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping

 
 
 

Our Sources

1. TreadmillDoctor.com

The Sole F63 is a runner-up on this site's "Best Buy $700 to $999" list. The dedicated Sole F63 page doesn't elaborate much on the treadmill's features, but TreadmillDoctor.com awards the Sole F63 numeric scores in eight subcategories (such as reliability and noise level).

Review: Sole F63, Clark and Jon Stevenson

2. ConsumerReports.org

ConsumerReports.org subjects 29 treadmills, including the Sole F63, to a mechanical test designed to simulate a year of use. Human testers also rate the treadmills' comfort, usability and more. A chart provides test results and ranks the treadmills from best to worst, but there are no individual reviews for each treadmill.

Review: Treadmill Ratings, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Feb. 2009

3. Amazon.com

Approximately 15 owners give the Sole F63 an overall rating of four stars (out of five). The overall consensus is that the Sole F63 is a good value, but a few owners report problems with unresponsive customer service if they have problems.

Review: Sole F63 Treadmill, Contributors to Amazon.com, As of Oct. 2009

4. Treadmill-Ratings- Reviews.com

Fred Waters acknowledges that Sole treadmills have a reputation for quality, but he recommends it only for "walking and light jogging." Waters also discusses the treadmill's main features.

Review: Sole F63 Treadmill Review, Fred Waters

5. About.com

The Sole F63 is one of 10 treadmills on this list of best budget treadmills. Bumgardner does not personally test the treadmills, but she refers to advice from outside experts. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Review: Best Budget Treadmills, Wendy Bumgardner, May 8, 2009

Treadmills Runners Up:

Bowflex Series 7 *Est. $1,300

3 picks including: About.com, Amazon.com…

Sole F85 *Est. $2,000

2 picks including: About.com, Treadmill-Ratings- Reviews.com…

PaceMaster Gold Elite Fold-Up *Est. $2,500

2 picks including: Runner's World, TreadmillDoctor.com…

Precor 9.31 *Est. $4,000

2 picks by top review sites.

     
 
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