Treadmill choice 2019
I recently broke my 2011 Nordictrak again - this time I cracked the wood deck. Earlier this year had to replace motor, front roller, belt. The wifi connectivity refuses to work and I am pretty sure the incline/decline motor is on its last legs. Time for a new one.
Looking for a durable ride that streams netflix and such, ideally without an additional ipad (integrated). I am seeing prices of 10-16k now, which seems insane. When I bought my pony most options were less than 3k. Not in love with Nordictrak except for the price and ease of ordering.
Does anybody have a great experience they want to recommend for the ideal indoor running experience?
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given that there was a discussion of this on the Groupme and I missed it, I am interested in seeing the responses / opinions. One of the major considerations I am looking for is compatibility with Zwift.
following
@Doug Sutherland and @scott dinhofer below are the treadmills that are supported by Zwift:
I purchased a Sole F85 treadmill earlier this year and have been very happy with it -- it is very quiet to run on and can get to 12 mph and 15% grades.
For you however, it may not work as it does not have any of the functionality you mentioned abov (but it also cost less than $2,000). As well, it does not pair with Zwift.
@Doug Sutherland I recently bought the Bowflex BXT216 largely because it was the best bang-for-your-buck on the list of treadmills supported by Zwift. My buddy was willing to buy my old Sole F80, which is a tank, and Amazon had a Black Friday special that was $1700 with delivery and installation included.
I'd say it is a better treadmill than the Sole. Despite calibrating it, I could never get the Sole's speed right. The Bowflex matched my Stryd exactly right out of the box. The Zwift integration is real finicky. I reached out to Zwift and they knew about it, so hopefully it will improve. Basically I have to cycle the power on the treadmill and not touch any buttons for it to pair. I use the Android Companion app to pair to the treadmill, so your mileage may vary if you use an iOS device.
You can definitely spend a ridiculous amount on treadmills, especially the Zwift compatible ones. Another option I see on the Zwift Runners Facebook is to buy a used gym treadmill that has a CSAFE port and then pair with Zwift that way. Most consumer mills don't have a CSAFE port.
If Zwift compatibility is not a big deal for you, then I'd go with something like a Sole and get a Stryd footpod. I still use my Stryd as the speed source for flat workouts where I want to get power. I use the Bowflex as the source for workouts with vert (since I'm a hippy ultrarunner now and do tons of vert) so I get elevation in the file.