Sole F80 Treadmill Review: powerful, quiet, AND Netflix!

The Sole F80 Treadmill isn’t quite as heavy-duty as the Sole F85 or their T88, but it’s up there. It still feels like a beast of a treadmill, which is why I like it. With the Sole F80, you kind of get that gym treadmill quality but without the high price tag.

This thing weighs 280lb. It’s a heavy, sturdy machine. When you think a commercial-grade $5k treadmill weighs between 300 and 350lb, you’re not that far off. For the price point (under $2k), it’s about as close as you’re going to get to commercial grade for your money. It’s certainly more heavy-duty than the competition.

That’s why I rate the Sole Treadmill line so highly: they’re unbeatable on price and quality. Yeah, the tech might be lacking a little, but the build quality is superior to anything else out there with a similar price tag.

Yes, the NordicTrack Commercial line of treadmills comes close, but you’re tied to a subscription with them, which can be a major drawback.

Although the F80’s tech may be a bit lacking, it is a treadmill that has all the essentials right, and this is most important.

And with the recent update, the already impressive Sole F80 got even more impressive. The monitor has been updated and now includes a 10″ color touchscreen, which comes preloaded with many apps, such as YouTube and Netflix.

It’s certainly a treadmill worth taking seriously, and today, I want to take a close look at everything it has to offer, including any drawbacks. At the end of the review, I’ll do a quick comparison with NordicTrack’s Commercial 1250, as it will be interesting to see how they match up.

First a quick look at The Sole F80 Treadmill’s product specs!

Why Do We Like The Sole F80 Treadmill?

As I already mentioned in the intro, it’s always the build quality that sells the sole treadmills to me. I’ve been reviewing their gear for nearly a decade, and when it comes to price and build quality, these guys offer more than anyone else.

The Sole F80 is a 274 lb treadmill, it’s a heavy-duty machine. The weight of a treadmill is a telling sign of the quality of the parts used in the build, the heavier, the better when it comes to treadmills.

Also, that extra weight really helps keep this treadmill planted to the floor. There’s no movement when running on the F80.

Commercial Size Running Belt

Something else I love about this treadmill is the size of the belt. It measures 22″ x 60″, which is the same size as the running belts you find on treadmills in commercial gyms. So, it’s great to find a belt this size on a treadmill that costs well under $2k.

And the size of the running belt is so important as it determines who can use the treadmill and for what. A 22″ x 60″ running belt will allow users up to 6’2″ to run on the F80 without feeling restricted.

For lighter cardio, such as jogging, which requires a shorter stride, with the maximum height increase to around 6’4″.

It’s also important to have a wide belt. The more space you have on a treadmill belt, the less likely you are to step off the side of the running belt in the middle of a workout.

The Sole F80’s 22″ belt width is as good as it gets for treadmills.

Click here to check price of Sole F80 Treadmill on Solefitness.com

Can I Run on The Sole F80?

If you take your cardio seriously and are looking for a treadmill for more intense workouts, such as running, there are three things you need to consider when choosing your treadmill.

The first, of course, is a sturdy build; you need a heavy-duty treadmill with a heavy-gauge steel frame to withstand the stresses of someone running on it daily.

Also, you’ll need a large wide belt. Running requires a much larger stride than walking or jogging, so you need a treadmill belt that can accommodate the larger strides.

And lastly and most importantly, you’ll need a powerful heavy-duty motor.

The Sole F80 certainly has the sturdy build you need. It’s not commercial grade, but it’s a pretty solid machine. It also has a commercial-size running belt, which easily accommodates runners up to 6’2″in height.

The Sole F80 motor is a 3.5HP high turqe motor, which is impressive its nothing to shout home about but its powerful enough for runners. Still we have to remember the 3.5HP is this motors peak performance it isn’t it’s CHP (coniuous Horsepower) which is a shame.

The high-end treadmill motors are usually rated in CHP, so a 3.5 CHP motor will have a peak performance of around 5 HP, whereas the Sole F80 motor has a peak performance of 3.5 HP, which means its CHP would be more around 2.5CHP

In short, a 3.5HP motor isn’t that powerful compared to heavy-duty commercial motors.

So yes, you can use this treadmill for running interval training, etc. it has enough power, but for the more serious runners out there, you guys training for marathons, etc, you’ll need a little more power.

Still, if you do end up burning out the Sole F80 motor early, at least it comes with a lifetime warranty, so you’ll never have to pay for a new motor out of your own pocket.

Updated Monitor With 10″ Touchscreen and Sole+ App

Sole Fitness isn’t really a company that focuses its efforts on the techy stuff like NordicTrack.

Sole is a company that focuses most of its efforts on the treadmill’s essentials, with the tech coming in second. This is a good thing, as the essentials are much more important.

However, the F80 monitor was getting dated. It needed an update—nothing major, but it was lacking.

Sole updated it, and it’s a decent update, as you now have the 10″ color touchscreen, pre-loaded with a ton of apps, including YouTube and Netflix. It has Wifi Bluetooth and free access to the Sole+ App

And they kept all the good stuff from the last version of the monitor including the1/4 mile track feature and the large one-touch buttons.

Also, I love the new toggle buttons built into the front handlebars. This is a really handy feature that allows you to easily adjust incline and speed without having to reach forward to the monitor in the middle of a workout.

Overall, it is a decent monitor, easy to use, and has everything you need. Plus, the screen is crystal clear, which is a big improvement. It needed an update, and Sole did well.

15 Level Auto Adjust Incline (Best in Class)

When choosing a treadmill, one of the most important features has to be the incline.

Incline walking/running adds so much more to each workout. You double your calorie burn and work, strengthen, and tone those hard-to-train muscles, such as your calves, glutes, and hamstrings. It really is an essential feature, and The Sole F80 has the most impressive incline in its class.

What I really like about the F80 treadmill incline is how smoothly and quickly it adjusts. Many treadmill inclines in this price range are noisy and slow, but the F80 is fast and smooth. The same goes for adjusting the speed on this treadmill.

The motor’s thrust is so powerful that it makes speed and incline adjustments fast, which is great for interval training.

To adjust the incline on the Sole F80, you can use the large monitor buttons or the quick-assess toggle buttons built into the front handlebar.

Sofe Drop Folding System (Hydraulics)

The F80 is a large treadmill, and its running deck is heavy, so it needs a decent folding system to help fold it after use.

My favorite folding system is the soft drop folding system. This is a system that uses hydraulics. The hydraulics do all the hard work for you. The F80 uses a soft drop system, and it makes folding and unfolding the running deck a breeze.

To unfold, you can give the hydraulics a little kick or push, and the running deck will unfold gently in front of you. Folding is almost as easy; it can be done with one hand. Once folded, the treadmill’s overall footprint is almost halved, a handy feature for those of you tight on space.

Cushioning System – Joint Protection

All Sole treadmills use the same cushioning system, which basically consists of six rubber pads or elastomers placed between the deck and running belt, and they do a good job.

Still, I’ve found that the Sole running decks are a little harder under the foot than the competition, which isn’t always a bad thing as it won’t take as long to get used to running on a treadmill belt rather than the road.

But it would have been nice if this cushioning system was adjustable. So, you could choose between soft, medium, and hard, like on most high-end treadmills. Even a few NordicTrack mid-level T series Treadmills include adjustable deck cushioning.

Still, even a slightly hard-running deck will provide a lot more cushioning for each foot strike than running on hard-impact surfaces like roads. So, even though it’s not adjustable, it will be much kinder on your joints.

Will I need a Treadmill Mat?

You’ll find a lot of people buy a treadmill mat to aid stability, but this is only really needed for lightweight treadmills, which don’t have enough weight to keep planted on the floor. The Sole F80 is large heavy machine, it shouldn’t need a treadmill mat for this reason. There’s more than enough weight there to keep things sturdy.

However you may need a treadmill to protect your polished floors from scratches, which is why I use one.

Lastly, a treadmill mat is a must if you live in an apartment, as it will help absorb the vibrations from your workouts.

Assembly – It takes Two

This thing is shipped in a large box weighing 322lb. You will need a friend or two to help you lift it and put the treadmill in place. Once the heavy lifting is done, you’ll need to remove the treadmill from the box. There’s a lot of packaging.

Most of the complicated stuff has already been assembled for you. You’ll need to connect the upright to the monitor, the tools for this are provided. It takes about an hour to get everything assembled and in place how you want it.

It’s not particularly difficult, just awkward because it’s so large and heavy.

Also, it’s best to lubricate the treadmill belt before first use; most treadmills are lubricated at the factory, but you never know if they missed it or forgot, so I always lubricate a treadmill belt before first use.

Oh, and make sure the treadmill belt is centered.

Alternative

NordicTrack Comercial 1250 Treadmill

Only a few years ago, NordicTrack could be blamed for focusing on the tech of their fitness gear and forgetting about the essentials. With these guys, it was all tech, and build quality seemed to come second. But in the past few years, especially in 2024/25, NordicTrack seems to have really upped its game.

The build quality of their treadmills is now as impressive as the tech that comes with them, making a NordicTrack treadmill hard to beat in this price range. The Commercial 1250 is one of my favorite treadmills from NordicTrack; it really does offer a lot of bang for your buck.

First, it has a powerful 3.5CHP motor—the most powerful in this price range—more than powerful enough for runners. It also has a pretty heavy-duty build—this thing weighs 260lb out of the box. It’s a hefty machine. It’s a proper treadmill.

Thankfully, NordicTrack decided to use the 22″ x 60 running belt on the 1250, so you have a full commercial-size running belt, which is what we love to see. And the incline is impressive, too, with a max 12% incline, and you even get a 3% decline. Nice.

Lastly, the anti-shock system is decent. It is similar to the Sole F80 in that it uses rubber pads between the deck and belt. However, this system is a little softer, so it takes more time to get used to if you’re used to running on hard surfaces like roads.

Like the Sole F80, it has the soft drop folding system, which makes it a breeze to fold after a workout.

Nest the tech! Well, this is NordicTrack, so the tech is miles better than anything else at this price point. You get a 12″ HD pivoting touchscreen, which includes a ton of features such as SmartAdjust for incline and speed, ActivePulse, Google Maps, iFit with 10,000+ trainer-led workouts, Gloabla routes, and the list goes on. There’s too much to mention here.

The tech is really impressive for a treadmill costing under $2k. Still, to use all of those features, you need an iFit subscription. Heck, there’s not even any built-in workout programs, so without the iFit subscription, that loverly 10″ touchscreen is basically useless.

So, yes, an excellent treadmill that offers so much but is held back by a subscription app. Still, iFit is an excellent app, and when used with your treadmill, it takes the machine and your cardio sessions to another level. It is pretty cool, but it is worth that extra $39 a month.

If you love fitness apps, the 1250 treadmill is an excellent buy; if you don’t, then the Sole F80 is a no-brainer.

To Sum Up

The Sole F80 is unbeatable in the under $2k price bracket, and it has been for many years. Even without the recent update, I’d still put the F80 at the top of the pile, it’s that’s good.

NordicTrack’s 1250 is also an impressive machine. All of NordicTrack’s commercial treadmills are excellent, and they’ve really improved over the past few years. Still, they’re subscription-bound, which will hold many buyers back. iFit is expensive, at $39 a month or $410 a year. So, unless you love fitness apps, their treadmills won’t be the best buy for you.

Sole F80 Treadmill FAQs

How Much Does The Sole F80 Weigh?

The Sole F80 Treadmill is a heavy treadmill weighing 274lb out of the box and 322lb in the box. You will need a friend to help move and unbox this treadmill.

Are Sole Treadmills Worth The Money?

Sole treadmills are high-quality, durable machines. With top speeds of 12mph and sturdy all-steel frames, they are suited to nearly all types of workouts, including high-intensity training. And with some of the most impressive warranties out there, you’ll always have peace of mind when buying a treadmill from Sole should anything go wrong.

Does The Sole F80 Have BlueTooth?

The Sole F80 comes with Bluetooth, so you can easily connect your headphones, heart rate monitor, and phone to listen to music through the speakers. You can also use apps like the Sole+ app for even more training options.