SOLE F80 Treadmill Review: Lifetime Motor Cover, Loud Deck, No Subscription
By The Ironnook Test Desk ·
7.7
soletreadmills.com
The verdict
The F80 is built for people who run often and want to buy once. The lifetime frame and motor warranty, the 12 mph top speed and a screen with no required subscription are its strengths. Against that, it is loud, the incline is slow for intervals, and labor is covered for only a year. A solid buy for steady runners on a ground floor.
Best for: Regular runners who want long warranty cover and no subscription
What we liked
Lifetime warranty on frame and motor, three years on deck and electronics
20 by 60 inch deck, 0.5 to 12 mph and 15 incline levels
No subscription needed; the SOLE+ app is free and the screen mirrors a phone
350 lb user capacity and CushionFlex 2.0 cushioning that testers called springy
Folds upright with a kick release, cutting the floor footprint roughly in half
For a work-from-home walking habit, the W60 Plus is one of the better budget pads. The deck is wider than most, the motor is quiet at about 54 dB, and the 12-level incline makes slow walking feel like exercise. It tops out at 4 mph, has no handrail and sits at $359.99 only on sale, so check the price. Buy it to walk. Do not buy it to jog.
A stable, no-nonsense treadmill with a real running deck, 15% incline and dials that jump straight to a speed. You bring the screen and pay no subscription. It is the smarter buy than a touchscreen model if you stream on your own tablet, and a poor one if you want on-board classes.
8.1$1,099
Treadmills and Walking Pads
Loud: independent tests measured about 65 dB, and 69 dB with a runner at 7.5 mph
Incline takes about 39 seconds to reach the top, which is slow for HIIT
Labor is covered for only one year, and the 218 lb frame is awkward to move
Folded it still stands 66 inches tall, and delivery is curbside only
Reviewers disagree on the motor and deck figures, so check the listing you buy
The F80 costs $1,599.99, folds upright and covers the frame and motor for life, with no subscription. It is loud, the incline is slow, and the deck is 20 inches wide.
If you run four days a week for five years, the treadmill you buy is a wear item. The belt, deck and motor take a beating, and the warranty tells you how much the maker trusts them. SOLE's pitch for the F80 is a warranty that covers the frame and the motor for life, no subscription, and a price under $1,600. That is a different pitch from the big-screen brands, and it is why this treadmill keeps turning up on runners' shortlists.
The warranty is the product
Read this section of the spec sheet before anything else. SOLE lists a lifetime warranty on the frame and motor, three years on the deck, electronics and wear parts, one year on labor, and 90 days on cosmetic items. The motor is the most expensive part to replace, and many treadmills cap it at five or ten years.
Labor is the weak spot: one year only. If something fails in year two, you pay for a technician, though the part itself is free. For a machine that weighs 218 lb, that matters.
The F80 from the front at an angle: upright handrails, a compact console with a tilting screen, and the long deck.
Running on it
The deck is 20 by 60 inches with SOLE's CushionFlex 2.0 cushioning. Speed runs from 0.5 to 12 mph and incline from 0 to 15 levels. SOLE lists a 3.25 HP motor on its current page. Several reviews, including OutdoorGearLab, quote 3.5 HP and a 22 inch deck, which suggests the 2026 model is a revision. We trust the maker's page for the current spec and the testers for how it behaves.
The test findings are mixed. OutdoorGearLab praised the springy, joint-friendly cushioning, which they called closer to road running than to a plush deck. They also gave the F80 71 out of 100 and ranked it seventh of eight. Their sticking points: the incline takes about 39 seconds to climb to the top, which hurts interval work, and the console sits far forward, so shorter runners reach for it.
Side profile of the F80 showing the deck length and the console angled toward the runner.
One more thing about that width. A 20 inch belt is fine for a stride under 6 feet, but a tall runner with a wide gait will notice the edges, and the 22 inch decks from older F80 reviews gave more room. If you are tall, check which deck size ships before you pay.
Noise
This is where a $1,600 treadmill with a lifetime motor warranty can disappoint. OutdoorGearLab measured around 65 dB for the machine and 69 dB with a runner at 7.5 mph. That is closer to a loud conversation than a library. A second source, Treadmills.Review, logged 53.5 dB at 3 mph and 65.5 dB at 9 mph with a person on the deck.
Walking is fine. Hard running through a thin floor is not, so put it on the ground floor or on a rubber mat if your neighbours share a ceiling.
Folding, size and delivery
Operating size is 75 inches long by 34 wide, and the folded frame stands 48 by 36 by 66 inches. That halves the floor footprint, but 66 inches is a tall wall of treadmill, and fold-up does not make it small. A kick release lowers the deck, which is easier than it sounds on a 218 lb machine.
Rear three-quarter view of the F80, with the rear roller housing and the folding frame visible.
Delivery is curbside, 10 to 14 business days. Testers needed about 86 minutes to assemble it, or you can pay a professional $199 to $350. Budget for help getting the crate up stairs.
A lifestyle photo from SOLE: the F80 set up in a kitchen with a dumbbell rack behind it.
The screen, and what it does not cost
The 10.1 inch touchscreen tilts and swivels, has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and works with SOLE's free app. There is no required monthly fee. OutdoorGearLab noted you can stream Netflix and YouTube and mirror a phone, with a paid STUDIO plan at $39 a month if you want classes. You can ignore that plan. Free is the point of this machine.
The built-in fan, quick-dial speed and incline keys, and USB-C charging port cover the basics.
Who should buy it
Buy the F80 if you run regularly, want a long warranty and have a floor that can take a loud machine. At $1,599.99 it is a fair price for a treadmill built to last, and a better long-term bet than a cheaper model with a shorter motor cover.
Skip it if you need fast incline changes for HIIT, if a far-forward console would annoy you, or if quiet matters more than longevity. In that case look at the Horizon 7.0 AT, which we reviewed separately.
The C2 is a walking tool, not a treadmill: it stops at 3.7 mph, has no incline and a 220 lb user limit. Folding it in half cuts the length to 32 inches, which does help in a studio, though the folded slab is still 5.5 inches thick and owners report belt drift and a glitchy app. At $449 on sale it is fair value for casual walkers. Anyone who wants to jog should skip it.
