Sole F83 Treadmill Review and Price Comparison

Your Sole F83 Treadmill Buying Guide
Summary of What The Experts Say

There is disagreement between experts here. Some experts recommend the Sole F83 over the F80 while some recommend the F80 over the F83 if you want to save a few hundred bucks. Some of the expert reviews were done when an older version of the Sole F83 with a 55" version of the belt was used. The current version comes with a 58" belt. Experts also note the increased motor from 2.5 CHP in the F63 and F80 to the 3.0 CHP used in the F83. The F83 is also said to be just a relabeled Spirit Z300 but with extra fans and a superior warranty. (You can read Sole/Spirit’s relationship in this article here.)

Summary of What The Users Say

There's very little said about this treadmill specifically by the users. Of the comments made, one was impressed by Sole's customer service when a treadmill was dead on arrival. One user also complained about the short handles of the treadmill. The same user also said the console on the Sole F83 treadmill looks almost identical to the F80 except there's 3 light colors instead of 1.

What You Should Do

Although the Sole F83 is not as popular as its brothers, the Sole F80 and F63, the simple fact that it's made by Sole has garnered it more than its fair share of attention. In this section, we will compare the Sole F80 with the Sole F83 since they are two very closely related treadmills. We've also compared the Sole F83 with the Sole F85 which you can find on the F85 page. Without further ado, let's start. [Click To See Rest of Review][Close Reviews]

Sole F83 vs Sole F80

If you've already read our F80 review, one of our main messages was that we have doubts as to how well the Sole F80 can take on an intense/regular runner since it is essentially based on the sub $1000 Sole F63 model. We also felt that at the price the Sole F80 was selling for, the price was just a teensy bit high IF you’re going to jog more than you run on it. It would seem the F83 also suffers a pricing problem that’s a little more severe than the F80. Let's take a look at why.

There is an approximate $300 price gap between the Sole F83 and Sole F80. For $300 more, the Sole F83 gets you half a horsepower more than the F80, 1 MPH more to the maximum speed, and 3 inches more to the length of the belt. Now, let me translate what those numbers essentially mean.

The belt length of 58 inches essentially means it is sufficiently long to accommodate the majority of users (even the tall ones¬) that are runners. The extra motor strength at 3.0 CHP is sufficiently strong enough to be classified as running capable (the 2.5 CHP in the F80/F63 is jogging capable.) In other words, the Sole F83 is the first treadmill in Sole's folding series that we feel is safe and strong enough for regular running for almost all users of all heights. The extra speed really doesn't mean much unless you really need to (and can!) go up to 12 MPH.

At the lowest price of $1749 from our featured sellers at the time of writing, we just don’t see how the things we’ve mentioned above justify the $300 price increase over the F80. You can argue that $300 is a small price to pay to upgrade a treadmill from a “sorta” running capable treadmill to a running capable treadmill. But if that’s your argument, we would just counter with the Smooth 6.25 which is at a much lower price point than the F83.

Verdict: You should consider the F83 over the F80 if you intend to do a lot of running. If you do a lot of jogging with the occasional run, the F80 is sufficient. If you feel the F83 is priced outside your budget but you are a regular runner, you should consider the Smooth 6.25 unless you feel 54" belt leaves you feeling a little short. You can also look into the Sole S73 which is basically the non folding version of this treadmill at $100 less.

After reading opinions from experts and users, we have objectively analyzed the Sole F83 Treadmill and assigned it a meta score as follows:

If the total price is $1450, you are getting a Super Bargain (5.0/5.0)
If the total price is $1575, you are getting a Great Bargain (4.5/5.0)
If the total price is $1700, you are getting a Good Bargain (4.0/5.0)
If the total price is $1825, you are getting a Small Bargain (3.5/5.0)
If the total price is $1950, it is No Bargain (3.0/5.0)
If the total price is $2075, it is Somewhat Overpriced (2.5/5.0)
If the total price is $2200, it is Greatly Overpriced (2.0/5.0)
If the total price is $2325, it is Severely Overpriced (1.5/5.0)

The current lowest price is $1492.94 which makes it a Great Bargain.

Notes:

1. This meta review was first published on October 25th, 2007.
2. For a list of resources used to construct this meta review, click here.

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