Sole F63 treadmill review: the cheapest treadmill we'd actually run on

Is the Sole F63 worth it?

Yes, especially if your budget stops at $1,400 and someone in the house will run. The Sole F63 has the same hydraulic fold and lifetime frame and motor warranty as the Sole F80, with a narrower belt, a smaller motor and a plain LCD console instead of a touchscreen. For a walker, or a runner who isn’t especially tall or heavy, it does what the F80 does for about $500 less. Typical prices run $1,099 to $1,399; check the retailer before you buy.

What you give up is two inches of belt width. That sounds trivial until mile six of a long run, when your stride starts to wander and the edge of a 20-inch belt is closer than you’d like. Under about 6 ft and 200 lb, you’re unlikely to notice. Above that, you will.

We haven’t bench-tested our F63 yet, so this review works from Sole’s specs and what we know about this class of machine.

Running on it

The belt is 60 inches long, enough for a tall runner’s stride, and 20 inches wide, which suits most runners. The 3.0 HP motor is the floor we set for regular running under 180 lb, and we expect it to hold 9 mph under a 200 lb runner; that’s one of the first things we’ll check. The rating is 325 lb, but running loads a deck far harder than walking, so we’d treat 275 lb as the practical limit for a runner.

The deck is firm, closer to a track than the softer decks on some NordicTrack machines. That’s good for long runs. If you mostly walk and want something softer underfoot, it may feel hard.

Speed runs from 0.5 to 12 mph and incline from 0 to 15%, changed by buttons on the console and the arms in 0.1 mph and 0.5% steps. Fine for steady running, slow for intervals. If you train by the minute, the roller dials on the Horizon 7.0 AT are faster, at a similar price.

Space and setup

Open, the F63 takes 77 by 35 inches. Add the clearance the safety standard asks for behind it and it fills roughly half of a 12-by-12 spare room. Folded, Sole quotes 45 inches from the wall, which gives you back about 32 inches, and the hydraulic strut lowers the deck slowly enough to do it with one hand. If floor space is the real problem, start with our compact treadmill picks.

It weighs about 253 lb, so plan on two people and a hand truck for stairs. The deck comes built; you bolt on the uprights and lift the console mast, which is the one heavy step. The front wheels roll on hard floors and sink into carpet, so pick the room and leave it there.

A 3.0 HP DC motor on a thick deck should be a hum at a walk and about conversation level at 6 mph. What carries through a floor is the foot strike, and the F63’s deck is a shade firmer than the F80’s, so a heavy runner upstairs will want a rubber mat under it.

The console

A 6.5-inch LCD, buttons, and a shelf for your tablet. We mean it as praise. It starts instantly, the numbers are readable from standing height, and nothing on it asks for money. Put your own tablet on the shelf and you’ll have a better screen than most built-in ones.

The heart-rate grips read high, as they do on most treadmills. If heart rate matters to you, a chest strap and your own watch or app are more accurate.

Where it falls short

Belt width for tall and heavy runners, as above. There’s no decline, no touchscreen and not much in the way of built-in programs. None of those are reasons to skip it; they’re why it costs what it does. Labor is covered for one year, so register it when it arrives.

Against the Horizon T101

The Horizon T101 is the other treadmill we recommend in this price range, and the choice between them is simple. The T101 is about 73 lb lighter, 7 inches shorter and around $400 cheaper, with a 55-inch belt, a 2.5 CHP motor and 10% incline. It’s the better walking treadmill and the better fit for a small room.

The F63 has a 60-inch belt, a 3.0 HP motor, 15% incline, and three years on the deck and electronics where the T101 covers parts for one. Both have lifetime frame and motor warranties. If anyone in the house plans to run, buy the F63. If nobody does, buy the T101 and keep the money.

F63 or F80

The F80 adds two inches of belt width, half a horsepower, 25 lb of rating and a 10.1-inch touchscreen. That’s worth about $500 to a tall or heavy runner and not to many other people. Our Sole F63 vs F80 comparison goes through it line by line.

What we’ll measure

With our retail unit set up in a 12-by-12 spare room, we’ll record noise at 3, 6, 9 and 12 mph from three feet with a 200 lb runner, the real incline at 15% with a digital level, belt speed against a calibrated wheel, watts at the wall, the folded footprint and one-person assembly time, then fold it every night for a month. How we test has the details, and our treadmill maintenance guide covers the upkeep once it’s home.