Bowflex Series 7 Treadmill

I have had this treadmill for a few weeks now and have been very happy with it. It''s very sturdy and has a lot of features for a home treadmill. The comments I list below fall into the category of "just be prepared for" and mainly involve the delivery process.

One caveat I have is that this machine is *heavy*. My delivery guy brought it into my garage and despite my attempts to have him put it just inside a room off the garage, no dice. I had to have the help of a very strong guy to move the treadmill where I wanted it. The good news is that after that, it was a piece of cake to put together, involving about 30 big screws and took exactly an hour (probably could have taken even less time).

This treadmill is supposed to fold up, but I can''t imagine ever using that feature -for one, it''s too heavy and two, it''s so big it''s not like you could really hide it anywhere. These are not complaints -the fact that the machine is big and heavy translates into sturdiness and a larger running surface.

Finally, there''s no instant gratification when you click the Purchase button online. Be prepared for this item to take up to a month to be delivered. It''s worth the wait, though!

I just recently purchased a Bowflex Series 7 Treadmill off of Amazon. The other reviews definitely helped me in my decision making process, so I definitely wanted to pass my thoughts along. I respect Consumer Reports as well, so it was an added plus to find out that they rated this treadmill a top buy.

First off, I am very pleased with the overall value. I received a free Bowflex mat to go underneath it, and also got free super saver shipping. The Bowflex mat is decent. I probably would not have purchased it for the $99 price-tag, but it does protect our carpet very nicely, and I''m glad to have it.

The thing I was most nervous about was the free super saver shipping. Other reviewers had mentioned that their boxes arrived in very poor condition, so I didn''t know what to expect. Thankfully, my treadmill box arrived in excellent condition. One guy delivered it, and he had quite the time getting it off the truck. He did a great job, though, and nothing was damaged in any way.

As other reviewers have noted, this is one HEAVY machine. It took me (a 200 pound guy), a strong friend, and my wife to lift the thing into our house.

Once the machine was in place, setup was a breeze. Probably took me 45 minutes to an hour, and everything was pretty self explanatory. The instructions were very easy to follow. Probably one of the easiest assembly projects I have ever encountered.

I have already had the opportunity to run on this machine a couple times, and it is even better than expected. Although the machine is very heavy, which makes for an interesting time getting it into the house, I believe the weight also makes it an extremely sturdy machine. I am a 200 pound guy, and the machine has no trouble handling me when I run. It is very smooth, reasonably quiet, and the 3.0 horsepower motor has no trouble handling inclines or running. I have had health club memberships in the past, and this machine is as good, if not better, than some of the "commercial quality" machines I have used.

Also, the 20"x60" deck provides ample running space. The two-ply belt looks thick, and does not appear to be something that will wear out any time soon. The deck also folds up and drops down very easily, with minimal assistance needed.

Here''s the stuff that is so-so:

Don''t expect the fan to do much. You do notice a difference if you have the fan on high, and then you turn it off. At most, it provides a very light breeze on your face.

As one other reviewer noted, the grip heart-rate monitor seems to take a very long time to provide a reading. I haven''t had a chance to use the wireless monitor yet, but it seems like that has received very positive reviews.

Another reviewer mentioned that his belt was off center when he received the machine. My belt was a tad off center as well, but it is very easy to make the needed adjustment to get it centered again.

My only other complaint is that I wish the treadmill had a warranty that would rival Smooth Fitness. I was close to purchasing the Smooth 6.25, but the Bowflex Series 7 was slightly less money, and I felt it offered more features. That said, the Smooth 6.25 has an unbelievable warranty that Bowflex cannot match. Nothing about the Bowflex Series 7 leads me to believe that it will be anything but a great machine for years to come, but I do wish it had a longer warranty.

Overall, the Bowflex Series 7 appears to be an awesome machine, and hopefully it proves to be a workhorse that can standup to years of use.

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I read consumer reports looking for the best treadmill for someone other than a serious distance runner. This was the recommended machine. Its a bit pricey and you do have to do assemble it when it arrives, but its a great machine. It even has a built in fan. One caution, make sure to assemble it in the room where you want it to be and don''t expect to be able to move it between rooms because when assembled its too wide for standard doorways.

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As many of the other reviews have said, this is a solid, well built treadmill. However, I think there are some issues which Bowflex should fix in the future. (And shame on Consumer Reports for rating this machine with "excellent" Ergonomics). These issues are:

1. The instruction manual is not as clear as it could be regarding which fasteners to use where. There are two types of Allen screws to use during assembly. Both are the same size, but they differ in appearance. The "plain" looking Allen screws are used on a non-visible, internal part of the treadmill. It would have been nice if the manual stated this up front, instead of leaving the user to figure out where they went.

2. The usability of the display is really bad. Several of the buttons on the display have "modes", and it is not always clear which mode you are in. For example, the "Enter" key doubles as the "Cool Down" key. When you enter your speed, it is not clear if you are to key in your speed and press the "Enter" key, or key it in and wait for the treadmill to speed up. If you are unsure of which mode you are in and you press the "Enter" key at the wrong time, you''ve just ruined your workout, and need to shut the machine off and reprogram it to continue your workout.

3. There is no way to fix a programming mistake without turning the machine off. Although I admit this is a bit of hyperbole, it is akin to restarting MS Word if you make a simple typing mistake.

4. The "action" messages presented to the user are shown in a marquee format (scrolling horizontal), with only two letters visible at a time. You have to stare at the display to piece the word together. Cognitively, this is extremely difficult. Here is an example: (pretend you can only see two letters at a time) CO OL DO WN or EN TE R WE IG HT or TI ME (cooldown, enter weight, time). Bad! Show the whole phrase at once.

5. The fan is completely pathetic. The Bowflex engineers could have at least provided a better opening in the panel behind the fan, so the fan could provide decent throughput. It isn''t worth turning on.

So those are the bad things about the treadmill. Otherwise, it is very quiet, sturdy, and like many of the other reviews have stated, well built.

As many of the reviewers have stated, this thing is extremely heavy! I was fortunate to have 2 delivery people, whom I, and a couple of "Jackson''s" *convinced* to move it its final location. From what I understand, there is "white glove" delivery service available, for less than a "Jackson". It is unclear what this service entails, but you have to request it through Amazon at the time you order it.

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When my machine arrived it was not working properly. The motor is making a very loud noise. I understand that sometimes there are problems with equipment; however, I am extremley dissappointed in Bowflex customer service. Everytime I have called there has been an minimum of a 30 minute wait to speak with someone. Once I got someone live, they agreed that the machine needed repair. They said I would be receiving a call from a repair person to fix the machine. That was over 5 days ago and I still have not been contacted. For the price of this equipment, my expectations are to receive proper working equipment and great customer service. This has been extremely inconvenient.

The machine was easy to put together and looks like it would be great if it worked, but if you receive a defective machine good luck with customer service.