My Bowflex was delivered today. I'd just like to make some observations on what I've seen so far:
-First off, the box for this thing is huge! The delivery guy was surly about having the wrong side facing the back of his truck (I had to help him rotate it), but overall he did a good job lugging the thing up the driveway. It's very heavy, but I'm one guy (5'8'') and I was able to take all the packing apart and set the treadmill up in my garage without much trouble. Fitting it through a door threshold would be a pain (you'd have to do it while it was still disassembled), but sliding things across a concrete garage floor wasn't too much work for me (about 2 hours total setup.
-The assembly instructions are a bit unclear with things. One of the steps said to use the included "Philips head screws," but you're really supposed to use the silver hex bolts. This happened twice in the booklet, and I was left with 4 extra bolts when I was done. Nothing is hard to figure out, but it's still annoying when you're searching for the wrong parts (some of the bolts are black, why not point that out during the actual steps?). Also, early on you're supposed to push some cables through a side rail, which is a pain - have a pair of needle-nose pliars handy, and be sure to use the black twist-ties to secure them on either end.
-For the most part, things fit well (one bolt on the center bar is wedged between the bar hole and the hole on the side rail), though the instructions could have been more clear on a few steps. For instance, the prongs on the center console have to wrap around the tops of those round protrusions on the tops of the side rails (followed by shifting them down a bit to align the holes for the bolts), but the illustration didn't say anything about how it's supposed to fit on the rails.
-Concerning the treadmill overall, there are some annoyances:
---The fan is really weak, and looks like the same cheap kind of fan I put in my computer a while back. Same (visible) power cables, etc. If you're just walking, you can feel a bit of the breeze, but while running I never feel anything, even on the highest setting.
---I'm not sure what height of person the treadmill was designed for. I have trouble reading the top part of the lowest display (there's a "track" that wraps around it) so I have to back up a bit, but then I can't reach the center bar (where the heart monitors are built in, unless you use the chest monitor that's included - and they don't tell you how to sync THAT up to the Bowflex, though it might be automatic...it's made by another company).
---I wish the buttons were actual click buttons rather than the kind covered with that plastic stuff, as sometimes it's difficult to know whether you're pressing them hard enough.
---Only the three stat screens light up. The buttons do not, so you pretty much have to work out with an external light on.
---There's no "cancel" button. When you end a workout, you have to press the power button off and on again to start a new workout.
---There are a few good workout programs, but I can't find one for "track" running. You know, walking the curves and jogging the straightaways...you can speed up and slow down manually though.
---I usually like the stats screen to be set to show miles elapsed and time elapsed/remaining. For some reason, it keeps randomly switching to the pulse rate display, UNLESS you're wearing the heart monitor strap or holding on to the bar. I've gotten into the habit of wearing the strap (which, btw, has to wrap around your skin, not just over a shirt), but it's annoying to have to tap the screen every few minutes just to get to the info you want if you're not wearing it.
---The stats screen only shows 2-3 pieces of info at a time. You can show one or cycle them, but I think it would have been nice to have a bigger screen with all the info at once.
----The displays are a little...freaky. Overall, the console kinda looks like a face, with circular "eyes" and a "mouth" for the stats. I know it's a childish observation, but it still bothers me that they couldn't just have one giant screen with more info displayed all at once. They could have put another screen in place of the fan too.
---Also, the console piece is the main "visual" part of the treadmill, and looks a bit cheap. It's hard plastic, but metal would have looked much better. Same goes for the parts that hide the tops of the rails.
-The operation manual says to lubricate the belt every few months (the package with the bolts and stuff also has a small bottle of silicone), but it doesn't tell you how or where to apply the silicone. I guess it goes on the underside of the rolling mat, but how do you coat the whole thing with a tube?
-Finally, there's a picture shown several times in the manuals of a model happily rolling the unit along. She's admittedly nice to look at, but it's just not plausible for someone her size to be able to tilt this monstrosity over and push it the way she's showing. I can barely get the bloody thing to tilt at all, and it's just too heavy to roll around on a regular basis. At around 33 inches wide, it won't fit through any of our doors, at least without taking it all apart again!
I know I've been nitpicking a lot, but as long as it lasts for a few years, I'll be happy I bought this machine. Whatever faults it has, the thing is sturdy and has a great motor. It's smooth enough to handle walking, and powerful enough when I run on it.Get more detail about Bowflex Series 7 Treadmill.
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