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. Get more detail about Bowflex Series 7 Treadmill.
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