Bowflex 3-Series

Great Treadmill!, July 15, 2006

By&nbsp

R. Roberts – See all my reviews

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I did a fair amount of searching prior to I bought this model and I am quite happy with it. I became interested in Bowflex treadmills right after Consumer Reports rated the Bowflex 7 series as one if its very best folding models. Shopping on Amazon, I realized that Bowflex produced three folding treadmills–the 3, the five, and the 7 series. Online, these look very comparable, with the 5 and 7 series having longer tracks and a larger motors. Strangely, the best source of data on these was not the Bowflex internet site itself (it has *no* details on the three ,five and 7 series treadmills–just those crazy tread climbers), but rather the specs from Amazon.

Consumer Reports indicated that the finest way to purchase a treadmill was to in fact see how the machine felt. I agree. I managed to locate a store that had a 7 series in stock. I was impressed. The 7 series was rock stable and has a quite nice folding mechanism–it locks in the up position and drops down slowly when released (a fantastic feature if you worry about your children obtaining crushed by the track accidentally). Sadly, I could not locate a dealer that carried the three series to attempt in person, but it seemed like it would be optimal and very cost successful.

I also tried a number of Nordic Track treadmills in person. These seemed to have extremely unappealing walking decks (sproingy!, in a poor way) and even on high hp power machines, the motor seemed to power the track extremely unevenly.

I decided to take a chance that the three series would be as sturdy as the 7 series I tried—I am really happy. Amazon shipped the thing super-saver in a fairly brief period of time–extremely appealing! It was really straightforward to assemble as soon as I got the thing in place–parts are labeled and the assembly images are really self explanatory. It is also a quiet machine and the deck is *extremely* sturdy even for a large guy like me (200+ lbs). 1 quibble–the grip heartrate monitor could work greater–occasionally it does not give a reading following even 10 sec of holding. Also, be aware the deck will not lock in the up position unless you reset the incline to degrees. The incline automatically resets to every single time the machine is powered on.

I use the machine primarily for walking, for this application it is excellent, the machine handles inclines and fairly quickly walking speeds with no problem. I can’t comment on how well this machine compares with others for running quick. For jogging it seems just fine.

A note on delivery and installation. This factor is *very* heavy (~275 lbs). The shipping business chosen by Amazon (Eagle) did a wonderful job. I known as them prior to delivery to schedule when they would drop it off–thats the good news.

The poor news, they would only bring it to the threshold (just inside the home). I asked if they would bring it upstairs for an extra fee and they said–”no way.” Three calls to moving companies and an estimate of ~-300 to move it from my entry up a flight of stairs–this is not a two individual job–the shipping box is enormous (80″ x 35″ x 16″). I solved this dilemma by recruiting my father-in-law (also a massive guy). We turned the box on its side, opened it, and moved the primary piece (track and motor together) by itself. Make sure not to cut the restraining strap, this keeps the frame and the track held in place making moving *a lot* easier. Even then, the primary piece weighs about 200 lbs and was severe work getting around corners. Quite glad at that point that I bought the shorter (56″) track!

Overall, a excellent mo-chine–equal to much more expensive models! Glad I managed to steer clear of a hernia in the course of installation.

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Nearly perfect home machine, February 3, 2007

By&nbsp

Joe Litton “rebhanj” (Seffner, Florida, USA) – See all my reviews

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The only factor I wish this treadmill included was an alternative that would allow me to save MY settings for a workout. There are numerous pre-programmed workouts, and I’ve tried most or all of them. Over time, my speed is growing, so I’m not using the pre-programmed settings as-is. I normally have to do one or much more button presses each and every time the treadmill modifications to one more component of a program, in order to boost the speed to where I want it.

Aside from that, even so, this is a amazing machine. Our old treadmill had finally died after 10 years or so. And I hadn’t Truly been doing sufficient of a workout on it. With the Bowflex Series 3, I set the treadmill for the program and time I want and begin working out. By performing this each and every day, I’ve began to slowly lose a small weight, and a lot more importantly, my HDL (the great cholesterol) has increased over the past few months from 38 to a present 54 (objective is at least HDL of 60). I totally credit this machine for the substantial improvement in my wellness.

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great treadmill, but heavy to get in the house, November 29, 2006

This treadmill is a great product–very sturdy and runs smooth. It is better than the treadmills that I was using at the high-priced gym where I was a member. The only problem that I encountered was getting it into the home–it took 3 powerful guys grunting fairly tough to get it in the house. As soon as inside, though, set-up was straightforward and took about 30 minutes. The only thing necessary was a phillips screwdriver ( the 1 supplied could have carried out it-but it wasn’t too easy with it.) All in all, I am genuinely pleased with this treadmill–it’s a well produced product!

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