Sole Fitness manufactures cardio exercise machines designed for home, hotel and light-commercial use. Sole's hotel partners include Omni Hotels, Hilton and Hotel Monaco. Sole Fitness treadmills and ellipticals have received favorable reviews, including Best Buy ratings in their price ranges for the E35 elliptical and the F80 and S77 treadmills.
Types
Sole Fitness produces three lines of exercise equipment: folding treadmills demarcated by an F before the model number, nonfolding treadmills identified by an S or TT before the model number and elliptical trainers, with model numbers prefixed by an E.
Size
The F63 and F80 folding treadmills by Sole Fitness feature adequate 20-by-55-inch running surfaces. The F83 and F85 models feature longer running surfaces, at 58 and 60 inches, respectively.
Sole Fitness non-folding treadmills feature 20-by-60-inch running surfaces, except for the TT8, which has a 22-inch-wide running surface.
Sole elliptical trainers are front-drive machines with a 27-inch-wide footprint, between 71 and 82 inches long.
Specs
Sole Fitness elliptical trainers all feature a fixed 20-inch stride length, 20 levels of push-button adjustable resistance and an adjustable incline that varies which muscles your workout targets.
Folding Sole Fitness treadmills have 2.5 to 3.5 horsepower motors, maximum speeds ranging from 10 to 12 mph, and a push-button adjustable incline of up to 15 percent.
Non-Folding Sole treadmills come with 3 to 3.5 horsepower motors, with a maximum belt speed of 12 mph and adjustable inclines of up to 15 percent.
Features
Sole treadmills and elliptical trainers offer a range of features that are fairly common in high-end treadmills, including built-in heart rate monitors, handle-mounted speed and incline controls for treadmills, heart rate control programs and wireless chest strap heart rate monitors included with some models.
Other features of note include in-console cooling fans and MP3 player-compatible built-in speakers.
Cost
As of May 2010, the manufacturer's suggested retail price for Sole treadmills ranges from approximately $2,000 to $3,000, although they're often on sale for less.
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for Sole ellipticals covers the same range, roughly $2,000 to $3,000. As with Sole treadmills, Sole elliptical trainers are frequently available, directly from the manufacturer, at substantial savings on the retail price.
Considerations
Sole Fitness folding treadmills are designed for permanent placement and a small footprint when folded, not for storage beneath a bed or in the closet. The running deck locks down when the treadmill is in use; unlock the deck and it automatically lifts into the folded position, hinging where the deck meets the treadmill frame.
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