Bowflex Series 7 Treadmill Review

5.0 out of 5 stars
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. Durham Don

5.0 out of 5 stars
Bowflex Series 7 Treadmill, August 10, 2009 A good friend recommended the Bowflex Series 7. He has been using his for over 3 months, and he and his wife love it. I bought one for my wife and she enjoys the workout very much. I also started using it, and the workout is intense. There are different workout profiles for every level of conditioning. From hill climbing to flat out running the Series 7 is up to the task.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product and value
I bought this treadmill about 2 months ago and have used it almost every day since. It is extremely well built, works just fine, and does not require a "Rocket Scientist" to program. Assembly is easy. Built in HR monitor doesn't work well but the chest strap works fine. Built in fan is great for the first 5 minutes.... then it is time to turn on the remote controlled floor fan (check out Honeywell HFS641P 16-Inch Remote Control Stand Fan here on Amazon Honeywell HFS641P 16-Inch Remote Control Stand Fan. This works perfectly as well). My mill was delivered in about 1.5 weeks. A $40 tip got the thing placed in my workout room instead of just the garage. This was worth every penny, unless you value your back at < $40. If I were you, I would go ahead and buy this mill and the fan while they are still available. You will not be disappointed and you won't find a better deal.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Buy!
Upon looking around the Bowflex seemed to be the best overall rated for home use. I was little skeptical on spending $1200 for a treadmill. However, I didn't want to waste money on an inferior one either.

The machine came in about three days. It was heavy for sure and you Will need help getting this thing in your home. As previous post have mentioned, decide what room you will have the Bowflex in. Once it is assembled, you will not be able to move through standard 32" doorways. Even unassembled you will have to turn the machine on its side to move as I experienced.

It took about 45 minutes to assemble from start to turning on and test running. There are just a few parts to assemble. The bulk is pre-assembled , so don't let assemble required scare you off.

On mine, some screws mention in the instructions and what came didn't jive; however, it was no biggie.

The treadmill itself is definitely of high quality. I would rate it just below gym quality, but gym quality would cost you 3K. Gym quality has to be able to be pounded on for 8-10 hours at a time. For home use, I think this one will last a good long while.

I'm 220 lbs and this thing held up wonderfully. Not just in walking, but running at an 8 minute mile clip. The fan doesn't do much for you walking, but when you start ramping up and breaking a sweat, the light breeze does help.

I won't give this a 5 only due to the price. I would like to see the price at about $975. However, I didn't see one for less than the Bowflex that I felt comfortable would hold up and last like I think the Bowflex will.

4.0 out of 5 stars Treadmill deck is a great value, console is a bit weak
Background: Mid 30s, male, 150lbs. I've been running for about a year (~ 1400 miles in 2007) with roughly half my time outside and half on gym or hotel treadmills. My wife and I were looking at a few different treadmills and liked the main stats of the Bowflex series 7: strong engine, good tread area (20x60), heavy frame, fast enough. For just under $1400 and with no tax or shipping charges, buying it through Amazon seemed like a good move.

I ordered the treadmill late Friday night and received a call on Monday by ABF (the freight delivery company) asking if I would be home on Tuesday for the treadmill to be dropped off. They gave me a 2 hour window of 11am -> 1pm to expect the delivery. Knowing it was a very heavy unit (300 lbs), I asked a friend if he could come over and help me move it in the house and assemble it.

Freight Delivery
ABF arrived a few minutes before 11:00am the next day. I was a bit surprised that there was a single guy in the ABF truck. I helped him move the unit on a dolly to the porch, and then we waited a few minutes for my friend and his teenage son to show up. With 4 of us, it wasn't hard to move the BIG box into the house, but it would have been pretty tough with just two people. Make sure you have a friend or two with some muscles to help.

Assembly
We unpacked the unit and read through the instructions. In general, the instructions were very clear and the screw and components were well labeled. There was one small difference between the instructions and the names printed on the blister packs of screws, but it was pretty easy to figure out. Another thing that puzzled us for a minute was that the assembly guide indicated a philips head screwdriver was included. The 'philips head screwdriver' was actually one of the ends of an allen wrench. It took the 3 of us about 30-35 minutes to assemble the pieces (it would have taken about 1/2 the time if we had a 2nd allen wrench and screwdriver of the correct size).

Trying it out
After assembly, I hopped on the treadmill, getting the speed up to about 9 mph. The motor felt smooth and wasn't very loud, although the noise from the foot strikes was a bit loud (to be expected as the speed increases). The running surface had a little bit of a bounce, giving a cushioned feel. Having the long belt surface made me feel pretty confident as I was running, knowing I wasn't in danger of getting near the back edge. As other reviews have mentioned, the console is pretty weak. The main text area is 2 characters, which makes it awkward to read messages as text scrolls by. I really don't understand why the couldn't have made it 3 or 4 characters, which would have made a big difference. I don't really care much about the console for my personal use, but if you are used to big displays like you see on gym machines, you will be very disappointed in this aspect. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Polar heart-rate strap came with the package. After putting it on, the HR started showing up on the console within 10 seconds or so. The fan is also a bit on the weak side. If you get hot while running I think you are better off putting a "real" portable fan in front of the treadmill.