Customer Reviews

FreeMotion X3 Treadmill Incline Trainer

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is 99.999% identical to the same incline trainer you will see advertised on infomercials at night. Whats the .001% difference? Its the name on the product sticker. Thats it. Also you will not get the iFit cards that the other one comes with $30 value. It will use those cards if you go buy them. If you have Amazon Prime the shipping is free.

So about this trainer. I have had it for 2 weeks now and use it every day. The deck is very forgiving to my obese frame. I use cross-trainer shoes and the impact on my knees is barely noticeable compared to running on the road. Honestly the most incline I have been able to pull off is roughly 20%. After that it feels as though I am going to slide off the deck, probably wont but it feels that way and this thing goes another 20% incline over that... can you say billy goat?

The hand grips do not register my pulse correctly. It was so off I went to my doctors for an EKG because I thought I had an arrhythmia. Turns out I didnt, so I ended up buying Polar A4 Pulse Heart Rate Monitor Watch which now has me squarely in my peak zone when I am exercising.

When you get it the assembly is pretty straightforward. Keep an eye on the 5foot coated wires, you will need to use them to pull the hand sensors and other cables through the arms.

My biggest gripe is with the shipper. The delivery person wanted to leave it in my driveway or put it in my garage. I needed it in my house because it was going to rain. My back is in pretty bad shape and it took some convincing to get him to at least put it in the doorway for me. They SHOULD have had 2 people to deliver this. I did not expect it to be set up, just put in the room I was going to assemble it in. The crate is massive and I guess it weighs in excess of 300 lbs. DO yourself a favor and disassemble it completely somewhere and carry in the lighter pieces. I was not sure of the amount of effort to do this, and that is why I wanted it brought in my house. Realistically, I could have taken off 50% of the parts and brought them in and saved my back a little. So, just take it apart where they drop it and carry it all in.

Pros:
>> Very comfortable deck
>> Varied and interesting workouts without the iFit cards.
>> Can use iFit cards
>> Fantastic fan that blows directly on your face/neck while exercising

Cons:
<< Because of the degree of incline ability the deck is about 8" off the floor, while flat, and 3 feet off the floor at 40deg, so taller people may need to duck in an 8' ceiling room (dont put this in a finished basement). You naturally compensate for steep angles by leaning forward, but it might be uncomfortable for very tall people.
<< Speakers are pathetic and can barely be heard over the running motors and fan. Have my iPod Touch cranked to max and its just weak sound.
<< Heavy to move. (put it where it will stay because once assembled its massive)

Overall the cons do not outweigh the pros which are substantial in my opinion.

This is a fantastic exercise machine to use at home, or even in a professional setting (pros may scoff at it though as being gimmicky). Buy this from Amazon you will save a few hundred in shipping alone. If you dont have Amazon Prime, get it for the money you save not paying for shipping elsewhere.

I love it. Thanks for reading my review.

We purchased this product at [...] and have been impressed with the quality of the product and the workout that it gives you. The extream incline feature really gets the heart pumping and the programs are fantastic. So many features in this low priced incline trainer that its hard to explain them all here. [...]. SO, for [...] you get all that expensive tech stuff and the FreeMotion quality. The short deck is great for mountain hiking training for everyone. Shorter people (under 5'6") can run on the machine and slightly taller people can carefully jog. If you are a tall person you should go with a full length treadmill if you want to run on a machine. Otherwise, this machine will challange everyone, even the hard core, hard body persons in the mountain incline training mode. This is a fun machine, kicks your butt.FreeMotion X3 Incline Trainer

We just purchased this incline trainer a few days ago (slightly used, but in excellent condition!) and have fallen in love with it! I'd been wanting some kind of machine to use at home (I'm pregnant and have a 14 month old, 'nuff said!) and after reading all the reviews, I decided an incline trainer would be perfect for me. With it's ability to burn twice the calories as a normal treadmill, I was sold! And I LOVE the fan! What a great idea to build one into the machine itself! The one touch incline is awesome and my husband loves doing the "trails" (basically it gives you a good workout with random speeds and inclines and you don't have to do anythng but stay on the tread) It seems to be on the quieter side (though I haven't been to a gym in a long time, so I don't know how loud is NORMAL) and I love being able to see how far I've gone, how many calories I've burned etc. etc. Basically this machine is awesome. I can understand why some would say it would be difficult to run if you're taller (I'm 5'4) but it's great for me, and I didn't really purchase this for running anyway, it's all about that incline baby! It's well worth the money and I consider one of the best investments I've made for myself.

If you want to buy this machine, buy it directly from the factory (half price). In other words goto Nordic Tracks website and order it from there. Free Motion and Nordic Track are owned by the same company: ICON Health And Fitness.

Received this incline trainer for Christmas. Once unpacked, it had so many scrapes, scratches, dents and dirt on it, it looked like a floor model that had seen hard times. Worst was the metal shavings that covered the treadmill. These looked like they came from where the bolt holes had been tapped. It took over 2 hours with a pair of hemostats to get them out of the tread (and another hour to get them out of my berber carpet). Freemotion took forever to respond to my emails and then referred me to their warranty company. I must say their warranty repairman was very good and was in my house within a week. In addition to replacing the damaged hardware, he replacing the pulse sensors, since they didn't work, and he oiled the motor, which was bone dry. The pulse sensors have never worked, he's been out to fix it again and has parts on order. So four months later, I still don't have a fully functioning unit. The repairman said I was smart to buy the extended warranty and that I should expect to see a lot more of him. That's comforting.
Overall, the unit is pretty cheesy. The speaker for the iPod hookup is anemic. The fan is functional, but only just. The cup holders are so poorly designed it's almost impossible to get a cup that fits that you can get out of the holder without knocking into the arm bars.
If the pulse unit worked, and had it come in like-new condition (cuz that's what I paid for), I'd give it 3.5 stars.
But in its current state, it deserves only 2.

It's down to 1 star. As of June 10, it's still a broke POS. Technicians have now been out three times and a fourth is due today. Pulse sensors STILL do not work and this $600 value (what a joke) pulse sensor is a massive headache. Motor bogs down after 20-25 minutes use and smells like it's burning. It has become a safety hazard and remains unplugged. At this point it's virtually unusuable as anything other than a place to put the laundry.

Of course, a return is impossible, since you have to repack it in its original packing, which you have to destroy to get it unpacked. Nice marketing trick there, FreeMotion. Service after the sale? None. I've called them three times to get some touch up paint for the beat up frame and every time they promise to send some. So far, nothing.

STAY. AWAY.

UPDATE AUGUST 2010>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..

Still broke.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2010:
Finally got all the parts and the unit is now working, except for the pulse sensors. They will NEVER give even a remotely close estimate of your pulse. The repair tech says the fine print in the manual says not to expect "medical grade" results.
Still rate this as a 1 star. I've had it 10 months and have less than 3 hours total time on it due to breakdowns and hazards. It's going on Craigslist this weekend.

I purchased this machine about two months ago and have only been able to use it for about three weeks now.Lets see so far i have had a tech over two times to fix this machine and now i am waiting on my third tech to fix the problem . The first problem i had was when i ran at a 0% surface it sounded like the machine was gonna break , called customer no service and they sent me a piece the tech did not even install. Next the console was making a buzzing noise and the mechanism that controls the speed when you are on a incline stoped working so they sent me a new console and what do you know changed it out and the problem is still there. By the time the parts are sent to you and the tech calls you to set up a date you are lucky if you get it fixed within three weeks.What also sucks is i bought the machine for 1600 ,plus 150 to ship and 150 for someone to put it together, which i could have done by myself . Two weeks later it is selling for 1250! How can you review a product that you cant use ! My goal right now is to hit up every review about this incline trainer that i can find online and try to pursuade people not to purchase it. Trust me folks I have been around hundreds of pieces of excercise equipment and this is by far one of the worst pieces you can buy.

Very nice machine. If you are bored with the treadmill this is the machine for you. I really like the random trails feature. Excellent value for the money. I bought this instead of the Bowlflex Treadclimber. Seems the Treadclimber has a lot of issues based on my research.

I bought a Nordic Track for top dollar and it is a piece of junk. The treadmill bounces around and makes squeaky noise when you run on it. The worst thing is that the the heart rate monitor has never worked. It fluctuates between 180 and 30 beats per minute every couple of seconds when you're running on it.

I called ICONS Fitness for warranty service and they said it was operating normally. Furthermore, they said "the treadmill is not medical equipment and the heart rate monitor only works when you are not running on it!" What is the purpose of a treadmill???? These guys put out a piece of junk product and will not stand by their warranty!!

If your smart, pass on all ICONs fitness products!!!!!

Great product. Make sure you have a good neighbor or two, to help you lift it into your house. It is quite heavy. Once I got it put together it has been a great machine. As many other reviews said, the cup holders were designed by a moron, but I found a Powerade bottle fits perfectly and doesn't fall out.

It's July 22nd and I bought my Nordic Track Incline Trainer at Sears. They had brand new ones going for $900, and the demo for $619.00 so I bought the Demo. It's not the newer model so it doesn't have decline but it inclines to 40%. It's perfect for walking, however for running, it makes quite a bit of noise when at 0% flat. I like running more than walking so I'm gonna have to get used to the noise, or turn the tv up. Since I'm in pretty good shape already, I did the hardest hike and completed it without too much pain. I did sweat profusely even though I didn't feel exhausted. I had a regular treadmill by ProForm that finally bit the dust after 10 years. Not bad at all, but I wanted something different without breaking the bank and this one is definitely different. I would recommend it, however I would also recommend you have other pieces of cardio equipment like an eliptical, recumbant bike and a regular treadmill for running.