Sole Treadmills Compared: F63 vs F80 vs F85 (Used Buying Guide)

A used Sole treadmill is the best value in home cardio right now, and the numbers make the case better than I can. A 2021 Sole F85 with 77 hours on it recently sold through us for $975. That is the top of Sole’s consumer line, a 4.0 HP machine with a lifetime frame warranty, for less than the price of a mid-range folding treadmill from a big box store.

I help people buy and sell fitness equipment for a living, and treadmills are the category where the used discount is steepest and the risk is highest. Most of them get bought in January and abandoned by March. This post covers the three models you will actually run into (F63, F80, F85), what each one is really worth used, what breaks on them, and the seven things to check before you hand anybody money.

The Sole treadmill lineup: F63 vs F80 vs F85

Sole builds three consumer treadmills and the only real difference between them is motor, belt, and how much machine sits under you. Everything else, the folding deck, the 15 incline levels, the 12 mph top speed, the cushioning, carries across the line.

Model	Motor	Belt size	User weight	Best for
Sole F63	3.0 HP	20″ x 60″	325 lb	Walking, light jogging, one user
Sole F80	3.5 HP	20″ x 60″	375 lb	Daily running, two users, most people
Sole F85	4.0 HP	22″ x 60″	400 lb	Heavy runners, long sessions, big screen

The F63 is the entry model. It walks and jogs fine and it folds, but the motor works harder and the frame is lighter, so it feels less planted at speed.

The F80 is the volume seller and the one I recommend most. The half horsepower and the extra frame weight over the F63 are what you feel at 7 mph.

The F85 gets you a wider belt, the strongest motor, and on recent model years a 15.6 inch touchscreen. It is genuinely a light commercial machine in a home body.

What a used Sole treadmill actually costs

Used Sole treadmills sell between about $775 and $2,209 depending on model, year, and hours. Those are real Commonplace transaction prices, not estimates, pulled as I write this in August 2026.

Machine	Condition	Price
2023 Sole F63, incline	Very good	$775
Sole F63, foldable, 12 mph	Like new	$875
2024 Sole F63, under 20 hours	Excellent	$1,048
2021 Sole F85, 77 hours	Excellent	$975
2020 Sole F80 with mat	Excellent	$1,075
Sole F80, Philadelphia	Like new	$1,289
2023 Sole F80 with mat	Excellent	$1,375
Sole F85, 15.6″ touchscreen	Like new	$1,550
2023 Sole F85, ~30 workouts, warranty left	Excellent	$2,209

Two things jump out of that table. First, the spread inside a single model is enormous. F85s ran from $975 to $2,209, and the cheap one was not broken, it was three years older with a smaller screen. Second, a lightly used F85 often costs the same as a new F63. Sole discounts new stock constantly, so always price the current sale before you decide a used deal is good.

My rule: pay under $1,000 for an F63, $1,100 to $1,400 for an F80, and $1,300 to $1,800 for an F85 unless it is nearly new with transferable warranty left. For the wider category picture, we track what used treadmills are worth across every brand.

Which used Sole treadmill should you buy?

Buy the F80. If you only read one line of this post, that is it, and it holds for maybe 70 percent of buyers.

The longer version, in order:

1. You walk, incline walk, or jog a few times a week. F63. Do not overbuy. Under $900 used it is the best cardio dollar in the house.
2. You run 15 to 30 miles a week. F80. The 3.5 HP motor is the difference between a machine that lasts eight years and one that lasts four.
3. You are over 220 pounds or you run long. F85. The wider deck and stronger frame matter more than the screen does.
4. Two people will use it daily. F80 minimum. Household hours add up faster than anybody plans for.
5. You want streaming classes on a big screen. F85 from 2022 or later, or plan on propping an iPad on the F80’s tablet holder and paying nothing extra.
6. Your ceiling is under 8 feet or you are on a second floor. Measure first. Add your height plus the deck height plus incline, and remember these machines run 250 to 300 pounds.
7. You found a two to three year old unit with low hours. Take it. That is the sweet spot on any Sole treadmill, the depreciation has landed and the wear parts are barely touched.

Are Sole treadmills reliable? What actually breaks

Sole treadmills are among the most reliable home treadmills you can buy, and the reason is boring: heavy steel frames, oversized motors, and simple mechanics. Sole sells to hotels and gyms, and the consumer line inherits that build.

New units carry a lifetime frame and motor warranty with multi-year parts coverage, which tells you where the company thinks the risk is. It is not the motor.

Here is what actually fails on used ones, in the order I see it:

The walking belt and deck. Number one by a wide margin. Belts wear out and decks develop a worn strip where the owner ran for three years. A belt is a $120 part. A deck is more. Both are user-replaceable in an afternoon.

The console board. Blank displays, dead Bluetooth, unresponsive buttons. Annoying and not always cheap, and on older models the replacement part gets scarce.

The motor controller. Rarer, but this is the one that hurts. Symptom is speed surging or the machine cutting out under load.

The folding strut. If the deck slams down instead of lowering slowly, the hydraulic assist is spent. Cheap fix, easy to negotiate on.

What almost never fails is the drive motor itself. If a seller tells you the motor is bad, it is usually the controller board, and that changes the price conversation.

What to check on a used Sole treadmill before you pay

Seven checks, in the order I do them:

1. Run it at 7 mph for five minutes. Not 3 mph. Speed and heat are what expose a tired motor or a slipping belt. Listen for surging or a burning smell.
2. Take it to full incline and back down. The incline motor is a common failure point and grinding or hesitation there is expensive.
3. Look at the belt edges and the center strip. Fraying at the edges means misalignment. A shiny, glazed center strip means the deck underneath is worn.
4. Check the hour meter if the console shows one. Under 100 hours is barely used. Over 1,000 and you are buying a wear-parts project.
5. Slide a hand under the belt at the front. It should feel slick with silicone. Bone dry means it was never lubricated, and that kills decks and motors.
6. Fold and unfold it. Confirm the hydraulic assist lowers the deck slowly and the lock catches.
7. Ask for the safety key and power cord. No safety key, no running the machine, and replacements are model specific.

Do those seven and you have covered every failure mode that actually costs money. If you are still choosing between formats, our guide to the best treadmills for running compares Sole against the other brands worth owning.

Sole treadmills vs Sole ellipticals

Sole’s ellipticals are the better buy if your knees are the limiting factor, and they are cheaper used. A 2020 E35 recently moved through us at $525 and a 2014 E25 at $725, well under what the treadmills bring.

The tradeoff is honest. A treadmill trains a movement you actually do in life, and it burns more for the same perceived effort. An elliptical spares your joints and takes up a similar footprint. If you have had knee or hip surgery, buy the elliptical. If you are training for anything, buy the treadmill. We broke down the elliptical line separately in our Sole elliptical comparison, E25 vs E35 vs E95.

Getting a 250 pound treadmill into your house

The hardest part of buying a used Sole treadmill is not finding one. It is the 40 minutes between a stranger’s basement and your spare room.

That is the part we handle. A seller lists the machine for free and a buyer reserves it for a dollar. Our background-checked drivers come to the seller’s house, run a 30 to 50 point inspection on site, and text the buyer real photos and a working video before the treadmill moves. The seller gets paid the moment it is loaded, same day to Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp. Then it gets delivered and set up, and the buyer has 60 minutes to run on it before the card is charged at all. If it surges or the belt is shot, it goes back and the buyer pays nothing for the machine. Everything carries a 60 day warranty. Buyer and seller never meet. That is the whole model, and you can read it in full on our how it works page.

If yours has been a coat rack since February, list it. Sole machines move fast because the brand has a reputation, and selling a treadmill yourself means strangers in your basement and a 250 pound negotiation. If you are on the buying side, browse the inspected used treadmills we have ready to deliver.

Frequently asked questions

Is a used Sole treadmill worth buying?

Yes, and it is one of the few pieces of home fitness equipment I would buy used without hesitation. The frames are steel, the motors are oversized, and the parts that wear (belt, deck, console board) are replaceable and cheap relative to the discount. A three year old F80 at $1,300 is a better machine than anything new at that price.

What is the difference between the Sole F63, F80, and F85?

Motor size, belt width, and frame weight. The F63 runs a 3.0 HP motor on a 20 inch belt, the F80 a 3.5 HP motor on the same belt with a heavier frame, and the F85 a 4.0 HP motor on a wider 22 inch belt with the highest weight capacity. All three fold, all three hit 12 mph, and all three incline to 15.

How many years does a Sole treadmill last?

Ten to fifteen years is normal for a home machine that gets lubricated once or twice a year. The belt is the consumable and it typically needs replacing somewhere between 500 and 1,000 hours of running. Neglect the lubrication and you will halve those numbers.

Does the Sole warranty transfer to a second owner?

Usually not. Sole’s lifetime frame and motor coverage is written for the original purchaser, so treat any used machine as out of warranty and price it that way. One of the listings in this post kept about two years of extended coverage, which is exactly why it commanded the highest price on the table.

How much should I pay for a used Sole F80?

Between $1,075 and $1,400 for a clean one, based on what they have actually sold for recently. Under $1,000 means either high hours or a wear item you will be replacing, which is fine if you knew going in and negotiated for it.