Schwinn Fitness 840 Treadmill (Discontinued)

Do not buy this treadmill. Buy a Bowflex 7 series (or something else). The Bowflex 3 and 5 series appear to have been discontinued and have been replaced at the bottom end of the Bowflex/Schwinn product line with this. This treadmill is POOR--poor construction, poor performance, poor design. Poor value for the money. I gave it one star to indicate that.There is NO WAY in the world this is a "newer item" or "replacement" for the Bowflex 3 series.I own a Bowflex series 3 treadmill which I absolutely love. I reviewed that treadmill 5 years ago and it has given awesome service since that time. You can see my review of that machine (430 out of 430 positive reviews). I still LOVE that machine.I bought this Schwinn 840 treadmill as a backup (my whole family uses the Bowflex 3, so I needed an extra machine). I wanted to purchase another Bowflex 3. I clicked and "NO LONGER AVAILABLE" but "THERE IS A NEWER MODEL OF THIS ITEM", the Schwinn 840. So I bought this.My (faulty) reasoning was as follows.-I own a Schwinn Airdyne which I love.-Schwinn and Bowflex are part of the same parent company (Nautilus Inc).-Perhaps Nautilus is rebadging its less expensive product line(s) into Schwinn.So I thought, o.k. the Schwinn 840 must also be good and at the least would share mechanicals/structure/design/sturdiness with the Bowflex 3. All of those assumptions turned out not to be true.The Good.1. Amazon Delivery was just fine, price was "reasonable" I thought.2. Schwinn 840 has a small integrated fan.The Bad.1. THE TRACK. This is the only reason to buy one treadmill vs. another. The track RUBS THE DECK at the front WITH EVERY SINGLE STEP. The deck ends about 2 inches prior to the front roller. When you walk, the track rubs the front edge of the deck. Vrrrt, Vrrt, Vrrt, Vrrt! as you walk along. 30 minutes of listening to this and I need therapy. I lubed the deck and track underside with approved Bowflex silicone based lubricant specifically for this purpose. Still Vrrt Vrrt Vrrt. Probably this will wear out the track in about 3 months. This is super SUPER frustrating. If I had walked on this prior to purchasing, I never ever would have wasted my money. This problem alone is reason not to buy this treadmill.Note, it is possible to walk further back on the deck which decreases (but does not eliminate) the Vrrting sound, but then you literally cannot reach the controls, water, heart rate monitor, etc... The design is thus very poor. I wonder how stuff like this actually makes it to market.2. Deck. It is nothing like the Bowflex 3 deck. That deck is sturdy (I'm a big guy. I jog, I walk, and it totally can handle it). The Schwinn 840 feels like it is gonna break. It gives and squeaks in an inappropriate way. The deck design is thus inadequate.3. Display. It is an LCD that is unreadable, or barely readable in a high light areas, such as my workout room. Red LEDs are much preferable, probably less expensive, and are present on most treadmills. The display/readout design is thus poor.4. Cup holder, display, etc... Really flimsy looking and feeling. I can't get one of the screws into the plastic cupholder base. Just can't do it, and I am (pat myself on the back) very nearly a zen master of prepackaged assembly. Very different from the Bowflex 3, which feels nothing but Sturdy. I used to think that all that plastic framing on the Bowflex 3, 5 and 7 was goofy, but now that I have walked hundreds of miles on it (leaning on the display, etc..) I know better.5. Incline is adjustable in single degrees, not half degrees like the Bowflex 3. Incline goes to 10% not 12% like the Bowflex. I knew the 10 vs. 12 issue before purchase. Still, with the other issues, the whole vs. half % incline issue remains irksome.6. The controls are not intuitive and not that amenable to totally manual control, which is what I primarily use.Summary:It is very rare that I buy something this disappointing, particularly with so many positive reviews/comparison shopping on Amazon. I am contacting Schwinn/Bowflex and Amazon and will explain to them how disappointing this device is.I assumed that since the Amazon site stated this is a "newer model" of the Bowflex 3, it would be similar. In my opinion, is not. I personally find that labeling deceptive. Probably the manufacturer is responsible for that labeling, not Amazon.I have endeavored to make this review informative and not an angry missive. I am quite upset by this purchase though. As someone who uses a treadmill daily, I also really don't think you should purchase this machine.On a positive note, you can still buy a Bowflex 7 series treadmill, for about $300 more than a Schwinn 840. ($1300 vs. $999). The Bowflex 7, (and discontinued 3 and 5) are gym quality treadmills in my opinion, with very modest prices (relative to their performance). The Schwinn 840 quality and design is so poor that it does not matter how much (or little) you pay. It is not useable without considerable frustration.

I just purchased this item & received it yesterday. I got free delivery (love it!) but was also impressed that I could pick the date (and time) of arrival. The delivery crew arrived as expected & brought the box in. The box is very heavy (300 lbs) so make sure you have two people to get it to where you want it in the house. It was very simple to assemble; took about a 1/2 hour. The entire deck is already assembled. All you really need to do is attach the main panel where all the settings are located. I've just used it for the 1st time this morning and I'm impressed. It's no louder than the treadmills at the gym and feels very sturdy. The fan has two settings which I think are very adequate. I don't plan to fold it up, but if you do need to, it's very easy to bring the deck up and goes down just as easily. I will update further as I use this machine but so far I'm very pleased with my purchase!

Update: October, 2013Below I wrote my original review which can still be read. Since that time, I have had several costly and significant problems and therefore have decreased my original star rating. To make several long stories short, I ended up buying a new control board for about $170 because of electronic problems and key not found problems. The machine often thinks the safety key isn't in, and thus won't work. Even with the new control board, I still have those problems and frankly I am waiting for it to finally completely not be able to start. Often, while running it thinks the safety key has been removed and the machine will jerk to a halt. I have also bought new safety keys, which have not improved the situation. Customer service has not been helpful, and the expensive fixes they say I have needed have not fixed the continual problems. I still can run on the machine, but it is not a run that has no frustrations!Original review:I think that the reviews so far have been quite accurate. The treadmill is very quiet, and it runs smoothly. The display is easy to read, and the fan is actually quite effective. I also love the fact that a User can save as accumulating data the miles and calories burned.There are few negatives to note. 1. The treadmill is quite heavy to move (particularly upstairs). Because the treadmill is nearly completely assembled when it arrives in its box, you cannot easily break it down into lighter parts. Therefore, my husband and I had to carry up steep stairs a 235 lb. rather unwieldy box with the treadmill in it. (It was easier to carry it in its box then taking it out and carrying it.) If you are not strong, and you need to move the treadmill up or down stairs, get some help.2. I do not love the fact that in order to save data, you must run one of the set courses. Yes, you can change speed, and incline, but it can be a bit of a process if all you want to do is run at a constant speed. (According to the manual, you cannot save your data if all you are doing is pushing "quick start" while not having first pushed "profile" and chosen a user and course.)However, even with these two issues, I am very glad I got this treadmill. I think the price is right for what you get!

Nice variety of programs and very quiet running. You have to get use to the beeping very minute on the free run program. Also the programs where you set the speed takes a little getting use to. Overall a great treadmill or the money. I would reccomen it

I love this treadmill. It has a nice, powerful motor, it's quiet, has a 2 speed fan that really does cool you down. I've not had any problems with it, save for the fact that the serial number is nowhere to be found on it. I also had a small, cosmetic dent on one of the front "legs" that rests on the floor, but that was probably damaged in shipping. Certainly nothing to warrant sending the machine back. I'll update this in a month to leave more detailed feedback.

Failed after five years. Light to normal use, well maintained. Smoked the motor or controller board. Unhappy camper on this one.Some controller boards not available - will have to go parts shopping now...