Sole’s been on a tear lately.
By updating the majority of their consoles to touchscreens with improved streaming features, Sole can no longer be frowned upon for their basic console features.
Their new touchscreen displays also put them in more direct competition with NordicTrack, a behemoth in the home fitness world, known for their jumbo HD touchscreens.
Well, when it comes to streaming treadmills, NordicTrack’s Commercial 2450 has been largely considered the top home option, but now that Sole’s F89 is here, this could change.
With a 21.5″ touchscreen, a beast of a motor, built-in entertainment apps, and free fitness streaming, the F89 has something to satisfy everyone.
The 2450 comes with a slightly larger, rotating console and is designed to pair with iFit’s famous streaming service, but I’m not sure NordicTrack would want to go spec-for-spec with Sole’s new model.
Either way, folks looking for a top-notch streaming treadmill have some real thinking to do, but I’m here to help.
In this article, I’ll provide a head-to-head comparison between Sole’s F89 and NordicTrack’s Commercial 2450.
We’ll be going over all the specs, features, streaming experiences, and pretty much anything else you’d wanna know before making a decision.
After reading, you’ll know which one of these impressive treadmills makes more sense for your home gym.
Long-story-short, Sole’s F89 comes with more impressive performance specs, heavier-duty components, and a better warranty, but NordicTrack’s New Commercial 2450 still offers a nicer console and a better fitness streaming experience.
Sole’s F89 vs NordicTrack’s Commercial 2450
Sole and NordicTrack are two of the biggest names in home fitness, although I’d bet NordicTrack’s gross income is many times that of Sole’s.
To be fair though, I’m pretty sure NordicTrack’s numbers are bigger than most home fitness brands’.
Regardless, these are both respected brands with impressive lineups and if you’re looking for a moderately-priced cardio machine, both brands should be on your short list of contenders.
As I mentioned in the intro, Sole has always been known for their heavy-duty machines and no-nonsense consoles, while NordicTrack has spent the last several years focusing on their HD touchscreens and streaming capabilities.
I guess the demand for streaming content finally got to Sole because they’ve worked hard to update the majority of their consoles.
Anyway, the F89 is Sole’s newest addition to their treadmill lineup and the New Commercial 2450 is NordicTrack’s updated take on their popular model.
These 2 treadmills come with similar features and are priced almost identically, making them natural competitors.
Let’s start this comparison off with a rundown on the F89’s and Commercial 2450’s performance specs.
| Sole F89 | NordicTrack New Commercial 2450 | |
| Running Surface | 22″ x 60″ | 20″ x 60″ |
| Motor | 4.0 HP | 3.6 CHP |
| Incline range | -6 – 15% | -3 – 12% |
| Rollers | 2.75″ | 1.9″ |
| Assembled weight | 314 lb | ~260 lb |
| Weight limit | 375 lb | 300 lb |
Running Surface
The running surface refers to the size of the belt and it’s an important spec to consider for any treadmill because it basically tells you how much room you’ll have at your disposal during workouts.
I’m of the opinion that bigger is always better, except of course for the occasions where limited floor space require a more compact treadmill.
Anyway, when it comes to the F89 and 2450, we do see a small difference with regards to the size of the running surfaces:
- Sole F89: 22″ x 60″
- Commercial 2450: 20″ x 60″
The F89 comes with a wider belt, offering a slightly more spacious feel when compared to the 2450.
Two inches isn’t a huge difference, but having the extra wide belt does offer a more spacious, more luxurious feel.
Both treadmills come with 60″ long belts, offering runners/walkers of all heights plenty of room to stretch out fully without having to shorten their strides.
Overall, when it comes to wiggle room, the F89 offers a more spacious running surface.
Motor
Motor strength is another key spec to think about before purchasing any treadmill because it relates directly to overall performance.
Essentially, having a stronger motor allows for smoother performance and faster accelerations during workouts.
For the sake of reference, most home treadmills come with motors somewhere in the 2 – 4 HP range.
And when it comes to the F89 and Commercial 2450, we see a small difference when it comes to motor power:
- Sole F89: 4.0 HP motor
- Commercial 2450: 3.6 CHP motor
Ok, so based on these numbers, the F89 comes with more sheer motor power than the 2450, but it’s worth noting that Sole uses the “HP” notation while NordicTrack uses the “CHP” rating.
Technically speaking, “HP” refers to the max output a motor can reach, while “CHP” refers to the output a motor can sustain over time.
So for a home treadmill, the “CHP” ranking would be more useful.
That said, it’s also been noted that these max HP and CHP ratings are determined in lab settings and aren’t necessarily applicable to real world home use.
I’m also not aware of any convenient way to convert HP ratings to CHP or vice-versa.
Interesting.
Given that Sole and NordicTrack decide to use different motor power notations, it’s difficult to compare ’em side by side.
Given how strong both motors are, it’s unlikely either treadmill is packing any noticeable performance advantage over the other.
Ultimately, both treadmills have enough motor power to provide smooth performance regardless of speed.
Speaking of speed, both treadmills have a top speed of 12 mph, which is common amongst treadmills.
When it comes to the incline range though, there is a notable difference between these treadmills:
- Sole F89: -6 – 15%
- Commercial 2450: -6 – 12%
You’ll notice that both treadmills come with the ability to decline, although the F89 is able to reach higher angles than the 2450.
If you enjoy incline walking, this could be something to consider.
The last thing I want to mention here is roller size.
The rollers on a treadmill are what the belt makes contact with, allowing it to glide smoothly across the deck.
Well, rollers come in various sizes and having larger rollers is generally a good thing because it makes for a heavier-duty machine and tends to increase the lifespan of the belt.
And there’s a pretty big difference between these 2 treadmills when it comes to their rollers:
- Sole’s F89: 2.75″ rollers
- Commercial 2450: 1.9″ rollers
As you can see, the F89 comes with significantly larger rollers.
This is a big advantage in my opinion because it should help prolong the life of the belt and the rollers themselves (bigger rollers make more surface contact with belt).
Overall, both treadmills come with comparably strong motors, but the F89 offers more incline range and comes with significantly larger rollers.
Frame
Both treadmills come with pretty sleek, snazzy-looking frames that utilize the Z-shaped design (although I’m pretty sure Sole copied NordicTrack on that one).
But looks aside, there are some other important specs to look for when comparing treadmill frames – like assembled weight and weight capacity.
The assembled weight tells us how heavy the machine is and personally, I like the idea of having a heavy treadmill.
Heavier treadmills will feel more solid and secure during use – in other words, giving us more of the commercial feel.
When it comes to assembled weight, the F89 scores highly, weighing in at around 314 lb.
This is plenty of weight and more than enough to provide a secure feel during workouts.
By comparison, NordicTrack’s New Commercial 2450 comes with an in-box weight of 303 lb.
NordicTrack doesn’t provide true “assembled weights”, so we have to subtract a little from that “in box” weight to get an estimate of how much the treadmill actually weighs.
If we subtract a conservative 40 lb for boxing and all packaging, that puts the 2450 somewhere around 260 lb… give or take.
This is also pretty good for a home treadmill, but the F89 obviously weighs quite a bit more.
And considering both treadmills use the same Z-shaped design, I think it’s fair to say the F89 is “heavier-duty” than the 2450.
The F89 also comes with a significantly higher weight limit of 375 lb (vs 300 lb), allowing it to safely hold users of all sizes.
It’s also worth noting though, that the F89 is several inches larger than the 2450, so if floorspace is limited, this could make a difference.
Assembled dimensions (L x W x H):
- Sole F89 – 83″ x 38″ x 68″
- Commercial 2450 – 78.5″ x 35.6″ x 65″
Both treadmills come with folding frames, allowing them to fold vertically for storage when not in use.
Overall, the F89 is a larger, heavier treadmill and comes with a much higher weight capacity when compared to the Commercial 2450.
Warranties
| Sole F89 | NordicTrack New Commercial 2450 | |
| Frame | Lifetime | 10 years |
| Motor | Lifetime | 2 years |
| Parts | 3 years | 2 years |
| Labor | 1 year | 1 year |
Ok, so the above warranties are pretty self-explanatory.
Sole offers an extra year on parts, but the biggest difference is seen between the frame and motor warranties.
Sole’s lifetime guarantees are much more generous than NordicTrack’s.
You’ll notice that NordicTrack doesn’t mention anything about the motor under their warranty info, meaning it falls under the category of ‘parts’.
Overall, there’s a huge difference between the guarantees these 2 brands offer.
Sole offers some of the better warranties out there, while NordicTrack’s warranties tend to be lackluster given the cost of their machines.
Features
If this were a competition, so far I’d say the F89 has been clearly winning… well, that might change now as we transition into the available features these treadmills come with.
Then again, maybe it won’t.
Well, the F89 and 2450 both come with touchscreen consoles, but there are still some notable differences between what each can offer.
The 2450 comes with a 22″ HD touchscreen that can tilt and pivot for easy viewing when doing off the treadmill workouts.
This gorgeous display takes it easy on the eyes, but it’s also bluetooth compatible with headphones and heart rate monitors.
The main purpose of it though is for connecting to iFit, NordicTrack’s streaming platform.
Through iFit, you can access thousands of live and on-demand instructor-led workouts, but you can also access scenic routes, monthly challenges, track all your metric over time.
And this includes workouts of all varieties, not just treadmill routines.
And iFit also offers AutoAdjust Technology, allowing the treadmill’s speed and/or incline to adjust automatically to follow along with your workouts.
It’s a cool feature that lets you hop on and not have to worry about making adjustments throughout your workouts (you can still control everything manually if you want though).
The 2450 also comes with a built-in cooling fan and a handy tray that gives you a place to store your keys, remote, water bottle, or anything else you might need to store while working out.
| NordicTrack Commercial 2450 | Sole F85 | |
| Console | 22″ HD rotating touchscreen | 21.5″ touchscreen |
| Instructor-led workouts | Yes, iFit | Yes, Sole+ |
| Entertainment apps | No | Yes |
| Auto-adjust technology | Yes | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Screen mirroring | No | Yes |
| Cooling fan | Yes | No |
| Integrated tray | Yes | Yes |
The F89 comes with a 21.5″ touchscreen, which is almost as big, but it doesn’t tilt or rotate like the 2450’s does.
Which could make this console harder to use when off the treadmill.
That said, the F89’s console comes pre-loaded with entertainment apps, including Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney+, Peacock, etc… all the most popular ones.
This is a pretty big deal and could be reason enough to choose the F89, especially for folks who love watching movies or shows while exercising.
The F89 also comes with free access to Sole+, Sole’s streaming workout platform.
This platform isn’t as sophisticated as iFit, but it does offer free access to instructor-led workouts and metric tracking.
You can also screen mirror on the F89, which means you can connect your phone to the console and view anything on your phone through the large screen.
This is a great feature because you could technically watch competitors streamings apps through Sole’s console.
The F89 also comes with several built-in workout programs (including fitness tests), bluetooth speakers, bluetooth compatibility with heart rate monitors/headphones, a wireless charging station, and a tablet holder.
It too comes with an integrated tray for easy storage.
Sole+ vs iFit
The F89 and 2450 both come with access to streaming platforms, but there are some differences between ’em.
iFit has been around a lot longer than Sole+ and it comes with a lot more workout variety.
iFit offers live and on-demand workouts of all varieties and even includes live events around the world and ongoing challenges to help keep you motivated.
iFit also has impressive production quality and offers a lot of fun, engaging options to choose from.
Sole+’s collection of workouts isn’t nearly as extensive and at the time of writing this, they don’t offer any live workouts or events.
And where iFit’s library is measured in thousands, Sole+’s would be measured more in the hundreds.
Not bad, especially for a free app, but not nearly as impressive as what iFit has to offer.
Sole’s production value isn’t as nice as iFit’s either – most of Sole’s workouts are filmed in a studio and they aren’t quite as engaging.
And of course Sole+ doesn’t offer the AutoAdjust technology that iFit does either.
Overall, I’d say iFit is a nicer streaming service than Sole+, but you do have to pay for it.
Cost
Speaking of which, that brings me to the cost of owning these 2 treadmills.
As I’m writing this, these treadmills cost the following to purchase:
- Sole F89: $2,999
- Commercial 2450: $2,999
Now these prices can change and vary throughout the year, but as I’m writing this, these 2 treadmills are priced identically.
And based on what each comes with, I think $3k is pretty reasonable… large decks, impressive motors, huge streaming consoles… this stuff doesn’t come cheap.
The purchase price is one thing, but in the case of the 2450, you also have to think about the ongoing iFit membership fee.
The cost of iFit varies depending on your plan:
- Yearly family plan: $396/year
- Monthly family plan: $39/month
- Yearly individual plan: $180/year
FYI, a family plan lets you have a total of 5 user profiles and an individual plan allows only 1.
And again, you get a free Sole+ membership when you purchase any of their cardio machines, so there is no monthly fee to access any of the streaming features on the F89.
Final Thoughts
Well, I think that’ll about do it.
The F89 and New Commercial 2450 are both impressive treadmills with a lot of great specs and features to appreciate.
And honestly, I could see either being a nice addition to any home gym.
But personally, I think the F89 is the better buy.
I like that the F89 is bigger, heavier-duty, and comes with more impressive performance specs across the board.
And even though the 2450 comes with a nicer console and has a more impressive streaming platform, the fact that the F89 comes with entertainment apps and free access to Sole+ is hard to ignore.
Plus, with the screen mirroring feature, you could always use iFit on the F89 down the road if you really wanted to.
And let’s be real, Sole’s warranty is much better to.
If you already have an iFit membership or really like the idea of the rotating console, I could see opting for the Commercial 2450 over the F89.
Otherwise, I think Sole’s F89 is the superior treadmill.
