The NordicTrack Reflex 8500 Pro Treadmill - Super-Soft and Forgiving

Not only does the NordicTrack Reflex 8500 pro treadmill offer a smooth, quiet, and powerful 3.5 chp motor, you also get a 20" x 60" Commercial tread belt, advanced Reflex™ Cushioning, and a superior deck with a lifetime warranty.

The Machine

The 7" full color touch screen display offers quick and convenient incline and speed controls with the touch of a single button. You can access iFit® Live programming downloadable from the internet, or choose one of the many performance and weight loss programs pre-installed.

The full specs on the NordicTrack Reflex 8500 Pro treadmill are:

• 3.5 CHP Commercial DurX™ Motor
• 0-12 mph 1-Touch™ Speed
• 0-15% 1-Touch™ Incline
• 20" x 60" Commercial Tread Belt
• Reflex™ Cushioning
• 20 Workouts
• iFit® Live module + 1 yr subscription included*
• iPod® plug-in port
• Intermix Acoustics™ 3.0 Sound System
• Dual-grip CardioGrip™ Heart Rate Monitor
• 350 lbs User Weight Capacity
• SpaceSaver® Folding Design
• Warranty: Lifetime motor, frame & deck, 2 yrs parts, 1 yr labor

*Home wireless network required

The Buzz

UPDATE:  The Reflex 8500 Pro is no longer being produced or sold. For a comparable machine check out the newest NordicTrack treadmills here.

NordicTrack boasts that its own executives prefer the Reflex cushioning treadmills to anything else the company has designed. The Reflex 8500 Pro offers a super-soft and forgiving surface that reduces impact on your joints by up to 40% compared to road surfaces.

The springy surface takes some getting used to, and won’t suite everyone, but it is the most notable element on the NordicTrack Reflex 8500 Pro treadmill. The deck is built to take abuse; even with a 350 lb user capacity, the company backs the solid poplar wood deck with a Lifetime Deck Warranty.

Yet more pluses of the NordicTrack Reflex 8500 Pro include the attractive console, which offers easy-to-use 1-touch speed/incline controls, 20 workout options, an MP3 port, built in sound system with 3" high-excursion drivers, a FREE iFit® Live module (a $199 savings), plus 1 year FREE access to iFit.com (a $120 savings).

The iFit Live feature allows you to access Google Maps for interactive running trails, workout out with Jillian Michaels, manage your fitness profile online, and more.

On the downside, the parts & labor warranty is unusually weak for a $2000 treadmill, which means you will have to buy an upgraded warranty. NordicTrack is also stingy by not installing a fan on the console, and there is no Lift-Assist mechanism so you are lifting 45 lbs in order to fold it up out of the way.

What We Say

Many consumers and equipment experts in treadmill reviews have remarked that the NordicTrack Reflex 8500 Pro has the same specs (3.5 chp motor, 20" x 60" deck, etc.) as the original Reflex SR ($1999) but that the 8500 has a much more rounded and aesthetic console and support arms, as well as the upgraded touch screen console replacing the 7” flat screen TV that came with the SR.

The $1999 treadmill is a decent buy, but at the $2000 price level it is up against a lot of serious competition. Right now, the better buy among NT machines would be the Commercial 1750 or the Commercial 2450, both of which are hundreds of dollars less than the NordicTrack Reflex 8500 Pro treadmill.