Bowflex Treadmill 22 Review – 2023

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Last Updated: March 17, 2023

To say we’re excited to bring you this full review, is an understatement. You’ve been asking us to test the Bowflex Treadmill 22, and we have! It offers a 20% incline and -5% decline, a 22” touch screen that streams Netflix, AND it folds up. But, is it worth it? Throughout this review of the Bowflex Treadmill 22, I’m going to let you know how everything works, what it has to offer, how it performed for us, what we think you should consider before buying, and what can be improved. Alright, let’s get into it.

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Why You Should Trust Our Review Of The Bowflex Treadmill 22

If you’re new here, allow me to introduce our team. We’re Treadmill Review Guru and we’ve been testing treadmills for several years. We’ve set foot on so many models, as well as other fitness equipment, that we’ve lost count. As for who we are, we’re personal trainers, instructors, fitness enthusiasts, gym-goers, and treadmill reviewers who are passionate and knowledgeable about our craft. When we get a new treadmill into our studio, our team puts it to the test to determine how it functions and performs so we can help you decide if it’s right for you.

During our testing of the Bowflex Treadmill 22, we compared it to similar models that we have, such as the NordicTrack 2450 and X22i, Peloton Tread, and Sole F85, to name a few. We have a lot of treadmills in our studio so we were sure to place the Treadmill 22 next to several so we could hop back and forth. This is how we get a good feel of every treadmill, and you’ll see how the Bowflex compares to these other models, sprinkled throughout this review.

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Our Bowflex Treadmill 22 Review Video

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In-depth Review of Bowflex Treadmill 22

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JRNY Overview

Something to keep in mind with fitness equipment nowadays, is many come with subscription content. This is especially true if the equipment has an attached touch screen. The Bowflex Treadmill 22 has a touch screen and comes enabled with JRNY. Before I dive into what JRNY has to offer, I’m going to answer the burning question: Will this treadmill work without a subscription to JRNY? Yes, yes it will. I’ll go over what is available without a subscription in a moment, but first, let’s talk about JRNY.

JRNY is a fitness platform that offers trainer-led content, outdoor-filmed content, and app streaming. There are also preprogrammed workouts called “adaptive workouts” that are personalized to you. When you start using JRNY, you’ll take a fitness assessment that gauges your fitness level and gives you a burn rate. The burn rate is the number of calories your body burns per minute. When taking adaptive workouts, you’ll see the burn rate on the bottom left side of the screen. It is a scale with a target range for you to work to stay in. Once your fitness progresses, the workouts will shift to adapt to you and your burn rate range will change.

They’re filmed indoors to replicate a studio class experience. These classes aren’t quite like Peloton; they aren’t live and they don’t feature a leaderboard to compete against other members. They are in different disciplines like treadmill walking and running, cycling, yoga, and strength. For trainer-led classes, we prefer iFit and Peloton, but JRNY is appealing because it offers more of a range of content compared to these other platforms.

These are scenic routes that go through different locations around the world. A camera guides you through each location to make it feel like you’re there in person running. The camera will even slow down and speed up when you do. These workouts don’t feature an instructor, but some of them offer voice guidance if you want some structure to your workout.

Finally, my favorite aspect of JRNY is that it allows you to stream from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Disney+.

Fitness platforms like Peloton and iFit don’t have this feature, so if you want to watch a Netflix show on your treadmill, you have to use your own device or put the treadmill in front of your tv. On the Bowflex T22, you can watch your favorite show straight from the treadmill’s 22” touch screen. The picture quality isn’t as clear and crisp as your high-definition television, but it displays the shows and your workout metrics just fine.

JRNY also has preselected playlists of different genre music stations to listen to while you use the T22. This music aspect isn’t our favorite, but it’s a nice feature to have. The music can play during trainer-led classes, adaptive workouts, and explore-the-world workouts. We wish the trainer-led classes had specific music that you can listen to with the instructor, but considering everything JRNY has to offer, we aren’t that disappointed.

With this amount of variety to choose from on the Treadmill 22, we definitely think JRNY is worth it. When you purchase this Bowflex Treadmill, a free year subscription to JRNY is included so we highly recommend taking advantage of this.

Onboard Workouts

Okay, so what do you get if you don’t subscribe to JRNY? Onboard workouts. There are some onboard workout programs as well as a manual mode that you can use without a subscription to JRNY. Metrics like your time, speed, calories, heart rate, distance, and pace are displayed in all of these workout programs. The workout programs include 5k distance, 8-minute intervals, 16-minute intervals, endurance, stairs, strength, heart health, fat burn, and calorie burn. Each program has preset speeds and inclines for you to follow. There are also a few Explore The World videos you can take to explore places like Zion National Park while you run.

We appreciate that Bowflex includes some onboard workouts outside of JRNY because not every user is interested in subscription content.

Console

The console on the T22 primarily consists of the touch screen, however, it has some other features that I’ll get into. The screen is a large 22” touch screen. It sits pretty high up so you don’t have to look down too much. As far as adjustability, the screen can be tilted up and down. It doesn’t pivot to either side though like the NordicTrack 2450. So, if you want to use JRNY to take workouts off the treadmill, you’ll have to set your mat behind the deck, rather than next to it.

When I’m using the T22, it feels like there’s a lot going on, even though there aren’t that many adjustment buttons. I actually really like this console, but I wish there were a bit more quick adjustment buttons for the speed and incline. There aren’t buttons for every level of speed and grade, so I find I have to use the side and handle buttons to get to specific increments. These buttons are above the cupholders, in the middle of the console, so they’re easy to reach though.

As for the other adjustment buttons, you have your start and stop, as well as speed buttons on the right handle, along with pulse grips, and another switch for the speed on the right side handles. The buttons on the left side adjust the incline and decline of the deck. The switches on the side handles seem a little sticky, it sometimes takes multiple times pressing them for the treadmill to adjust using these buttons. It’s nice to have different places to adjust the treadmill, though.

We’re impressed with how much storage is available on the Treadmill 22. It’s like the Honda Odyssey Mini Van of treadmills because of the number of cupholders it has. There are 2 large ones by the safety key, and two more in the storage tray below the console. So, you should be able to stay well hydrated.

Below the speakers, which work well and project right at you, there is a textured surface to place your device, or you could put it in the two shallow pockets on either side of the console.
Your phone might only fit in these shallow pockets, though.

Circling back to the speakers, you can only adjust them on the screen, unfortunately. There are buttons on the back of the screen to adjust the volume, as well as turn the screen on and off, but since they’re together on the back of the screen, it’s hard to determine which one is which. So, for the volume, I just use the settings on the screen. From there I can adjust the trainer’s voice, notification beeps on the treadmill, and master volume. The speakers are loud so you should hear your show over the sound of the treadmill.

The fan is tiny! But let me tell you, it’s actually pretty powerful and it adjusts so you can position the air to hit you at different heights. It has multiple speed settings for the airflow, too. I was really surprised by the fan.

Overall, the console feels very stable. The screen does not move when you run.

So, even though it might not look as streamlined as other treadmills like the Peloton Tread, or NordicTrack 2450, it’s functional and has more storage capacity.

The console is also Bluetooth-enabled to pair with your headphones. The Bowflex T22 comes with a heart rate armband that connects so you can see your heart rate on the screen. This is really helpful and appreciated since many brands sell heart rate monitors separately.

Construction Quality & Durability

I have to say, I like the construction and overall I’m impressed. I have a few small gripes that I’ll point out, but this treadmill has so far exceeded the expectations I had of it prior to using it.

Frame

So, one thing about the Bowflex Treadmill 22 is that it’s pretty heavy. It weighs 336 lbs, so it definitely isn’t a small treadmill. In fact, it’s pretty large and longer than the other models we tested it with. It does fold up to save a lot of space though (more on this later).

It also has some chrome-plated accents which give it a unique, kind of futuristic look. Another unique aspect is the uprights. Each upright has two pieces that form a triangle with the frame at the base. Triangles are said to be the strongest shape.

Along with its large size and weight, the T22 can support a significant amount of weight, too. It handles up to 400 lbs, which is typically the highest weight capacity we see on motorized treadmills.

The uprights extend up from the frame to the console to hold it in place. The side handles extend out from there to offer balance assistance when you need it. The side handles aren’t the longest, but they’re sufficient for balance. They have a textured design to help keep your hands from slipping. There are also smaller handles that have pulse grips (as I mentioned earlier), as well as upper handles that extend up near the screen. These handles have a different texture that feels sticky, without actually being sticky.

Motor

The Treadmill 22 has a pretty powerful motor. It is said to be 4.0 HP. The motor size isn’t mentioned on Bowflex’s website, but we researched and tested it against treadmills with this motor size and feel that this is accurate.

From use at its max 12 mph speed to our reviewers using it one after the other, it feels hearty and capable of handling a lot of use. So, if you’re looking to run a marathon on this thing, go right ahead. Or if you want a treadmill to share with the family, this is one to consider.

The motor is also very quiet. It’s not silent of course, because no treadmill is really, but it generates a lower amount of sound than others. I would say it’s comparable to NordicTrack and Sole treadmills. Even the incline and decline are extremely quiet. It reminds me of Sole treadmills which barely generate sound over the general noise of the motor when they’re inclining. I have to look at the deck to see if it’s inclining or declining on the T22, it’s that quiet!

The Bowflex Treadmill 22 has an impressive incline and decline range. The deck inclines up to 20% and declines to -5%, which is the highest range we’ve seen on a folding treadmill. In comparison, the Peloton Tread inclines up to 12.5% and the Sole F85 inclines up to 15%. The T22 doesn’t incline as high as the NordicTrack Incline Trainers, like the X22i which goes up to 40%, but 20% is certainly challenging! For safety, the T22 tops out at a max speed of 8 mph when you’re at the full 20% incline.

Deck

The deck is a considerable size at 22” wide and 60” long.

So, most users should be able to walk, jog, hike, run, and sprint on the deck. Plus, the 22” of width provides plenty of room during your workouts. It’s the same size as the NordicTrack X22i and Sole F85. It’s wider than the Peloton Tread.

One area that surprised me is the cushioning. It feels pretty firm underfoot and comparable to Sole treadmills and the Peloton Tread. I wish it was a little softer though. It provides shock absorption, and certainly more than concrete which offers none, however, if you have joint issues you might want to look into a treadmill with more forgiving cushioning like NordicTrack’s Incline Treadmills and Commercial Series.

With that said, the foot noise is pretty quiet on the Bowflex and I didn’t feel any discomfort in my ankles as I do on other models with firm cushioning.

The belt texture is nice and doesn’t feel slippery.

The profile is pretty slim on the deck. When it’s at a 0% grade, the step-up height is about 10”. It’s slightly higher than the NordicTrack 2450 but much lower than the X22i.

Performance & Functionality

Overall, the Bowflex Treadmill 22 is what we expected and more. We expected a treadmill that offers a high incline and decline range and a JRNY subscription that folds up when you’re finished. What we found is that in addition to this, the T22 is very quiet and feels like a tank. It’s stable and we deem it appropriate for a lot of use and multi-use households.

Something to make note of is that the deck is a little bit different from other models.

There is a small gap between the belt and the motor hood and this allows for the deck to hinge when it’s inclined, declined, and folded up. Instead of the motor hood staying flush with the deck, there is a small separation between the two. So, when the deck is at an incline, the deck raises up higher than the motor hood, and when it’s folded, the motor remains parallel to the floor. It is very similar to the ProForm Carbon T10 and T7 Treadmills.

This doesn’t affect the performance of the treadmill. The Bowflex T22 also has a hydraulic assist built into it for the folding feature, unlike these ProForm treadmills, thankfully. I’m not a big fan of manual folding decks. You get some assistance from this feature when you lift the T22’s deck and when it’s unlocked, the deck slowly lowers itself.

There is a small red handle that you must pull to lift and lower the deck. It’s positioned underneath the bottom of the back of the deck.

One thing to keep in mind when you’re folding the Treadmill 22 is that the deck must be fully declined to -5% in order for the deck to fold all the way up.

You can fold it at 0%, but it doesn’t fold up to be as compact as when the deck is declined. The manual also states that the deck should be fully declined when folding it. So, this is something to remember when you’re done using the treadmill. Other treadmills only fold at a flat grade, so this was a little bit of an adjustment for us. I still have to remember to decline it when I’m done since I usually end my workouts at a flat grade.

The Bowflex T22 has transportation wheels, so when it’s folded you can tip it back towards yourself to engage these. Even though it does fold and can be moved, it’s large and heavy so it isn’t exactly easy to move. Some users might want to keep this treadmill in the same space they’re going to use it, in order to not have to deal with moving it often.

Warranty

Bowflex offers a pretty nice warranty with the Treadmill 22. The warranty includes 15 years for the frame and motor, 5 years for mechanical parts, 1 year for electronics, and 2 years for labor. For an additional charge, you can pay to have the T22 assembled. We assembled it ourselves. It wasn’t hard to set up, but there are a lot of pieces to put together. One thing to look out for is the wires that extend up the uprights into the console, be careful not to pinch them. We recommend having two people when assembling this treadmill.