Schwinn 840 Treadmill Review

Schwinn Brand is owned by Nautilus Inc (who owns also Nautilus and Bowflex brands). Nautilus is well known in the fitness industry and their equipment is used all over the world.

Schwinn is not dedicated to treadmills. Actually they have only 2 models in their offer for Home Treadmills: Schwinn 840 and Schwinn 860. We tested both and it was a very pleasant experience.

Schwinn 840 makes a good purchasing decision for those who want to have a safe home training machine. A first asset of this treadmill is the Softrak suspension which makes exercising safe, effective and durable.

For $ 1.000, the Schwinn 840 is a good bargain, with an attractive pack of features that match the price. Read further and check out our Conclusions section to find more details about our experience.

Schwinn 840 Treadmill Specifications

Speed: 0.5mph/0.8kph – 10mph/16kph
You also have preset values available by 1-Touch: 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%

Inclination: 0%-10%
Same as speed you have also 1-Touch options: 2, 4, 6, 8

Motor: 2.5 CHP (CD)

Belt: 20”x55” (51 x 140 cm)

As well as Schwinn 860, this treadmill incorporates a Softrak suspension deck system to reduce impact on joints. At the same time this system ensures comfort and safety during exercise.

Support User Weight: 300 lbs/136 kg

Dimensions:
Assembled: 74″ / 188 cm L x 32″ / 81 cm W x 54″ / 137 cm
Assembled Weight: 285 lbs / 129 kg

Warranty:

This treadmill comes with a 5 year warranty for frame, 10 years for motor, 1 year for electronics, 6 months for parts and 90 days for wear parts.

Schwinn 840 Treadmill Features

Display Info:

When it comes to compare Display functions, Schwinn 840 and Schwinn 860 are similar. Both have LCD Displays and the same Control Buttons on the console: Preset Speed Keys, Speed Up/ Down, Enter/ Reset, QuickStart, Fan Button, Stop Button, Profiles/ Courses, Incline Up/ Down, Preset Incline Keys.

On the LCD display you will constantly see:

- The name and profile of the program
- The progress of your workout (follow the dot-matrix area divided into 12 segments per workout)
- Total Time (maximum value is 99:59, then it resets)
- Distance
- Incline
- Pulse
- Estimated amount of burned calories
- Speed/ Pace time (shows kilometers per hour or miles per hour for 10 seconds and the pace in minutes per mile or per km for 10 seconds).

The console is user friendly because you can easily adjust settings: program selections, time settings, incline, speed, fan, Stop, Pause or Fnish. When the console is in Ready Mode, press Quick Start to start the manual program.

From the console you change also the measurement unit by pressing Metric button for kilometers display and English Imperial for miles display.

Heart Rate: Through Contact Handrails

Monitoring your heart rate is very important to track down the intensity of your workout. But remember this is just a feedback tool, not an accurate medical device.

Compared to Schwinn 860, this treadmill doesn’t have the Chest Strap option for Wireless Heart Rate reading. The Chest Strap is a good choice for those who want to have their hands free and use this feature at the same time.

Workouts:

- 2 Course Workouts
- 2 Circuit Workouts
- 2 Pursuit Workouts
- Calorie Goal Workout
- 5K Course Workout
- 10K Course Workout
- Custom User Program Workout
- Target Heart Rate (HR) Workout

This treadmill offers 16 workout programs, of which six different courses, calorie goals, 5K and 10K courses, one program based on heart rate control and you can also create and save custom workouts. These are the best workouts we tested because the console allows you to enter your personal information (age/weight/sex), this way your results will be accurately displayed during exercise.

See below how to control Workouts Settings:

Program Setup

For each program, you need to setup the settings by following these steps:

- Press Courses/ Profiles to go to Program selection Menu. Use Up/Down to browse the program and press Enter/ Reset when get to your selection;

- Go through each step of the program setup, press Enter/ Reset or press Quick Start to go to Workout Mode. This mode will use default values for elements that are not specified in the program setup.

User setup

- Press Enter/ Reset to start the setup

- Use Up/ Down to set your Age and press Enter/ Reset for record (you can choose from 13 to 90)

- Use Up/ Down to select Height and press Enter/ Reset (the available range is 4:03- 6:07/ 130- 240 cm)

- Use same Up/ Down buttons to select Weight and press Enter/ Reset

- Use Up/ Down to select your Sex and press Enter/ Reset

The display will give you the name of the first available program. Browse through the Program Selection to select the desired program.

When you want to pause your workout program, press Stop. To restart, press Quick Start. When there is no activity for 5 minutes, the console will go into Ready Mode without saving any information.

You may want to save your data before finishing your workout. To do that, you have pause and push Enter/ Reset and then hold for 3 seconds. When the console shows the data, press Stop for 3 seconds to go to Ready Mode.

The Calorie Goal Workout allows you to set the amount of calories you want to burn during workout. Press Quick Start for the default calorie setting (500 kcal) or Enter/ Reset to set up the calorie aim.

The 5 K and 10 K programs allow you to set your distance goal for your workout.

You can also opt to create your own personalized workout, by setting your own values for Time, Speed and Inline. The console will record your customized settings for future workouts.

There is also a program based on your heart rate, the Target Heart Rate profile. The program calculates a heart rate according to your personal information. Press Quick Start to use the default time period and the heart rate or press Enter/ Reset to adjust the program. Use Up/ Down keys to adjust the Target BPM value. Also use Up/ Down to adjust Time settings.

This program provides good workout, but it is fair to say that the Schwinn 860 has three more Heart Rate based workouts which gives you more power of choice.

Fan: 3 Speed Levels

Folding Treadmill:

Compared to how powerful this treadmill is, it only measures 74 inches in length, 32 inches across and 54 inches high. The SoftDrop System helps folding the treadmill up to a small size, only 39 inches in length, which leaves you free to store the treadmill anywhere you want it placed.

Sound System: Not Included

Conclusions

We really enjoyed training on this treadmill. It was a pleasant experience and although we would have expected much less from a $1,000 machine, it turned out in the end we were wrong (this time).

Schwinn 840 is a great treadmill choice. It is smooth to walk on, which mostly resides in the Softrak suspension deck that reduces impact on joints. The Softrak Cushion technology is a wonderful asset of Schwinn treadmills.

Schwinn also offers products that include adjustable settings. And the quick accessibility of these settings on the console is definitely a plus. We love this feature.

At the same time this treadmill is also surprisingly quiet, even when you train with the 10 k race Workout. From our point of view this is an effect of the powerful motor (2. 5 chp). But still, the superior model Schwinn 860 is better fit for competition training (it comes with better motor, speed and incline).

We especially enjoyed using the workouts on this treadmill. After a long research we finally found a treadmill that has all the settings needed to exercise properly. Before starting a pre-set workout you can insert your age, weight and sex. Based on these details, the treadmill counts calories burned more accurately. You can definitely base your diet on these numbers.

Plus, the Target Heart Rate workout is even better (although using handles during exercise is not efficient). Even so, you must know that if you use the Heart Rate readings, insert your profile settings and start exercising, you will have a successful combination. Don’t forget Schwinn 860 is even better.

The fan is decent, although not very powerful. Still this is not a deal breaker. You also have no entertainment features, but it’s not important from our point of view. It’s more efficient to invest in the features that matter, especially for a $1,000 treadmill. And Schwinn knows this.

The treadmill is also very heavy. But both Schwinn 840 and 860 use a Hydraulic system for folding/unfolding which ease the process for you. Still you may need some help. This applies also when you want to move the treadmill.

In conclusion, we highly recommend the Schwinn 840 as a strong and powerful treadmill for indoor fitness. Still, the warranty is poor and you must take good take care of it so you don’t start replacing parts from your pocket in one year.

If you have a Schwinn 840 experience to share, don’t hesitate to write to us. For more details visit the official page.

You can buy this treadmill:

At Amazon: Schwinn 840 Treadmill for 899 $
At Sports Authority: Schwinn 840 Treadmill for 899 $
At Schwinn : Schwinn 840 Treadmill for 990 $
At Abe's Of Maine: 840 Treadmill- 100178 for 999 $
At Dick's Sporting Goods: Schwinn 840 Treadmill for 999 $

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