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Despite being considered one of their entry level machines, the ProForm 6.0 RT Treadmill is currently one of the most popular treadmills to buy through online shopping sites such as Amazon.
We’ve written this review to provide everything you need to know about this treadmill in one place, including the design features, workout options, assembly instructions, and customer reviews.
Design features
Before you buy any new treadmill, it’s important to have a clear list of features that you want your new machine to include.
This not only helps to keep you focussed on what’s actually necessary for you to achieve future fitness goals, but also helps you build up a realistic idea of how much you can expect to spend.
This is particularly true of the ProForm 6.0 RT Treadmill, where many of the features have been scaled down in order to keep the price closer to entry level.
Rather than the heavier duty 3.0 and 3.25 CHP motors you find on the Power 995c and Pro 2000 machines, the ProForm 6.0 RT motor measures slightly smaller at 2.5 CHP.
What effect does this have on your training? Essentially it means that the motor can’t power the running deck up to the same level of incline, while maintaining higher belt speeds.
ProForm have already taken this into account with the 6.0 RT, which is why the incline and speed settings are lower than the other two higher priced machines.
The running area itself is another important feature, which also includes the design of the running deck and TreadSoft cushioning system.
Although not as large as on the more expensive machines, the running area for the ProForm 6.0 RT still measures an impressive 18″ (W) x 55″ (L).
This is important for allowing taller users (6ft+) to get up to a full running stride, without worrying about their feet slipping of the back of the belt.
Transport wheels and foldable running deck for easy storage
If space at home is fairly limited, an important feature to check for is whether or not the running deck is foldable.
The ProForm 6.0 RT not only features a foldable running deck, but also the transport wheels you need to move the treadmill to a new location if needed.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that, unlike some treadmills, the folding mechanism isn’t entirely automatic. You have to be prepared to safely lift around 45 lbs of weight each time you want to raise, lower, or move the treadmill.
ProForm 6.0 RT – Features Summary
- iPod-compatible so you can rock your workout
- Work out at your own pace up to 10 mph
- Power incline up to 10% lets you change your workout level as you go
- Non-slip treadbelt with TreadSoft Cushioning shock absorption for reduced impact
- 2.5 continuous horsepower motor
- Quick Incline and QuickSpeed buttons
- 18″W x 55″L Running surface
- 8 pre-set workouts
Display console with quick select settings
Despite being one of the lower priced treadmills from ProForm, it’s encouraging to see that the quick select incline and speed buttons are still available.
Although the maximum speed (10mph) and incline (10%) are lower than the higher priced models, this feels very well balanced with the 2.5 HP motor and cushioning system.
As well as the quick select buttons, the display console also includes some useful functions for quickly accessing your favourite workout programs.
The 4 calorie workouts and 4 timed workouts each have their own designated buttons below the display screen, reducing the need to navigate complicated menu options.
In terms of the LCD display screen, you’ll notice that the design has been kept a lot simpler than most ProForm treadmills.
Essentially the screen is split into 4 main sections:
- Matrix – Displays a representation of your current workout program if one is selected, or your progress around a virtual 1/4 mile running track if you’ve chosen a ‘manual’ workout.
- Lower left – Most of the time this is used to display the elapsed / remaining workout time. When you change the incline, the current incline setting will be displayed here for a few seconds.
- Lower right – Displays the speed of the walking belt and the approximate number of calories burned during your current workout. Also displays your heart rate when holding onto the hand sensors.
- Upper – Being the largest of the workout information sections, this is used to display the statistic you are most interested monitoring.
This can be either distance travelled, calories burned, or walking belt speed.
The heart rate hand sensors have been added to allow you to monitor your heart rate during your workout.
Being positioned below the display console and requiring you to hold them for 15 seconds, these are best used intermittently, rather than continuously.
If you want to track your heart rate throughout your workout it might be best to invest in a separate heart rate chest strap.
Preset workout programs
The ProForm 6.0 RT provides 8 different preset workout programs, together with the default ‘manual’ training option.
In a similar way to many of the other treadmills in the ProForm range, these programs have been divided into 2 categories; calorie and timed.
- Calorie workouts – Although all workouts will burn a certain level of calories on their own, these 4 ‘calorie workouts’ are specifically designed to increase the workout intensity.This leads to more calories burned and enhanced cardiovascular fitness.
- Timed workouts – Each of the ‘timed workouts’ automatically alters the speed and incline of the running belt as you progress through a workout with a fixed duration.
Quality of assembly instructions
With poor quality assembly instructions being one of the most common reasons for lowering a customer review rating, we wanted to make sure we covered this in our own review.
If you haven’t found a reliable source for the ProForm 6.0 RT Treadmill user manual, you can find a copy here.
As expected, a quick look through the manual should shows the same high quality parts lists, part identification charts and step-by-step diagrams that we’ve come to expect from ProForm.
Before reading through customer reviews, it’s worth remembering that the assembly time will naturally be longer compared to an exercise bike or compact elliptical.
But with the majority of the assembly focussed around getting the uprights attached and display console mounted, there’s really not a great deal of setup required.
With this in mind, it shouldn’t take much longer than 90 minutes to go from having the parts unpacked, to enjoying your first workout.
Customer reviews
Together with a growing collection of customer reviews, Amazon is also home to a large number of answered questions. These questions have been asked by people who were interested in buying the ProForm 6.0 RT, but wanted to find out a bit more before buying.
Answered by people who are already using the 6.0 RT, if there are any questions you had that we didn’t manage to answer in this review, this would be an excellent place to ask them.
From the dozens of highly rated reviews currently available, we’ve put together the following lists of pros and cons, to provide a quick summary of the points that were most frequently mentioned.
Pros:
- Straightforward assembly with easy-to-follow instructions
- Quick and easy to adjust the speed and incline settings
- Small increments of 0.5% for the incline allow you to make gradual increases to your workout intensity
- Foldable, space saving design
- Excellent customer service
- Useful selection of preset workout programs
- Able to connect your mp3 player to listen to your favourite workout music
- Clear button layout and large, easy to read display screen text makes tracking and changing your workout easier
Cons:
- LCD display isn’t backlit
- No option to input basic personal information, such as bodyweight and age. This can lead to inaccurate feedback on the number of calories burned.
- Not as quiet to use as some of the higher priced models
What’s covered by the warranty?
- Frame and drive motor: 5 years from date of purchase
- Parts and labor: 90 days from date of purchase
Review Overview
Overall Review Rating
4 / 5
Although the ProForm 6.0 RT doesn't provide the same high powered motor as higher price machines, there will always be some sacrifices when you're paying for is a quarter of the price.
The running area is slightly smaller than the top-end machines, but again this is to be expected, and shouldn't have any impact on your running performance for anyone under 6ft tall.
For taller users, the 10 mph maximum speed and 10% maximum incline makes this an ideal treadmill for jogging and walking, but you may want to look at one of the later models in the ProForm range if you want to run or sprint.
Product dimensions: 31" (W) X 64" (L) X 56" (H) Weight capacity: 300 lbs Product weight: 163 lbs
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We go to great lengths to ensure that our reviews are completely comprehensive, usually covering everything from the design features to the warranty coverage and exercise options. This is all to help guide you towards the home gym equipment that’s best suited to your goals and budget, whilst also being the highest quality option in your chosen price range.
