In this Echelon Stride-5s Treadmill review, we will cover everything you should know before you decide to buy. This is Echelon’s most premium treadmill yet, but is it worth the higher price? Read (or watch) below to get the full scoop.
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Echelon Stride-5s Treadmill video review
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A quick overview of the Echelon Stride-5s
The Echelon Stride-5s Treadmill is Echelon’s newest and most premium connected fitness treadmill to be released. While ditching the original Echelon Stride’s popular auto-fold feature, the Stride-5s adds significant upgrades in many areas.
The primary upgrades are a new 24″ high def touch screen (which can rotate 90 degrees in each direction), a larger more comfortable running belt, integrated heart rate sensors, and even a built-in oversized cooling fan.
Echelon Stride-5s specs
| Weight | 315 lb |
| Max User Weight | 400 lb |
| Dimensions | 36” W x 81” L x 63” H |
| Running Surface | 22” W x 60” L |
| Incline | 0-15% |
| Max Speed | 12.5 mph |
| Motor | 3 HP Motor |
| Step Up Height | 6.5” |
| Touchscreen | 24″ HD Display |
| Speakers | 2 x 5-watt speakers |
| Heart Rate Sensors | Included |
| Warranty | 1-year Parts & Labor |
Using the Echelon Stride-5s
Duro-50 Suspension Deck
The Echelon Stride-5s is the first treadmill to feature Echelon’s new “Duro-50 Suspension Deck.” The new suspension system feels good to run on and is comparable to many other similarly priced belt treadmills. It is not the most comfortable running belt I’ve ran on but it’s certainly not the worst.
Touchscreen and speakers
The new 24” HD touchscreen is one of the premium features added to the Echelon Stride 5-s. What I love most about this screen is that you can easily unlock it in the back and turn it 90% in either direction. This makes it much easier to take bootcamp, strength, or any other classes off the Treadmill.
I am a big fan of the Echelon’s bootcamp-style classes, so I found myself using this screen a lot. It is a very useful addition.
Even though the touch screen is moveable, Echelon seems to have done a really good job to ensure it stays locked in place while running. I found there to be noticeably less screen wobble than most other connected fitness treadmills.
The speakers, though, are not very impressive. While the volume of the two five-watt front-facing speakers is passable, the quality leaves a bit to be desired. This is especially true when it comes to distinguishing the instructor’s voice over the music. Part of this could be due to bad voice/music mixing, as I have found this to be the same case when taking classes on their app via an iPad.
However, once you pair wear headphones to the Stride 5-s, the mix between the voice and the music suddenly becomes much better.
Speed and incline
The Echelon Stride-5s has a max incline of 15 degrees and a max speed of 12.5 mph.
The biggest problem here is that the time it takes to change speeds or incline level is incredibly slow. It takes around 30 seconds to go from 1 to 12 mph and over 40 seconds to go from a 0-12 degree incline. This is two to three times slower than similarly priced treadmills from Peloton or NordicTrack.
The other issue is that the Echelon Stride-5s has a clumsy design for changing speeds. You have two options when it comes to controlling the treadmill’s speed:
First, you can adjust the speed via the buttons on the handlebars. The problem with this is that you will need to press the button for every 0.1 mph of adjustment. So if you want to increase your speed by 2 mph, that is going to require 20 presses.
You can hold the buttons as well for bigger jumps, but I would not advise it. The speed increases made this way can range from .5 mph to over 5 mph, so it is definitely a risky move!
The second option is to use the quick select buttons. These buttons are preset to quickly adjust your speed to 1, 4, 7, or 10 mph. While these can be very useful in saving you from hundreds of button presses, they too have a few problems.
The biggest issue with the quick select buttons is that they are small and are very difficult to press while in a sprint or fast run. Especially when sprinting. The other issue is that because they are locked to preset speeds, they cannot be personalized.
Had the quick select buttons been customizable, they would have been much more useful. For example, I would have adjusted these buttons to 3, 6, 8, and 10mph to better fit the speeds I normally walk and run at. Allowing this type of customization would save me hundreds of button smashes per workout.
Heart rate sensor and fan
Also included on the Echelon Stride-5s Treadmill are a pair of built-in heart rate sensors and a large fan. The heart rate sensors are a nice addition, but really only for those without a heart rate monitor. Personally I never use these type if sensors since they tend to be pretty inaccurate and can only be used safely while walking.
The large built-in fan here, while a nice idea, is unfortunately not very useful. The amount of air it generates is extremely small so you have to be very close to feel anything. The small amount of air flow is also directed towards your chest rather than your face where you probably want it to. This of course will depend on your height, but with me at 5′ 9″, it does not reach anywhere close.
Echelon workouts
Now since this is a connected fitness treadmill, the classes you will be taking can be just as important as the equipment itself. Echelon provides a huge amount of content with its membership, with four or five new treadmill classes added every day.
While these classes can all be taken on-demand, they are also available live. A big perk with Echelon that I have not seen from many other companies is a big focus on having live classes available in the afternoon.
Now Echelon definitely goes for more of a quantity over quality approach here. The positive with this approach is that if you want to find a particular kind of class, you have a lot of options. Endurance runs, walks, sprints, bootcamps, strength workouts, and even classes like boxing or breakdancing are all here.
Despite the production seeming to be less highly produced than other platforms, some of the content and coaches here are actually pretty good. It also helps that Echelon is heavily music focused, and each class has a dedicated playlist of songs which it is designed around.
The negative with having so many classes created daily is that it can be hard to find the diamonds among them. Once you dig in and start figuring out which class types and coaches are best for you, this becomes easier. However, for a new member, just know you may have to dig around for a while before you find what you will enjoy most.
Echelon Stride vs Stride-5s
If you do not want all of the bells and whistles, like the improved suspension deck and 24″ touch screen, you may want to consider the original Echelon Stride. This treadmill has a significant smaller price tag ($1,299 vs $2,499) and also has an auto-fold feature for easy storage.
Of course, while you may save money and space, the original Stride 5-s will not feel nearly as good to run on without this suspension deck. So which one will work best for you will likely depend on how much you want to spend, how much space you have, and how much cushion you would like to feel while you run.
Final thoughts
With a new 24″ pivoting HD touchscreen and improved suspension deck, there is a lot to like here. Despite the issues I have with the slow time it takes to adjust and how those adjustments are made, the Stride-5s is still Echelon’s best treadmill yet.
However, at the current price of $2,499, I can only really suggest this treadmill for those currently in and fans of the Echelon ecosystem. Others may want to consider Echelon’s lower-priced original Stride or look at other treadmills in this price range.
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- Echelon GT+ Connect Bike review: No screen, no problem
- Review: The Peloton Tread
- Nordictrack X22i Treadmill Review
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