NordicTrack recently came out with updated versions of almost all of their equipment, including the X24 Treadmill and 2450 Treadmills. Below, we dig into everything you need to know, from the important specs, the differences between them, and how each treadmill holds up to the competition.
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NordicTrack X24 and 2450 Treadmill – review transcript
(Edited for clarity)
NordicTrack X24 features
In general, the NordicTrack X24 is a larger, heavier, more robust treadmill with easily the largest range of incline you’ll ever see. With the capacity to go from -6 degree decline all the way up to a staggering 40% incline, which overall comes out to a massive 46 degrees of control. By comparison, most top treadmills only offer up to a 12% incline, as does the NordicTrack 2450, though the NordicTrack 2450 also beats out most others due to its ability to also decline up to 3 degrees.
Now why would you possibly want up to a 40% incline? Isn’t that excessive and far beyond what you’ll ever need? Actually, from my experience, it’s really useful, not so much for runners, but for those who use the treadmill to walk and hike. The massive range of incline allows the NordicTrack X24 to really feel like an actual hike up the mountains, and as we’ll dig into more when we cover the content available on these treadmills, that helps not only create really effective and unique workout sessions, but is also extremely engaging as it is paired one-to-one with actual hiking trails and climbs you see on the screen. And with the 4.25 Horse Power Motor, it is able to make these adjustments pretty quickly, and so feels very natural as you run on it while it inclines or lowers.
NordicTrack 2450 features
So while the big draw of the X24 is that enormous incline capability, the big selling point for the NordicTrack 2450, on the other hand, is that it takes up a lot less space, especially since it has the ability to be folded up while not in use. And you know, for a lot of us, our workout space is limited, and so choosing a treadmill that can fold up when not in use allows for much better use of the space you have.
Now one thing I do want to mention, one small downgrade that I noticed on this new 2450 Treadmill, compared to the previous model, and that is that when you lower the treadmill from its folded up position, you need to do so much more carefully. Before, you could just unlock it and let it go, and it would sort of slowly glide down under control until it reached the floor. But with the new model, I did notice that it would come down much faster, and so you need to control it yourself as you bring it down, because if you let it go, it can come crashing down hard. Not a big deal, but if you are coming from an older model like I was, just be aware that you can’t just let this one unfold down by itself.
Now what is also new and pretty cool about the 2450, is that since it also has that same 4.25 horsepower motor, which is more than the 3.6 it previously had in the last model, it is now capable of reaching a speed of up to 14 miles per hour, whereas the previous model and most other treadmills can only go up to 12. Now this probably won’t matter to you, since at 14 miles per hour, that means you’d have to be capable of running the speed of a 4-minute 17-second mile, but for those runners who are pretty fast and like to be able to push the speeds, say in hard interval work, the NordicTrack 2450 really seems like a great option.
The difference in shock absorption
Another noticeable difference between the NordicTrack X24 and 2450 is the shock absorption of the running surface. The shock absorption of the X24 feels a lot less bouncy than the 2450. And really both are fine; the X24 feels more like a traditional treadmill in terms of the running surface, but the 2450 feels much more forgiving. Which I know some people really like because it feels easier to run for longer distances, and others may not like because it may not feel as much like running on the road. Personally, I like the way the absorption feels on both models, but you can definitely feel it be a bit more springy on the 2450.
New screens, speakers, and more
Now that’s pretty much it in terms of the big differences between the two, but there’s also a lot here that has been improved on these models that both treadmills share. Both include an integrated fan below the screen, which is similar to models in the past, and both feel perfectly placed to help cool you down during a run, which is great. Above that, we have the controls, of course, for the speed and incline, and then right below the screen is the new and improved speakers, and these sound great.
And above that, of course, we have this 24″ HD touchscreen, which feels like the perfect size. The screen looks great and is able to rotate up and down and all the way around for workouts off the treadmill. The one big downside with these new screens is that the physical buttons to control the speed and incline, which used to surround the screen, have now been removed. Now personally, I really like those physical buttons as it made it very easy to quickly select the exact speed and incline that you want. Now instead, these controls have moved to the screen itself, which is fine; it still works, but it’s not quite as easy to select as the physical versions, and it does take up screen space, which at the end of the day, one of the reasons I like the NordicTrack Treadmills so much is the immersion for their outdoor classes, and so anything that takes up more screen space for me is going to be less desirable.
iFIT membership
But just looking at the treadmills doesn’t give you the full sense of the improvements made because the internal system that runs iFIT membership on these machines has been completely overhauled and is significantly better than it has ever been.
So first off, it’s important to know that NordicTrack Treadmills like these require a membership to access the classes. Without a membership, you can still use the treadmill, but you don’t have access to all the various classes and features with it.
And some of these features are top in class. Smart Adjust, for example, learns your running capability and then can automatically adjust almost every class’s speed and incline to make the workouts perfect for your fitness level. And while no system like this is perfect, this is the closest I have ever seen to being spot on almost all of the time. It really does a great job allowing you to take any class you’d like and know that it will be adjusted to fit where you are currently at. There is also an ActivePulse option for some classes as well, and this is similar to Smart Adjust, but instead of adjusting the speed based on your fitness level, it will adjust the speed based on your heart rate and help keep you in the right zone that is being asked of in the class.
iFIT 2.0
But the biggest highlight of iFIT and these treadmills has and continues to be the instructor-led outdoor classes. Because they just do an excellent job as sort of serving as both a tour guide of these areas you’ll be exploring but also are in general very good at coaching, and the way you follow along with the instructors with the incline and speed adjusting automatically just makes the whole experience very immersive, and there’s honestly no other company that offers this sort of experience anywhere near to the quality that is given here. Outside of outdoor classes, there are also more traditional indoor studio classes, but while they are decent, they aren’t quite on the same level as their outdoor counterparts, and other companies, like Peloton, just do this sort of indoor production better.
The other downside here with iFIT is that there are no leaderboards, so if you like to interact or see others in the class and their scores in real time, that’s not something you can get here.
That said, like I mentioned, iFIT has completely overhauled their operating system, and there are a lot of improvements that make the experience here the best it’s ever been. Not only can you better adjust the screen to be able to see the exact metrics you want, but also the streaming itself is much smoother, with no noticeable frame drops that were occasionally problematic in the past, and everything just works much more smoothly. The filtering is much better with classes much easier to find, and maybe most importantly for some of you, they now enable streaming with popular apps like Netflix and others.
But what’s really cool that is very unique to iFIT here is how they’ve enabled these streaming apps; not only can you workout while watching your favorite shows or movies, but you can also be taking a class in the background at the same time, and switch back and forth from the entertainment and the class. Which is extremely valuable because, as we’ve discussed, the classes automatically adjust the incline and speed for you, which means you can start a class, then switch over to a show and not have to worry about what you should be doing in terms of incline and speed, because all of that will still be adjusted as you watch your show. So you can get in both a great workout and be able to watch whatever you’d like, and this is really unique to iFIT compared to many other options which don’t allow for this full integration of both workouts and entertainment.
Additional features
Additionally, iFIT has added new workout builders, allowing you to create your own workouts to follow along to, which again you can take while you watch something else on Netflix or whatever.
And they’ve also come out with an AI agent that you can text back and forth with to schedule workouts or ask questions. And while it’s cool you can schedule workouts and get reminders and tips from this AI bot, personally I’m not something that I found super interesting or valuable, but I can see how for some that might want to further engage with it, it could become a useful way to stay engaged with your workout plans and have a coach, while an AI one, be able to plan, schedule, and remind you of the workouts that you have coming up.
Final thoughts
You know, I’ve covered NordicTrack devices for years now, and while I have mixed feelings on some of their products, their treadmills to me, have always been top of class in terms of how they feel, how diverse they are; again, the example here is you can choose one that goes up to 40% incline or have one that folds up, and their iFIT platform has always been so great when it comes to these outdoor instructor-led rides and automatic adjustments, that for the treadmills specifically, I think they are just a really fantastic option, and with the upgrades to their operating system, it is better now than it has ever been.
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