NordicTrack S20i Treadmill Review: Worth It in 2026?

Looking for a new home treadmill? The NordicTrack S20i treadmill is one of the strongest home machines of its generation. It's a gym-grade machine with up to 10% incline, an 18 km/h top speed and a 12-month iFit membership thrown in.

NordicTrack has been making treadmills for over 40 years, so they know what they're doing. Two features make the S20i stand out from its rivals: an incline of up to 10% (most home treadmills cap out at 5%) and a build quality that's hard to match at this price.

The S20i also comes with a 12-month iFit membership, letting you stream live and on-demand workouts led by elite personal trainers directly to your own tablet or smartphone. But does it deliver in daily use? Read on before you buy.

NordicTrack S20i features

The S20i is packed with professional, gym-level features that should be more than enough to keep you motivated through every workout. Here are the biggest highlights:

• 5" LCD display: Track your speed, estimated calorie burn and more on an easy-to-read screen. Pair it with the iFit app for enhanced metrics across all iFit-compatible equipment.
• SMART-Response motor: This drive system uses self-cooling technology, so it's far less likely to overheat than a traditional treadmill motor.
• Folding SpaceSaver design: Fold the deck up and out of the way after each workout. An EasyLift Assist shock locks it in place for safe storage.
• 0-10% incline and 0-18 km/h speed: Digital Quick Incline and QuickSpeed controls let your iFit trainer auto-adjust speed and incline to match real-world terrain.

The S20i is a great way to improve your health and get in shape at your own pace. Its up-to-10% incline (versus the usual 5%) makes it ideal for toning your legs and strengthening your calves, and the pre-programmed workouts mean you can be up and running in no time.

Full specifications

How the NordicTrack S20i performs

The picture from owners and expert testers is consistently positive, and the praise clusters around the same points.

The build quality is the most repeated compliment, along with an iFit subscription that lets you stream any live workout to your own tablet or smartphone, and setup that owners describe as genuinely easy. You can even map out your own runs using Google Maps. After a workout, it folds away for tidy storage.

On the downside, the S20i is on the heavy side at 95 kg, which some buyers may find off-putting. Make sure you have a friend or family member on hand for setup. The instructions are widely reported as clear and easy to follow, so you shouldn't run into any trouble.

Is the NordicTrack S20i treadmill still worth buying?

If you find one, and the price is right, yes. The specification has aged well: 0 to 10% powered incline, 18 km/h, a 51 x 140cm belt and a 135kg user capacity are all still competitive against machines sold new today at the £800 to £1,200 mark. The 2.5 CHP motor is the part that matters most for longevity, and it sits at the top of the 2.0 to 2.6 CHP band most home treadmills ship with now.

Two caveats before you chase one down. The iFIT membership that made the original package look so good was a 12-month inclusion tied to purchase, so a secondhand machine won't come with it, and NordicTrack's current bundles are far shorter. And at 95kg it's a two-person lift with no realistic way around that, which rules out a lot of first-floor flats and anyone collecting alone.

What replaced it is the honest comparison. The NordicTrack T Series is the value option in the current range but drops to a 2.6 CHP motor with a 140cm belt and a 30-day iFIT trial, while the Commercial 1750 comfortably beats the S20i on incline range, screen and motor for considerably more money.

What to check on a secondhand NordicTrack S20i treadmill

Ask to see it running before any money changes hands. Belt tracking, meaning whether the deck drifts to one side at 8km/h and above, is the cheapest fault to spot and among the more irritating to live with.

Then work the incline through its full range, flat to 10% and back down. That motor is expensive to replace and it's the part nobody tests during a two minute viewing, so listen for grinding as it climbs and check it holds the gradient rather than creeping back. Everything else is logistics: 95kg means two people and a plan for stairs, the console needs an iFIT subscription before it does anything clever, and a belt that has never been lubricated will tell you so through the motor.

Warranty

The S20i is backed by a reassuring warranty: a lifetime frame warranty, a 10-year motor warranty, and 2 years of parts and labour, provided you register your warranty within 28 days of purchase.

That registration window matters more now than it did when the machine was new. Buy one secondhand and there's no cover to call on, because it was tied to the original purchase and the 28 day window shut years ago, so treat any S20i you find as sold as seen.

On the evidence, this is a machine most owners stay happy with for years, which makes its disappearance from Amazon UK a genuine shame.