Forums >Gears and Wears>NordicTrack 1750 Speed Calibration
Hey All - I did a quick search and couldn't find anything so here goes. I'm trying to do a speed calibration on a NordicTrack 1750. This is a model with the iFit enabled screen and Android OS. So..... it doesn't start up like the traditional models. They show in all the videos to push the STOP and SPEED + buttons when putting the key in place to enter Speed Calibration mode. I've done it repeatedly, my wife has tried, heck I even had both my pre-teen sons give it a shot. None of us could get the machine into calibration mode. Customer Service says that's the only way to do it. There is a button on the "Maintenance" screen to do the Incline Calibration, you would think they would have programmed in the Speed Calibration in the same place. The problem I'm having is that the machine seems WAY fast for me. I can run a pretty easy 8:00 pace outside on the rolling hills, but an 8:00 pace on this treadmill feels like I'm barely on the edge of control - like a sprint the whole way. I have to dial it all the way down to a 9:30ish pace to feel somewhat normal. Thanks!
I have a NordicTrack 1750 as well and I'm not aware of a way to calibrate the speed.
Mine is only off a little bit though and it seems to measure slow, I offset this by running at a 2% incline.
Mine only seems to be off about 10 seconds a mile or so though. i.e. running a 8:57 pace on the treadmill is about the same as running a 9:10 pace outside. At least according to my HR monitor.
On mine it actually has a place in the settings to calibrate the speed, but when you push on the button it says that it is not available for this model or something like that.
Good luck.
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
Thanks, if I find anything specific I'll post it back here for reference. I was planning on doing the old-fashioned speed check on it tonight so I can give customer service a better idea of what I'm dealing with.
I can't help you get yours into the calibration mode, but I can offer up the method I used to verify how accurate my treadmill is... of course afterwards I found out how to put my treadmill in calibration mode to see how "out of whack" it really was.
I used a measuring wheel (like landscapers would use) and measured the number of feet the wheel went in 1 minute. I did this at various speeds and recorded the distances. I then compared that distance with how far it should have gone if the speed was accurate. Let's say that at 10 miles/hour, the treadmill should have gone 880 feet in 1 minute. My measured value came out to be about 900 feet. That means my TM was going about 0.2 MPH faster than the display said.
FWIW, when I put my TM in the calibration mode, it indeed is going about 0.2 to 0.3 MPH faster than the display indicated. I was told by the manufacturer that anything more than 0.5 MPH off for a certain period of time, the TM will shut off for safety reasons.
Feeling the growl again
According to THIS page from the manual, you may not be able to on the 1750. I did on the 1500 but that is a different console.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
I have a NordicTrack and had a similar problem.
But.... if you take the hood off the front of the machine, you will see a little set screw that you can adjust the speed with a Phillips screwdriver. It wasn't easy to find but if I remember it was near the edge closest to the belt? They are supposed to be glued in place when they come from factory but mine didn't seem to be?
To calibrate it correctly you need to run it at a fixed speed (probably somewhere in your usual range) and count the number of revolutions. If there are no markings on your belt, just put a piece of masking tape or something down.
Then it is just the math based on the belt length, the number of revolutions, and the time it takes. I usually count revolutions for a minute or two to try to get it more accurate.
2018 Goals
Figure out the achilles thing...... and THEN try to get running regularly again.
No racing goals
That's interesting... that is NOT what the page in my printed manual looks like. Looks like it's a call to Customer Service after all. I did get some feedback from the sales rep that I worked with. He thought it was more likely a motor controller sending funky signals. Of course, during last night's 6 mile run it only happened one time for about 30 seconds where it slowed down, the rest of the time was just fine.
I did the manual measurement last night. As a Landscape Architect I found four different measuring wheels laying around my garage that I've collected over the years. I did tests four tests with two different wheels. At a 10 minute pace for one minute they should have been in the 528' range. One came up at 416, the other at 418. At a 20 minute pace for 2 minutes they should also have come out in that 528' range. One came out at 488', the other at 490'. So basic math tells me it's off significantly on distance traveled. So, does anyone know how the machine itself calculates distance? Does it base it on the computation of the speed and time on the console, or is it like a vehicle odometer that counts actual distance traveled?
After I did the measurement, I had the same question as you. What's obvious though is that 1 minute on the TM is actually 1 minute. Therefore, it's the distance/speed that's wrong. It's interesting yours is going slower than the display says, especially since you struggle with going the same pace as outside. That could be just a matter of getting use to running on the TM (as many have the same struggle initially). Any chance your TM is sitting on a slight uphill?
I recently setup my 1750 and plan on going a different route entirely to accurately measure my runs.
I picked up a garmin foot pod that works with my gps. It measures the run and then allows it to be uploaded to RA, splits and all, just like an outdoor run.
You can calibrate the foot pod very accurately via your watch and a 400 meter track.
Here's DC Rainmaker's post on foot pods.
I imagine this is a good thing for gym users too considering you can't calibrate or always choose your mill.
It's level, I double checked that. It should be noted that I did not do the wheel test at my usual running speed of a 7:30 pace. It was hard enough to hold the wheel in place at the slower speeds, impossible at the faster. I want to do a speed test at that faster pace by counting the number of revolutions of the belt itself and "math it out" from there.
I never noticed issues with my speed on the gym treadmills, but God alone knows how accurate or calibrated those machines are. Running on them always felt just about right.
Thanks again for all the ideas and input. I don't take offense at anything anyone has to offer, no matter how trivial or obvious it may seem. Everyone looks at a challenge from a different perspective and you never know when that slightly different vantage point will make all the difference.
Cheers!
I recently setup my 1750 and plan on going a different route entirely to accurately measure my runs. I picked up a garmin foot pod that works with my gps. It measures the run and then allows it to be uploaded to RA, splits and all, just like an outdoor run. You can calibrate the foot pod very accurately via your watch and a 400 meter track. Here's DC Rainmaker's post on foot pods. I imagine this is a good thing for gym users too considering you can't calibrate or always choose your mill.
I looked into those a while back and was thinking they weren't as accurate if you calibrated them outside and then used them to track mileage and speed on the treadmill because of different running form or something. (Maybe it is because you aren't actually running on the treadmill .
The other issue is that I run in several different pairs of shoes and was thinking it would be a pain to switch back and forth.
For less than $40 though I might just pick one up. I've been wanting to try to start paying a little more attention to my cadence anyway. When I count on the treadmill I get around 165 to 170 running easy and I have always felt like I have a short stride and high turnover but evidently not.
Let us know what you think of the footpod.
Thanks, Nathan
So, does anyone know how the machine itself calculates distance? Does it base it on the computation of the speed and time on the console, or is it like a vehicle odometer that counts actual distance traveled?
The speed sensor is nothing more than a magnetic pickup that counts the frequency that a magnet attached to the drive wheel passes it. Given that the roller is a fixed diameter, unless the belt is slipping X turns per minute should directly translate to distance traveled.
One issue is that the machine won't react to a discrepancy between the speed sensor reading and how fast the computer THINKS it is telling the machine to run (via motor speed) until it is grossly off (0.5 MPH or more, from my experience, which is a big difference when running).
My 1500 was pretty accurate at around 7min pace, but got progressively worse from there as the motor could not keep up with what the computer was telling it to do and was significantly off by low-5 pace.
I looked into those a while back and was thinking they weren't as accurate if you calibrated them outside and then used them to track mileage and speed on the treadmill because of different running form or something. (Maybe it is because you aren't actually running on the treadmill . The other issue is that I run in several different pairs of shoes and was thinking it would be a pain to switch back and forth. For less than $40 though I might just pick one up. I've been wanting to try to start paying a little more attention to my cadence anyway. When I count on the treadmill I get around 165 to 170 running easy and I have always felt like I have a short stride and high turnover but evidently not. Let us know what you think of the footpod. Thanks, Nathan
I'm going to take DC Rainmaker's word on accuracy. It's probably going to be as right and/or wrong as a GPS on any given day. For training that's good enough for me.
As for swapping it out ... It just clips on in 3-4 seconds and comes off in 2-4 seconds. Really, this is a complete non issue. You will save this time having the workout auto entered into RA when you import. Just leave it on your console and clip it on to whatever you happen to be wearing when you step on the mill.
Once I get the foot pod properly calibrated (It's been a little optimistic) I'll start using it more and report back. I really like the idea of seeing my mile splits in my log (progressions, workouts, etc...).
I never did the proper calibration with my foot pod on a track, I just figured it was close enough. It seemed pretty close based on the indoor track at my gym and the times that the gps lost signal so I was happy enough with it.
I used my foot pod for my first two runs on the 1750 and the foot pod was measuring 0.1 per mile longer than the treadmill. So when the treadmill said 8 miles the foot pod said 8.8 miles. So I just stopped using the foot pod and figured I would rather err on the side of running a little further and a little faster.
But now I may try to use that foot pod calibration tool and retest the treadmill.
I'm curious to know how your 1750 compares to your foot pod
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
I calibrated my footpod on a 400m track. Since then I have used it on several different gym treadmills. With one exception, based on my footpod readings, the treadmills are not very well calibrated (only one was within a 0.01 mile after a four mile run). The majority were anywhere from 0.05 to 0.10 per mile shorter than the footpod was reading.
I do rotate through 3 pairs of shoes which involves moving the footpod from shoe to shoe. It does not take more than a few seconds to move it and I position in the same approximate position on shoes. I am sure this introduces some minor variation in the footpod calibration since it is not in the same spot each time. And the fact that I calibrated it outdoors and now use it indoors probably also introduces some slight variation. However, it is close enough as far as I am concerned.