Xterra Trail Racer 6.6 Treadmill Review

Read our review of the new Xterra Trail Racer 6.6 here.

Named after the worldwide off-road triathlon series, Xterra is manufactured by Dyaco International – a major name in fitness equipment manufacturing. After gaining critical acclaim in the US market, the Xterra Fitness range is being introduced into the UK market and we were very eager to get our hands on the range topping Racer 6.6 treadmill!

The assembly process is relatively simple and the effort is well worth it once put together! First glance at the finished product and it’s clear that the Racer 6.6 is a solid piece of kit. It looks well-built, feeling more akin to a gym machine than a home treadmill.

Fitted with a large 3.0 horsepower motor, the Racer 6.6 drives the running belt running over the well endowed rollers almost silently and copes without fuss all the way to the top speed of just over 12 mph (20 kph). The running deck is nice and spacious measuring 20″ (50 cm) wide and has a very generous length of 60″ (152 cm). The running deck is a joy to run on, and whilst it has cushioning to reduce impact on joints, the deck is pretty firm.

For those training for an Xterra triathlon, as well as those wishing to burn more calories jogging uphill, rather than running on a flat surface, the Racer 6.6 offer 15 levels of incline reaching a very respectable gradient of 12%.

The console is an imposing and substantial thing. At its heart lies a large, back-lit LCD display with good contrast. It’s clear from the way that the display is organised, the Racer 6.6 has been designed with with more serious training requirements in mind. There are dedicated segments for continuous display of calories, time, distance and pulse rate as well as a heart rate bar chart. To the left of this, we’ve got the the incline profile of the programme and current incline and to the right the speed profile and current speed. The focus on the heart rate zones at the centre of the console is also useful to those who’ll be using the included wireless heart rate transmitter.

We had assumed that the buttons either side of the console would be speed and incline quick adjustment keys, but these are located horizontally below the console and the space to the sides of the LCD display are used for a collection of 10 direct programme keys. This demonstrates that Xterra are aiming this treadmill at those who want a machine for serious training.

With access to the programmes direct via the dedicated program buttons, this machine isn’t going to be boasting that it’s got dozens of programmes. However, these programmes are  seriously customisable, resulting in one Xterra programme potentially being the equivalent of quite a number on other machines. With this much flexibility, the one incline training programme is able to handle speed interval training, incline interval training to a suitable intensity with any any desired burst / rest pattern!

The console is also fitted with a fan and a pair of speakers. If you’re looking at the console image and wondering why the fan is where it is, don’t worry – it blows air at an upwards angle.

This Xterra is ticking box after box in what we’d look for in a serious running machine for home use. It’s a big, imposing machine and the long running deck does eat up space and the folding mechanism is likely to get used a fair bit to free up space when it’s not in use. With such a big and heavy deck, there’s a hydraulic cylinder to make it easier and safer. However, the first time you try to fold up the deck, you’ll end up noticing that it locks after about 20 degrees and the locking latch that needs to be pulled out to fully fold the deck is on the right hand side of the running deck. Reaching this whilst lifting the deck would require longer arms than your reviewer has and as such folding up the treadmill is a little awkward with needing to be done from the side of the machine rather than the back.

Given the sheer size and weight of this machine, we were keen to see how it can be moved if needed. Once the deck is folded, we’re pleased to see four wheels meaning that this treadmill can be moved about without needing to tilt the whole thing onto two wheels!

Finally, in terms of warranty, the 6.6 comes with a lifetime frame and motor warranty, 5 years parts and 2 years labour.

If you’re interested in this machine, read our review of the new Xterra Trail Racer 6.6 here.