Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill review: a cheap under-desk treadmill with a small footprint

I’ll admit, I was kind of dreading putting the Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill together, as Urevo claimed that it would only take five minutes. I didn’t believe them. Fortunately, they were right! This treadmill was super-fast to assemble and just as easy to use. 

While it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of a Peloton Tread or NordicTrack treadmill, it works really well for walking and jogging, folds up to fit neatly under a couch or bed, and is a really affordable price.

So when you’re looking for the best home gym equipment, the best treadmills or best folding treadmills, the Urevo Foldi 1 is a great option, especially if you are short of space and/or new to running.

In this Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill review, we’ll talk about our experience of the running machine, from assembly and set up to what we think of the design, build quality, performance, and features. 

Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill: Price and availability

 The Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill is available to buy at Urevo and Amazon for  $369.99 USD / £329.99 / $520.61 AUD ($548 NZD). 

Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill: Set up and assembly

The Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill is probably the easiest running machine to set up – it literally took five minutes to assemble by myself. The treadmill comes with lubricant to help the running belt work smoothly, as well as all the tools you need to assemble it. 

The manual is very clear and easy to understand. All you have to do once you’ve got the treadmill out of the box is put four washers and four screws into the top and the bottom of the dashboard to secure it. The irritating thing about this is that you also have to take them back out to fold it down, so don’t screw them up too tight!

The treadmill itself weighs 75 lbs (34kg), so it can be a bit tricky to get out of the box on your own, but once it’s in position you can move it around easily with the transport wheels taking the brunt of the weight. It also comes with six blue anti-slip mat squares to protect your floor. These are fairly flimsy so you might be better off investing in a proper treadmill mat instead, although that comes at an extra cost.

There is an orange power button at the back of the treadmill and a short power plug that will need to be connected to a wall socket to work. Bear this in mind when you unpack your treadmill and position it in the room you plan to use it. When you turn it on, the treadmill will beep at you until you put the safety key in the magnet on the front of the console. The machine won’t start until this safety key is in place. If you don’t do anything for 10 minutes, the system automatically turns off all displays and enters sleep mode.

When you hit the start button, there’s a three second delay before the belt starts moving. This is indicated in a 3-2-1 countdown on the display.

Hit start to see the basic display – time, speed and calories burned. The 12 presets have variations on speed and time. The Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill is easy to store away and if you’ve got six inches to spare you can slot it under the couch or bed (although you would need two people to carry it to do this).

It’s fairly quiet when walking on it, but gets louder when you start running, so you probably don’t want to position the treadmill in a room where people are trying to watch TV or sleep.

Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill: Design and build quality

As previously mentioned, the Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill has a basic and minimalist black and orange design. The treadmill is made of prime steels and plastic and it’s low to the ground with a step-up height of 3.5 inches, making it a good choice for anyone with mobility issues.

The dashboard itself is flat and measures 27.5” x 8”, so it’s big enough to put your laptop on and work while you walk. Because the treadmill shakes a bit and isn’t the most sturdy when you are running, I wouldn’t recommend putting a laptop or other device here during a run or high-speed walk. In fact, the shallow device holder designed for tablets and smartphones is just as unstable when I started running, so I took my iPad out to prevent it from falling off and smashing on the floor. It was fine at walking pace, however.

The LCD display itself is very basic, and the dashboard lacks any external speakers, Bluetooth compatibility or heart rate sensors. It’s home to the control panel and 12 pre-set programs with metrics tracked including speed, distance and calories. 

There are no incline options on the Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill, but that is kind of to be expected for the low price. You can still break into a decent sweat with a jog.

Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill review: Features

The Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill has limited features and doesn’t come with an app or virtual classes. It’s all pretty basic but does come with 12 presets of varying speed and time. The simple controls include –speed, +speed, start, stop, mode and program.

If you want a more immersive running experience, you are probably better off putting your smartphone or tablet in the device holder and running a separate workout app like Peloton or iFit.

The LCD display keeps track of distance, speed and calories burned, but beware, there’s no pause button so if you stop mid-workout, you will lose all this data. The Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill can reach speeds of 7.5mph / 12kmph, which is more than enough to break into a sweat and burn some calories.

Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill: Performance

Despite having a small 2.5 peak HP motor, the Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill has a weight capacity of 260 lbs / 117kg. It runs smoothly with minimal noise during a walk; your feet hitting the belt are probably noisier than the treadmill itself. It does get a lot louder when you break into a jog or run, however.

I tried a few different workouts and speeds on the treadmill to work out the noise levels. I measured the decibel levels on the Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill and this is what I recorded:

• 60 decibels (same as normal conversation): 1-mile walk (speed 2)  
• 70 decibels (same as normal conversation): 2.5-mile jog at leisurely pace with changing speeds (speed 5.5) 
• 85 decibels (similar to city traffic): 2.5 run at max speed (speed 12)  
• 73 decibels (similar to vacuum cleaner): Program 1 – 30 minute run with automatically changing speeds (speeds 4-10) 

Perhaps surprisingly, these noise levels compare with the Peloton Tread, which is a much more expensive (and sizeable) treadmill.

I’m not 100 per cent sold on the so-called anti-slip belt, which feels quite hard and doesn’t have a lot of spring to it. The Urevo orange logo is on the belt itself, which is quite short – it measures just 16.5” wide x 46” long. I’m 5ft7 and felt like I could easily slip off the back when I start running, although once I found my stride I found it adequate to run on.

For that reason, I would say the Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill is not suited to anyone 6ft or taller, and is probably better suited for walking or light jogging.

The short handrails are made of plastic and don’t feel too sturdy enough to put any weight on - they are just there for support. The Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill has a stabilizing design to prevent connecting rods from shaking during exercise.

Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmil: Verdict

The Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill offers a satisfying walking or jogging experience at a budget-friendly price. It’s a great choice for people new to exercise, getting back into training after a break or a baby, and for people short on space.

It’s a shame there’s no pause button on the treadmill, so if you want to stop mid-workout you lose your metrics. The dashboard isn’t the most sturdy, so you won’t want to lean on it or put your laptop on there.

The same goes for the device holder – it’s fine for a walking workout, but don’t put your smartphone or tablet there during a run unless you want to see it bounce straight out and smash on the floor.

This running machine suits a variety of fitness levels, it’s not too big and it’s relatively quiet. We love that it can be tucked away when it’s not in use and it’s light enough for two people to move it, or one person if you use the transportation wheels.

Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmil: Also consider

The JTX MoveLight Walking Treadmill is an excellent alternative to the Urevo Foldi 1 and does what it says on the box; it provides a very decent walking experience all year round. Perfect for remote and hybrid working, as it can be used as an under-desk treadmill, making it easy to hit your 10,000 steps while being available to reply to emails and attend meetings. Read our full JTX MoveLight Walking Treadmill review.

A similar space-saving treadmill in this price bracket is the Domyos Comfort Treadmill T520B. It’s a bit more expensive than the Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill, but it has a good range of incline and speeds and is space friendly.

If the Urevo Foldi 1 Folding Treadmill isn’t for you, and money isn’t an issue, then consider the Peloton Tread. Yes, it’s expensive at $2,496 / £2,295, but its mix of knowledgeable and motivating trainers, off-the-machine strength classes and handy stretching techniques make it an incredibly versatile piece of kit. Live leaderboards and constant progress updates mean it’s easy to get addicted to the social community of fellow fitness heads, even if you’re not a massive fan of running.

The ProForm Pro 2000 is cheaper than the Peloton treadmill ($1,499 / £1,079) but packs in many comparable features. ProForm’s 10-inch touchscreen is on the smaller side, but iFit’s live studio classes and on-demand workouts still make this one of the best pieces of cardio tech you can buy today. If cardio health is dear to your heart, you’ll more than get your money’s worth.