Treadmill buying advice
Discussion
wjwren said:
Im after a treadmill about £700, any advice on what to buy or avoid please?
Hi, are you aiming for a brand new one or used?I bought mine from fitness superstore who are great for selection and slightly better than ok for customer service, they had sent us a duff treadmill, which took a week to get exchanged.
We have an Horizon T4000, which is currently reduced from £1500 to £999.99, an excellent treadmill.
Good luck,
Driller said:
Sincerely, for £700, buy a pair of running shoes instead.
I have to agree with this sentiment; if it's for you to exercise on and you have the means and capacity to do other alternatives.I know many friends and family who have purchased such devices and, past week 2, most go on to be expensive white elephants gathering dust, consuming valuable space and making them feel worse for not using them. You may be the exception to my experience and if that's the case, then great.
If you're otherwise able, there are however far more rewarding and sustainable ways of improving your health and fitness.
Yes for example if you're a single parent who struggles to find the dedicated time to get away to do something else, a treadmill might be a great option. Otherwise, consider joining a local sports club doing something you'd enjoy.
Good luck!
For £700 avoid them all. Most treadmills at that price point are horrible.
I speak from experience and my current Technogym treadmill cost me 2.5k. That's how much I had to spend to buy something reliable.
For your budget I would reconsider a treadmill and buy a concept 2 rower. Up your budget a little and you could buy a brand new one. They will outlive you and give you a killer workout.
If you have to have a treadmill then scour eBay and 2nd hand sites for a used commercial one. Brands such as cyber, precor, life fitness.
I speak from experience and my current Technogym treadmill cost me 2.5k. That's how much I had to spend to buy something reliable.
For your budget I would reconsider a treadmill and buy a concept 2 rower. Up your budget a little and you could buy a brand new one. They will outlive you and give you a killer workout.
If you have to have a treadmill then scour eBay and 2nd hand sites for a used commercial one. Brands such as cyber, precor, life fitness.
Fitness superstore always have selection of ex display models at huge discounts http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/special-offers...
rog007 said:
I know many friends and family who have purchased such devices and, past week 2, most go on to be expensive white elephants gathering dust, consuming valuable space and making them feel worse for not using them. You may be the exception to my experience and if that's the case, then great
On the flip side, my experience is that I've had a fairly cheap treadmill for nearly 10 years (£350 eBay special) and its still in virtually daily use today. I do run outdoors too - but when I was first starting with running, the treadmill helped me conquer my first 5K, and I find it really useful when the weather means running outdoors is grim or unpleasant. I really need to replace mine (bits have fallen off the anti-shock system), but it still soldiers on.
As for choosing one - I've been looking recently and it is a minefield. Fitness equipment vendors seem to have sales that DFS would be proud of
(some things always seem to be more than 50% off the supposed RRP). I'd recommend looking at the width of the running belt (some seem to be quite narrow), and look at the weight limit - some of the cheaper models seem to have a fairly low user weight limit - which I'd assume to mean they're not built to be particularly sturdy.^ you mention DFS sales, I was looking on Sportsdirect last night, everything is reduced. It got to the point I went through the entire website trying to find something that wasnt reduced! Some of the stuff is 80% off, what next 100% off! In the end I found some shoe laces that were at full price! How long is this stuff at full price for before it is reduced? 1 day?
wjwren said:
Im after a treadmill about £700, any advice on what to buy or avoid please?
Avoid the treadmill. You will have a new room (i.e. the great outdoors), and another room indoors (the one that the treadmill would be in). Join a group, or a gym for those times you need companionship or a standard periodic test on a gym treadmill. I personally could not think of anything more boring than a treadmill.we have a Tunturi T20 reconditioned. it must be over 10 years old now. It is great. It gets used a lot by all the family and I have recently replaced the belt, that was fairly easy. Having a machine in the home is great IMO. Sure, outside works too but not everyone wants to run outside, all the time. Having a run in the privacy of your home listening or watching a tv program/music just works.
We have a Roger Black, from Argos I think
Wife runs 20km/week on it.
4 years in it blew a circuit board, replaced it myself for £70.
Very good value for <£500.
Ive heard that, of the cheaper ones, Nordic Track break the least.
I think the £2000+ ones are better built, but for 4x the price.......
Wife runs 20km/week on it.
4 years in it blew a circuit board, replaced it myself for £70.
Very good value for <£500.
Ive heard that, of the cheaper ones, Nordic Track break the least.
I think the £2000+ ones are better built, but for 4x the price.......
OP: did you buy one in the end? Having written that mine has soldiered on for a decade, it finally packed up mid-run today (nearly ran in to the wall )
Every time I press the "start" button it throws the circuit breaker in the fuse box, so its clearly got some kind of terminal electrical issue that won't be worth fixing.
Looking at the DKN EzRun http://www.treadmill-running-machine-review.co.uk/... for £649. This is nearly twice what I paid for our current machine 10 years ago, and if it performs as well/lasts as long, I'll be more than happy.
)Every time I press the "start" button it throws the circuit breaker in the fuse box, so its clearly got some kind of terminal electrical issue that won't be worth fixing.
Looking at the DKN EzRun http://www.treadmill-running-machine-review.co.uk/... for £649. This is nearly twice what I paid for our current machine 10 years ago, and if it performs as well/lasts as long, I'll be more than happy.
wjwren said:
Not yet, I've just bought some new trainers and might just run outside instead, plus I was looking at a new bike and £700 odd quid would buy something pretty decent.
Yeah, in the short term (given that it'll hopefully still be nice for a couple of months before winter sets in) I'll probably run outdoors instead. That DKN machine looks quite good though. I have a Horizon machine bought very cheaply off ebay. I use it (far less than I should) in the winter as where I am we have no street lights which means running after dark is far too hazardous. I've tried and either spend all my time looking where I'm putting my feet or tripping over things I can't see. I tried a head torch too which may warrant more experimentation but wasn't immediately the answer either.
Mostly it still works but a number of the touch sensitive microswitch buttons have now failed.
All I'd say is make sure it goes fast enough that you don't need to run it at max, mine does 12mph which I shall never see, once but not now.
Also they are ridiculously heavy and cumbersome things so keep that in mind if you're doing the moving.
I also find that my knees don't like me going anything like quickly on the treadmill but don't object outside.
I don't regret buying mine but I dread the day I want to replace it.
Mostly it still works but a number of the touch sensitive microswitch buttons have now failed.
All I'd say is make sure it goes fast enough that you don't need to run it at max, mine does 12mph which I shall never see, once but not now.
Also they are ridiculously heavy and cumbersome things so keep that in mind if you're doing the moving.
I also find that my knees don't like me going anything like quickly on the treadmill but don't object outside.
I don't regret buying mine but I dread the day I want to replace it.
DKL said:
Also they are ridiculously heavy and cumbersome things so keep that in mind if you're doing the moving.
I also find that my knees don't like me going anything like quickly on the treadmill but don't object outside.
I don't regret buying mine but I dread the day I want to replace it.
They are incredibly heavy - the broken one I need to get rid of must be well over 100 KG... not looking forward to that! Wondering whether - given the amount of metal in the frame - if I might persuade a scrap man to come and pick it up I also find that my knees don't like me going anything like quickly on the treadmill but don't object outside.
I don't regret buying mine but I dread the day I want to replace it.
wjwren said:
Not yet, I've just bought some new trainers and might just run outside instead, plus I was looking at a new bike and £700 odd quid would buy something pretty decent.
Running shoes is a great option. I'm not a massive fan of cardio, but at least if were to pack it in after a few weeks, I wouldn't have a bulky bit of kit cluttering up the house.Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff