Treadmill advice
Author
Discussion

mattikake

Original Poster:

5,110 posts

228 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all
What types are there? What is good?

I'm guessing there are different technologies for the belt systems on treadmills, some good, some not. E.g. for bikes you get 3 basic types - friction, magnetic and flywheel, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Yes I know someone like me should know something about treadmills but I really know sweet FA. I promote real world walking/running, not expensive simulated indoor stuff and I very rarely use treadmills myself or with clients for that reason. tongue out

jumpingjackdan

293 posts

160 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all
I like the Lifefitness variety, although they are serious bucks. Cheap machines are useless.

TROOPER88

1,788 posts

208 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all
To give you an idea, I am the manager of a large leisure facility (2000+ members) and we use Technogym.

The list price for our treadmills is 11k.

Speckle

3,573 posts

245 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all
What is your budget? For a decent home treadmill, you'll probably need to spend between £500 and £1k. I got mine second hand for around £500 but, I forget the make/model.

I've done at least 2000 miles on it over the years and it has never let me down (except the fan is now broken which is a pain if its hot!). It is also very good for interval training and speedwork.

I'll have a look at what it is tonight and post tomorrow.

jumpingjackdan

293 posts

160 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all
TROOPER88 said:
To give you an idea, I am the manager of a large leisure facility (2000+ members) and we use Technogym.

The list price for our treadmills is 11k.
11k for a treadmill! That's alot of car.

BenM77

2,835 posts

193 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all

Really happy with the one we bought recently from fitness superstore.

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/folding_treadm...


Nice wide belt with plenty of programs etc. It is well made and went together easily.

We had a cheaper pro form for years and that was fine too. Sold it on eBay and then my wife decided we should get another one. The Nordic track one is much better smile

smiffy180

6,029 posts

179 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all
TROOPER88 said:
To give you an idea, I am the manager of a large leisure facility (2000+ members) and we use Technogym.

The list price for our treadmills is 11k.
Sent you a pm smile

mattikake

Original Poster:

5,110 posts

228 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all
Wow I'm truly shocked and appalled by some of the prices quoted on here, given you can walk and run for free! What's the difference between a £200 treadmill and £11,000? Quality, branding obviously, but any mechanical ones?

I'm still stunned at 11k for a treadmill! You could buy a dog collar and lead + 3 years of a PT talking you for walks 3 times a week for that! (personally I prefer the idea of a motorised spinning washing line and some cheese on a string, but hey-ho).

This is for my dad who's budget ranges from £80 - £200 (used). redface

TROOPER88

1,788 posts

208 months

Tuesday 27th August 2013
quotequote all
smiffy180 said:
Sent you a pm smile
Hi
I will e-mail you back tomorrow as do not have Hotmail access in work.

A treadmill purchased for home-use is a very different kettle of fish to a commercial machine.

The treads take a pounding.....

You imagine a 120kg guy running which produces downward force of circa 5 x body weight!

We have 10 treads and we own them all. Luckily we get a big discount with Technogym.

6th Gear

3,572 posts

223 months

Wednesday 28th August 2013
quotequote all
TROOPER88 said:
To give you an idea, I am the manager of a large leisure facility (2000+ members) and we use Technogym.

The list price for our treadmills is 11k.
The very best in my opinion. We have at my gym.

Speckle

3,573 posts

245 months

Wednesday 28th August 2013
quotequote all
I checked mine last night, it is a Proform 650V. Proform seem to make treadmills ranging from about £400 to £1400 new so, used ones may well fall into your price range.

mattikake

Original Poster:

5,110 posts

228 months

Wednesday 28th August 2013
quotequote all
Cool.

Does it feel robust, like it can take running pounding all day long?

In-built heart rate monitor?

How fast does it accelerate to requested speed? I've seen some that take a good 10 seconds to get from 6kmh to 18kmh, which it useless for HIIT.

Speckle

3,573 posts

245 months

Thursday 29th August 2013
quotequote all
mattikake said:
Cool.

Does it feel robust, like it can take running pounding all day long?

In-built heart rate monitor?

How fast does it accelerate to requested speed? I've seen some that take a good 10 seconds to get from 6kmh to 18kmh, which it useless for HIIT.
The model I've got is very robust and pretty heavy too. It can definitely take a pounding, I have ran over half marathon distances on it in a single session (very, very boring!!) and have easily clocked up 2000 miles in my ownership.

It has an emergency cut off that you can attach to your wrist and automatically shuts off after 100 minutes (which is quite a surprise if you're not expecting it!!)

It has a built in HR monitor and came with a chest strap but, I've never used it - I usually use a Garmin instead.

It gets up to speed pretty quickly. I often use it for interval training and have had no issues. It also has an incline up to 10%.

These features won't necessarily be on the cheaper models but the 650V has been excellent over the years.

Just found the same model on ebay - might be worth a punt?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Proform-650-treadmill-/1...

smiffy180

6,029 posts

179 months

Thursday 29th August 2013
quotequote all
TROOPER88 said:
Hi
I will e-mail you back tomorrow as do not have Hotmail access in work.
Oi, I'm still waiting biggrin