Dreadmills

CathOh

So after running consisently rain or shine, snow or sleet over the past few years, it looks like in order for me to do the training necessary for my race calendar this year, I'm going to need to get a treadmill. Does anyone have any recommendations for what to buy and from where? Has anyone ever rented a treadmill? What options should I consider/ not bother with? Should I bother with purchasing a commercial grade machine? I weigh nowhere near the maximum weight limit of some treadmills, but I wonder whether this should be a consideration in my purchase in case eventually someone else wants to run on it, too. Does anyone know what the average lifespan of a treadmill is (at a residence)? Should I get an extended warranty?

My local fitness warehouse offers BH, InRed, Landice, LifeFitness, OMA, PaceMaster, Power First, Precor, Sole Fitness and True makes. Anyone have any experience with these? I recognize Precor and LifeFitness from gyms I have been to in the past, but don't recognize any of the others. I have an elliptical at home that is pretty much a no-name brand and it has served me well, but my parents have a treadmill that was probably not all that expensive, and it had a tendency to shock me when I would use it.

Thanks for you help :-)

rduhlir

I have tried out some of the new wifi ones available at Sears. I am not a huge fan of treadmills, but it is pretty cool how you can import different runs from around the world and the treadmill incline and decline to mimick the trails. For example, you can run the SF marathon in your living room, lol.

CathOh

That's an interesting idea (the WiFi routes), not one I have considered. i guess treadmills have changed a lot over the years. I just really thought as long as there's a place for water, it'll pick up my heartrate monitor, and I can adjust the speed and incline, I'd be good to go. So many things to consider!!

I'm not a fan of treadmills, either, but my reality over the next few months will require me to be able to train at home.

PinkNinjaLaura

My gym has Precor and I've liked that.

My office has a NordicTrak and it shocks me constantly.

A friend of mine just bought a treadmill at D i c k's Sporting Goods and she's been really happy with it. Think she spent about $700 so it isn't one of the super expensive ones, but she said it's nice to run on. She went into the store so she was able to get on it before committing to it. Does your local warehouse have displays you can get on and see how they feel?

lporter229

My treadmill was also purchased from D i c k's, and I think my husband paid around $800 for it. We have had it for 6 years as of Christmas. I do not run on it very often because I prefer to run outside, but it is nice to have. For the price, I think it is great. Every 250 miles, it stops and requires you to oil the belt, which is actually a nice feature because it forces you to do the maintenance to keep it going. We have done this twice, so it has over 500 miles on it and is still going strong. The only thing is, I do not think the speed is totally accurate and it can not be calibrated. I measured the length of the deck and counted the RPMs and calculated it to be fast by about 5%. This doesn't bother me, but if you are a stickler for the numbers, it might annoy you.

sjp_511

My husband and I went the cheap route and got a Horizon T101. It had great reviews and the price was fantastic. Made it hard to justify a more expensive treadmill. We figure that if it gives us a lot of hassle, we can will consider a nicer treadmill when time comes for a replacement. The guy at the store said that it should last more than 5 years, up to 10 if well maintianed. A large timeframe I know, but it really depends on how often it is used. We have barely had it for a month with no major complaints so far, just a few minor gripes:

- My husband complains that it gives him static electricity shocks everytime he touches the council to change speed/incline. I get shocked occasionally, always minor.
- The speed isn't well calibrated. I
- I am a runner, I talk in minutes-per-mile lingo. The display only give miles-per-hour. A lot of the treadmills we looked at were like this.
- There is no workout summary at the end. While running on it, it tracks distance, time, and calories (not synced with HRM, just driven from inputting weight). When done running, I hit the stop button. The display then changes to a message saying that the workout is paused and to hit start to continue and hold stop to reset. There is not option to a summary - need to look at accumulated distance, time, and calories before hitting stop.

rduhlir

OH....just remembered, if there is any chance you can wait until Februaryish to get a treadmill, you might be able to get a good deal on a brand new one. Do not go new in January, you have all the resolutionist who cause workout equipment to go up in price. Wait till the hollar of New Year's resolutions have settled and you might get a good deal on ones at the stores as they try to midigate stock. Just fyi on that.

CathOh

Thanks for all your responses :-)