Woodway Treadmills

bert16

Have any of you ever run on one of these? Better yet, have any of you ever owned one? Does it live up to the hype? I'm doing some research to buy a treadmill and someone recommended this brand, with the caution that they're expensive up front, but have basically zero maintenance over the life. I've never run on one (am looking into trying one out locally), but figured I'd ask here, also! Thanks for any info you can provide,

Azdak

Woodway made their reputation at a time when other commercial treadmills were cheaply made with unforgiving deck surfaces and belts and decks that didn't last very long.

Woodway hasn't really changed, but there have been vast improvements in treadmill design and manufacturing by the top commercial brands. Personally, I don't think the cost difference between a Woodway, and, say, a Life Fitness treadmill can be justified by build and features alone.

For example, I have a 5 year old Life Fitness T55. It runs like it did the day I bought it and has required zero maintenance. It has years to go before I even have to think about replacing any parts. I can enter up to 4 individual profiles. When I get on, it is already set to my age and weight. I also have 3 custom speed and elevation buttons on a display on the handrails that I can set for various workouts and change as my abilities change.

That being said, there is no question about the quality of the Woodway. I think it boils down to trying it out and deciding if the running experience on the Woodway is unique enough to justify the extra cost. A lot of people think so--and it is a little different. People who like Woodways are extremely loyal to the brand. I have nothing negative to say about Woodway--just a caution that I think they are still making "comparisons" to other treadmills as though it was still 1992, and I don't think their user features have kept up with the industry.

Let me just add: There are some brands out there that market themselves as "premium" brands (Bose and Oreck come to mind), but don't really deliver. Woodway is NOT one of those brands. They are probably as good as they say they are--the question is: are they as much BETTER as they say they are--and that is where I would urge some due dilligence.

bert16

Thanks - I appreciate the info, as well as the objectivity! Sounds like you are enjoying your LifeFitness treadmill... I've used those at various gyms over the years (not sure which models, of course). One of the appealing features of the Woodway is how quiet they are (at least, how quiet it seems to be on their online video), but I'm not convinced that makes up for the price difference on its own. Have you had your LifeFitness calibrated for speed at any point over the 5 years? Or do you just assume it runs true enough?

Azdak

Thanks - I appreciate the info, as well as the objectivity! Sounds like you are enjoying your LifeFitness treadmill... I've used those at various gyms over the years (not sure which models, of course). One of the appealing features of the Woodway is how quiet they are (at least, how quiet it seems to be on their online video), but I'm not convinced that makes up for the price difference on its own. Have you had your LifeFitness calibrated for speed at any point over the 5 years? Or do you just assume it runs true enough?

These days, speeds are controlled by computer sensors and they are calibrated at the factory. There is nothing the user can do -- the belt might loosen a little, but they pretty much stay "calibrated". It often seems like my home treadmill is about 0.1 mph different than the full commercial ones at my gym, but it's hard to tell since I have rarely run on both when in the exact same condition. I have found that my performance on the TM translates pretty well into performance runnng outdoors, but, for a variety of reasons, 95% of my running over the past few years has been only on the treadmill.

That's pretty much the same for any "brand name" treadmill--the old analog days where you measured the belt, put a piece of tape on it, counted the revolutions and adjusted the speed needle by hand are long gone.