I'm interested in purchasing a treadmill for home. I'd love the Precores like they have at the Y, but money IS an object!
Could anyone with a treadmill tell me their brand/price/likes and dislikes about what you're using? I've saved some money and could probably afford to pay around the $1,000 - $1,300 range. I know that won't go far, and I'm not opposed to buying used - just looking for some suggestions on good models that aren't too terribly expensive and are reliable.
Thanks for your input!
The best one you can buy is the model on eBay. Seriously. People buy high quality TMs all the time. They then turn them into coat racks. Eventually, they decide the TM is a rather poor coat rack and sell it on eBay. You can get a great TM on eBay if you have some patience. I purchased one that retailed about three years ago for $1500 for $310. I am telling you if this TM had 200 miles on it I would be stunned. It looked brand new. Here is what you need to know:
1. Buy from a local individual, not a rehab firm. The latter may be quite good, and if you get one from them it will be a gym quality model. But it will not be super cheap either.
2. Set your eBay search to restrict results to sellers within whatever area you are willing to drive to pick up the TM. Forget having it shipped.
3. When you see a TM for sale go to your favorite search engine and look up reviews for it and its specs. If the TM is any good you will likely find both. Even models from a few years ago will still have reviews up on them if you search a bit. If the model is so old that you cannot find a review anywhere then pass on it. Also, if the TM is a cheap one forget it even if you can pick it up for $100 it is not worth it. You can likely get a very good one for a few hundred more.
4. If a seller has put a hidden reserve on the item bid what you would be willing to pay for it or perhaps a bit less. If the reserve is above your bid do not despair. This may be the best deal yet! It is likely the item will not sell. When people put hidden reserves on items a lot of people will not bother to bid at all. When the item does not sell, contact the seller directly and let him know you are still interested in buying the TM. The seller will then either offer to sell it to you or put it back up for auction. Likely it will not sell again. After a few rounds you will probably get an email offering to sell it to you. This is how I got my $300 TM and my $250 universal gym!
5. Patience, patience that is the key. Expect this process to take up to 8 weeks depending on how far you are willing to drive to pick up the TM. The further you will drive the less time you can expect your search to take.
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Marathon Maniac #957
Wow - this is good stuff, Twocat! I didn't even know you could set your Ebay search to limit to sellers in your area. Very good to know.
That being said, Jlynne - fwiw, I have a Nordic Trac treadmill that I paid around $900 for, I think maybe 6 or 7 years ago, and I've not had any problems with it, other than having to buy some lubricant from treadmilldoctor.com a couple times to lube the belt.
Still, when it breaks down, I will try Twocat's advice before buying a new one to replace it.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
My wife bought me a Sole F85 treadmill for my 40th birthday. She spent $1799 for it. It was brand new. There is an EBay seller that handles direct sales with "free" shipping. Here free shipping means that ABF or some other less-than-load freight company will drop it at your doorstep. Otherwise, the other big sellers are Dick's Sporting Goods, Amazon, or SoleTreadmills.com
The only thing that I don't like about it, aside from the price, is that it is not as quick as a gym TM to change speeds. It takes about 10s to adjust to a new speed. This is really a minor annoyance rather than an actual problem.
I am extremely happy with it otherwise. I am heavy right now, 5'10" and 195. The deck on the F85 (it folds up!) is rock solid, though. There's no rickity-bridge feeling, even up to 10 mph. I can't quite go fast enough to test it at its max speed of 12 mph, yet. The fold-up feature is fantastic, as it minimizes the footprint and makes it super-easy to move around on its wheels. Make no mistake, this machine is HEAVY, with the deck alone weighing 140 lbs! The motor is 3.5 HP, so there is no worry about burning it up.
Sole makes a lower-end model, the F63, which retails for around $1000. You might want to test drive that one at your nearest Dick's if you are looking for something new at the lower end of your budget.
The primary caveat to buying a used commercial-grade machine is that many require 220V outlets due to having 5HP motors. Finding used machines in general is likely tough in the next month or two since it is New Year's resolution time.
I take the lack of used Sole treadmills on EBay to be a good indication of the quality of the machines. The warranty on the F85 is very good as well, with in-home service on the first two years.
After my experience with my bike, warranty was very important. It has a 30 year warranty on the "motor, drive and elevation." I think the labor warranty was 2 years and other "parts" is 5 years. Pretty good from what I found elsewhere.
It's very easy to use, the kids and DH can use it without a lot of instruction. It changes speeds and elevation quickly. I can set the timer up to 99 minutes at a time, good for a little over 11 miles so good for the majority of my runs.
Things I don't like about it...
I wish it showed pace; all it shows is speed in MPH. I have a conversion chart clipped to it so I know 7 mph = 8:34 m/m pace, etc.
I can't customize my user profile, like entering age and weight to get accurate calorie counts (oh well).
I'd love to be able to set custom programs by distance, but have to use time (i.e., instead of setting up intervals using .25 mile (close to 400 meters), I have to figure out how long it would take me to go .25 mile at a specific speed, and enter that time)
All in all, it's a nice machine, sort of a mid-range price but I think I got a very durable tool to help get me through Alaska winters. So far, so good.
Prince of Fatness
The best one you can buy is the model on eBay. Seriously. People buy high quality TMs all the time. They then turn them into coat racks. Eventually, they decide the TM is a rather poor coat rack and sell it on eBay. You can get a great TM on eBay if you have some patience. I purchased one that retailed about three years ago for $1500 for $310. I am telling you if this TM had 200 miles on it I would be stunned. It looked brand new.
Thanks for that tip. After yesterday's crappy weather I just may have to keep one eye on ebay.
Not at it at all.