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Treadmill buying strategy

MattAaronsonMattAaronson
in General Training Discussions

Team –

My wife really wants to buy a treadmill. I have checked out the TreadmillDoctor website and will continue researching the various models and brands on that site.

 

However, perhaps you all could give me some general advice on buying strategy. It appears there are a number of ways to go:

1. Buy a new "consumer level" treadmill

2. Buy a used "professional level" treadmill, e.g. a Life Fitness or Precor from a store that reconditions and sells them

3. Buy a Woodway. Would have to be used. I am not budget constrained but a new Woodway is out of the question

 

I have heard that a used "professional quality" treadmill is the better route by far. It seems as though there are a lot of stores that buy these from out-of-business gyms and resell them. What do people thing about this? I am not space constrained in the house so the size of the "professional" type units isn't an issue.

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

Many thanks,

Matt

Comments

  • Tom GlynnTom Glynn
    I bought a treadmill somewhere between a consumer model and a professional level. I just lurked on Craigslist for a while. I wasn't particular about the model, I just wanted something above the consumer level - larger motor and big running area was important to me. I ended up very happy with my purchase. The seller was moving, and the treadmill probably had 200 miles on it after several years of "use".
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    A number of years ago now, we bought what I guess you would call a high end consumer model. If I remember right, it was still a 4 figure purchase, but we needed it at the time with very young children etc. We also made sure to get one with a high end motor, and wider/longer deck than a typical consumer model. We bought it new, and have had it serviced once or twice. It has held up terrifically. I don't use it a whole lot, but it's there for me to use.

    The compromises that ours has compared to the ones at the local (University) gyms are

    1) The display is less fancy than some. (Obviously now they can have TV and all that..which wasn't an option at the time) The display does what it needs to do and not a whole lot more. I don't regret this in the least, since I now have it set up in a room with a TV.

    2) The upper end on speed is 6 minute miles. This is faster than many consumer models, and is something you should be careful about in your purchase. Many professional ones will go down to about 5 minute miles. This is not a big problem for me, but if you're Matt Ancona, it matters. In the limited use I have for very fast running, I compensate by increasing the steepness. I'm never trying to run 5 minute miles, but over the years I have done some very fast 1-2 minute intervals, and this is my solution.

    3) Look into the maximum steepness. In reality, I don't think anything more than 10% gradient is useful, but the professional ones typically go steeper than home models. OUrs does 10% and that's plenty steep.

    4) I don't have much use for downhill running on a treadmill, but it is an option that some people care about. Again, not available on MOST consumer models.

    5) HR pacing. I know most of what we do is pace based, rather than HR-based, but the HR based treadmill workout is not a bad one. Stick yourself at Zone X and the treadmill speeds up/slows down/changes gradient to keep you within a very few beats of that. This is something that should be available on all the high end consumer models.

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Matt, thanks for firing this up....I am interested in what you learn. Rumor has it Withrow lives on eBay if that helps.... image
  • mgraffeomgraffeo
    Treadmill doctor has a buyers guide suggesting how much to spend based on your projected use. I played with a lot of different assumptions, and there was not a single set of assumptions I could put in (even stretching it a lot!) that suggested spending more than $1500. So I bought a $1200 treadmill on an end of season clearance for $800. Made sure to get a 12mph max.

    When in doubt or in need of a quick reco, I've become convinced that no triathlete 'needs' anything more than a Sole F80. OTOH, if you really like the feel of a particular model, and it means you'll spend more time on it, then it might be worth it to you.
  • mgraffeomgraffeo
    BTW, October tends to be a great month for end of season clearances, as stores make room for new model lines ahead of the winter/Christmas season.
  • John WithrowJohn Withrow
    Ha! Funny you should mention it. I have a Freemotion 7.5T which qualifies as a professional Treadmill. It goes up to 12.0mph and up to 15 degrees of incline. It also has a beefy motor and a very long track. It has less "flex" when running on it than most treadmills I have been on which could be good or bad depending on your preference. And yes, I bought it refurbished on eBay. I think it was around $1,500 including delivery, but it was refurbished. I think new it runs around $5,000. It had a bunch of nicks and scratches, but has worked fine for my limited use over the last 2yrs. I prefer to get used things of a much higher quality over new at much lower quality for the same price. Same can be said for bikes and cars with me...

    One headache with it is that it was delivered and dropped into my garage fully functional and intact. Since it is massive and weighs over 800 lbs, I literally had to take it all apart into its 5 or so simple steel pieces including the motor, deck, supports, etc just to be able to take it into my basement. After running a new 15amp power line and outlet, and finally getting it all put back together, I vowed to sell it with my house someday...
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    A belated thanks to you all on the input thus far. I did a bunch of TreadmillDoctor research and a little treadmill shopping over the past few days in some Chicago stores that sell both new and used. One of the downsides to the used "commercial" models seems to be the noise factor. I was able to run on them side-by-side and the difference is big. That said, you can get a great used "commercial" unit for a steal, price-wise. I ran on a treadmill that was Precor's absolute top-end commercial model 6 years ago and it was selling for just over $1k.

    Looking at new units, it seems like in the ~$1k price range the best mill I could find is the Precor 9.23. But then I ran on the Precor 9.31 right next to it and it was 100x better. Butthat one is $3k which is VERY steep for a piece of equipment that truthfully I will hardly ever use (I run outdoors year-round...the mill is mostly for my wife). The TRUE PS300 was another one I liked for ~$2k, although I'm less familiar with that brand.

    I'm now going to hit Craigslist / eBay and see what else is out there. I'm under a lot of pressure to make this purchase really soon and my wife values the local service and warrantee so I'm not sure I can do much more research.

    If you all have any other thoughts let me know. I'll keep you posted as to where we end up.
  • bkcomiskeybkcomiskey
    Matt:

    I have had the True PS100 for about 2 yrs now and am very happy with the brand and performance. I was looking at the PS100 and PS300 and I think the only difference is the belt with the PS300 having the Orthopedic belt. I demo'd both and thought the PS100 with less cushioning just felt better or more road like for me.
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