I wish not to impune your motivation, desire, or ability, this is only my opinion . . .
Treadmills are the fruitcake of the fitness industry.

Some sucker buys a new one, never uses it, sells it at a garage sale to the next sucker, who never uses, and resells it ad infinitum. All too cliche.

If I was in the market for a treadmill/clothes hanger, I would buy one for 10 bucks at the neighbor's garage sale.

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http://noel-ironman.blogspot.com/

http://www.costco.com/...owse=&lang=en-US

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

Yeah, but the "sucker" usually won't pony up for a 'mill of any serious quality. If you want a piece of junk, that's usually the way to go.

Anyway, you never know what you're going to get. I bought a low end pc. of junk on clearance and ran on it every other day all winter long for 13 yrs. I kept telling myself that when it died, I'd go buy a nice one. I ended up breaking down and buying a new one a couple months ago. It's a higher end Reebok model and it's been pretty good. Lots of horsepower and big track. I find the preset programs are pretty much for rookies. I moved the old one into the back room as a "spare". I'm convinced the new one will break down before our original one ever does...

IMO, you should go for the best basic treadmill you can buy and from what I've seen/read, Nordic Track and Sole both make pretty solid units... I'd also ignore the bells and whistles like flat screen monitors and Ipod stuff built in. That stuff seems like it's just aching to break down...

Brad

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3SIXTY5cycling.com

just got off the Sole F80, while watching Discovery's best of the year shark shows. it is a very quiet, soft treadmill if you want to do your own program. the installed programs work like poo, with constantly changing speeds. for steady runs or hills up to 12%, this is as good as the wedgeway i use at my club. i live in wisconsin, so the cool basement is better than 20 degrees with black ice on pavement. good luck.

seamus

We have a a Cybex at the precinct. If you are looking for yourself, look on eBay, craigslist or wherever for a working, used upper level Cybex. They are capable of higher speeds, and decent inclines. I've also heard Pro-Form is a good brand. I disagree that treadmills are just a gadget for the fitness salesmen. It has been proven to allow many runners with less serious problems to continue training without complications. It also is a great way to stay out of the really crappy weather, which we definitely get here in the northeast. My wife and I are even considering getting a second one so the dogs can run with us when we have to use it (see the firedog episode of dog whisperer).

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Lead, follow, or get out of the way...

I was able to get a Pacemaster Bronze for under $1400. I've been very happy with the unit and my wife and I both use it extensively.

Consumer Reports just did a ratings on them for folding and non-folding.

For the folding here is their order:

Bowflex 7-Series (Recommended) $1500
SportsArt TR21f $2500
Epic View 550 (CR Best Buy) $1300
Smooth 6.45M $1700
Spirit XT475 $2200
Life Fitness F3 Advanced $2800
Sole F63 (CR Best Buy) $1000

The non-folding are much more expensive but not that much higher ratings.

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Hippies. They're everywhere. They wanna save the earth, but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad.
- Eric Cartman

I just bought a Sole F63 from Dick's for $999. It is pretty basic, but does everything I need it to do. I also ponied up for in-home delivery and assembly (since I needed it to go in the basement), and 4 years of in-home warranty service. Total came to $1394. I've put about 20 miles on it so far, and I like it. The Sole F80 is also very nice, but I couldn't really tell a difference in the running between it and the F63. It has some more bells and whistles on the display, but it didn't seem worth it for $500. The motor on the F80 is 3.0hp, while the F63 is a 2.5hp, but I don't think that will really make a difference. Plus, the F80 on sale is currently $1500...by the time you pay tax and any kind of delivery, you are probably close to $1700.

Spot

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

Maybe so, but I sure get good use out of my fruitcake. I suppose it also depends upon where you live. Up here in New England, when you wake up having to do a run on a morning after you just got a foot of snow, the clothes are coming off the treadmill.

I went to Sears and bought a $400 treadmill and paid another $100 for 2 years of warranty. Having moved to the desert it was mostly for my wife. I've probably run on it a dozen times in the past three years and my wife used it less than that. Unless you need something that cranks out 12 or 15 mph I would buy the cheapest unit you can find and get the warranty. If you don't use it much then you are not out a grand or more. If you do then you can grind it into the dust for two years and repeat.

Chad

Another vote for Pacemaster. I've put three years of winter Ironman training on my Pacemaster Gold ($1800 new on sale) and my wife has run weekly on it as well. Sturdy, no frills, quality where it counts. These days the Bronze is $1800 MSRP; I'm sure you could find a hurting dealer that would be happy to deal down. Or bump your price range up and go for the Gold.

thanks thx10. I just saw an Epic View 550 (CR Best Buy) at Sam's Club today for just under $1000.

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Team Endurance Nation

we really like our sole f63. all the features (and more) that we need. basically a sturdy, long wide platform, foldable/easy to move out of the way (use it once in a while to clean/re-arrange the garage. motor's plenty strong. good warranty. i don't use any of the pre-programmed workouts, just adjust the incline and speed. has hr monitoring but i never use it. love the speakers for ipod. the fans are really weak and pretty much useless for a big sweater like me. ordered direct from sole last year for just under $1000 shipped.

jksu

Hoenstly - go to Costco.
Whichever treadmill they are featuring for around $1000 will have more features and a better deck than anything you'll find comparably elsewhere.
I got mine there several years ago (Healthrider) and have never had any problems with it.

I have that machine which was also known as the C-1500. Great machine for the money.

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I'll be what I am
A solitary man

If you are referring to the NordicTrack then I agree - I have this 1500 model as well and it really is great. I have no use for all its various settings and programs, but basic function is excellent and the deck feels nice to run on.

Sole f80

22 inch deck, 2 wider than everyone else. Great motor and warranty.

I was able to score a life fitness f3 with only 30 hours of use by a walker fo only $1000. Extremely happy that I was patient looking in the used market.

I sent a moving company to go get it for me and that was $150

We bought the Sole F85 last year on a black Friday deal for something like 1200$ it has been great my Wife and I abuse it all winter and have had zero issues it works and feels just like a gym quality treadmill. Only issue was moving it into the pain cave it is HEAVY!

if you intend to use it regularly my recommendation would be to get the warranty - whichever model you get. I was on my third control box, second belt, and second motor by the end of my 5 year warranty (but it had some serious hammer - lots of 12 mph reps and runs long enough to know it stopped automatically at 100 mins)