Dave - do you do run stride analysis/advice? After the bike thread I was wondering.
Just to add some info... Under the hood, my "Sputnik" treadmill is a Dayco- which fronts a few of the brands.
I think the parts are kind of open market as the Chinese models seem to be very similar and they are all pretty solid. A treadmill is a variable speed drive, which is kind of cool.
http://www.dyaco.ca/treadmills-EN.html
If you pull the safety sensor and restart the machine, it will give you total miles & time (alternating) . So when looking at used "clothes hangers" you can check how much the machine was used. Mine is 8 years old and had less than ~175 miles. Sitting at over 300 now so I've averaged about 5km a day or so.
I spray silicone to keep the track to deck interface lubed up. You'll want to do that every few weeks otherwise the track will start to stick and load the motor down on stride impact.
There are a lot of used mills out there. Run on them and see how they feel. I tried a Nordic Track which was a nice machine. Moving it would have been hell and it was ~ $500 hardly used too. I got mine for a paltry $150 can't complain.
The Boston mill that Lionel uses is no doubt very sweet & fast!
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