My Vision has polar chip.

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Kestrel Syndicate
Macca Fan Club

My True has a Polar chip

I would avoid Nordic Track, Health Rider, and one other that I can't remember. They are all owned by the same company. They are not as durable as other treadmills. I like the SportsArt I have it is a very basic model but it is durable.

Well, I'll be honest with you. I have been using a Proform J4 (or somthing like that) for 5 years now. My wife bought it used for $200. It was probably $400 new. It's not great, and I need a new one, but I probably put 4000+ miles on it and it has worked pretty well.

Sure, there are some great treadmills out there for $2,000+, but you can get a decent basic one for under $500 if the money is tight. And now is the time of year that people are unloading the braqnd new gear they spent a crapload of money on and haven't used, so check out the want ads.

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I would definitely get a treadmill with HR capability. All the ones I have seen are Polar compatible, but so long as it works, who cares.

My favorite workout is to set the treadmill to maintain a constant HR by varying the incline. It undershoots and overshoots, giving me a good, varied workout. I can track progress by noting the total elevation gained during the workout.

I have a very expensive Landice that I have been happy with. You can probably do just as well for a lot less money.

I'm going to disagree about the NordicTrack dis. Their upper-end models are well made (as far as I can tell). I've never taken any treadmills apart, but we've had a good experience with ours, so far, as have a couple of friends. My parents have a True, and it is definitely a bit nicer, but it is also more expensive and the deck doesn't fold upright. If you have a small house, like me, this is a big deal. The Nordic Tracks also have really good cushioning.

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What a drag it is getting old. -- Stones

Here is an excerpt from Consumers Reports

The New Balance 9.5e, made by Fitness Quest, developed a clunk during testing; it was annoying, but it didn’t affect performance, so we left it alone.

The treadmill that gave us the most trouble was Icon’s NordicTrack 7600 R. On three samples we bought, the running belt wouldn’t maintain the proper tension, so we had to readjust it every few hours, no small feat. (Other treadmills seldom need the belt adjusted.) Icon sent us replacement parts, but the first shipment was incomplete and a second set of parts didn’t fix the problem. Because of the big inconvenience involved in continually readjusting the belt tension, we cannot recommend this model.

The Keys Fitness Ironman M4 had a circuit breaker that kept tripping; a second sample worked fine. With the Spirit Inspire IN400, made by Spirit Fitness, an incline-adjustment control didn’t work and the display made 1’s look like 7’s, 4’s like 9’s.

Interesting. Runner's World used to review treadmills every year. The last one I can find on the web is December '02, in which they rated a NordicTrack second overall (after a TRue model). Below is what they said about the NT. Maybe things have changed since then (BTW, ours was much less than $3500).

http://www.runnersworld.com/...52-72-0-4058,00.html

Bottom Line: The 8600 is built like a tank, with a massive display console
and the heaviest frame of any treadmill we tested. This makes it very stable,
but some testers felt it was large for home use. The control buttons are large
and easy to use, including a row of "one-touch" speed buttons that take you
directly to your selected speed. A unique "i-Fit" feature lets you run interactive
workouts from CDs and videos.

TREADMILL CUSHIONING

STABILITY CONTROLS DISPLAY OVERALL True, $3,795 7.4 8.3 7.8 8.1 8.1 NordicTrack, $3,500 7.5 8.7 7.0 7.2 7.6 Precor, $3,500 7.1 7.9 7.4 6.5 7.3 Cybex, $4,995 7.0 8.1 6.6 7.0 7.1 Life Fitness, $3,500 7.4 7.5 6.4 6.4 7.0 Landice, $4,495 6.5 7.7 7.1 6.8 6.9 PaceMaster, $2,200 6.7 7.3 6.5 6.6 6.8 Vision Fitness, $3,000 5.8 7.5 6.8 7.3 6.7 Smooth, $3,000 6.6 6.6 6.8 6.5 6.4 Spirit, $2,495 6.0 7.8 5.5 5.2 5.8 SportsArt, $2,300 6.2 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.2 Bodyguard, $2,495 5.3 5.2 4.3 4.4 4.8

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What a drag it is getting old. -- Stones

There's not a big market for used high end treadmills. I saw a good one in the tradin times for $2000, a month later it was $1500, a month later $1000, I offered him $750 and he gladly took it. It's a Landice that retailed for about $3000. No heart rate function, but I have a monitor anyway. I like it a lot, had it about 15 months.

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"It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster"

I have one of the higher end Nordic Track treamills and it is fine for me. I really hate running on the treadmill so avoid at all costs, but utilize it when need be. Since I live in the woods and have received about 6 feet of snow since the beginning of February, it has been more often than I would like. The Nordic Track was one of the most affordable machines that will go up to 12mph as well. Since I hate treadmills, I usually run hard while on it as a distraction so the speed was important to me.

Well this is just what I have been told by people in the fitness industry about Nordic Track, and Health Rider

I'm not disagreeing. Like I said, I've never taken these things apart to see how they are made. I'm just saying that our experience has been good, and I read a good review 2 years ago in Runner's World. That is the limit of my knowledge.

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What a drag it is getting old. -- Stones

I bought one from Smooth Fitness online about 5 years ago. The model I have is not made anymore but I paid like $900 delivered and I really feel like I got more than my money's worth. It works as well as the day I bought it and my wife and I use it say 3-4 days a week throughout the year on avg. The price was very competitive at the time. No HR monitor on mine but I bought a $30 polar which I keep strapped near the screen all the time. Smooth is here if you want to check them out...

http://www.smoothfitness.com/...odels_treadmills.htm

I have a True 5000 series I think and it has run perfectly for 5 years with no issues other than lubing the belt every 6 months. My wife and I use it on average 8-10 hours a week.

We have a Keys 8800. It seems to be very sturdy and durable. The belt is fairly thick so the ride is pretty comfortable. We bought it based on research from Runner's World, Consumer Reports, etc.
However, The heart rate moniter (not Polar) has NEVER seemed to me to be even close to accurate.
The Precor treadmills that I have used at my health club really impressed me. I put tons of miles on them and would take a hard look at them if I were in the market. BTW they are Polar compatible.