I also live in a cold, miserable place when it comes to training outside in the winter months (Michigan). Three years ago I bought my wife and I a "Pacemaster Pro + 2". I bought it at a home fitness store. I think I paid around $2200.

Normally I would not have been able to afford to dish out that kind of cash but they had a "12 month same as cash" deal going. I've ran some long, hard miles on this thing over time and it's held up great(maybe I should not have said that).

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What the mind can conceive and believe, the body will achieve.

We're also looking. So far our research leads to a number of sources (Consumer Reports, Runner's World, etc) that give treadmills made by Smooth very high marks. Apparently they are factory direct purchases only and the company is located just outside Philadelphia which isn't bad for you since it's in your state.

http://www.smoothfitness.com/info/epinions.htm

i also recently bought a pacemaster - pro plus 2. great unit and it's built for running so it can stand up to some abuse. like you said, it's not one of those depatment store garbage units. the guy at the equipment store also said that if you can't afford a healthclub quality machine, the pacemaster machines were the ones to get. runners world has also rated these machines "best buys". i think the price has dropped a bit over the years. the friend who recommended it to me said he paid almost $3000 canadian dollars for it 3 years ago. after a lot of haggling, i got mine for $2000 canadian with an extended 5 years parts and labor warranty (factory warranty is for 1 year) and a treadmill mat.

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____________________________________________________________
"I'm happy when life's good,
and when it's bad I cry.
I've got values but I don't know how or why."
- The Who

I bought a treadmilll back in 95 or 96 (long since sold). I did quite a bit of research and figured out what I wanted and then realized what I could really afford. They did not end up being the same thing. At any rate, I just bought the then top of the line Sears treadmill and it actually worked excellent the two years I owned it. I did many runs of an hour at full speed (it would crank up to 10.5 mph which was nice) so I consider my time with it as hard use and it did fine. Sure the motor was not continuous drive, the tread was probably more narrow compared to some, but it would go pretty fast and the electric incline worked well. I suspect you can find a treadmill that will meet your needs at 1,000.00 but probably not with a continuous drive motor which will probably lead to a shorter life. Maybe it will work 5 or 7 years instead of 10, I don't know . . .

Do some research. You might find that some of the cheaper department store models actually have the same motors as some of the more exspensive ones, after all, that is going the primary difference that leads to longer life. All treadmills now days have features out the wazu . . .

Just bought a ProForm 995 SEL this week for my wife (and myself) from Oshman's. The regular prices was $999, but it was clearanced for $629. For this price range (<$1000), the review were mostly that it was a decent/average treadmill.

-kb

Do you know if the Pacemaster Pro treadmill that you own has a continuous drive motor? Also, what size motor and belt does it have? Cerveloguy, you may want to check out this site that i found with some general guidlines about treadmill value and durability-

http://www.lifestylesport.com/treadmil.htm

Unfortunately they seem to be pushing the high end stuff, which normally I tend to go for myself, but treadmills can just so happen to be very expensive in their high end. What do all you current treadmill owners out there think about such guidelines and the actual specs of your machines? I'll have to look into the Pacemaster and other units a little more closely, though the Smooth 9.2 did look really good to me though...

Bought a Smooth a couple of years ago and my wife and I have been very happy with it. Think we paid about $1000 for it. Actually my company paid for it as a bribe to my wife - a marathoner - for me commuting weekly to damn-near-Canada to manage a project for 8 months. It worked. I went, she got the Smooth, and we still have it 2 years later. Will check on the exact model if you like - send me a private message. If you have the money, folks I know have been very happy with True.

Keep in mind, we use the thing for about 10% of our training. Most of the time it just sits there, but it's nice to have as a fall back. Good luck.

Steve

On Monday, I begin my new job working for Landice treadmills. Here's my first shameless plug.

www.landice.com

Highlights:

• 3-HP continuous-duty drive motor
• 4-ply belt
• 15% incline capability
• up to 12 mph (5 min/mile pace)
• all residential treadmills come with a lifetime warranty on all parts

...ok, shameless plug over.

Good luck finding a treadmill that "fits" your needs. :)

EZ

I bought a Keys treadmill and I have been extremely satisfied with the performance of it. I purchased the Keys HR 560 which was rated a Consumer Guide Best Buy. It has a 2.5hp continuous duty motor and a great warranty. I purchased it from www.fitnessblowout.com. It cost me $1100 including shipping. I run an average of 20 miles on it weekly and I have not had a single problem. I took my time researching treadmills and it seemed like for the money, Keys was the way to go. I was a bit apprehensive because I was used to high end treadmills at health clubs but I can honestly say, I am not the least bit disappointed.

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Team Endurance Nation

I too am looking for a treadmill for winter workouts. I had a Pro Form for about seven years and had to replace many parts. The rollers were replaced three times, the belt was replaced twice, the running board was replaced once (it broke right down the middle while I was running!). I also replaced the console. Needless to say, I have been looking for a treadmill that will need less maintenance and at a reasonable cost. From that standpoint, I've decided on the Landice L7 Pro Sport model. The Landice L7 has a lifetime warranty on all parts, and the local dealer added a year of free labor for a total of two years. This means that I'll not have to pay a dime for at least two years for anything that goes wrong with it. By the way the warranty covers rollers and belts. You may want to carefully check the warranty policies on any treadmill you eventually decide to buy. There are some companies that leave out the rollers and belts on warranties. The final cost that I've been able to get for the Landice is about $3,000. That includes delivery and set-up. That sounds like a lot, but when you consider that you'll never have to buy another treadmill for the rest of your life, it's sounds like a bargain.

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Kirby

back in 1998, before triathlon was even a glimmer in my eye i thought a treadmill might be just the thing to get me back into shape. So I bought a ProForm from Sears. It's a pretty low end model with manual incline and was on clearance as an in store model closeout. i think i paid a whopping $299.

This thing won't die. I was hoping that it was on its way out when the display dimmed and then went blank. Turns out it was in need of a battery!. I still use it often and have had no troubles. Sometimes i wish i did so i could get another one. But for now, i just cannot justify replacing it.

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jg

Rooster, I also bought the same Keys model from fitnessblowout and received the worst customer service in my life. The unit I purchased came damaged and they expected me to fix it....long story short I would caution anybody from buying from fitnessblowout.com.

In the past I worked for both Life Fitness and OmniFitness (exlcusive dealer to life fitness on the east coast, both owned by the Brunswick Corp) At Omni we sold Lifefitness, Landice and Pacemaster. The LF treads are nice due the the options on their machines that start around $2000 for the T3 and go up to about $5000 for the T9i. Motor sizes ranged from 2.5- 3.0 CD HP. All belt widths on LF are 20 inches and the lengths start at 56inches and goes to 60 (most commercial treads are 20x60 inches) The Pacemasters are a sweet deal for the price, with 2.5 cd HP motors alot of computer features. The 3 models we carried were the Pro plus II, The pro Select and the Pro Elite. The Pro Select was a sweet deal b/c it gave you HR functions with a comparable motor and deck size to a $3000 LF tread and it was about $2200. The Landice machines are considered the cadillac of treads due to its construction and quality. See E-Zs thread about them, they are solid work horse running machines. If you really have the $$$ however, I would recomend looking into the Woodway treads (www.woodway.com) These are probably some of the finest treads around with quality and construction. My training facility that I am in the works of opening within the year will have both woodways and Commercial Landice treads.

For the $$ however, pacemaster is a great machine, aluminum frame, nice size CD motor, nice size running surface, good warrentee and they are located In West Caldwell NJ.

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Jason Goldberg
FIT Multisports

I am also casually looking. I would like something that does more than my current unit, but don't want to break the bank.

A word about cheap treadmills:

My wife bought a used ProForm something or other for $200 about 5 years ago. At the time, I thought she was wasting her money on yet another fitness kick(I know, how supportive!). I have eaten my words. Not only does she use it to walk 150-1000 miles a year, but I have been logging 1000-1500 miles a year on it myself, and it has worked great. Not bad for a cheap treadmill.

While they certainly don't have the features of a high end treadmill, I think that you can get a good deal for very little money if you expect to use the machine moderately(meaning not all day every day as in a health club scenario).

One last thing: Definitely check the want ads. The treadmill we bought was in brand new condition when we bought it, and we paid less than half list price. Lots of people buy expensive gear with good intentions, then end up selling it for a song when they finally come to terms with how much they have wasted and realize that a Barcalounger is more comfortable than a treadmill.

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Another opinion- I'm not sure "quality" applies here, I went through this process one year ago during one of the more miserable winters for running in recent memory. During my search I came across this site-

http://members.tripod.com/ndrunner/id114.htm

This guy's approach to buying a treadmill was similar to mine, so I followed his lead and bought the Image 1050se for around $600 as I recall. My only complaint so far is that it works too well- I find myself running on the treadmill on days that would have found me outside in years past. Not sure if that's necessarily a good thing. My dog definitely thinks it's a bad thing. Problem free at one year, I figure if I get three out of it I'm ahead of the game. Good luck.



Ken

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience from FitnessBlowout.Com. Mine has been a pleasurable one. Nonetheless, did you end up with a replacement Keys treadmill or did you get your money back? If you have a Keys, how do you like it? I was most impressed with the warranty before ever getting a chance to run on the treadmill. After experiencing the performance firsthand, I am glad that I went with Keys. Also, there are other Keys dealers besides fitness blowout so if anyone is leary about purchasing from fitness blowout, I encourage them to seek out another reputable dealer. In my opinion, you can't find a more dependable treadmill for the money and the warranty is second to none.

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!

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Team Endurance Nation

We use Nordic Track treadmills at work (fire dept.). They get a fair ammount of use and abuse and hold up well. The one at my station is at least five years old. They seem to be "fireman proof" so that's all we buy now. The one's from Costco and Sears where destroyed in no time.

I bought one of the Landice treadmills maybe 4 or 5 years ago. It was very expensive, but it works very well. Not a hint of trouble in all that time. I haven't put as many miles on it as others, but it hasworked well for me.

For those of you still looking for a treadmill, check out the Feb. 2004 issue of Consumer Reports. They reviewed a bunch of treadmills and ranked them. I won't give away the winner

Hope this helps some.

I just bought a treadmill for xmas. I was looking for something below $2000. In my research I polled this forum, i looked at consumer reports and runners world reviews and narrowed it down to the Pacemaster and Vision Fitness. I ended up choosing the vision because it had a little better review in Consumer Reports, this forum liked it, and a friend of mine had one and liked it. Been using it for two weeks, had one 12 mile run and a couple 9milers, and it works well.

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-----------------------:)
SUPPORT OPERATION REBOUND:
http://www.operationreboundcalifornia.kintera.org/ejs3

Kestrel Syndicate
Macca Fan Club

I have to put my .02 in on this to agree with the other Landice owners out there. NOTHING can beat the lifetime warranty. There's nothing that bugs me more than spending money on something that breaks down, and just given the nature of treadmills, you're going to wear parts out eventually. We've had our treadmill about a year now, and put some pretty decent mileage on it. It started making some funny motor noises, so we called in a repair guy, who checked it out, phoned landice, and got a replacement motor shipped out and installed. No phone calls or follow up on our part needed. Motor replaced, thing runs like a champ again, and that saved us what would have been a $600 repair with any other brand.

Eventually parts are going to wear out, so if you really want something that will last and that you can actually use, try to save a little extra and go for the landice from one of their dealers (i throw in that last part because if you buy one used, i don't think you get the warranty)

check out TRUE.... ive got one, no problems. 10 mph and a 15% grade...

bob