My wife and I were out looking at treadmills the other day and we tried a couple of Nordictracks, a Sole F-80, and a Livestrong 13.0T. Then I came home and started researching. Google “treadmill reviews” and you get mostly retail sites disguised as reviews. Even searching ST on “Livestrong Treadmill” found only 6 hits, but nothing from someone that says they have one.
The F80 I ran on first at Sears, and it rattled with every stride. Got to try a different one at Dick’s and it was quieter but still didn’t seem as solid at the Livestrong.
I’ve got a Nordic Track Commercial 1500 and I love it, have it for 2 years, put tons of miles on it and it’s great, solid etc. For the price, I have not found anything comparable. I woud suggest buying the maintenance plan, well worth the piece of mind. By the way, Nordic Track negotiates so don’t just take their price at face value. Mine was listed for 1,299 “on sale” and I paid $899 + the 5 year service plan.
I purchased the Livestrong Treadmill for my wife prior to deployment. I used it for 4 weeks and found it to be a nice system (predominantly intervals). She has used it for the past 10 months and it meets her needs (predominantly steep, but slow).
Finish is nice.
Speed is adequate for intervals (at least for me).
Elevation is plenty.
Installation/delivery was included.
In short, I looked at a bunch of options and chose Livestrong. Time will tell if the motor holds up.
I’ve had the top of the line Livestrong treadmill for almost a year and it’s been great. Between my wife and I it gets used about 6 times a week. She’s a sub 40 min 10K runner and I’m a couple min slower (yes, she kicks my ass on the run)…so the treadmill sees pretty hard use and no rattles or issues to speak of so far.
We bought the LS12.9T (the old model of the 13) last winter mainly for my wife (walking and slow jogging 9 min-10min miles) but I use it quite a bit (3x week in the winter) I run between 8:30 and high 5’s depending on my run. I weight about 180#. We have no legit complaints about it and it’s by far the nicest treadmill either of us or our families have owned. We got it for about 1200 with free delivery (had to fight for it).
The day we bought it we went to about 5 different stores including a couple of specialty treadmill stores. We tried treadmills ranging from 3000 down to about 800 and we liked the LS the best at the price it was offered. We just did not see much or any benefit to spending over 1500 to about 2500. Once we got to 3000 I could tell the difference (in finish, run feel and other niceties) and they were nicer but out of our price range. We liked the LS for the specs and the warranty (lifetime motor/frame) was equivalent to similar mills. The running deck is firm and cushioned. Some of the mills we tried were like running on mush. We liked it better than the Soles which look like their main competitor. I typically hate gratuitous LS branded stuff so it took a lot for me to get it. It comes with a polar HR strap which I thought was a nice addition as opposed to using the grip HR readers.
The delivery people put it in the basement and my wife set it up while I was at work. For years I trained at a university with top of the line treadmills so I was very spoiled and hesitant to get a “cheap” mill but I can say that it’s more than acceptable. The motor doesn’t strain and the speed is accurate (checked with bike). It’s stable and solid but it does have a few rattles especially when I’m running heavier but it’s nothing terrible and I haven’t looked to see if it’s just a loose shield or screw. The built in fan and speakers kind of suck (esp with no volume adjustment) but we just use a spare TV set up in the basement or headphones. It also folds so we put it up when not using it to keep the cats off of it
So far we are happy with it. If you have anymore questions I’ll try to help
I bike computer is validated against my friends bike and my GPS over long and short rides so I simply toss my bike on the mill and check the computer’s speed against the mill’s. Not the best method but good enough for me. If you want to me more anal and draw out small error, let it go for 3 miles or so and make sure the distances on both device match
Thanks for the info. Maybe on the $3k treadmills the fans are ok but all the ones I tried yesterday the fans were worthless. Right now the 13.0 is $1299 +tax delivered, we don’t want to go much above that.
you might want to try E-bay. I bought a Precor 956i reconditioned and delivered for a fraction of it’s 6K price. Got a killer treadmill and at my price. May be a good time of year to find one, and if you find it from the dealer that reconditioned it, it’s really a steal.
Not looking for what to buy, there ae thousands of threads on that. Looking for firsthand reports on Livestrong treadmills.
Well, if you are considering a Livestrong over a Landice, then you SHOULD be looking at what to buy.
Ok I’ll start a new thread for people to make up the difference between the $1295 Livestrong and the $2900 bottom of the line Landis. ;
Or if it keeps snowing and I keep making money plowing I can afford the Landis.
The difference for me is, with the Lanice, I love running on it. The others that creak groan and plain don’t work and fall apart, you won’t use it.
Seriously, I use to work at a Gym that bought cheaper treadmills, they were being fixed all the time. Then I went to a gym with Landice and Precor treadmills, those things got hammered into the ground and barely ever needed anything (usually just a belt or oil).
Just trying to save you some money in the end.
If the distance is accurate with a bike, then that means it’s wrong. The belt slows down when you are on the belt, and unless the computer compensates for that, it keeps racking the miles at the same pace when in reality you could be travelling much less than it tells you (like 10% or more).
If you have a treadmill that was sub $1500, it most likely doesn’t. Precor has integrated footplant technology, they have the patent but most good brands use the same idea, giving you much more accurate distance.
