Treadmills

See our new video, we have 8 slight used one's for sale. Interested?

how much are they and what are the specs?

Stay away from Pro-form and Fitness Gear; they are both pretty awful especially for running. Someone who only walks could use them but not a runner.

Horizon Fitness has some nice models. They all have strong inclination motors so the treadmill will incline very smoothly and rapidly even for a heavy runner. They all have the Feather Light fold-up system which is basically a hydrolic system making it very light to lift and also prevents it from falling while lowering it. All HF treadmills come with a lifetime warranty on the frame and at least 10 years on the motor. Most of them are also very easy to built (I've built numerous treadmills and HF are the easiest).

The T Series is the lowest level:

T50

1.75 horsepower continuous duty motor

4250 RPM (this is high RPMs resulting in a pretty loud treadmill)

Speed 0-10 mph

Incline 0-10%

Pulse

Preset Programs - 2

Custom Programs - 0

One-touch speed

One-touch incline

Incline increments - 0.5%

Speed increments - 0.1 mph

Calorie counter

Warranty: Frame = lifetime, motor = 10-years, parts = 1-year, labor = 90-days

The CST Series is the club level:

CST 3.5

2.0 horsepower continuous duty motor

3400 RPM (quiet operation)

Speed 0-10 mph

Incline 0-10%

Pulse

Preset Programs - 4

Custom Programs - 1

One-touch speed

One-touch incline

Incline increments - 0.2/0.3%

Speed increments - 0.1 mph

Calorie counter

Pace/Mile

2-User odometer

TriZone Cushioning System (More cushioning near the motor where your footstrike will take place, medium cushioning near the middle of the stride and a firmer surface near the back where you will push-off)

Warranty: Frame = lifetime, motor = 12-years, parts = 1-year, labor = 1-year

CST 3.6

2.0 horsepower continuous duty motor

3400 RPM (quiet operation)

Speed 0-10 mph

Incline 0-10%

Pulse

Preset Programs - 4

Custom Programs - 1

One-touch speed

One-touch incline

Incline increments - 0.2/0.3%

Speed increments - 0.1 mph

One-touch 0.5 incline and speed buttons

Calorie counter

eTrak System (keeps track of your workouts, such as average time, average distance, average calories, average speed, etc.)

TriZone Cushioning System

Warranty: Frame = lifetime, motor = 12-years, parts = 1-year, labor = 1-year

CST 4.6

2.25 horsepower continuous duty motor

3100 RPM (very quiet operation)

Speed 0-12 mph

Incline 0-12%

Pulse

Preset Programs - 5

Custom Programs - 2

One-touch speed

One-touch incline

Incline increments - 0.2/0.3%

Speed increments - 0.1 mph

One-touch 0.5 incline and speed buttons

Calorie counter

Pace/Mile

Odometer

eTrak System, 2-users

TriZone Cushioning System

Warranty: Frame = lifetime, motor = 15-years, parts = 1-year, labor = 1-year

The PST Series is the highest level:

PST6

2.5 horsepower continuous duty motor

3100 RPM (very quiet operation)

Speed 0-12 mph

Incline 0-12%

Pulse

Preset Programs - 5

Custom Programs - 2

One-touch speed

One-touch incline

Incline increments - 0.2/0.3%

Speed increments - 0.1 mph

One-touch 0.5 incline and speed buttons

Calorie counter

Pace/Mile

Odometer

QuadZone Cushioning System

Warranty: Frame = lifetime, motor = 20-years, parts = 1-year, labor = 1-year

I've done some running on every treadmill we have at the store and the CST and PST are excellent. If you are a pretty serious runner I would invest a little more and not get the T Series treadmills. The PST6 we have is selling for $1300 right now and is the most expensive we have. We are expecting to get some very expensive Sole treadmills in soon and I can't wait to try them out. One thing to note: the "grip pulse" feature on treadmills is not very accurate. It is a decent estimate but you have to be careful how firm you grip them. A few of the higher end models come with a Polar chest transmitter and gives excellent heart rate readings. I've used it with the CSE4.6 Elliptical trainer and it gives better results than the grip pulse, which tends to be a bit erratic.

Go to treadmilldoctor.com for reviews and tips. I've owned both a Pacemaster and a Bodyguard. The Pacemaster was great for the dollar but the Bodyguard is much more heavy duty (and twice the price). I've also run on Landice, True, Cybex, StarTrac and a few others which escape me at the moment. They were all reasonably solid. I suggest that you go to a shop where you can compare models side-by-side, check features, and run on them (check for stuff like how quickly the speed up/slow down or change elevation- the TMs we have at work are solid but take forever to ramp up/down).

Thanks a lot for the responses guys!

If you have a lot of money Woodway is the best treadmill you can get. www.woodway.com. Your best value treadmill is Sportsart. I sell them and can quote you a price if you find a model you like.

We have a Horizon Fitness 4.1 and have had no problems. I think we paid ~$1500 for it less than a year ago.

I don't run on it much but my wife does a couple days/week over winter when it is already dark out before she gets home (not the safest to run after dark).

Incline is smooth and the motor is for sure powerful enough.

Definitely a brand to check out.