Woodway Treadmills - Worth it?

Clear and away they're the best treadmill out there.

Unless your reasoning for buying a treadmill is you have small kids in the house and you can't leave the house for a full runs time. Then run outside.

Yes worth it, we've had one for 15 years and still great. I did replace the motor last year and that was an easy fix once I found the right tools. The motor replacement was $300?

The big reason why a treadmill will help my family is that it'll allow one of us to get outside for a run while the other can run inside while the little one is sleeping. This means one of doesn't need to wake up super early to run, we can both run in the evening.

And that is great to hear about the 15 year lifespan thus far! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Did you buy new or pre owned?

Run on both a Woodway and True fairly consistently. Love the Woodway, very smooth ride and can achieve higher speeds. That said, don’t think it’s material better than the True unless you consistently run below 5 min mile pace. True is about $3k cheaper.

I'd run on a Woodway at a gym, and they've definitely got a nice solid feel.

I looked at buying a Woodway in 2010 to try to keep my marathon training going with a new infant in the home, and like you thought about saving a little on a certified pre-owned. But had sticker shock when I found out even that was $7000. When I started really pressing about it, they really couldn't/wouldn't tell me the history on what I was buying. (how many miles it had on it, did something break and need repair already. I guess they could have made something up and how would I know any different?). But the deal breaker for me was when I found out that even though I live in a major metro area DFW they had ZERO authorized repair people in my area, complicating any warranty issues I might have. I was replacing a Pacemaster where the electrics went bad, and it'd been pain to try to get repaired after the place I'd bought it from succumbed to the bad economy of 2008/9.

I passed on the Woodway, and instead went for a top of the line Precor bought from a different local dealer. I saved a few $K and it's still going strong after 7 years and a few thousand miles.

Bump

I have run on countless treadmills in hotel gyms while traveling around the country. I had never once even in major gyms ran on a woodway. They were an object of lore to me. Then I came to my current University where they have at least 20 woodways. Just upon my first quarter mile I quickly realized there was nothing like it. The difference is incomprehensible. I havnt run on a generic treadmill since and have no plans to.

dbsquirt21 wrote:

I have run on countless treadmills in hotel gyms while traveling around the country. I had never once even in major gyms ran on a woodway. They were an object of lore to me. Then I came to my current University where they have at least 20 woodways. Just upon my first quarter mile I quickly realized there was nothing like it. The difference is incomprehensible. I havnt run on a generic treadmill since and have no plans to.

There u go. Another reason why higher education is so expensive. 20 woodway TMs

Run outside , or gym for bad weather.

Read the thread. The guy has kids, as do many people who use treadmills.

Personally, I don't care for Woodways. The surface is so soft that it feels unstable. I think a traditional belt and deck design feels more like running outside.

And as for cost, I don't think the extra durability can justify it. Any commercial treadmill is going to last a very long time, and even the high end consumer units are rock solid with great warranties. Is a Woodway going to last 3 or 4 times longer than another treadmill? I very much doubt it, but even if it did, do you really care that much if your other treadmill lasts a decade and costs just pennies per mile at most?

I ran on a Woodway at a gym years ago and hated it. The running surface felt very odd to me, like it was sucking energy from my legs as I went. FWIW I bought a Landice L7 in 2003 and it's still going strong, 14+ years later. The Landice warranty, at least then, included LIFETIME coverage. I've had the motor and belt and deck replaced a few years back, and one of the PCBs needed replacement on another occasion. I paid $50 total for those service calls. I cannot believe how many quality miles I've gotten from the Landice and plan to keep it for many years to come.

I would never pay the premium for Woodway, but I would definitely pay a small premium for a Landice machine.

Hate these things, but its a matter of personal preference. I don't like the arc, as you don't run on an arc when you are outside. I feel like these things encourage an un-natural running motion. Again, its a matter of preference and this is just my opinion. I prefer a Pro Form any day of the week.

Definitely worth the money. I bought a certified pre-owned Woodway almost 10 years ago. I use it during the winter months mainly. Not a ton of mileage put on it, but it's convenient on those days I'm just not feeling like getting outside and when my daughter was young. I've had zero problems with it and love that it feels so solid and natural. If you've got the money to spend on a Woodway, you won't be sorry you splurged a little!

Against the grain wrote:

Hate these things, but its a matter of personal preference. I don't like the arc, as you don't run on an arc when you are outside. I feel like these things encourage an un-natural running motion. Again, its a matter of preference and this is just my opinion. I prefer a Pro Form any day of the week.

They aren't talking about the unpowered curved treadmill, wood way has powered treadmills too.

hdhdydydydyd wrote:

I ran on a Woodway at a gym years ago and hated it. The running surface felt very odd to me, like it was sucking energy from my legs as I went. FWIW I bought a Landice L7 in 2003 and it's still going strong, 14+ years later. The Landice warranty, at least then, included LIFETIME coverage. I've had the motor and belt and deck replaced a few years back, and one of the PCBs needed replacement on another occasion. I paid $50 total for those service calls. I cannot believe how many quality miles I've gotten from the Landice and plan to keep it for many years to come.

I would never pay the premium for Woodway, but I would definitely pay a small premium for a Landice machine.

I used a Weslo treadmill from Walmart for 10 years to warm up before running outside.

It still works fine, but few years ago I looked into getting a better one and felt the Landice was the best one for the price.

However they were $4500 and up for a new one.

I found a Pro Trainer on Craigslist about 100 miles from my house, drove down there to inspect, and confirmed the purchase.

The I paid two guys from Craigslist to pick it up and deliver to my house. The total cost was $550 plus 160 = $710.

It's in very good condition and works fine.

I think Precor is just as good, and only about $3500

With treadmills, it isn't a question of if they go, but when. I like buying a $1k treadmill used on ebay for $400, and when it breaks in 3-4 years, I kick it to the curb without a moment's thought and get a replacement.

I used to be an engineering intern at Woodway and worked on the power consumption comparisons- you won't save any money. Don't remember the exact numbers, but saving 50 watts * 1 hour * 365 days = 18.25 kWh. At $0.12/kWh, that's just over $2 a year. That's why they have the graphs showing the difference, without stating how much money it saves.

That being said, I personally really enjoy their treadmills. I like the slats instead of landing on a belt and enjoy how quiet they are. Can't attest to how long they last, but I saw some that were 20+ years old working fine when I was there.

I sell commercial fitness equipment for a living, so I have some pretty good background on it. Woodway is the Rolls Royce of treadmills. It is a great product (it is not one of the product lines I sell) and a good investment if you have the money. It is a heavy commercial grade treadmill, meaning it is designed to be used 10-12 hours per day in a busy commercial setting. Even if you and your wife are both serious runners, you will probably only use it for 2-3 hours per day. If you have the money to pay for it (not go into debt), then it could be a great investment and will last you for years. You can also get a CPO Precor or Life Fitness heavy commercial treadmill for $3000-3500 and it will last you just about as long. The big key with a treadmill is to make sure you don't get too much dirt in the motor (which causes it to overheat and burn out). If you are going to buy a high quality treadmill like that, keep the motor vacuumed out every few months and pay to have a tune up done on it every couple of years. If you do that, it will last you at least 15 years. The belts on the Woodway treadmills last longer than most, but when you do need to replace it, it will cost about $1000 (normal belt $300-400). Good luck with your purchase.