Recommend a fold away treadmill

Tigerandahalf

Hi

I am thinking of investing in one of these as it would ensure I could get runs in when the kids are in bed and I can't get outside.

It must fold away ideally to store upright in a small enough space.

Must be cheap but reliable enough to take 2/3 1hr runs a week.

Not more than €500.

Thanks

average_runner

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Hi

I am thinking of investing in one of these as it would ensure I could get runs in when the kids are in bed and I can't get outside.

It must fold away ideally to store upright in a small enough space.

Must be cheap but reliable enough to take 2/3 1hr runs a week.

Not more than €500.

Thanks

Would the noise not wake the kids?

Tigerandahalf

average_runner wrote: »

Would the noise not wake the kids?

Not if in a separate room. I would probably use it downstairs and maybe fold away into the under stairs storage. Floors are precast concrete so noise shouldn't be an issue.

pconn062

I owned a Bodytrain treadmill, couldn't fault it. Very high quality for the price. Here's one for around €500.

http://www.irishsportswarehouse.ie/fitness/treadmills/bodytrain-go-500i-treadmill.html

Tigerandahalf

pconn062 wrote: »

I owned a Bodytrain treadmill, couldn't fault it. Very high quality for the price. Here's one for around €500.

http://www.irishsportswarehouse.ie/fitness/treadmills/bodytrain-go-500i-treadmill.html

Thanks. That is one of the best specs I have seen for the price.
Only 1 year warranty though which would make you wonder.

Any idea of width/length/height when folded up?

pconn062

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Thanks. That is one of the best specs I have seen for the price.
Only 1 year warranty though which would make you wonder.

Any idea of width/length/height when folded up?

This is the info from the link:

Large running track:
1300mm x 460mm
Speed:
0-20 kph
Power incline:
0-15%
Motor:
2.5HP continuous
Weight:
84kg
Height:
127.2cm
Length:
156.6cm
Width:
78cm
Maximum user weight:
130kg (around 20 stone)

They are still chunky enough when folded up but will fit into a corner. About the size of a good sized cabinet.

Tigerandahalf

Ya I could see the dimensions online but they didn't include fold up dimensions.

Did it require much maintenance?

pconn062

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Ya I could see the dimensions online but they didn't include fold up dimensions.

Did it require much maintenance?

Not really, a little bit of oil and the occasional tightening of the belt.

robinph

Whilst a folded up treadmill is going to take up a bit less space, don't expect it to be fitting into any kind of small space. They are still pretty massive when folded up, and whilst technically movable it's probably not something that you'd want to be doing each time you use it as the casters will not be up to regular moving about. Just the very occasional move and will potentially be more of a workout moving the thing than the actual run you then do on it.

Pawwed Rig

The main thing I would look for would be one that doesnt screw up your joints. Ideally one with a cushion or suspension.The website above seems to have good prices but its hard to find any reviews of their brands so I would be uncertain as to what I am buying.
A second hand one might be the better option for you.
Looking at the reebok ZR8 myself at the moment which is coming in at around €900 new.
I would suspect a flow of unused second hand treadmills once new years resolutions have worn off.

Krusty_Clown

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Looking at the reebok ZR8 myself at the moment which is coming in at around €900 new.

At the risk of sounding elitist (moi?!), 16km/hour max speed makes its long-term usefulness kind of questionable. At least with a 20km/hour treadmill you could aim for some short sharp running faster than 6 minute mile (16km/hour).

PConn - have you had the Bodytrain up to full speed? How does it handle the pace? Still don't think I have room in my life for a treadmill (still hate them), but have found a growing usefulness for them for variable pace work (like alternating tempo/MP paces).

And yes, I've held a life-long position that treadmills are unnecessary in this country, and yes I've come around somewhat to eating my own words, having found that there is room in one's training arsenal for the black-banded beasties.

tipping

I picked up a 2nd hand treadmill on Donedeal for about 300 quid a few months back. I don't particularly like the things but I now live in a rural area on a very busy and unlit road and between that and juggling the kids it's coming in very handy to get a few miles in a couple of times a week over the winter.

I've gone with the pick one up fairly cheaply and if I use it enough, when it packs in I could justify getting a decent new one in the future. If I don't use it much I can probably sell on for much what I paid for it. The one I got is old but had a decent sized running deck and I'd imagine it would be very irritating if it were any smaller.

Mine sits in the home office and doesn't get folded up (really doesn't save much space), set up a TV in front of it and picked up a set of headphones which helps with the boredom. The office is well away from bedrooms etc so noise isn't an issue and you really would want a suitable room for it IMO, I don't think you'd be moving it between sessions, hard to get through doors and really heavy.

pconn062

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

At the risk of sounding elitist (moi?!), 16km/hour max speed makes its long-term usefulness kind of questionable. At least with a 20km/hour treadmill you could aim for some short sharp running faster than 6 minute mile (16km/hour).

PConn - have you had the Bodytrain up to full speed? How does it handle the pace? Still don't think I have room in my life for a treadmill (still hate them), but have found a growing usefulness for them for variable pace work (like alternating tempo/MP paces).

And yes, I've held a life-long position that treadmills are unnecessary in this country, and yes I've come around somewhat to eating my own words, having found that there is room in one's training arsenal for the black-banded beasties.

Krusty, the one I had was a few models above the one above (I had the trackspeed 5000) and it had a top speed of 22 km/hr (apparently). I ran it at full speed once or twice just for fun (although never with me on it!!), but I did run it several times at 16-18 km/hr with no issues regarding noise/shaking/vibrating. I found it to be a very sturdy, well built reliable machine and I would still have it today only for we moved and had no room.

The only criticism I would have of it was that it was VERY heavy and required a serious effort to get it from outside where the delivery guy left it, to inside. But once it was set up it was easy to fold and roll on the castors. I would also consider the Nordictrack range which have a very good reputation as well, if they are on the more expensive end of the spectrum.

Pawwed Rig

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

At the risk of sounding elitist (moi?!), 16km/hour max speed makes its long-term usefulness kind of questionable. At least with a 20km/hour treadmill you could aim for some short sharp running faster than 6 minute mile (16km/hour).

That is a fair point but being honest I would think the deck on a run of the mill home treadmill would often be too small to really start pushing up the speeds too high. 16km an hour is a fast enough pace and with the ZR8, given the deck size, a misstep could have you quickly flying off backwards.
Would you not think that this is a limitation on lower end (ie non commercial) machines?
That said the Reebok ZR10 might be an option http://www.argos.co.uk/product/3359291.
Goes upto 18km/hr and has a slightly bigger deck. Also is cheaper than the ZR8 for some strange reason. am leaning to this one at the moment (if I can't get a decent second hand commercial item).

Krusty_Clown

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

That is a fair point but being honest I would think the deck on a run of the mill home treadmill would often be too small to really start pushing up the speeds too high. 16km an hour is a fast enough pace and with the ZR8, given the deck size, a misstep could have you quickly flying off backwards.
Would you not think that this is a limitation on lower end (ie non commercial) machines?
That said the Reebok ZR10 might be an option http://www.argos.co.uk/product/3359291.
Goes upto 18km/hr and has a slightly bigger deck. Also is cheaper than the ZR8 for some strange reason. am leaning to this one at the moment (if I can't get a decent second hand commercial item).

Certainly looks sturdy enough. The reason I brought it up was pretty specific to my own needs. I have a gym across the road from my workplace, which has some brand-new treadmills, that work really well, but top out at 5 minute mile (20km/hour). This is perfect for my needs, as that's my current target 5k pace, but means I can't do 3k pace sessions, without running at 5k pace and increasing work levels by upping the gradient. I only use the treadmill for specific sessions which are just too challenging to do on the road (5:30+/mile, often in the evening). I do all of my easy running outdoors. So for me, a treadmill would need to operate in that 16-22km/hour range to be useful, so I reckon I'm better off just using the gym treadmill on occasion, and finding a track for 3k-specific sessions. To get value back on investment in a treadmill, I'd really want to be using it for easy running also and I just can't see myself doing that.

Let us know what you go for, and how it works out! We should have a treadmill review thread in the Gear & Equipment sub-forum. On a separate note, I know some treadmills have Ant+ integration, which would be cool. It's also great to see than no-one has mentioned 'threadmills', which is a pet peeve!

BeepBeep67

I've had a Horizon Adventure 2 since the end of 09.
I've kept it serviced myself, lubing the belt, greasing the rollers, etc, found it relatively straight forward.
Replaced the running deck, one of the rollers and the pneumatic arm under the parts warranty (5 yrs) all which were sent to me foc based on photographic evidence.

North of 2.5k miles on it, so it's in the region of a good pair of kicks for €/mile.
It only goes to 16km/h, so that limits it's use, so you have to pick and choose what it's used for.

My advice would be to purchase the best one you can afford, the motor should be a priority, think >3.0HP, the less work the treadmill needs to do as you reach the top speeds, then the sturdiness of the running deck and then top speed capability. Beyond that everything else is fluff, programs, integrated speakers, shiny led lights should be at the bottom of your priorities.