At home treadmill recommendations/things to avoid?

[Howdoesitend]

Thinking of getting a treadmill for running at home - we live rurally and while I love getting out and feeling the fresh air etc, it’s not so much fun when running through puddles/jumping over potholes/sinking into ankle deep mud. Am only a casual 5k runner, so don’t need it to be a really serious bit of kit, but equally am a big believer in buy cheap, buy twice so want to get something that will last and do a proper job. I like the idea of a screen where I can run different trails around the world - can you connect up to TVs with running machines or is it all on the attached screen? Our internet isn’t brilliant so that’s something to bear in mind. Does anyone have any recommendations or ones to avoid? I’m not into live classes so don’t need a peloton tread…thank you!

Following as I’m in a similar need right down to potholes and internet 😂

@Ameliepoulainandthephotobooth ha, the joys of living in the country! It’s fab but not always as easy to get out as you might think 😂 In the summer I have to battle with flying insects, pollen, itchy grass seeds…

Bumping in the hope that someone might have recommendations 🤞

I would love a peloton style treadmill but the prices are ridiculous (£1500+ second hand). I am thinking of getting a treadmill on eBay, I had a second hand reebok treadmill in the past and liked it a lot, it was sturdy, very solid and it could be folded up out the way. When I didn’t need it anymore I sold it on for almost what I paid for it.

I will look for something similar, that I can put an iPad on to use as a screen.

I’ve had a horizon something or another for approaching 10 years. It’s still going strong and I use it several times a week. I can post a model number tomorrow if helpful.

We got a second hand rebok GT45 from Facebook marketplace and it has been great. I think we paid £250 and they are £800 brand new.

Loads of people buy them and don't use them so try Facebook.

Ours has different programs and does an incline too.

Very happy with it.

I'm in the same situation re rural/internet and did a lot of research before buying a new treadmill 6 months ago. I previously had an old school gym lifefitness treadmill. I looked at all the peloton type models but concluded that I didn't want capital outlay + subscription (that would probably have been constantly cutting out with poor internet, plus the subscriptions basically mean you're paying twice - the monthly costs are almost as much as my local gym!). I just wanted a robust reliable treadmill with a good range of speed and incline and somewhere to put my phone or iPad. In the end I bought Decathlon's high performance treadmill for £899 and so far we've been really pleased with it. Came with a 2 year warranty.

Ah this is great, thank you so much. Hadn’t considered any of those models so I’ll
add them to my research list! @Thethingswedoforlove yes please if you could post the model you have! My facebook algorithm keeps advertising really expensive ones and I’d rather not spend too much (but also don’t want it to break within the first month and then have wasted my
money).

Mine is the Horizon T5000 Premier but it is pretty old now

I’ve got a peloton and LOVE it, it was a big expense but I put it on Klarna and paid it off over 12 months. Now it’s just the £39.00 monthly fee. Thats for the whole family as my teens use it too.
Sometimes I just do a long walk and watch Netflix or Disney+ but there are so many programmes and guided exercises. It’s genuinely brilliant, there are some great hikes too and the gradient makes them tough.

Ah I’d love a peleton tread but it’s SO expensive and I genuinely don’t think our internet would be good enough to get the most out of it! Does it work on WiFi or does it have to be wired in?

It works on WiFi and is quite far away from the router, says it’s the lowest bar but I’ve never had any issues.

I sold my Reebok running machine for £150. There was nothing wrong with it so def worth looking out for an eBay bargain.
Watch the smaller machines and their top speed. Some are only really for walking.

Can’t comment on treadmills but I have an exercise bike and use the BitGym app on my iPad.

You run/cycle through real filmed tours all round the world - mountains, cities, lakes etc.

Love it! There’s a free version, which I started with, or it’s about £8 a month for all the tours.

You can use it live off WiFi or download tours for offline use.

@SoScarletItWas That is amazing, its exactly what I am looking for. I bought an exercise bike in the sales, just waiting for it to be delivered. This will be perfect with it, especially as I am so unfit at the moment and don't think I'm up for intense spin classes yet.

@LCM001a yay, glad to be of assistance! Honestly it makes such a difference to me, I get SO BORED sitting on my stupid bike in my stupid garage but these tours mean I can cycle for much longer. I love the forest ones best.

Have a look at JTX treadmills too. I have the Sprint 5 and it’s a really sturdy mid-range treadmill that doesn’t break the bank.

@SoScarletItWas, love this. I need one for rowing.

Second JTX! I have their compact one which has a smaller running area (my husband can’t use it but he is 6’3”! ) and folds up out of the way. Think it cost around £400. It has lots of preset programmes and incline options. And it holds an iPad so I watch mindless tv programmes to while away the time!

@Iwontlethtesungodownonme There are on-water tours! It works with rowing machines. You can row your way round rivers and lakes.

It works with anything as long as the phone/tablet camera can pick up your movement:

The BitGym app is speed interactive with any cardio machine as long as your tablet or phone has a front camera. Our patented technology uses computer vision to accurately measure your exercise cadence.

@SoScarletItWas oh, sounds brilliant. Thank you soooo much 😀

Oh wow, I’ve just had a look at the BitGym recommendation and that looks amazing and exactly what I want! The JTX treadmills look like a really good balance of quality vs value as well - think I might go for one of them. Got distracted looking at the Nordic Track and Peleton, but honestly they are too expensive and probably too high spec for what I actually want (plus the WiFi unreliability question). How exciting! Off to find a discount code 😂

I bought an Echelon Stride 6 Autofold a few weeks ago. It's fantastic. Looks like a proper gym treadmill but folds completely flat. Big belt - long and wide. Really happy with it so far.

I didn't buy it direct from Echelon and I won't be taking out membership beyond the 45 days free it came with.

www.superstrong.co.uk/products/echelon-stride

I got a home treadmill a few months ago and it's been great for walking and light jogging. Nice and quiet, folds away easily, and doesn’t take up loads of space. I really like that it came with a simple console – I didn't want anything fancy or complicated. Delivery was fast too, and setup just took about 20 minutes with clear instructions.

I would not get one.
I got one during lockdown and although I didn't run on it, I walked more than I would have done outside and as a result both my knees went and I had to have them replaced. The physio said I'd put excessive pressure on them which they could not take because the muscle around my knees was not built up adequately in preparation for all the walking. Plus I'm overweight.