Cheap Treadmills: Not Worth It

Are $300 treadmills worth buying?

At the very bottom of the price spectrum -- from about $100 to $200 -- are manual treadmills. Instead of a motor moving the belt at a specific speed, you actually use your feet to push the belt underneath you. Reviews say if you are especially lightweight, you may have difficulty getting the treadmill moving at all, and if you are especially heavy, you might have difficulty, too. Even if you are just the right size, you will have to step off in order to change the incline and then get it going again. Most review sites do not even rate these treadmills, and except to advise against buying one. Because your perceived effort with a manual treadmill is high, users find them tedious, ultimately giving up on these models. If you have a very limited budget, experts say the even the cheapest electric treadmill is better than a manual treadmill.

You can buy a motorized treadmill at a discount store for less than $300, but experts usually recommend steering clear of these ultra-cheap models as well. The treadmill may work fine initially, but all reviewers say these inexpensive treadmills won't last long.

One budget brand, Weslo, has consistently gotten bad reviews over the years. "An absolute horror of a treadmill," TreadmillDoctor.com writes of the Weslo Cadence G40 (*Est. $300), which is sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. Fred Waters, at Treadmill-Ratings-Reviews.com, agrees, saying, "You'd be throwing away cash on this machine." Still, the Weslo Cadence G40 does get some positive feedback at Walmart.com -- at least from those who have owned the treadmill for a week or two. If you look at the reviews from those who've owned it six months or more, there are complaints about durability. This treadmill has a one-year motor warranty, which is typical of fitness equipment in this price range.

Icon Health & Fitness makes Weslo treadmills in addition to several better-reviewed brands like Gold's Gym, ProForm and NordicTrack. The majority of Weslo treadmills are now sold at big-box retailers like Wal-Mart, and Weslo currently only offers one treadmill directly from its website, the Weslo Cadence 55 (*Est. $300). While we haven't seen many reviews for this model, TreadmillDoctor.com sums up their opinion on Weslo treadmills by saying "there is no way in the world you can make a quality treadmill for $400."

Icon Health & Fitness, which makes the vast majority of treadmills under $1,000, reports that it has improved quality by pulling its manufacturing out of China, now making all but three of its cheapest treadmills in Utah. Icon's step-up budget brands -- Gold's Gym and ProForm -- do get decent marks in reviews.

The cheapest treadmill that experts recommend is the Gold's Gym 450 (*Est. $400), but they recommend it cautiously. The Gold's Gym 450 is sold at Wal-Mart, and it has a narrow and short 18-by-50-inch treadmill belt, 2.5-horsepower motor and a maximum speed of 10 mph. TreadmillDoctor.com gives it a Best Buy award, but editors say you had better "baby it and not use it much," because cheap treadmills aren't designed to be durable: "If you expected to run on this machine and have it last, don't you feel like a jackass."

While it may not be suitable for serious running, the Gold's Gym 450 gets high marks for walking at Walmart.com, where this treadmill gets nearly 700 reviews. Owners say this ultra-budget treadmill suits them -- including users who say they weigh close to the treadmill's 275-pound weight limit. Some owners say the treadmill is noisy, and few reviewers report broken components within a few weeks of use. Keep in mind that most reviewers commenting at Walmart.com have only owned the treadmill for a short time, so it's hard to judge the treadmill's long-term durability.