Treadmill Review

Do you need to spend $1,000 to get a decent treadmill?

This report covers treadmills that cost $800 and up; you'll need to spend this much or more if you want a treadmill made of durable components, experts say. If you want to spend less money, see our companion report on budget treadmills, for models that cost less than $800.

Most credible treadmill reviewers say price is a good indication of a treadmill's quality -- to a certain degree. Manual treadmills, which have no motor and usually cost less than $200, are at the bottom of the heap. Experts and users agree that you're better off with the cheapest electric treadmill than with a manual treadmill, most of which get below-average ratings in user reviews. Pushing the treadmill belt back with your feet during every step is surprisingly difficult, even frustrating, and you must hold onto a manual treadmill's handlebars for leverage as you walk.

Electric treadmills come in a huge variety of price ranges, from cheap $400 models to heavy-duty treadmills that cost upwards of $4,000. Overall, experts recommend choosing a price range based on how often (and how strenuously) you expect to work out. Budget treadmills under $1,000 are recommended only for walking or light jogging. Due to their light weight and low-horsepower motors, these treadmills just aren't sturdy enough to take the pounding of daily runs.

Mid-range treadmills priced between $1,000 and $2,000 have stronger motors and higher maximum speeds, and can usually stand up to casual runners who jog a few times a week. Experts recommend that serious runners look for heavy-duty treadmills priced over $2,000. These treadmills have strong motors -- often rated at 3.5 or 4 continuous-duty horsepower (chp) -- sturdy frames and higher weight capacities. You'll also find more features that appeal to serious runners, including multiple workout programs, heart-rate monitoring and numerous incline levels. Heavy-duty treadmills also have longer warranties, with lifetime coverage on many components. In comparison, the warranties on budget and midrange treadmills often cover parts for only a year or two.

To find out which treadmills are best suited for each category of user, we turned to reviews by ConsumerReports.org, Runner's World magazine, TreadmillDoctor.com and Treadmill-Ratings-Reviews.com. These comparative reviews hold more weight with us than publications that make recommendations but don't appear to conduct any product testing of their own. The reviews from ConsumerReports.org and Runner's World magazine complement each other nicely; both test a variety of treadmill brands and price ranges. ConsumerReports.org conducts more rigorous testing, but Runner's World includes more analysis for each model reviewed.

Two of the most prolific treadmill reviewers have past ties to the fitness equipment industry. TreadmillDoctor.com has the widest scope, with editors commenting on nearly every treadmill on the market; it also specializes in parts, repair and maintenance of fitness equipment. For each brand, editors include information on the company's history and reputation, component quality, along with the specific model's overall repair history and country of manufacture. Treadmill-Ratings-Reviews.com is run by a former executive in the treadmill industry. Even though the reviews aren't always the most critical, a wide range of treadmills is covered and the insider experience is helpful in evaluating the best models.

Less useful are the dozens of self-described treadmill-review sites that recommend one or two brands as a means of generating commission income. While these often provide some details on specs and features, they shouldn't be considered an objective source of information on performance or quality. You can generally tell whether a treadmill review website is credible or not by checking its "about us" page (if there is one). We find that when a site discloses its owners and editors and describes what criteria it uses to rate treadmills, its picks are more credible.