me and my girlfriend want to purchase a treadmill soon. i was wondering if anyone out there can recommend a good one to check out.
we want to spend $1,000 or under.
never purchased one before so don't want to buy junk
thanks guys your feedback would be appreciated!

From what I've read, treadmills under $1000 can be a not-so-good investment because they're not as sturdy as more expensive treadmills. You can buy one for cheap but it will be a pain in the ass to repair all the time. Just my $0.02. Good luck finding a good one :gl:

You may not find a good quality treadmill for $1000.00. Take a look at consumerreports.org I believe they may have some recommendations on treadmills for you.

Go to www.treadmilldoctor.com, which is THE site for treadmill info. I just recently got a Trimline 360 HR for about that on a floor model sale (it had never touched the floor) @ 2nd Wind Fitness, and I am extremely pleased with mine.

For 1K, you'd be hard pressed to find a treadmill that will last....for 850, you can get a Concept II rower that will last for 10 years or more...and any part that fails can easily be replaced....

Just to offer a differing opinion, I think you can get a great one for that price (and cheaper). You can even get built-in workout programs, music players, (and other things I don't care about) for that price.

I'd recommend the cheapest one which goes up to 12 MPH that you think you can still get parts for in a few years.

I have had to change the drive belt ($10) on my inexpensive unit before. Probably lasted about 3000 miles. It's no different than changing a belt in a vacuum cleaner or car. A treadmill is no more than a DC motor, drive belt, pulleys, and a control circuit so isn't hard to work on. I have no reason to believe it would have lasted any longer on a more expensive unit.

me and my girlfriend want to purchase a treadmill soon. i was wondering if anyone out there can recommend a good one to check out.
we want to spend $1,000 or under.
never purchased one before so don't want to buy junk
thanks guys your feedback would be appreciated!

Some comments to add to the others in terms of general build quality. If you are planning on using it for running, make sure the motor is at least 2.5 HP continuous (>=5 HP peak), the deck length is least 55 inches or more, the deck should be no less than 1 inch thick, rollers shold be 2.5 inches instead of 1.5 inches. Also, a higher weight rating, ought to give some indication of durability...I would expect a unit rated for 350 pounds to be more durable than one rated at 250 pounds. A fold-up unit is convenient but will be less stable than a solid platform...make sure you run some in the store to check stability.

I have a budget Keys Fitness unit from Galyans that I bought for $1000, that subsequently dropped in price a year later to $900. I've used for 5 years, running no more than twice a week, 5 miles at a time, during the 6 months of cold we have in MI. I had to change the front roller out just this year. The grooves on the old roller bearing began slipping on the roller. The new one they sent me has additional pins/screws to hold the bearing onto the roller, so I don't expect this to be a problem again, but then again, who knows?

Key's also sells under the Health Trainer, IronMan, Alliance and Discovery brands. I would consider Keys products again and they may be the highest quality of the budget brands. For other brands, I can't comment on Pro-Form or Weslo products, but I can tell you that I shorted out an Image treadmill in the store during testing. :lol:

Steve

Oh, one more thing. I seem to recall Reebok units getting good ratings in Consumer Reports.

Oh, one more thing. I seem to recall Reebok units getting good ratings in Consumer Reports.

Thanks for all the info Steve - that was great.

Wow, I just spent an hour on Treadmilldoctor. The Epic T60 sounds decent.