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What I want -
A solid treadmill with a knob which goes from 1 - 11, no display required.
An up and down button for the incline.
That's it. I know it doesn't exist, but is there a niche machine out there reasonably basic without being cheap and nasty?
My 24 year old Pro-form has finally died. I was tempted to wire up a potentiometer and figure out something for the incline motor, but I think it's actually pretty worn out mechanically too.
I've discounted the curved roller type for various reasons, much as I love the simplicity.
Everything has to have a screen and WiFi now it seems. I'd expect most of what is sold today to be bricked within 7 years, which is pretty depressing given the fundamentals should be good for at least three times that for home use. Carbon neutral blah blah blah my arse.
Is this like swift, but for runners?
Wear a hat and go outside.
'swift' requires a screen, WiFi connectivity and a subscription. Everything I've said I don't want.
That's why my exercise bike is an Airdyne. Fully analogue. Bought after my £1200 Tacx decided to stop working after 2 years. My Airdyne should do several lifetimes worth of zone 2 plodding and sporadic sprints.
Wear a hat and go outside
Try telling my Reynaud suffering wife that. She's the main user.
We've six inches of snow outside at the moment.
We had a Roger Black treadmill with incline and basic display which lasted nearly 20 years (after being bought second hand) and wanted a replacement - this was spring last year.
We got one of these (and paid £700) and are very happy with it:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1935789?clickPR=plp:2:21
Gives a bit more data but I'm only interested in distance and time. Feels very solid and nice to run on. The bluetooth bit is by way of a supplied dongle which plugs into a USB slot in the side of the display. We've never plugged it in but its there if you do want to get zwifting.
Note - both my wife and I use it once or twice a week each for about 5k a time, I can manage upto 7mph so not proper athlete useage, ymmv etc
A wealthy neighbour has a perfectly good one in her garage, she upgraded to a peloton treadmill recently.
she might flog it, she’s in Hartlepool though, so it only really works if you’re not miles away, and given that you’ve got snow, I’m guessing you’re nowhere near?
If be interested to know what treadmill it is @augustuswindsock. I’m local .
I’d be looking for something pretty robust with a good max speed and incline etc. suitable for a 6’ bloke
Wear a hat and go outside
Try telling my Reynaud suffering wife that. She’s the main user.
Polished floor and some slippy socks?
I’ll ask her stox, she’s out walking the dog with my mrs at the minute.
I can vouch for it’s robustness, my wife borrowed it for a while to hang clothes on 😉 and it weighs a ton, no idea of make etc.
Thanks @augustuswindsock, I'm near Inverness, so not ideal.
I'll likely just get another decent quality second hand one locally when it comes up on FB or wherever.
No harm in asking! Cheers @augustuswindsock
i work in Hartlepool.
Is she has an idea of price too. Don’t know if you can PM me on here but happy for you to do that if need be
Stox, ygm
We have one that probably fits the bill that I'm looking to shift. Very heavy and sturdy.
EDIT: Scratch that I'm down near Bath. Hadn't read the thread properly.
Hmm, exactly what my requirements were so I got one if these about 2 months ago:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3103526?clickSR=slp:term:treadmill:4:21:1
Although at the time they were doing it for £500🤷🏻♂️ but 0% / buy now pay later deals lessen the blow of paying extra if that’s your thing.
Very solid for a home machine as it’s not a folding one, can be as simple as you want ie on/run/off or various training tools.
Only negative for me is nowhere to place a water bottle on it.
Thanks again @augustuswindsock … that worked out well! Treadmill collected, will give it a try tomorrow.
Thanks also to @bedmaker for starting the thread! I notice your recently deceased treadmill was a pro-form which is what I’ve just bought. Looks to be >10 yrs old and having spoken to the owner it’s had no maintenance. Did you ever lubricate your belt?
(Open question) Is it the case that all treadmill belts should be regularly lubricated?
@stox I didn't know belt maintenance was a thing until a few years ago. I sprayed some silicone lube under it once .
I don't recall ever having to tension it in our 15 years or so of ownership.
My spare room is now dominated by 140kg of Horizon 5.1 , at a mere 14 year old 🙂
Took some serious wrangling last night to get it out of the sellers house and into mine!
Sounds like a beast @bedmaker. Think the one i just got is 76kg and that’s a lump!
Had to tighten up all the Allen key bolts on mine up which has make a huge difference .
The only issue I have is the display. It isn’t bright enough (maybe the backlight is kaput - if they have one) and I can’t seem to access the settings function in it so having trouble correlating the distance that the display is showing
Hmm, exactly what my requirements were so I got one if these about 2 months ago:
> https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3103526?clickSR=slp:term:treadmill:4:21:1 < Although at the time they were doing it for £500🤷🏻♂️ but 0% / buy now pay later deals lessen the blow of paying extra if that’s your thing.
I can see OP is sorted, but if anyone comes back to this thread. We have the same as @nstpaul and @40MPG. Cheaper on Sweatband than Argos and free delivery. Ours is in front of a big TV so I use Zwift and my wife watches TV/You Tube. We actively didn't want any of the in built tablet etc because the height would have blocked out the TV.
We had borrowed a cheaper/folding one before committing to buying our own. The Reebok feels super solid and well cushioned to run on.