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My wife wants to go running but apparently the roads round here are too fast, it rains, it gets dark, etc. So she wants a treadmill. I'm happy with that idea. I might have a go on it too.
So I've been looking on Facebay and Ebay and in skips and bins and all the usual places. The problem is that I know jeff-all about running machines.
So please, wise people of STW, talk to me about what to look for in a 2nd hand running machine. Brands, models, etc? I'd like to spend £100 or less.
Ta.
--Matt
[i]I'd like to spend £100 or less[/i]
don't would be my advice.
It'll either be cheap to start with and a rubbish experience or expensive to start with but knackered to the point of being a rubbish experience. Cheaper ones tend to have a pretty low max speed too.
caveat - you may find someone desperate to shift an expensive machine that's had little use so worth looking up specific models if they come up and phoning and asking how much use it's had if it was expensive to start with. Make sure you can actually try it before you buy, though.
We got a Roger Black one for £140 (IIRC) off Ebay with an electrical adjustable base (ie it can be set to be on a slope). It's perfectly good and a pretty solid piece of kit. At that price I am happy. I wouldn't have been happy spending the new cost one one though.
I did wonder if that price was wishful thinking.
To clarify, it doesn't need bells or whistles. She wants to get re-started on running and if the machine literally only has a speed control and only goes up to a 10 minute mile, that'd be fine. Incline isn't important, she has about 20 strap on HRMs that she can use.
I've never really used one so I'm not sure what I'd be looking for in terms of 'experience'. Can you expand on that?
Thanks!
you can always get bargain high-end fitness gear (especially big, heavy stuff if you have a suitable van!) cheap off gumtree/eBay if you are patient. Maybe a few months into the New Year is the best time!
I know bugger all about treadmills but I'm aware you can now Zwift using a suitable one... might be worth looking into as I find it the cycling version provides a lot of motivation! I suspect one that will control hills automatically would not be cheap though...
TBH treadmill running is so bad I'd rather go out in the dark and rain - and I do, even when I have the choice. But other than that I have nothing to offer.
Well...the cheap ones are mostly pretty wobbly and crap but might do the job. Basically there is little option but to do your research on the models listed if you want to know what you are getting. I got a really good one for £180 but it is large and heavy. (and goes quick enough if I want, which is mainly why I went for such a heavy-duty one)
Ex-hire?
There's a fitness equipment hire place near me that is always selling off their ex-hire stuff
http://www.fitnesstakeaway.com/ex-hire-sales/
Ex hire sounds good. Airdrie is a fair way from me (South coast 🙂 but there must be others.
Ta!
As per Zilog above, a van will be pretty handy for getting a bargain...
A mate secured a very expensive second hand machine from Gumtree. The seller was located near me, so my mate asked for my help to go and collect.
It was during that collection that I felt he had overpaid...
Getting the freaking thing down their narrow staircase with no packaging for protection was not an experience I'd repeat.
By some miracle we got it out of the house with no damage to the walls, the machine or ourselves. But it could easily have gone wrong. Not sure what the social niceties are about offering to pay for damage caused to the sellers house shifting a bit of kit that you've not yet paid for...
The couple just wanted rid, it had not been used much. But boy, did I earn the discount.
Be warned would be my advice!
I've got a van so no problem with transport but mine had to be dismantled to get it out of the house. Only a few bolts and quite easy especially with a manual. Still big and heavy in parts!
Which ever make of treadmill you look at make sure you can get parts for it and how much they'll cost.
Ex-commercial can seem good but they are often just cleared out to make use for new machines. If they had faults before hand they won't be fixed prior to them being removed and a refurb machine can mean many things from a strip, clean and replace faulty parts to just an external wipe down.
Plenty of higher end heavy duty domestic treadmills end up being nothing more than clothes horses. Life Fitness, Sole and Kettler make some good machines with spares readily available.
Beware these need a lot of space, a good one will weight around 80kg and they're not very quiet either even on a rubber mat.