I'm in the market for a treadmill or elliptical machine for home use.
The little research I've done shows that there are 2.3 gazillion brands out there, so I need some guidance on where to start.
From personal experience, I know that I need to personally try different machines, because some will just suit me better than others, so I guess I am looking to hear about your experience with various manufacturers so I have something to start with. I'm leaning toward elliptical over treadmill.
I'd love to go grassroots and buy used (craigslist), but am willing to go new if necessary. How much should I look to spend? I figure the machine will likely be used primarily by my wife for ~3-4 hours per week. I use both ellipticals and treadmills at my company's fitness room, but they are commercial machines and a little out of my price range, being well into four figures.
What say you?
Buy used. The ratio of "If I just spend a billion dollars on fancy equipment, I'll get skinny" to "I'm going to do 25 pushups and 100 crunches till I get skinny" is like a billion to one. Profit on that.
Hell, I'd be searching the "free" section on cl for a treadmill.
gamby
UltimaDork
4/11/13 11:57 p.m.
Sole F63 is a decent treadmill. $1000 new, so probably half that lightly used. Ditto for the similar elliptical, which IIRC is the E35.
A jumprope costs $10, FWIW.
get the one that fits the best in the back corner of your closet or under your bed.
because that's where it's probably going to be taking up permanent residence after not too very long..
I'd go with the one that has the most horizontal bars and cables. I never have enough places to hang my shirts.
Buy a refurbished industrial unit. They are less than the new fold up POS you get at Sears and you'll actually want to run on it.
Get a nice stereo, put up some mirrors, and learn to dance.
I bought a Panther treadmill about 10 years ago and have used the hell out of it with little or no maintenance. Simple, but sturdy. Not a lot of fancy electronics on it. About $1400 delivered at the time IIRC. The action is better than most of the fitness center and hotel ones I've been on.
It is darned heavy, though, and tough to move. If I were to do it over again, I probably would go to some sort of elliptical. I think they provide a more thorough, efficient workout with less trauma to the body than running.
You just missed a deal on Woot! on a Precor elliptical. My YMCA uses Precor treadmills and ellipticals and they seem pretty good. Of course, they are probably commercial versions.
You don't need no stinkin' exercise equipment!
Beer Baron wrote:
Get a nice stereo, put up some mirrors, and learn to dance.
Be sure to wear the proper attire!
CL is the best place that I know of.
When my treadmill died 8yrs ago... I went running outside.
Free, and available everywhere.
Duke
PowerDork
4/12/13 9:11 a.m.
1988RedT2 wrote:
Beer Baron wrote:
Get a nice stereo, put up some mirrors, and learn to dance.
Be sure to wear the proper attire!
DAMN, I couldn't find a picture from the ballet scene in Top Secret .
We picked up a Vision Fitness eliptical on CL a few years ago. It was about 4-5 years old, and a fraction of what one cost new. The owner used it on a regular basis and then just got a gym membership.
In reply to 1988RedT2:
HA! This is particularly funny because my wife is a ballet instructor, and used to dance with a company regularly.
We want a treadmill over just running because she has some physical limitations that make running painful that are mitigated by the slight suspension they offer. Also, given that we have a toddler in the house, she can work out during nap time.
In reply to Mezzanine:
Toddler + treadmill = potential trouble. Be sure to keep the two apart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQRb-sbopyI
Hey, why insert linkie no workie? 
We have an older version of this: http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-431-Elliptical-Trainer/dp/B000UY6KDW/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1365787575&sr=1-3&keywords=schwinn+elliptical
Got it on sale a few years ago with free shipping. It's pretty good, the computer functions are fairly basic, but honestly, what do you need? It gets used off and on, I'm the type who will go gonzo for a month and not touch it for six. My wife and daughter use it some, too. It's good for burning through the several dozen episodes of "Wheeler Dealers" I have recorded while doing something besides eating chips on the couch.
Alternative idea: See if you can find an old Nordic Track. We had one for many years, bought it new in the mid-90s, used the hell out of it, and never had a problem. When we got the elliptical, we tried to sell it but got no takers even after I dropped the price to $25. We took it to a sporting-goods resale shop and they wouldn't touch it, saying they can't move them. We ended up donating it. My point being that if you can find one, you can probably have it for free or close to it. And they still work as well as anything for burning calories. My only issue with ours was that it was loud, which made it harder to watch TV while on it.
I have a Pro-Form elliptical for winter/ foul weather use, otherwise I prefer walking. Prolly a $500 machine I bought new on sale for about two-fitty. After two years the creaks started, gotta grease it regularly. Then the rectangular tube links cracked, prolly not worth fixing for most people but my TIG to the rescue. I'd rate it 5 outta 10 for price vs medium use only, it isn't a machine you can pound every day.
SIL has a Nordic Track elliptical, way better machine by far but prolly in the $1500+ range.
Mezzanine wrote:
In reply to 1988RedT2:
HA! This is particularly funny because my wife is a ballet instructor, and used to dance with a company regularly.
Seems like all the more reason to do some more dancing. Maybe not something as hard on the body as ballet, but why not something athletic and low impact like Latin dances, blues, or belly dancing?
In reply to 1988RedT2:
See the last line in my last post- workout before toddler wakes in the morning or during nap time = problem solved. 
Beer Baron wrote:
Seems like all the more reason to do some more dancing. Maybe not something as hard on the body as ballet, but why not something athletic and low impact like Latin dances, blues, or belly dancing?
She already does a workout DVD and has tried some of the dance workout DVDs, but she wants the machine for some mindless cardio. It will live and be used in the garage, so we don't need to worry about noise like we do when she does her dvd guided workouts in the living room.
I find a treadmill works a lot better (for me) than just running outside for the following reasons:
No weather issues, especially rain and Houston heat.
Consistent and measurable, allowing specific changes to vary the intensity and results.
I HATE running and putting the TV in front of me helps me to forget how truly miserable I am.
Instead of buying stuff I joined a gym near home for $10 a month. No sign up fee. I can get years of gym membership for the cost of a good quality home system.
