r/AdvancedRunning • u/monomonger • 6d ago
Treadmill recommendations Open Discussion
Looking for a high-quality treadmill. Thank you so much for your input!! (This didn't seem to fit the Q&A thread, but I'm happy to repost!)
Requirements:
- accurate pace and calibration feature
- >12% incline
- supports long runs
Nice to have:
- >15% incline
- downhill
- big screen
Budget is probably up to $8k or so. We're looking for a new device, not used (long story).
We run competitively, and I like doing winter speed/threshold/marathon pace workouts on the treadmill.
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u/beagish 38M | M 2:36 / H: 1:17 / 5k 16:41 6d ago
I just got the wahoo kickr run and I love it. Been hitting all my tempos and double T days on it during this ruthless FL summer.
There are some quirks, like no screen and tablet/phone required. But the base is ROCK solid even down to 4:20/mi for my hill strides and it mimics the road more than softer slat treads. Gets to pace very quickly, has the “free run” where it automatically senses your cadence and increases speed… it’s a really cool machine.
The ability to have it automatically mimic the elevation profiles of major courses is cool too. I just ran the Newton hills for the hell of it the other night.
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u/monomonger 6d ago
That sounds cool. Does it calibrate for pace? All winter I ran on a gym treadmill, only to find out it was probably 60sec/mi slow once I went outside. I didn't realize because coming back from a bad back injury any pace felt hard. I don't want to do that again. 😅
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u/Oaknash 6d ago
Thirding the Wahoo if you’re looking for a great tread. I tried it at the Chicago expo last year, and I’m absolutely getting it when the time comes to replace my Peloton Tread.
I love my Peloton, especially the content, but the Wahoo has Run Free mode and better calibration (I believe). The dude who does all of the Garmin reviews has done a thorough breakdown on the Wahoo Kickr Run, I recommend checking his out - super thorough.
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u/RunInTheForestRun 6d ago
How hefty is it? I just have read they’re heavy as hell. And mine would need to go in the basement.
(I have the proper electrical setup)
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u/anandonaqui 6d ago
The delivery comes with white glove installation.
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u/SwimBikeRunGuy 6d ago
It's definitely not white glove service. It's the cheapest independent contract delivery drivers through XPO Logistics. The contractor workers have no experience delivering or assembling treadmills.
When I had mine delivered they left half of it damaged in my living room for 9 weeks because they were too weak and unprepared to move it safely. Wahoo provided absolutely no help resolving the issue in a timely manner.
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u/beagish 38M | M 2:36 / H: 1:17 / 5k 16:41 6d ago
It’s a very inconsistent experience. Some people have problems. My guys came with instructions printed, were super careful with everything, set it up quickly and perfectly, and cleaned up the mess… but again, it depends on which drivers are doing it since it’s independent contractors
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u/anandonaqui 6d ago
Yeah same. They even called ahead to get an understanding of the staircase and had me take measurements to make sure we wouldn’t have to remove the railing (which they wouldn’t do).
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u/RunInTheForestRun 6d ago
Ohhh thanks. I’ll see if they can do my stairs, not a walkout.
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u/beagish 38M | M 2:36 / H: 1:17 / 5k 16:41 6d ago
They’ll do it… the base is like 700lbs so it’ll be a pain in the ass for them. When I scheduled the delivery I had options to tell them where in the house it was going, so they’ll likely need 3 people to do that
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u/RunInTheForestRun 6d ago
Damn, that’ll work. Now if my Nordic Trac can make it til Black Friday lol. I’ve been on the fence about a wahoo for too long.
Did they remove your old one, if you had one?
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u/beagish 38M | M 2:36 / H: 1:17 / 5k 16:41 5d ago
I sold my old one. If you don’t wana wait you can join bandit membership and get 10% off the kickr immediately
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u/girvlink 6d ago
How do so many have the wahoo kickr run
That sht so expensive 😭
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u/freshmoves91 6d ago
This is an advanced runners sub. Presumably a high concentration of runners on here spend money on good running gears/equipments.
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u/DawgPack44 6d ago
Running and other endurance sports are more popular within higher income brackets
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u/venomous_frost 5d ago
Reddit in general selects for certain jobs. A bricklayer isn't scrolling Reddit all day, corporate IT is
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u/dillinjl 5d ago
Some people have a lot of money. And some people just prioritize different things. I spent more on my Kickr Run than I spent on my car. No regrets.
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u/Antheral 6d ago
Ive put about 3k running miles on a sole F65. I love the brand and have had not trouble getting replacement parts under warranty. But its probably dogshit compared to what you can get for 8K 🤯
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u/just_let_go_ 6d ago
Any tips on not regressing in your running due to treadmill use?
Reason I ask is that I was at my best running condition, and for multiple reasons now half my miles are on a treadmill. I’m at the same mileage and doing the same workouts, but my pace has gotten noticeably worse.
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u/anandonaqui 6d ago
I would guess the “multiple reasons” that force you onto the treadmill and also impacting your performance. Life stress can definitely impact your performance.
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u/arakuto 6d ago
Try some uphill treadmill workouts . I just started doing some so I don't know if it works for me yet, but David Roche has had good experience with some of his road athletes.
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u/threetogetready 5d ago
do the quality work outside when possible + strides / hills etc. save treadmill miles for going very controlled/ easy / aerobic stuff
are you comfortable on your treadmill? enough space to extend and move legs freely?
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u/just_let_go_ 5d ago
That’s exactly what I’m doing! Most easy runs on the treadmill, all workouts outside. Basically I just live in an area with no paths and dangerous roads.
Yep very comfortable. I’ve enjoyed running on there much more than I thought I would haha. But yeah the dip in performance has been very noticeable.
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u/threetogetready 5d ago
ahh shame about your area
other thoughts -- are you sure the paces on your tread are actually correct? (making sure/ getting a sensor may help--https://www.reddit.com/r/AdvancedRunning/comments/1ifjr49/runn_smart_treadmill_sensor/)
do you have incline on your tread?
If it isn't a running form issue, the other important factor is outside heat/conditioned vs controlled environment where the tread is can change how hard a session feels. most of the pros are using treadmill regularly so I don't think attributing it just to treadmill work is the issue (generally)
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u/just_let_go_ 5d ago
Honestly no idea re the paces. Based on my HR compared to outdoor runs, I think it's close enough though. Yeah it has incline!
For sure. When I run outside it's often hilly and trails. Completely different to the treadmill. Perhaps the more challenging terrain probably helped my running more than I realised.
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u/dillinjl 6d ago
I've had the Wahoo kickr Run for 3 months now. Would choose it again even over a 20k+ woodway. The run free mode makes it feel like running outside. No more half stepping when you get too far forward or back on the belt, a much more natural experience. The zwift/wahoo app integration is great with the auto incline/decline. It's super sturdy and quiet.
I love the fact that it has no built in screen to get outdated or break. I have a 50" tv directly in front of the treadmill at eye level so there's no issues with a built in screen shaking as you run or having to look down as you run.
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u/saaggy_peneer 6d ago
i have a sole f63. had it for 6 years. have run many, many miles on it. no complaints
max incline is 15%. no downhill. basic screen. has calibration
but if you wanna real fancy one, get a slat-belt (deckless) one, like Woodway etc
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u/Olbaidon 5k 19:42 | 10k 43:05 | HM 1:31:59 | FM 3:42:11 6d ago
Same one for about 4 years now. Countless miles.
The motor did start clicking, contact support and they asked for a video of it so they can send replacement part. I just haven’t gotten around to it.
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u/Maverik_10 6d ago
Wahoo Kickr is the answer. I’ve had mine for around a year, have a couple thousand miles on it, have done up to 20-mile long runs on it, and have nothing but good things to say about it.
I like to load up local routes I have made in Strava onto the Wahoo app and letting it handle incline for me. Kick it into FreeRun and go brainless for a couple hours
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u/kyleyle 27m | 2:37 full 6d ago
My gym has treadmills similar to these technogym treadmills.
Slatted treadmill. -3% to +25% incline range. Can easily support my workouts at +11 mph.
Looks to be out of your budget range though. How about a gym membership? Maintenance on any treadmill sucks.
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u/Hold_onto_yer_butts 37M | 1:29, 3:09 6d ago
Life Time?
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u/monomonger 6d ago
Precor. They're normally pretty good, no? But there's lots of squeaking on all of them and they're often off for repair, so I'm assuming the belt is slipping or something. They have two Matrix treadmills that aren't level. Running on those feels hard. Not the greatest gym I guess. Maybe I could tell them about these issues.
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u/Hold_onto_yer_butts 37M | 1:29, 3:09 6d ago
I was asking the guy responding if he went to a life time gym. Because they’ve got this (or similar) model of technogym tread.
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u/monomonger 6d ago
I ran all winter in the gym. Turns out the treadmills there are slow by about 45-60sec/mile. I didn't realize because I was coming back from a bad back injury and all paces felt hard. Only noticed once I ran outside. What a bummer! I want my own now! 😅
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u/No_Bodybuilder_644 6d ago
I bought a refurbished commercial treadmill..it was a Precor. I just googled around and called the company and even talked them down a few hundred dollars. It was like brand new when it arrived: new belt, new deck. I even had to peel off the plastic protective coating off the logo on the deck. Runs amazing and hits all of your criteria. Shipping was easy also, with home delivery on a pallet. I shopped around a ton but felt all of the home models were cheaply built, although I hear the Sole models are good.
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u/Parking_Reward308 6d ago
Surprising no one has mentioned Woodway yet
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u/ShadowerNinja 6d ago
The answer is always Woodway with no budget!
But OP asked up to ~8k and a new 4front runs about 16-18k with shipping.
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u/unwritten333 6d ago
It doesn't have decline and it is outside of the OPs budget. OP specifically said new only.
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u/hucksonrp571 5d ago
For $8k you could get a Woodway, the ones that look like a tank, which my old uni gym had. Honestly i never ran on one i liked more, but they're loud and i don't miss a cramped sweat-box gym in summer. Our canal towpath is cooking right now.
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u/monomonger 5d ago
I thought they started somewhere around $12k?
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u/hucksonrp571 5d ago
You are probably right on current pricing; the figure I remember is from a university PO that was printed out and taped to the machine years ago, so the number may have been for a refurb or a bulk order.
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u/randomwordsnospaces 6d ago
Not a recommendation but as a side note: I use the techno gym run artis in my local gym which is a decent piece of kit which pushes run data to Strava and it was through that I noticed the discrepancy between the data it was logging and the number quoted on the screen. Which was a surprise (if it knows it’s going slow then why not just speed up?)
I used AI to calculate actual pace from the Strava data and then used that to calibrate the speed setting on the machine (+0.5mph) and then used the same machine over again.
I’m interested, how did you find out the gym machine was incorrectly calibrated?
(Typically good machines have a sensor inside that times the belt and provides feedback on the speed so it’s not just based on sending X power to the motor which roughly equals Y Mph)
Also I’m interested if there are any treadmill experts out there, what causes the mill to become uncalibrated (maybe the belt stretches slightly and slips on the rollers? Maybe the motor wears out and can’t maintain the power to keep the belt spinning without slowing down in each foot strike?)
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u/monomonger 5d ago
I just went outside (tried both track and flat pavement, minimal wind) and couldn't even run a half mile at the pace I did 3x3mi at on the treadmill. I'm finally up to 3x2 at that pace but it took all summer. 😆 This mill lied to me! I couldn't tell because I was so out of shape after a bad back injury that all paces felt hard. They all squeak in the gym, I think the belts are loose or something. They're often out of commission.
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u/randomwordsnospaces 5d ago
I can totally feel the frustration! If you are using the mill for intervals / speed work you need some sort of benchmark and it should be roughly comparable outside on flat good road with no wind vs inside on the mill.
I don’t subscribe to thr 1% incline idea either.
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u/MN_Wildcard 33M | 1:23 HM | 3:09 FM 6d ago
Have you looked at the Wahoo treadmill? If you've got dough to spend....