... I put a lot of hands on, or rather "feet on" effort into selecting a home treadmill. After running on literally every brand I could find in the local stores, I had no doubt that the Reebok was the one that felt closest to a gym-quality treadmill. I hesitated at the price, however, since it was retailing over $2000 at the time. I managed to get a deal through the military, however, that allowed me to buy for < $1500, delivered, with extended warranty. At that price, it was a bargain. I double-checked with the very gracious folks at treadmilldoctor.com, who said that if I could get that price, "buy it".
That was over a year ago. Now, the price on Amazon has dropped to about what I paid for mine, so I thought a review after some use might be helpful.
Durability:
OK, nobody uses a treadmill as much as they thought they might when they bought it. I am no exception. That said, we have had 5 family members use this for incline walking, jogging, and interval training. It has not had any breakdowns.
Screen:
No problems to date with plugging in a DVD player. We have also just set up a portable near the treadmill, which does give better resolution.
HR monitor:
Actually surprised me by working like it was supposed to. Uses a model that wraps around the chest, however, which I did not find comfortable. If you can count for 10 seconds and multiply by 6, you have your heart rate monitor right there.
Motor:
This is by far the nicest feature. The speed will go up to 12 MPH. I looked everywhere, and this was the only affordable treadmill that would reach this speed. Even many gym models top out at 10 MPH. This is a major plus if you want to do intervals.
Incline:
the incline is as steep as I could find without getting a specialized climbing model. It can be raised high enough that a walk at steep incline at 3-4 MPH is a very vigorous workout.
Stability:
At approximately 190 pounds, I am heavy enough to rattle almost every home treadmill I tried. This is one of the few that did not feel flimsy when I ran on it.
Fan:
A nice thought, if imperfectly executed. It is not really strong enough to feel cool, but it does a bit help prevent overheating. I get pretty sweaty, so even a little fan helps. If nothing else, a breeze in the face helps psychologically.
Safety switch:
You attach this to your clothes at the waist. It you drift too far away, it detaches a connector loosely held in place by a magnet. This stops the motor. The magnet holds tightly enough to not fall off with exercise, but it is not so tight that it would pull off your waist rather than the machine. This put my mind at ease when my kids used the treadmill.
Storage:
You _can_ store it in the up position and save a little space, but be advised that this is not a wall bed. It will still have a big footprint in your room. It is also heavy enough that it is generally not worth the trouble to raise it. We leave ours in the down position.
Installation:
Which brings me to installation. This is a minimum 2-person job to get it in your house. If you can get the delivery man to take it to the room where it will be used, you will be happy. This thing is HEAVY. Also, part of the packaging is used as a brace during assembly. DON'T BREAK THE BOX DOWN UNTIL YOU ARE DONE.
Preset workouts:
These are pre-programmed, and you can also customize. I don't use them personally,but they seem to work as intended.
Overall:
An excellent home treadmill for running, incline training, and intervals. 4 stars at a high price, 5 stars under $1500. ...
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Reebok Vista 9500 Treadmill
