Woks well but needs better and more welds, possibly thicker frame
Written: May 20 '06 (Updated May 27 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good price Good basic functions Free shipping Solid feel Electronics motors heavy duty quality
Cons: Frame inner structure should be thicker, welded better Lack user programs
The Bottom Line: Good basic machine with solid electronics and features. Other than the poor welds on mine I highly recommend it. If you weigh over 200 lbs buy something sturdier.
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| drizler's Full Review: Smooth 9.1 Series Treadmill |
Have had unit about 4 years. It works well though has limited settings which wasn't an issue for me. I paid $1800 w/ free delivery. From talking to a sales guy who worked for the company years back I am nearly sure the unit is actually made by SPIRIT and simply re badged. He related that many develop lateral cracking down the center of the bed ( Formica laminated particle board) and need replacing. Thats what I thought made mine squeak on every footfall not long after buying it.
After listening to the annoying squeak long enough I disassembled the deck and rear roller to check it out fully. The first thing I noticed was while the frame rails were pretty thin gauge steel the attach points where they were joined had been welded poorly and at least double spacing that they should have been. All the load bearing bed mounts were fully and properly welded solid as a rock yet where the upper and lower halves of the longitudinal frames met were different. There were only 4 small 1/2" long welds along each side. The inner longitudinal frame pieces are thinner than the other portions of the frame, too thin. This is where all the mounting hardware for the decking is mounted. It is subject to flexing which will eventually break the welds and result in a fairly loud creaking. It took welding a piece of 1/8" steel over it to alleviate the problem so do watch the weight restrictions on this machine carefully as it has brittle bones in that area.
Other than the frame squeak the unit has performed well within the scope of its design intention. The Heart Rate Monitor actually works well and does come in handy. If you are under 200 lbs I wouldn't worry about this but for more than that I would get something more sturdy. Other than this one major flaw everything else on this machine is very heavy duty and quite sturdy in every respect. This is the only issue I have had with this machine though it is a serious one
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
drizler
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Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
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