Step# 2

Treadmill Basics, The Insider Details On How Treadmills Are Made, Everything You Need To Know About Treadmill Construction

Buying a treadmill can be intimidating. There's a lot of jargon and buzzwords to learn and remember. I put together my Treadmill Buyer's Guide to help relieve some of the stress associated with buying the right treadmill.

Before you get ahead of yourself and jump to my treadmill picks, I think a quick lesson on basic treadmill design and construction is in order. That way, when you're comparing different treadmills, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when I talk about deck area, horsepower and control panels.

Treadmill Design Basics
All treadmills are built with the same basic components. There is a motor, flywheel frame, rollers, deck, belt, electronics and display console.

Trying to weed your way through all of the technical data can be quite confusing if you don't understand each of the basic component's function and use.

We'll go through each treadmill component one-by-one, until you know this stuff like the back of your hand.

My treadmill basics guide is a bit lengthy, but if you want to get the best treadmill for your money, it's certainly worth a few minutes of your time to learn about what you're buying.

Treadmill Motor - The Heart of The Treadmill
The treadmill motor is what delivers power to the belt system of the treadmill. Treadmill motors are measured in horsepower and usually fall in the range of 1.5 to 3.0 horsepower.

Where the confusion comes arises, is in the motor's horsepower rating. Not all treadmill motors with the same horsepower rating will perform the same.

Some manufacturers use bigger motors to power their treadmills because they have a poorly designed deck and belt, and they need a bigger motor to power it.

That being said, how do you know how big your treadmill motor should be? Look for a motor that is at least 2 horsepower. If you buy a treadmill with a smaller motor, you'll risk more repairs and breakdowns due to over heating and motor stress.

***Continuous Duty Horsepower rating is the most important and critical rating when comparing treadmill motors. It denotes continuous power that a treadmill motor can reach and maintain under any load or no-load condition. Important for serious running and heavy load conditions to assure constant belt speed and stability.

A larger more powerful motor with more horsepower will run cooler and require less service over the life of your treadmill.

Treadmill Flywheel - Putting Power To The Belt
The only thing you need to know about the flywheel in your treadmill is that it helps to regulate speed and consistency of the belt. If you're treadmill didn't have a flywheel, the belt would come to a grinding halt when your foot impacts the running surface.

A good flywheel (found it treadmills over $1000) will help regulate a constant deck speed while running or under heavy load and avoid the herky jerky motion you can get from the belt slipping under tension.

A good flywheel also protects the motor and electronics from getting overly stressed. In other words it helps your treadmill last longer.

Treadmill Frame - The Bones That Hold It All Together
You can think of a treadmill frame as being similar to the skeleton in your own body. It's the bones (frame) that make a treadmill sturdy and hold all the other pieces together. If the bones are weak, you're going to have major problems and breakdowns in no time flat.

Most treadmills are made using a steel frame. A steel frame is fine for most purposes and delivers good performance.

Some of the commercial quality treadmills (Landice & Precor) use an aluminum frame. The advantages of using an aluminum frame are:

*superior strength as opposed to steel decks
*supports more user weight (some up to 500 lbs.)
*Resistance to rust and corrosion

There is one other key consideration about treadmill frame construction. Should you get a C Channel frame, or a Box Channel Frame. If your budget allows, opt for a Box Channel Treadmill frame. They're strong and resist twisting and flex better than C Channel frames.

Treadmill Rollers
The rollers on a treadmill drive the belt, and provide power and traction. That means a more smooth walk of run for you.

Here's what you need to know about rollers. Generally speaking, the bigger and heavier the rollers, the better. Good treadmill rollers will help reduce the amount of wear and tear on the treadbelt and motor.

Larger diameter rollers will also last longer and run cooler than smaller rollers, improving belt life span and bearing wear. That will save you costly repairs down the road.

As you may have guessed by now, cheap treadmills use cheap rollers, and high end treadmills (most of them) use bigger heavier rollers.

Treadmill Deck - Support For Your Knees And Joints
The treadmill deck's main purpose is to provide support for the running surface and provide the user some form of shock reduction. It rests directly under the belt surface.

The bigger you are, and the more force you apply to your treadmill during a workout, the more important a good deck becomes.

If you're planning to do a lot of running on your treadmill, pay close attention to the shock absorbing qualities of the treadmill deck, as they can vary greatly by manufacturer.

Most treadmills over $1000 dollars have built in shock absorption. It may be referred to by many different names such as: Reflex Deck, Cushioning, Shock Absorption, Proflex, Comfort Cell and many others.

As a general rule, the more you spend, the better shock absorption you will get. Don't underestimate the importance of a good deck, it can mean the difference between being able to run comfortably for miles, or being laid up on the couch with a bag of ice on your knee and calling your doctor.

Treadmill Belt - Putting Rubber To The Road
Most treadmills are made with a belts that are about the same thickness. Most of them are also two ply treadbelts. Since the treadmill market has become much more competitive, most manufacturers are beefing up the treadbelts, making their treadbelt stronger and more forgiving.

Sizing of treadbelts ranges from 14" to 24" wide and between 45" to 63" long.

Make darn sure that you get a treadmill with the appropriate belt size for your intended purposes.

**If you're planning on running a lot on your treadmill, you'll need a larger belt. Personally, I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than 20" wide x 55" long.

If the treadbelt is undersized you'll find yourself banging your feet on the machine or tripping. And that can be down right dangerous.

Treadmill Electronics and Treadmill Display Console
The last thing you should look at when you're deciding which treadmill to buy is the display and electronics package.

It's not that a nice console isn't important, it's that you shouldn't get so wowed by the display console that you turn off your brain and forget about all the other important factors that go into what makes a good treadmill.

A good display console can make or break your treadmill buying decision. If you're planning on spending over $1000 dollars for a treadmill (most of you will) you'll get a pretty good display. But again, the displays can vary wildly between makers and brands.

The best display, hands down, is the Landice "L" Series Executive Trainers. The Executive Trainer control panel offers a computer-animated video display with state-of-the-art workout graphics. Features include built-in programs, user programs, and wireless interactive heart rate control.

Pretty sweet if you can afford it, but not for everyone!

The bare minimum you should accept in the form of a treadmill display console is: Distance, Time, and Calories Burned. As I've stated before, the more you invest, the more you get.

The better displays on treadmills such as the Nordic Track E4400 have: *speed, *time, *distance, *calories,*pulse rate, *track display, *speed control, *power incline, *interactive workouts and more.

Conclusion
By now, I'm sure you're a treadmill guru! If you're not, shame on me for not explaining things better :^).

Now it's time to move on to Step #3 Treadmill Terms and Jargon, where you can get clear descriptions on treadmill terms you'll encounter out there while shopping on the "World Wild Web".

Go To Step #3 Treadmill Terms and Jargon --->