Portable treadmills are not necessarily portable in that you take them from place to place but more that they are easily folded down and stored. The way that they are built facilitates easy storage but it also creates some unique problems. Pricing for portable treadmills is considerably more affordable than standard treadmills but with that lower pricing comes a lesser load of functionality. When it comes to getting your self back in the game and back in shape though, portable treadmills are a great and affordable way to make that happen.
Small portable treadmills are designed to fold down easily and be tucked away under a bed or in a closet. Additionally they have to be light enough for one person to do this without risk of having the machine fall over and get damaged. In order to accomplish this there are several components of the treadmill that are reduced or removed all together in order to save on weight and size. The first thing to go is the motor size. Standard used treadmills will weigh anywhere between 10 to 15lbs, yet portable treadmills have motors somewhere in the 5 to 7lbs range. The smaller size also reduces the amount of weight the treadmill can effectively carry.
Additionally the frame of the treadmill is reduced in order to save space and weight. This means the frame is not as stable and is more susceptible to bending and warping with continued use. If you plan to use and then store the treadmill each day the machine will be more likely to wear out more quickly. I realize that being able to store the portable treadmill is supposed to be one of its best features but anything with moving parts is more likely to bust on you than one that is not.
You can get cheap portable treadmills that border on manual treadmills for under $300 dollars at a lot of different on line stores. These machines are not known for their long term capabilities and are not the level of equipment you would see in a gym. This of course makes them ideal if you are just starting out and are unsure how much you will be using the treadmill. If after 6 months you decide it wasn’t really for you, you are only out $300 as opposed to $1k for a new or used treadmill.
Portable treadmills are the way to go if you need the space saving ability and are only going to use it when you are in a crunch for time, or if you just plan to use it once or twice per week.
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