Space Saving Treadmills or Ellipticals?
 

I REALLY need to get myself a cardio machine for home since I don't currently have a gym close enough to me and a lot of times the weather prohibits me from walking outside. We have a VERY small, cramped house and there's no way I can fit a normal sized elliptical or treadmill in there anywhere. Does anyone use the foldaway kind? And, if so, is it sturdy? I'd love to hear if you have any recommendations. As far as the treadmill goes it would be mostly for walking but I certainly would like to jog once in awhile. How do these things hold up? I've tried a small elliptical that was just crap, so I'm leaning more towards a treadmill this time.

Hi,
I am afraid I won't be of much help but I just wanted to mention that I was told (when my treadmill was delivered) that each time after it was folded and unfolded, the belt has to be recentred. I don't know if I am correct in believing that pretty much all treadmills are foldable these days, but even the more basic models seem to be pretty heavy for daily manipulation. At least I would not want to be doing that. I amfortunate that I have space in my rec room in the basement so the treadmill is where it was set up by the delivery guys and I don't have to move it.

Sorry that I can't be of more help. I have no experience with ellipticals (I only know the model my gym has and they are huge). The only "small" elliptical I know of (from commercials) is the Orbitrek Elliptical - but I never used it myself.

ONCEUPON ~ I purchased this treadmill right at a year ago after seeing it on the local news as a good buy. It is on the smaller side and fits nicely in our garage gym. Last year I put almost 500 miles on it at a pace of 4 miles per hour with zero problems. I have been very happy with it, the reviews on it are still great...the quality you get for the price is, in my opinion, a good purchase.

Good luck ~ Gary

Treadmill ~ http://treadmill-resource-center.com...73/117/#tr2000

Thanks Gary, I'll look into it!

Our treadmill was purchased from Dicks Sporting Goods. It isn't the cheapest model...and it isn't the most expensive (THOUSANDS!) either...it is middle of the road in cost.

The base where the motor, rails, and monitor are sits up against the wall. The kind that we have, you can push up the walking/running surface/belt area up to the front of the machine (like closing a dishwasher door) and lock it into place there. This way, the running/walking surface isn't taking up floor space when you are not using it.

We have never had any trouble with it...and in a few years, we have only had to mess with the belt a couple of times.

Thanks, aphil. Could you tell me the brand or model of the one you have?

I have a bad and a good experience with small or fold-able machines...

I had a ProForm 900 cardio trainer, which was pretty compact. Fit onto a 4.5" long mat. I used it pretty regularly for two months and the plastic handlebar caps broke off - I needed $3 in replacement parts, $25 to ship them. Then, they didn't fix the problem, needed $5 more in parts, another $25 dollars to ship...

I know that I got what I paid for - this machine was $350. I bought it for the price and the size. It is discontinued now I think, but make sure you look at the handlebar mounts and the hinges where it folds up on the machines you are looking at - those are the pieces that break pretty easily from what I can see.

I replaced the small machine with a Nordic Track 900 Audio Stride - it is 6" long, but does fold up to pretty small. So far I haven't had any trouble with it, but I don't fold it up either. It does seem pretty solid on the hinge - came folded in the box, and I had to fold it a few times in the assembly process. There are magnets on the handles to hold the tracks when the wheel is folded up. Seems like a good design.