The worst brands in treadmills
If you are looking for a treadmill, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, for you to choose from. When tying to choose from among all of these brands, it is easy to get confused and to start bargain shopping. Don't! While you do want to be able to get the best treadmill for your money, don't start tying to cut corners to save money. Some treadmill companies offer inexpensive products but, for the most part, you get what you pay for. Below are listed some of the worst treadmill brands. These brands produce inexpensive products but you will not save money in the end.
Walkmill-this company only offers one treadmill-the Walkmill. The Walkmill costs about $650 and the Treadmill Doctor website suggests that it is worth about $300. They also don't predict that the company will be making treadmills very long and that there will be little, if any, support for the parts once they stop making treadmills. The company that created the Walkmill brand is the same company that produces kitchen products such as the George Forman grill. No doubt, the Forman grill is a fine product and maybe the company should stick to that. Apparently, they do a much better job with kitchen appliances than they do with treadmills.
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Welso-the Welso Cadance is almost synonymous with "bad treadmill". If you do a Google search of worst treadmills, this name will come up more often than any other name. Welso is owned by Icon Health and Fitness, which is one of the biggest retail fitness companies in the country. The problem is they aim at inexpensive products and they can't really build a decent treadmill in the price range that they are shooting for. These treadmills can be found at discount department stores such as Wal-Mart and they cost between $300 and $700. Unfortunately, the prices are so cheap because the company uses the cheapest parts that are available. These parts don't hold up well to the type of pounding that treadmills take. Do yourself a favor and avoid purchasing any treadmills in the Welso Candace line.
Felax-another notable looser when choosing a treadmill is Felax. These treadmills aren't likely to be found in stores but you might pick one up, cheap, from eBay. Don't bother. The Felax models aim at low prices, which they succeed in providing. However, they don't aim at quality and they don't aim at customer support. If you buy one of these numbers and it breaks down (which it will), you will have a very difficult time trying to find replacement parts. Treadmill Doctor recommends that you stay away from these products. That is probably not a bad recommendation.
In general, you want to avoid buying any cheap treadmill by any company. There is a reason that the treadmills are cheap. As a rule of thumb, when you are purchasing a treadmill you should pay at least $1000 for a treadmill to walk on, $1500 for a treadmill to jog on, and $2000 for a treadmill to run on. If you are looking at a treadmill in the price range of less than $1000, forget about it, no matter whose brand is on the label. Quality parts just cost more money than that. The other thing that you need to consider when purchasing a treadmill is the warranty. Good brand names offer lifetime warranties on the frame and at least a five or ten year warranty on the parts and on the motor. If you are looking at a treadmill with a 90-day warranty, you can expect that that's about how long the machine will be running.
