#1) No treadmill has a 100% perfect track record. Even the BEST treadmill manufacturers sometimes make a dud.
And it's usually the people that have had BAD experiences that leave nasty reviews of their treadmills, not the many that have had good experiences with the same treadmill.
They have every right to do this and hopefully the treadmill manufacturers read these reviews and do something about them. Just remember that one bad review doesn't prove it's a low quality brand.
#2) The treadmill industry is growing more competitive each year. And marketing is a huge portion of the treadmill industry since treadmill manufacturers know you're going to research treadmills before you buy.
So while I'm not making any accusations, I have read 'customer reviews' that are clearly not written by the average buyer. They sound like they are written by somebody working for the competition. Again, not making any accusations here - just keep this in mind when reading consumer ratings.
Rule of Thumb: Use common sense. If it sounds like it's written by a treadmill salesperson, take the review with a grain of salt.
Expert Ratings:
There are also expert ratings. These are the reviews and ratings written by the experts in the fitness industry. People like Consumer Reports, Runner's World, Consumer Guide, Men's Health, Prevention Magazine are just a few out there. These people rate and review various treadmills at various times in the year.
While these ratings are much less likely to be tainted by biased reviews, there are a few things to keep in mind while reading them:
#1) Each one has a different rating system and may rate treadmills on such factors as price, cushioning, stability, quietness, belt area, warranty, console, electronics, programs, incline and quality of parts.
So while one reviewer may put more emphasis on cushioning the other may put more emphasis on warranty. It's nothing to get confused over. Just understand that different experts value different features - which results in different treadmills getting the "Best Buy" awards.
#2) Expert ratings also usually don't have time to look at EVERY treadmill brand on the market. Nobody does. We've been reviewing treadmills for over 7 years and we still haven't covered all the brands. So just because a certain brand isn't in the ratings, doesn't make it a poor quality brand.
One last thing: Many ratings (including our ratings you can find on the various Treadmill brand reviews pages) are also based on comparison to other similarly priced treadmills on the market.
So if you have a $1000 treadmill that gets 5 stars - that doesn't necessarily mean that it's better than a $2000 treadmill that gets 4 stars. It means that compared to other $1000 treadmills it is one of the best values.
By keeping these things in mind when sifting through various treadmill ratings it will be easier to choose a high quality treadmill suitable for your needs.
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Was this information useful? This article on Treadmill Ratings is one of several articles to be found in our Treadmills articles section.
If you're buying a treadmill, chances are you'll want to do some research before you buy. You're probably interested in reading various treadmill reviews or ratings. But why are there so many different ratings and which one is the most accurate?
This article will tell you what you need to know about the different types of treadmill ratings.
There are really 2 types of ratings:
1) Consumer Ratings
2) Expert Ratings
Consumer Ratings:
Consumer treadmill ratings are done by someone who has bought and used the specific treadmill. Many websites allow anyone to go online and post a review of their treadmill.
Customer reviews and ratings can be very valuable when searching for a treadmill - however you must keep in mind several things:
