Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me start by mentioning that I ordered this from Amazon and it arrived super fast!! I ordered it on a Sunday night and although it was not scheduled to arrive until the following week, it arrived within a few days (Thanks Amazon!). UPS delivered it to my door and since I happened to be home at the time, they brought it inside and dropped it off at my entryway (every little bit helps!). Since I'm in a split level condo, I had to haul the 150 box upstairs. That was probably the toughest part of the whole experience. Once I managed to get it up to my home office, the set up was pretty easy. Everyone has different reasons for purchasing a treadmill which is reflected in their review. I am writing this review based on my very specific intent of using this as a walking treadmill desk. This is the second treadmill I have purchased for this specific reason. My first treadmill was a much higher-end treadmill with all the bells and whistles you could think of and I used it for nearly 3 years. The problem with the higher end treadmill was that it was VERY LOUD to begin with and VERY BIG (even though it was foldable it was too heavy to move. I finally got rid of it because the noise was just too unbearable. In comes the Exerpeutic TF1000 Walking Treadmill. I was a bit nervous to get what I perceived as a "lower end" treadmill, but after a lot of looking around and reading hundreds of reviews, I decided to give this one a try. I AM SO GLAD I DID!! I've had this about a week now. So far, so good. There were a few bumps along the way, which kept me from giving it 5 stars (explained below), but I managed to get them worked out. I am walking on my treadmill right now at 3.0 mph/6% incline. PROS: **EXTREMELY QUIET!!! The lower the speed the quieter it is. My normal walking speed is 3 mph. I can listen to music at a normal volume, I can hear my doorbell ring, and I can listen to a conference call. If I lower the speed to 2 mph, I can have a normal phone conversation without the other person hearing a weird humming sound in the background. **INCLINE. The problem with many "walking treadmills", including some of the very expensive treadmill desks, is the inability to incline. While it may not be important for everyone, it is to me - it's what ultimately led me to purchase this particular model. This is one of the only treadmills in the "walking treadmill" category I could find with an incline option. Although it is a manual incline function, an incline is still an incline! There are 2 pre-set inclines using the Incline Adjuster in the back of the frame. The 2 options are either a) 3% incline degree or b) 6% incline degree, which is the one I use. **HANDRAILS PERFECT FOR A DESK!! The handrails is the perfect size for a desk. There is still plenty of clearance for my legs to move at full stride. I am 5' 4", so the height of where the desk sits on the handrail is right at the cusp of being ergonomically comfortable for me. For someone too much shorter, it could be ergonomically uncomfortable for the wrist and shoulders with long term use. The size of my desk is 18.5" height x 34.5" wide. 3/4" thick plywood. I am using the same desk I used on my original much larger treadmill. The desk sits right where the handrail controls buttons are located. Because this console is much smaller than my old treadmill, I still have about another 4-5" opening between the top of my desk and the console. I'm using this opening for baskets which allows me to put things I might otherwise put in a desk drawer. **CONTROLS ON BOTH HANDRAIL AND CONSOLE: I was originally concerned that the controls on the handrail might get in the way of my desk, but as you read in my previous point, this was no issue at all due to the large size of handrails themselves - there is plenty of real estate to place a desk. Having the controls right on the handles has become my favorite thing! I absolutely love it!! As a matter of fact, I can't imagine how I managed without it!! As for the main console, I really like the small size (i.e. not so bulky). It has the key features I need which are a) SPEED/MpH b) DISTANCE and b)TIME spent moving. There is also CALORIES and HEARTRATE, which I consider more of a "nice to have" rather than "must-have". (You're better off using a free online calorie calculator using the SPEED, DISTANCE and TIME along with your weight, age and gender to get a more accurate reading). **COMPACT SIZE, LIGHT WEIGHT. OK, "light weight" is all a matter of perspective, but compared to other treadmills that are nearly 200, this 130 lbs treadmill is light weight. I'm able to move it if need be by myself. It takes up a lot less floor space and the compactness of the console is a definite plus. now time for the CONS: **Either the console is confusing or the manual is confusing - I'm not sure which. There are a lot of things which the manual simply never goes over. For example, there is nothing about the manual about the heart rate monitor let alone explaining why the console starts beeping after awhile when its registering your pulse. It doesn't explain how to change room temperature from C to F or how to change the clock from 24 hour time to 12 hour time. What really had me knock this rating down to 4 stars was because I had to do A LOT of adjustments with the actual belt! The belt was centered on arrival but after about a mile or two of walking, the belt moved to the left. I adjusted it using the provided Allen wrench, but then it wound up to the far right. This back and forth movement went on all day! And if it wasn't already bad enough - the console began to show an "ERROR 6" code and the treadmill would just STOP. I couldn't find the meaning online, but I assume it has something to do with the belt. The only way to get rid of the code is to shut off, wait 2 seconds and then power back up. Needless to say, I was extremely frustrated by the end of the day. On the second day, with my head much clearer and my patience restored, I tinkered a bit more with the screws and finally got the correct tension to keep the belt in place. I'm nearly at 20 miles and so far it's been good. TIP: Even though the manual says to turn 1/4 at a time, I think turning a 1/4 may have been too much. I recommend turning only 1/8 at a time. In case anyone is interested in seeing my desk, I submitted a few pictures along with notes in the product picture section. I you are looking to add your own desk directly on the handrail, you will need to be mindful of the weight of the material you are using. Plywood or plastic would be good. I would recommend not using solid wood because it is will be too heavy on the rails. BTW - To keep the desk in place all I did was screw in 2 "cup hooks" one each side of the plywood. I then attached one bungee cord to the left hook, wrapped it once around the left handrail, stretch the cord underneath the desk, wrapped it once around the right handrail and then hooked it to the right cup hook. No tools needed! Aside from the issues with the belt adjustment (which ended up being solved), I would most definitely highly recommend this particular model to be used as a treadmill desk. I hope this review and pictures helps!