Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I just got this machine. I love it. A few points if you're considering purchasing it: 1. People have complained that manual treadmills are too difficult to use. I have tried out two much cheaper manual treadmills and found them difficult. This one runs VERY smoothly and is a delight to use. The tension knob adjusts easily. I found that starting with a resistance of about 4 worked for me. I think even if you're a beginner, you shouldn't have any trouble with a resistance of 1. I have used many electric treadmills and FAR prefer this one. I find the motorized treadmill very unnatural. My preference is to walk outside whenever possible. I got this for cold and rainy weather, and also, for brief uses during the day (I work at home and sit a lot, so it is really a great thing to be able to take a break for 5 or 10 minutes and not have to get dressed to go outside for a short walk) 2. Portability. It folds up quite easily and wheels over into the corner. It's a bit heavier than the cheaper models (62 pounds vs around 50) but since you can wheel it around, you don't really have to worry about the weight. It fits easily in the corner, so it's great if you don't have much space. At this point I wouldn't want a $4000 treadmill even if someone gave me one. 3. Putting it together - except for a few errors in the manual, it was extremely easy to put together. It took about 15 minutes. 4. RUNNING VS WALKING: I am at an age (60) where my knees don't like jogging or running, so I use this for fast walking, which is just fine on this machine. However, I did try running on it and it was no problem. Still, I think you'll probably prefer this for walking 3-5 MPH, maybe a tad faster if you do intervals. 5. The incline - I didn't find it was a problem that you can't change the incline. But as many other reviewers have suggested, you can just improvise - put a brick or a piece of wood under the back and you won't have a problem. MISTAKES!! If you try to put it together without realizing they've made mistakes in the manual, it will drive you crazy. Fortunately, I realized when they referred to screw #38 (there is no #38 in the list of parts) I had to look out for other mistakes too. Here are the ones I caught: STEP 1: The instructions are incorrect about the tension knob. Don't use the screw they tell you to use. Use the screw that is already attached to the tension knob. It works fine. STEP 4: the button head screw they refer to as #38 is actually #34. Also, when they tell you to look at insert B, it looks like there's a place to put that screw. There is no place to put the screw! If you ignore those mistakes, you shouldn't have any problem putting it together. Oh, one more thing, whatever chemical they use to clean it smells quite strong when it's first out of the box. I was happy using it for 30 minutes last night, but afterward, I placed it on our porch, where we'll keep it for a few days to let the smell go away. If anybody has any ideas how to deal with the chemical smell that won't hurt the treadmill, it would be nice to pass it on. It probably will take care of itself after a few days, but I imagine someone else reading this review might want some help with it. In conclusion, I heartily recommend this as part of a complete exercise program. If you like walking, but don't like walking outside when it's cold and/or rainy - and especially if you work at home and like to take breaks during the day (you may have heard of recent studies that say even if you exercise an hour or more once a day, that sitting 8 hours may pretty much do away with the benefit of the exercise!), this is a great machine. APRIL 17 followup: I used it for 45 minutes last night. Still think it's excellent. Also, I just put some books under the back end in order to walk on it without the incline - no problem.