Norm Morrison Dec 26, 2022 10:54:53 AM 7 min read

Fake Treadmill Reviews...how bad has it gotten?

There was a time when you could go on to the internet and find real information about fitness equipment.
 
But that was before the world of affiliate sites and people realizing that honestly rating equipment didn't make money.  I know I've spoken about this before, but right before the holiday my lovely and talented wife pointed out an article in a very well-known running magazine that used to actually have good information about equipment. But instead of that, their most recently updated article that rated treadmills was obviously right out of an affiliate marketing scheme. And they were honest about it, as above the article was an admission they were taking commissions for it. So I guess they get a little bit of points for being honest. But it's still completely false advertising.
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What an affiliate site does is it purports to rate equipment and tells you which are 'best buys', but really the recommend products that give them higher commissions as the best ones. Totally regardless of the quality of the product, no matter what they say.
 
This particular article is angering only because this magazine has millions of serious readers who actually trust them. And yet every single treadmill they rated is in the lowest quality category of fitness equipment.  Every one.  They can pretend that these were tested, but they were not compared to any brands of even middling quality.

It's pretty obvious from the beginning, where they reference some Expert (from a company I used to be the CPO of) of as a source information in the article, but that company doesn't even exist anymore and sold exactly zero of the brands that this mercenary piece rates.
 
Those of us actually in the Fitness Equipment industry, We actually look at treadmills and other equipment as having four separate quality categories.  
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 The highest level is "Full commercial quality", which is built to be used in a 24-hour gym with memberships, YMCAs, JCCs and to be used in athletic facilities where heavy duty athletes train.
 
 
Th second level is called the "Vertical Market", which encompasses everything that's commercial but not at the top level... police stations, fire stations, condo complexes, hospitality, training studios, anything that 
 
The third level is high-end residential products, these can be looked at as products made by the same commercial brands but for the residential market, they have very long warranties and share a lot of the commercial biomechanics. The actual 2 top treadmill brands, neither of which is even referenced in this piece, have 10 year and lifetime parts warranties in the home.
 
The fourth level is D2C and department store, products that are made with extremely short warranties, sold by people who don't fix equipment, and are basically gimmicks with high marketing and low value.   
 
I've only been doing this 25 years, on both sides of the fence, and designed thousands of home gyms. Not to mention worked with most of the major manufacturers. So what would I know? But my opinion is that every single treadmill that is rated by this magazine in this particular article which I will link, is at the lowest quality level. It's a sad that we've got to a place in the internet now where the quest for money has so superseded any level of honesty.
 
By the way, the highest rated treadmill in this article puts the word "commercial" in its descriptor. As a microcosm, this describes this whole article and this part of the industry and that brand. Because that product only has a two-year parts warranty, in a residence only. It carries no warranty in anything but a residence. So the usage of the descriptor, "commercial", is nothing more than a deceptive tactic.
 
Would you like to understand why some people are still purchasing from us after decades? Or if you'd like to really understand what a warranty should be on a good treadmill? Or what the Cushioning system should do?  
Just ask, we're here to answer.
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Norm Morrison

Norm has a long history of building partnerships between Health and Wellness companies and meshing technology creators with manufacturers and vendors. He helped build the largest fitness equipment dealership from the ground up and has worked with nearly all of the major manufacturers in the industry. The top brands in the market come to him for advice about developing and improving their product. Norm has helped dozens of companies bring products to market and has an inside track on what’s new and what’s next in both the legacy and connected fitness industries.

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