The Horizon Fitness T101-04 treadmill is one of the better mid-priced treadmills on the market right now. It was actually rated as a “Best Buy” by the Treadmill Doctor, a well-known service that helps assemble and care for treadmills.
Customers generally seem to be very satisfied with it, and it has a slick design and every feature you can ask for. This short review will discuss the three primary things you’re looking for- solid design, high usability, features, and price.
Design
The first thing to note with this treadmill is that it’s a folding model. These are very popular right now, as they take up much less space than their permanent counterparts. The idea is that you can easily fold it up and store it in a closet, against the wall or under a couch or bed.
That said, most users probably leave it up all the time. Otherwise it can feel like a chore to fold and unfold the treadmill every single day.
Like most treadmills, the T101-04 is primarily gray and black. This allows it to blend with just about any paint color or furniture set- you wouldn’t want a pink treadmill going in your workout room, right?
This model has what’s called a FLEX deck cushioning under the track. This helps reduce the amount of shock your body receives each time you hit the pavement, but still provides the support you need to get spring in your step.
Usability
As mentioned earlier, the design makes this treadmill easy to use even in small spaces. It’s ideal for small apartments or workout rooms where you just don’t have a ton of floor space.
The motor is fairly small at 2.25 HP. This makes the machine run quieter, making those early morning runs less intrusive on the family or roommate’s sleep. If you’re like most consistent runners, you probably hit the pavement (or treadmill) early in the morning, so this is a major asset.
Designed to be used by everything from walking to sprinting, the Fitness T101-04 has speeds up to 10 MPH. That’s a 6 minute mile, meaning you’re moving at a good clip. And if you turn up the incline, you’ll definitely be feeling that workout quickly.
Features
Some features have already been discussed, such as the ability to fold up and multiple speeds. Another feature is that this treadmill has 30 different program options. These programs are broken up into a few categories. First, the manual workout lets you customize everything to your liking. There are 10 Step-goal workouts, meaning you set a goal to take X number of steps at a time.
The 10 distance-based workouts are more important if you’re training for a certain distance, such as a 5K race. The 6 calorie-goal workouts are mainly used by people wanting to lose weight. Finally the 3 interval workouts are for athletes looking to improve overall fitness through interval training.
This treadmill comes with built-in surround sound speakers. These speakers can be hooked up to your MP3 player, making it easy to listen to your favorite music, podcast or the news while running. This is an underrated feature, as listening to something through speakers is much more comfortable than wearing earphones.
A nice feature to have at any time of the year is a small COOL fitness fan. You don’t need to use it but it’s convenient when you’re in the middle of a hard workout and want something to help lower your body temperature. A light breeze on the face is always welcome when you’re hot and sweaty!
Finally, this model comes with a heart rate monitor to help you keep an eye on your pulse. If it looks like your pulse is getting too high, slow down the treadmill or reduce incline to ease your workout.
Price
Depending on where you purchase this model, it can be anywhere from $659 to almost $900. If you shop online at someplace like Amazon.com, you’ll likely get a better deal than going to a local retailer.
When looking at prices, keep in mind that higher prices usually mean higher quality. With treadmills, a $200 treadmill isn’t likely to last very long, while a $700 treadmill should last you a long time.
Also keep in mind that this is an investment in your health, which you can’t really put a price tag on!
Reviews
Right now this model has a 4/5 star rating on Amazon.com, from 101 customer reviews. This is pretty good, especially after so many people have logged their comments.
A common praise is that the Fitness T101-04 is very durable and sturdy. Being able to run at full speed without the unit wobbling is always a good thing.
Another thing that many people like is that it’s fairly easy to set up. It takes a little bit of time (about 30 minutes) but compared to some of its competitors, this model is easy to assemble.
Finally, customers said that this treadmill was a very good value for the money. Even though it wasn’t the least expensive product on the market, they were happy with the combination of price, features and overall usability.
Conclusion
There are a lot of treadmills on the market, but not many of them are under $700 and supported by the Treadmill Doctor. The Horizon Fitness T-101-04 model fits the bill, and is likely to exceed your expectations considering the price.
As mentioned earlier, consider purchasing yours from Amazon.com. Currently they have it on sale for 21% off, which adds up to almost $200 in savings. It’s also part of their Amazon Prime program, meaning you can get it within 2 days if you’re signed up for that service.
