Proform can do much better than this. They can put this kind of effort forth in their sleep which apparently is what they did when designing this machine. Plunk down an extra hundred and get the Reebok at Sams Club.
General Information
These products are produced by Icon Health and Fitness. They are the largest retail fitness company. This is one of the original Icon brands and can be found in most mass merchants. They typically range between $500 and $1,000 and have short warranties for the most part, although we have seen a shift in regard to that on mainly motors in some units. The gee-whiz factor is high on these machines because they are packed with features. We wouldn't recommend these for serious runners, but the quality of the machine is so much better than the ones produced just a few years ago, most people who are walkers or occasional users will be satisfied with the new Proforms.
Quality / Philosophy
Proform is produced by Icon, and this factory has over 200 engineers that help craft their products. Put simply, they are the best designed treadmills in the business. In the past, they have had to be the best because they used the cheapest parts in the business. They have finally discovered that you can find some of the key component parts overseas for less and the eventual cost is less if you put more quality into the machine; so the quality of drive motors, rollers, and other key components are much higher than in the past and they price their machines lower than anyone else if you compare apples to apples.
Outlook
Icon is the largest fitness equipment producer in the world with over $1 billion in sales. If the fitness industry were a solar system, Icon is so powerful that they would be the Sun. In terms of stability, they are the best, but overall their customer service isn't up to the standards of any of the lower volume producers. Their latest gambit is to charge a service fee for shipping a warranty part and/or a trip charge if you want in-home labor- is this really a warranty? You decide! Although you get a value price for the product, you also get value service so keep this in mind when buying their machines. Due to the sheer number of units they produce, we pick up support in many cases where this factory leaves off.
