Cheap parts make for a low-priced treadmill but they have to put cheap parts on it in order to get the retail price down to $400.
General Information
These products are produced by Icon Health and Fitness. They are the largest retail fitness company. This is the entry level brand for Icon and features cheap machines for a cheap price. The best (and we use the term 'best' loosely with Weslo) models of these we have seen are at Wal-Mart but don't expect much of a treadmill for your hard-earned money.
Quality / Philosophy
Weslo is produced by Icon, a company with thousands of employees and large resources. Put simply, their machines have the best design 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- 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. 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.