ProForm Crosswalk Caliber Treadmill
Written: Feb 17 '05 (Updated May 26 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Rugged construction, nice features and accessories, nice fold-up design, well documented easy to understand manual.
Cons: Not very portable, very heavy, considerable amount of assembly required. Built-in fan not very powerful.
The Bottom Line: I was really impressed with the product's construction and that it worked right out of the box, once assembled.
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| sharcnet's Full Review: ProForm CrossWalk Caliber Treadmill |
I purchased this treadmill (Model PFTL59104) online through the Home Shopping Network's website (http://www.hsn.com) on 1/22/05 by credit card. The price was $649.95 and included free shipping. Having looked at several Proform models at our local Sears store, I was told by the Sears salesman that there was a $40.00 delivery fee, plus sales tax, so the HSN deal seemed like a great deal. I watched the demonstration of this unit on the Home Shopping Network Channel, but decided to order it online a few days later. This is a new product from Proform.
To place an order with HSN, you need to set up an account with your name, address, email address and password. The site was very user friendly and I managed to easily find this item that I had previously seen on their cable channel.
Ordering was very easy and straight forward. They told me right away when ordering that my item may take some time to arrive due to the fact that it ships directly from the vendor. They gave me an approximate arrival date of 2/12/05.
As for the treadmill:
Here is the link on Proform's website:
http://www.proform.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=979&prrfnbr=811770&cgrfnbr=10671
I checked the status of my order each day via their website. After seeing "Awaiting shipping confirmation" for several days, I made an inquiry about my order on their website. The following day, they promptly responded saying that they still didn't have a confirmed ship date from Proform but would check into it.
Finally on 1/31/05, I noticed it had shipped (from Utah - I live in Pennsylvania) and it was on it's way. It arrived on the morning of 2/10/05 (two days earlier than quoted). Please note that the delivery company will not carry the unit up any flights of stairs. If you live on a second floor, you will have to open the box and carry the pieces up yourself. The floor platform is extremely heavy and requires (2) people to carry. The entire unit weighs over 200 lbs.
The unit arrived in a very large cardboard carton, approximately 6'H x 4'W x 1'D. The delivery man wheeled it into my garage. There were some holes punched in the box, but nothing appeared to be damaged when I began taking the pieces from the box. The unit is packed very well from Proform.
Once I came home from work, I began putting it together. Please be advised, assembly is required! Proform recommends that (2) people are required to assemble the unit. I managed to assemble it myself, but it would have been helpful to have someone hold parts together while I inserted the bolts and tightened them up.
It took me about 1-1/2 hours to put the treadmill together. Before the treadmill arrived, I downloaded the assembly manual from Proform's website, so I was able to see in advance how it went together. I am also an Electrical Engineer with mechanical assembly experience, so it may take someone longer than 1-1/2 hours to put it together based upon their experience. One of the best things to remember when putting it together is to not tighten the bolts until all of the parts have been assembled. This allows some movement so that the remaining parts will easily line up with each other.
This unit is really well made and is designed to support up to 300 lbs. The metal is made from very heavy gauge steel. Proform provides most of the tools which consist of (2) allen wrenches. You will need to provide a large philips screwdriver and an adjustable wrench. They also include spare screws & washers. Many of the parts (display board, handle bars, etc) have a matte finish that helps prevent fingerprint marks.
Once assembled and plugged in, it worked great with no problem. I did have to adjust the belt to the right tension and recenter it. This is very easy to do with the allen wrench Proform provides. Proform recommends that the unit be operated with a surge-protected adapter or outlet.
I have to admit, I am really happy with the unit. The built-in fan could have been a little more powerful, but it does have two speeds (high/low). I find I have to use the "high" setting most of the time. On the high speed setting, the fan will be as loud or louder than the treadmill itself.
I connected up a television set right in front of the unit and I use one of the storage compartments on the treadmill's display to store the TV remote. The other compartment I use to hold a drink. When your watching TV, you'll soon forget your even working out! I did notice that another TV set in another room was receiving faint diagonal lines in the picture when the treadmill was in use. This could be a result of noise generated by the motor or electronics. The new TV that I connected to the treadmill didn't show any interference in the picture. ** Update ** Using an AC line filter/suppression outlet strip resolved this issue. Apparently the treadmill motor was inducing noise spikes back into the AC outlet and was being picked up by another older TV set. Newer TV sets may have not have this problem with proper internal filtering.
Proform provides a bracket that will hold a book open if you wish to read while working out. I use the bracket to hold a portable CD player to listen to music or use the IFIT mode.
Proform includes (2) IFIT workout CD's and a 15' audio cable (with 1/8" plugs at each end) that lets you hook up your portable CD player to the treadmill. The CD's play music and provide a personal trainer that talks to you while you are working out and automatically adjusts the speed and incline of the treadmill for you during the workout. It's really impressive!
The trainer starts you out slow and builds up the pace. If the pace is too high or too low, you can override the settings manually to suit your taste. The trainer always tells you ahead of time what the settings are going to be changed to before it actually happens. There is also a slow down period at the end of each session. It's important to stay on the machine during the slow down period because stopping abruptly after doing a fast paced walk or run might cause you to become dizzy and you might lose your balance.
I connected the headphone output from the CD player to the input of the TV so I didn't have to wear headphones. You will need a CD player that has a "line out" jack or use a "Y" adapter (not included, but available at any Radio Shack or Best Buy) from the headphone jack to be able to connect the CD player to the treadmill. Proform also includes a 1/8" female adapter to RCA male phono plug to allow you to connect the supplied cable to the audio output of a VCR or DVD player.
Additional workout CD's and videos (DVD/VHS) may be purchased at http://www.ifit.com.
The unit will adjust from .5MPH to 10MPH and from a 0-10 degree incline. You can either start at a slow speed and use the "up" and "down" buttons to slowly increase or decrease the speed by 1/10 of a mile or use the "quick keys" to go directly to a desired speed between 1 and 10 MPH.
It has 6 built-in workout programs and an EKG grip monitor that can measure your heart rate. I found that the heart rate monitor is not very accurate. Proform recommends purchasing the external chest monitor which will plug into the treadmill.
The unit's green digital readout displays speed, incline level, calories burned, heart rate, distance, workout time and pace. There is also a green LED display that displays an oval track and flashes where you are on the track. Each completion around the track indicates 1/4 of a mile of travel.
You can also tailor your workout by entering in your age and targeted pulse rate.
The unit includes (2) "crosswalk" bars that will allow you to work your upper arms while using the treadmill. Each bar has an adjustable tension knob to set the desired amount of resistance. If you don't want to use the bars, simply push them forward against the display panel. I often use them in a stationary position to help maintain my balance. There are rubber grips on the top of each bar.
The treadmill's belt measures 18" wide and 55" long. I found it to be quite adequate with long strides.
The unit's motor is rated at 1.75 CHP (continuous duty horse power). When looking for a treadmill, look for the CHP rating and not the THP (total horse power) rating. Many advertisers may fool you by quoting THP rather than CHP. The THP rating will always be higher than the CHP rating. What you want to be concerned about is the CHP rating. This is the rating of the motor under continued use. The THP rating is what the motor's maximum (peak) output power will be, but not under "continuous use". The higher the rating, the higher the power of the motor. As far as noise is concerned, its pretty quiet. Operating the incline however produces a noticeable sound, but it occurs only during transitions to a new level.
Also included is a magnetic key with nylon cord that attaches to the front of the display board. On the other end of the cord is a clip that you clip onto your clothing. If you stop walking or decide to leave the walking platform quickly, the treadmill will shut down. Its a great feature if you have curious kids in the house. Hide the key and they will not be able to turn the unit on.
When not in use, the walking platform folds upward and is held by a spring-loaded pin. The entire unit can be wheeled around and moved to another area. Note: The unit is wheeled around with the widest part facing you. If you have to move the unit through a door, it will have to be turned sideways and the wheels are useless in that direction.
Another special in this HSN deal was a coupon for a free man's or woman's workout outfit. You select the size and mail the coupon in.
This unit must have really been popular because HSN sold out of them. It's still however, available for sale on Proform's website. In the HSN website listing, HSN allowed buyers to comment on their purchase of this unit. Most of the comments were favorable. The only unfavorable comments were with respect to assembly and not being able to be carried up a flight of stairs by the delivery man. Apparently the presentation on HSN indicated that there was a minimum amount of assembly required, which is certainly not the case.
Unfortunately when the unit sold out, they took down the listing and feedback comments. It would have been nice to read further comments from other buyers...including my own.
I am really pleased with the purchase of this unit and would recommend it as well as HSN to others. The item arrived on time as indicated by HSN. It arrived undamaged and worked right out of the box after assembly. Since there were not any issues with the item, I didn't need to contact their customer service department.
My wife and I are now both using this treadmill as well as my 13 year old daughter. We all love it!
** Update **
On 3/25/05 we received the ProForm workout outfit. The shorts are gray knit with the letters "PF" on the front. The top is red knit with a matching gray collar. The top also has the letters "PF" on the chest. Very nice...and free!
** Update **
4/11/05: This item is once again for sale on the Home Shopping Network. See http://www.hsn.com/cnt/prod/default.aspx?webp_id=1977951
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
sharcnet
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
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