The SportsArt TR31 Treadmill Review — Fantastic Design and Performance Under $3000

Ohiyo!

The Treadmill Sensei wants to lecture you, his loyal readers, for a couple of minutes about a brand you may or may not be aware of. I’ve talked about SportsArt Fitness a few times here on the website, generally in very glowing terms. Unfortunately, a lot of readers aren’t familiar with their equipment because SportsArt’s treadmills and ellipticals are sold only in brick-and-mortar stores. As a result they don’t have as high of a recognition factor for those of you who do a lot of your equipment research online.

The Treadmill Sensei, on the other hand, only has a deal with his readers. And that deal is to give you my opinion on what sucks and what doesn’t…and your side of the deal is to hang on my every word. That seems fair to me… 🙂

Anyway, today I want to talk a bit about the SportsArt TR31 Treadmill. I was able to borrow a demo unit from a local gym owner for a week in order to get some solid workout time on it. Reviewing a piece of equipment for an hour or two (or only for a few minutes at a tradeshow like some other sites do) really isn’t enough to get in to the meat and bones of it. The only real way to see how a unit is going to perform for a buyer is to spend a week or more working out on the treadmill, logging in hours and hours while trying out every little detail. I was able to spend a little over 10 hours on the SportsArt TR31 and I must say it was an excellently performing treadmill.

The basics of the SportsArt TR31 are the same as its bigger brother, the TR32 treadmill. Same monstrous 3.2 horsepower motor. I’ve seen this motor in action for a couple of years now and in my experience it will not breakdown if properly maintained. SportsArt picked an excellent motor to power all of its top end machines and they found one that will probably outlive most of its owners! Put a treadmill mat under your unit and spritz the motor with compressed air every few months and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.

The TR31 also has the same deck and the same basic display set up. The main difference comes in the lack of pulse grip heart rate monitors on the TR31 Treadmill’s hand grips and the lack of the manual Adjustable Cushioning System of the SportsArt TR32. This does make a difference in the machine, but not a huge one for the pricing. It’s like buying a Lexus versus buying a Lexus with the automatic parallel parking feature. Both are excellent cars but one has just a little more for an increased cost.

If you’re looking for an ultra high quality treadmill but aren’t ready to step up to the SportsArt TR32 Treadmill’s $3500 or so cost, then take a look at the SportsArt TR31 at a bit under $3000. It may not park itself, but it will give you one of the most comfortable workouts in its price range.

For being another solid treadmill from an excellent manufacturer, the Treadmill Sensei gives the SportsArt TR31 Treadmill 4.5 out of 5 Golden Buddahs.

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com