Ohiyo!
Fitness Manufacturers like to confuse the Treadmill Sensei and they like to confuse their potential customers. Instead of keeping the same name and model numbers for their equipment (like car manufacturers do), companies in the fitness industry like changing their models ever 18 months or so to make people think they have new offerings. In reality, a lot of the time they are just renaming older models which have been tweaked a little (or, sometimes, not at all). Today I want to talk about one of those units: the Ironman 320t Treadmill, now known as the Ironman Triad Treadmill.
As regular readers of this site already know, Keys Fitness (the parent company to Ironman Fitness) enjoys renaming treadmills and ellipticals and releasing them out to tons of retailers. They do this so consumers can’t price match an Ironman 600e elliptical at one store with the exact same Alliance A7e elliptical at another store. Electronics manufacturers do this as well so it isn’t a new trend or one only perpetrated by the fitness industry. Even so, it is still annoying.
Keeping the slightly annoying business practices of Keys Fitness aside, the Ironman Triad treadmill (or the 320t treadmill) is actually a pretty decent machine. we get in a few models of these a month to go out and set up for customers, and we get a lot of calls from customers themselves who have purchased the units from a local dealer and need their new treadmill set up or delivered.
For an under $1000 treadmill, the Ironman Triad is good value. Their frames are very sturdy and the running area is very large compared to everything else in the $899 current price range of the Ironman 320t. 20″x56″ is nothing to laugh at even in treadmills over $1000! The max user weight is listed at 350 poundsw but I don’t know that I’d push it anywhere close to that. Play it safe and figure the true maximum user weight on the Ironman Triad to be closer to 250 or 275 pounds.
The motor is an ok size. They call it a 2.5 horsepower motor but it runs at slightly higher RPMs than I’d like. I would lower the RPMs a bit and call it a 2 or 2.25 horsepower motor. That would give a customer a longer working life on their Ironman Triad.
The top speed and incline on the treadmill are only 10 mph and 10% which keep the Triad from being a top recommendation. If they beefed it up to 12 mph and a 15% incline I think they’d have a Horizon-killing unit on their hands.
The place where the Ironman Triad / 320t treadmill falls short is in the warranty and customer service quality of Ironman/Keys itself. If you log on to the internet and do a quick search you’ll discover a large number of Ironman/Keys buyers who were left out in the cold by the company when they needed service or repair. This is the case with a number of the larger fitness manufacturers because they realize there are almost no return customers when it comes to treadmill and elliptical buyers. What that means is a customer’s threats of “never buying again” from the offended manufacturer hold little to no weight…they know even a happy customer isn’t going to buy again so they have little incentive to support an unhappy customer.
Anyway, from our experience in dealing with these units over the past couple of years, I’d have to say 60%-70% of customers who purchase an Ironman Triad (or 320t) treadmill are happy with their purchase…which isn’t a bad rating at all.
For being a decent treadmill inspite of lesser warranties and poor customer service, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Ironman Triad treadmill 2.5 out of 5 golden buddahs.
The Ironman Triad / 320t Treadmill gets 2.5 gold buddahs out of 5.
Compare the Ironman 320t treadmill.)
Ironman 320T Treadmill Specifications
Motor: 2.5 HP
Max User Weight: 350 lbs.
Folding: Yes
Max Speed: 10 MPH
Max Incline: 10%
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Programs: 15
Display: LED
Readouts: Time, distance, calories burned, and heart rate
Grade: Residential
Treadmill Size: 69″L x 32″W x 61″H
Treadmill Weight: 215 lbs.
Roller Size: 2.5″
Deck Thickness: 1″
Running Area: 56″ x 20″
-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com
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