

Our treadmills on the line today are the Horizon T101 and the Proform 590T.
We’ve got a good duo for today. We’re pitting up the cheapest set of last round’s winners, the Horizon T101 and the Proform 590T. Both are $599, and made for tight budgets. Sometimes these are a good way to go when your budget is low, but sometimes the budget route backfires. You may end up spending more on fixing and replacing stuff than you would have spent on a more quality treadmill. Hopefully this won’t happen in your case. When you get down to the sub $1000’s it’s a risky business trying to choose a sturdy treadmill. You definitely want to do your research before settling on one. So, by reading this, you’re doing good research, and I applaud you for being smart.
The treadmills are both quite impressive for their price range, which is how they got this far, but in general they are quite small. The 2.25 CHP motors, although quiet, are more likely to cause problems than larger motors. The RPMs have to go so much faster than larger motors, it causes faster wear on all the components. If you’re large, things could slip and cause problems. These treadmills are both only meant for light runners. If you’re very light, you’ll have much less problems with it. Compared to eachother, these treadmills seem to have about the same amount of strength in them. They both have the same specified weight capacity of 300 lbs, which I would try to stay well under if you’re running more than 3 MPH. Under a lot of weight, the decks can crack quite easily, and they don’t have a long warranty, so you’ll end up having to buy a new one if they do. If you’re 150 lbs, you don’t have to worry as much, but from experience, I would still suggest you consider a slightly larger treadmill, just to be safe.
Both the Horizon T101, and the Proform 590T have belts 20″ x 55″ which is great for this price. That gives you a standard full sized width, and a very common length. 55″ inches is long enough for most people. The belts are single-ply, which means they may wear out after a couple years of consistent use. But belts are pretty cheap to replace, so that’s not a very big deal. Both treadmills have a 10MPH max speed, and 10% incline capacity. The cushioning systems are practically the same design as well. Most of the difference is in the Console.
The Proform has Ifit workout card compatibility, so you can purchase Ifit Live SD cards and plug them in for all sorts of workouts. The Horizon has 9 built in programs to work with. The screens are really small on both, and show the main information that you’ll need. Check out the specs below to get better details.
Here’s a little comparison table:
- 2.25 CHP motor
- 300 lb weight capacity
- 10MPH
- 10% Incline
- 20″ x 55″ treadbelt
- small backlit LED display
- Perfectflex Cushioning
- Fold up design
- 9 workout programs
- Mp3 port, Built in Speakers
- lifetime frame and motor
- 1 year parts and labor
- 2.25 CHP motor
- 300 lb weight capacity
- 10MPH
- 10% Incline
- 20″ x 55″ treadbelt
- small backlit LED display
- Protech Cushioning
- Fold up design
- 12 workout programs
- Mp3 port, Built in Speakers
- lifetime frame and motor
- 1 year parts and labor
If you’re just reading the specifications you’d have no way to know which treadmill were better seeing that they’re both almost identical. The only real difference is the Proform’s built in Ifit technology. Based on the design, the manufacturer, and the sturdiness, the winner is actually the Horizon T101. The extra quality in the Horizon outdoes the Proform, and makes it more worth the price.
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