The Horizon T63 treadmill Review – Great Performance for under $1000

Nihango!

Today the Treadmill Sensei ventures forth from the depths of the DOJO to finish off his reviews of the 2006 Horizon Treadmills in preparation for the release of the 2007 models. Late in the day I’ll also be reviewing the 2007 version of the T63 treadmill, the Horizon T73. That should make Hikaru very happy because he was able to procure a Horizon T73 in advance for us to do a full product review on. Stay tuned for that!

The Horizon T63 treadmill is one of Horizon’s mid-range home units. For those of you who are familiar with Horizon’s Elite line (which are very similar to the T-60 line but at a higher price), the T63 treadmill would fall in between the Horizon 2.2T and the Horizon 3.2T treadmills. Although, from working on both, I halfway suspect the T63 and the Elite 3.2T are the exact same unit with Horizon downgrading the specs to make price matching more difficult for customers. Sort of like Best Buy and the other big stores do with electronics — Best Buy will have a TV on sale for $100 and say they’ll beat any price on the same model, but no one has the exact same one. Best Buy will have the Sony 56Te and Wal-Mart will have the 56Tg even tho they are exactly the same inside! Damn manufacturers!

Anyway, the Horizon T63 treadmill performs very well for a unit at the $1000 price range. It’s got a very solid Johnson Tech 2.25 horsepower motor that runs cool and at low enough RPMs to stay consistent even if a user is approaching the top end of its weight capacity. Hikaru is a big boy and he can get a decent, light workout on a Horizon T63 without the thing dying on him.

The deck size on the Horizon T63 treadmill is a decen 55×20 inches. Not spectacular but right along with what all the other units have in this range and actually exceeding a good number of them. Same goes for the 2.4″ tapered rollers which blow away most of the competition and really do help prolong the life of your treadmill belt. Tapered rollers are a great feature because they help to keep your treadmill belt aligned properly. The fans all Horizon units have are also a very nice touch. I do wish the deck was a full inch thick instead of 3/4 of an inch.

An outstanding feature on all of the Horizon T63 treadmills we’ve gone through here in the DOJO repair shop is the hydraulic assisted folding feature. Now, a lot of units have this now, but the Horizon’s hydraulics are above and beyond anything else in the price range. Going up is never a problem, and unfolding on the T63 is smooth and won’t bang down quickly, potentially damaging your deck like a lot of other budget treadmills.

If you’re looking for a solid treadmill under a $1000 then make sure to cast an eye over at the Horizon T63 treadmill. The Treadmill Sensei gives the T63 a very respectible 3.5 Golden Buddahs out of 5.

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