Review of Bremshey Path (aka Accell Fitness) Treadmill
Greersome
Path treadmill for my wife as a birthday present a couple weeks ago
and I'm sending it back to the store. My experience with the device
prompted me to post this review in as many relevant groups as feasible
to help others avoid making the same mistake I did.
After discussing in detail my complaints with the VP of sales for
Bremshey, I was told this treadmill is specifically designed for
WALKERS and the elderly. I repeat, this is from the VP of sales for
Bremshey who called me personally. I would urge runners to avoid this
machine at all costs. Here are my major complaints.
1. The heartrate monitor is shoddy. After 30 minutes of running at a
light jog, it registered my HR at 82. When I explained this to the
vendor, the answer I got was something like "all HR monitors on
treadmills are crap, so don't worry about it." If it's a piece of
garbage, why put it on the machine at all? If the HR monitor is sub-
par, what does that say about the rest of the components? Obviously,
the manufacturer doesn't expect its users to get above a HR of 82.
After all, they are only walking.
2. Programs are pathetic. The Bremshey Path treadmill by Accell
Fitness comes with some running programs. In fact, this was one of
the reasons I chose the machine. The first time I used it, I tried
the "interval training" program. I wasn't disappointed, I was livid.
The program has the speed hard-coded to 1.2 mph for 1 min. then 3.4
mph for 1 minute, then down to 1.8 mph for a minute, then it switches
between 1.8 mph and 3.7 mph for 1 minute on each speed. If you
increase the speed manually so say... 7mph, on the minute mark, the
treadmill returns to the slow speed again. You speed it up, it slows
down, you speed it up, it slows down. Bremshey's VP of Sales told me
that having a higher speed for the interval training program could be
"dangerous" and they would get lots of complaints.
To put things into perspective here. Three miles an hour is a 20
minute/mile pace. 1.8 miles per hour is a 33 minute mile!! This is
less than one step per second!!!
3. The treadmill itself: I was told by Bremshey that because this
treadmill is designed for people who are only going to walk on it,
that the shock absorption on the platform is much firmer and is not
intended for high impact use for someone like me who trains for
distance runs or is running at a speed above a walk. (I'm not making
this up).
4. Bremshey doesn't know its market: My conversation with the VP of
Sales at Bremshey made it evident enough to me that Bremshey doesn't
have a good understanding of their market. The VP of Sales informed
me that he has suggested (based on my feedback) that they offer
different levels for the interval program on future models. You mean
they haven't thought of this before? What exactly is their definition
of innovation?
At the end of the day, Bremshey and Accell Fitness have a lot to learn
before they convince me that their products are fit for use. After
all, this product is NOT designed for runners.