Horizon Fitness T101 Treadmill Review

REVIEW: Horizon Fitness T101 Treadmill – #1 Bestseller

I have been thinking about buying a treadmill for quite some time now, but did not have a clue as to which is the best treadmill. There are so many in each price range, where do I start? I floundered for a while and then finally got my butt in gear and started really digging to see what I could discover. Well there are treadmills and then there are TREADMILLS. There is definitely some things you really need to consider before you buy.

First you need to consider what price range you can afford. You won’t get much if you pay less than $500 – $600. This is about the lowest price you can pay to get a treadmill that actually works. I decided to pick the Horizon Fitness T101 Treadmill to review because it is in a price range most people can afford and it has excellent reviews.

Horizon T101 Treadmill Specifications

Motor: 2.25 HP, quiet and smooth continuous duty
Speed range: 0 to 10 MPH
Incline: 0 to 10 percent
Belt size: 20 x 55 inches
Maximum user weight: 300 pounds
Warranty: Lifetime frame and motor, 1-year parts and labor

Now lets break each of these down and see what they mean to you.

Motor - This of course is one of the most important things to look at in buying a treadmill. After all a treadmill without a strong motor won’t give you the workout you desire. A 2.5 HP motor is adequate for someone who will be mostly walking or jogging. If you are a runner and plan to run more than walk you will need a larger horsepower motor. The Horizon T101 has a continuous duty horsepower motor which is the consistent level of power used during your workouts. Peak horsepower is how fast the motor will run and will measure higher than continuous duty. Compare it to a car motor which can go up to 150 mph, but you would never run your car this fast (At least I hope no one goes this fast). You would finally blow up your motor. Your motor will last longer when it maintains a steady speed like a continuous duty motor.

Speed Range 0 – 10 mph - Speeds up to 10 mph is adequate for the average person. The average running speed for men is 8.3 mph and women is 6.5 mph.

Incline 0 – 10% – Walking or jogging on an incline will help work muscles you didn’t know you had and will help you get the shapely legs and tight rear end you desire.

Belt size 20 x 55 (2 ply) - You would not want anything less than 20 ” wide or it may be to narrow and you won’t have room to move. 55″ in length is adequate for an average height person. Most people fall in this category.

Maximum User Weight 300 lbs - Well this is self-explanatory. I will suggest that if you weigh is close to the 300 lb max you should move up to a different treadmill. You will need one that has at least a 3.0 HP motor and a wider belt.

Warranty - The Horizon T101 Treadmill comes with a lifetime warranty on the motor and frame, 1 year on parts and labor. When a company gives a lifetime warranty that tells me they expect the item to last, if not they would go broke replacing them. One year on parts and labor could be better but it’s still pretty good. Overall I feel this is a good warranty.

A Few More Features to Make Your Workout Experience the Best

The Horizon T101 treadmill folds up for easy storage. This is a must if you are limited on space.
FeatherLIGHT lift which has two hydraulic shocks to make lowering and raising your T101 treadmill easier.
PerfectFLEX deck cushioning to provide the best support and shock absorption for easy jogging.
User Friendly Console.

Lets take a look at the Horizon T101 Console

After the motor I think the next thing most of us look at is the Console. What bells and whistles does it have to make our workout experience more enjoyable. So lets see how the T101 Treadmill measures up.

LED DISPLAY WINDOWS: Shows time, distance, calories, heart rate, speed, incline and workout profiles
TARGET LED INDICATORS: This indicates what target (if any) is set for the current program.Horizon Fitness T101 Treadmill Review
WORKOUT LED INDICATORS: Indicates what workout is set for the current program.
SELECT TARGET: Press to select your desired target.
SELECT WORKOUT: Press to select your desired workout.
GO: Press to begin exercising, start your workout, or resume exercising after pause.
STOP: Press to pause/end your workout. Hold for 3 seconds to reset the console.
COOL DOWN: Press to enter cool down mode. Cool down lasts for 4 minutes and reduces speed and incline to allow your heart to readjust to decreased demand.
INCLINE / KEYS: Used to adjust incline in small increments (0.5% Increments).
SPEED + / – KEYS: Used to adjust speed in small increments (0.1 Mph increments).
INCLINE QUICK KEYS: Used to reach desired incline more quickly.
SPEED QUICK KEYS: Used to reach desired speed more quickly.
ENTER AND / KEYS: Used to adjust target and workout settings. Press ENTER to change display feedback during workout.
FAN KEY: Press to turn fan on and off.
FAN: Personal workout fan.
SPEAKERS: Music plays through speakers when your CD / MP3 player is connected to the console.
AUDIO IN JACK: Plug your CD / MP3 player into the console using the included audio adaptor cable.
AUDIO OUT / HEADPHONE JACK: Plug your headphones into this jack to listen to your music through the headphones.
Note: When the headphones are plugged into the headphone jack the sound will no longer come out through the speakers.
MP3 PLAYER POCKET: Used to store your MP3 player.
WATER BOTTLE POCKETS: Holds personal workout equipment.
READING RACK: Holds reading material.
SAFETY KEY POSITION: Enables treadmill when safety key is inserted.

All this looks good but what are people saying that have purchased the T101 treadmill?

No complaints at all with this product. It came on time and the assembly was not terribly difficult. It took probably 30 minutes to an hour to put together properly and have it up and running.
After looking around and doing some research I decided to give this one a try. I was amazed that I was able to put it together myself with my husband only helping to make sure everything was tightened securely and the belt was properly lubed. I am not in the best shape of my life but I am able to incease the speed and incline to make my workout more challenging. I love that my iPhone plugs right in to the machine so I can listen to music.
I am thrilled with my purchase! My husband and I were able to set it up fairly quickly. The instructions were clear and concise. We get a great workout with this treadmill and it has all the features we need for a good price.
It’s easy to turn on, and has a simple display. I like that I can actually prop my mini laptop on the dash and walk at speed 2 or speed 3. As long as I’m not typing, its very easy to read and walk briskly. I like that i can plug in my MP3 player and it comes right out of the speakers.

So what are people saying they didn’t like about the Horizon T101 Treadmill?

I had to dig through a lot of reviews to find what people said was wrong with the T101. Here are a few comments:

The sport drink holders are not deep enough and my water bottle kept falling out.
The fan is a nice feature but I’m 5’5 and all it fans is my forehead, would be great if it were adjustable.
MP3 speakers could be better.
The highest (10%) incline isn’t very high, much less than the larger units I’ve used at the gym. Otherwise a very good purchase, I love that it’s quieter than others I’ve seen.
Not good for runners or someone close to 300 lbs.
It’s a little narrow for me. I’m 6’1″, 201 #s so, admittedly, not a small person. Still, I have an athletic build, not a heavy build, and nevertheless, I find I hit my arms or body on the handles sometime. Not a deal breaker, just a nit. Interesting, there were some cautions about the deck not being long enough for a long stride. I haven’t had issues with that.

Then there was one customer who offered advice when putting the T101 together.

(IMPORTANT) Some reviewers complained that the belt comes factory-tightened, then they make you loosen it to oil underneath. If you keep track of how many turns it took to loosen the belt, getting it back on to the perfect tension is a snap. If you don’t keep track, you’ll have to use trial and error to find the right setting.
Assembly may be easy, but make sure to read the directions. When people complain that the treadmill shakes, wobbles or is squeaky, they probably didn’t make sure it was level and/or they didn’t tighten the bolts properly. Tightening should be done incrementally on the bolts so that they are brought to the same level of tension together. Tightening one bolt all the way before putting in the next one creates uneven stress and may result in the complaints mentioned above.

What I Think About the Horizon T101

Overall I think the Horizon T101 Treadmill is a pretty good buy for a lower end treadmill. Most of the complaints were about minor items such as the mp3 player could be better, the treadmill is not for runners or people close to 300 lbs, or they did not read the manual close enough and did not put it together exactly right. One thing I noticed was the contact heart rate monitor. You have to grip the handles to get a reading. This could become tiresome during your workout. But on a treadmill at this price you aren’t going to get the best fan or mp3 player. This is not what you are buying. If these things really mean a lot to you then you need to upgrade to a more expensive treadmill.

How much should you pay for the Horizon Fitness T101 Treadmill?

I have checked several sites on the internet and the going price is between $599 and $649.00. Amazon has one of the best deals going, $599 plus free shipping. To me free shipping is a great savings.

Click Here to buy the Horizon T101 at Amazon

PLEASE READ – Always talk to your doctor before you start any new exercise routine.