[CamperBob2]

You've never owned, or likely even used, a really good one.

I don't know if Peleton makes good ones, but Precor certainly does. That said, it was weird of Peleton to overpay for a company that makes expensive fitness equipment purchased largely by gyms, who probably aren't purchasing much of anything these days.

[brailsafe]

It's not a personally derived anecdote, just an observation. I just don't see people who aren't sufficiently motivated enough to go for a real bike or workout at a gym changing their mind because they consoomed a new $$ one. I do know some people who do, but they basically have no choice in the matter but to do something in winter.

It's like buying an iPad pro and expecting yourself to find an interest in illustration.

[elzbardico]

People are motivated by the most diverse stuff you can imagine.

Sometimes people watch a movie that makes them cry and they decide to learn guitar just like the girl with cancer in movie.

Or they decided to buy a really expensive bike and now this is a big motivator for them to ride everyday.

Or sometimes people live in a cold place, they are shy and have feelings of inadequacy and won't feel good in a gym where they think people will judge them.

Or maybe they are from a minority and kind of don't feel welcome at the only gym in the backwards small town they live.

Of course this is a personal anecdote, but I found in my life plenty of people who were never motivated enough to go to a gym, to learn surfing, to practice jiu-jitsu until they become.

Change the environment, nudge a factor here and there, tweak an incentive here, and maybe you just did enough to motivate someone.

[brailsafe]

Yes, in some circumstances I absolutely agree, there's a lot of reasons someone wouldn't be motivated to do something, but my opinion is that the overwhelming factor is that they don't find it fun enough to try and overcome those things. Sure, someone might feel uncomfortable at a gym, but often that's a matter of finding one that suits you, getting used to it, or finding it remotely fun for some reason. If you find running satisfying enough, the likelihood that there will be an insurmountable obstacle to doing that is usually low. Buying $400 shoes won't make you love running.

For me, I hate the cold more than I like snowboarding, and I don't really have the money to invest in equipment. If I loved snowboarding enough having had a very good experience initially, perhaps through one of those variables that you mentioned being tweaked, then I'd find a way to do it by sourcing used gear or w/e, but ultimately I just don't like it enough atm to do that. Therefore I'm very much in favor of tweaking anything to explore a new activity, but I'm doubtful that more than a tiny percentage of people stick with it for more than a month because they really wanted to play cancer-girl's song. It wasn't an innate drive to pursue an art, it was an external momentary source of novelty, akin to setting a New Years resolution.

Likewise with ice-skating or something. If you feel genuinely driven to do that, but you don't like skating indoors at the local rink, you'll try and do it regardless of your equipment, and try to find an outdoor rink, or maybe a frozen lake, or pond, or you'll be sad if you can't because you live somewhere too warm with a culture that doesn't support it, or you'll vacation to somewhere colder. I always recommend not trying to find something fun that you don't find fun, but instead just exploring many options horizontally to eventually find something you do find fun. Great, you don't like the gym, try climbing, try hiking, try swimming, try running, whatever. Then think about spending $$ as you see fit to support the thing you're actually compelled to do.

[dlp211]

You aren't just buying an indoor "replacement" of an outdoor activity. You are also purchasing a coach/work out buddy. It's this latter part that is the differentiator between a normal indoor trainer/treadmill and what Peloton sells.

[brailsafe]

Right, because treadmills are exactly a boring replacement for an outdoor activity, and you need to augment that to convince people it's different and you should consoom their version.

[elzbardico]

They may be boring for you, because you have your own experiences, your own inclinations, your own way of seeing stuff.

It's perfectly reasonable to believe that there must be people for which treadmills are incredible.

I like riding and running outside, sometimes really early in the morning when the sea is good for surfing. But I can understand people who would consider the few miles I have to run or ride to the beach utterly boring to ride or run a few days a week.

Other than the different asshole drivers trying to kill me from time to time, there isn't much variety in my outside rides tbh. I can understand someone preferring riding a Peloton bike under nice air-conditioning, with their favorite music in the background, under the watchful eyes of their cat, while watching they kids playing outside.

[jacobmartin]

What makes a good treadmill good?

Genuinely curious as I've (in my limited experience) only ever seen them intermittently used a handful of times and then forgotten about. My dad used to buy up used ones for a pittance for their motors which he used for hobby projects, and most of the time they looked unused except for some dust or dry rotting.

[CamperBob2]

I'm not sure what the parameters look like, but the deck needs to exhibit a combination of sturdiness and resilience underfoot to make for a comfortable running surface. Basically it should be springy but not too springy, and only in the normal direction. The frame needs to be solid and massive, again so that the whole thing doesn't move in unwanted directions while using it. The motor should be strong enough to operate smoothly at speeds up to at least 10 to 12 MPH, preferably more to allow for headroom.

Feature-wise, a good treadmill supports inclination of several degrees in the 'up' direction and at least a couple of degrees downward. Obviously the controls need to be responsive and easy to work with while running. And the whole thing needs to be designed without forehead-slapping engineering errors like the ability (much less the tendency) to pull objects beneath the deck. If the belt is exposed at the rear without a cover or guard of some kind, as was notoriously done by Peloton, that would be an example of how not to do it.

Basically, any treadmill that doesn't suck is going to end up weighing a few hundred pounds and costing several thousand dollars. It will be designed with gym use in mind, rather than primarily for home users.

I had a Precor C964 for several years, but sold it when I moved. I eventually replaced it with a similar model from the same company (TRM 425), and I'd say those two models are examples of very good commercial-grade treadmills that will last more or less forever in a home environment. Frankly I liked the older model a bit better, as it had simpler controls with less lag.