Smooth 5.25 Treadmill Review and Price Comparison

Your Smooth 5.25 Treadmill Buying Guide
Summary of What The Experts Say

Experts are in love with the Smooth 5.25 and its predecessors, the Smooth 5.15 and Smooth 5.0P. The Smooth 5.25 treadmill is on numerous experts’ list as the top choice for those looking for a treadmill under $1000. Experts have noted many improvements in the Smooth 5.25 from its previous 5.15 model such as a longer warranty for the motor and a wider belt (20 inches). Experts have also noted the exceptional lifetime motor and frame warranty and the longer than normal 3 years parts warranty for a treadmill that can be found for under $1000. (The warranty statement is actually erroneous as you'll read later.) The Swing Arm suspension system which supposedly reduces injury when running has also been positively supported by experts. The 2.0" commercial grade roller is also of a better quality than what a lot of competitors offer in this price range.

There have been very few negative things said about this treadmill. Among the concerns that experts have include the belt being a little short at only 53 inches which they say is still generous considering it's a treadmill in the sub $1000 price range. Delivery might be late depending on the product stock levels.

In conclusion, experts think the Smooth 5.25 treadmill is one of the best choices for walkers and joggers in the sub $1000 price range. For runners, experts suggest moving up to the $1500 area.

Summary of What The Users Say

For a treadmill that has received so many best buy awards in the past, there really aren’t that many user reviews. Among them, the biggest complaint seems to be with customer service where issues were either not resolved or not resolved properly. For users that have commented on the actual treadmill instead of the service, one user said the 5.15 version (although it is an older version of the 5.25, we can still draw some predictions) is still functional after 2 years of almost daily use. Another user reports their treadmill is still functional without any problems after 1 year of use for the 5.25 model.

What You Should Do

Let us first focus on how the most credible expert, the Treadmill Doctor has rated the Smooth 5.25. If you’ve already done some research on the Smooth 5.25, you might know that it is actually the successor to the older Smooth 5.15 and 5.0P treadmills that either received a best buy or a runner’s up pick from the Treadmill Doctor for 4 consecutive years in the past. This means, the Smooth series of treadmills that start with the number “5” have consistently scored well in the past with the most credible expert in this industry. If past success is any indicator of the future, we can say the 5.25 is likely to be an above average treadmill due to pa [Click To See Rest of Review][Close Reviews]

If you’ve already checked the 2006 and 2007 best buys from Treadmill doctor in this price range, you would have discovered the Smooth 5.25 is nowhere to be found. What happened? With Smooth’s budget model being in the best buy or runner up spots consistently in the past, why has the Smooth 5.25 completely fallen off the charts? We can’t say for sure since only the Treadmill Doctor would know the answer. We can however venture a guess which is what we’re going to do next.

The Smooth 5.25 did not get a best buy or runners up rating not because it’s a bad treadmill. In fact, it’s a pretty decent treadmill if you look at its ratings and compare it with what else is on the market today. But if you would just look a little closer, you would discover the 5.25 slightly being edged out by the best buy and runner ups in the two most important areas in our books – quality and reliability. When you’re buying a treadmill for less than $1000, your biggest concern should be how well the treadmill can withstand abuse. This is precisely where we think the Smooth 5.25 has lost out.

Of course, the Smooth 5.25 does come with a longer than standard 3 year parts and 1 year labor warranty. However, we have read many negative experiences from users when it comes to tech support from Smooth Fitness. This has resulted in us placing less weight and trust in its warranty.

Although we think the Smooth 5.25 is not as strong as its competitors in the quality/reliability/warranty department, there are some areas where we think the Smooth 5.25 is strong in.

1. Belt Width of 20 inches is generous - In terms of belt width, 20 inches is pretty much the standard even for models that cost few thousand dollars more.

2. Lifetime motor and frame, 3 years parts and 1 year labor – Although we have doubts on how responsive Smooth’s tech support department is, 3 years parts is still better than average in this price range.

3. SwingArm system cushioning – Smooth uses this type of cushioning for quite a few of its treadmills (this is the one used in the more expensive EVO brand of treadmills as well.) As a result, the Smooth 5.25 treadmill is actually better than many of the “excellent buys” and “best buys” we’ve chosen in this price range in terms of cushioning.

4. 2.5CHP motor and 53” belt – The 53” belt is by no means long so why is this a strength? When you buy a treadmill under $1000, you have to understand you’re not buying something to run regularly on. You’re buying something to jog or walk regularly on. The 53” is a little shorter than what we would like but unless you’re really tall, it’s going to be long enough. Since we usually say a 2.0CHP is good for walking, 2.5CHP is good for jogging and 3.0CHP is for running, we’re going to say the Smooth 5.25 treadmill’s 2.5CHP motor and normal sized belt is going to be sufficient for the regular walker or jogger.

Verdict: The Smooth 5.25 does not dominate the under $1000 category as much as experts would have you believe. It’s undoubtedly a decent treadmill but it’s hampered with a few weaknesses. For one, buyers have no way to test the machine for themselves since Smooth is an internet only dealer. Customer service is another point of concern. For buyers that don't want to take the chance to buy something sight unseen, they should probably go with something by ICON Health and Fitness that we’ve reviewed. Alternatively, you can also consider a Sole F63 which experts also rave about and you can try if you are close to a Dick's Sporting Goods store.

After reading opinions from experts and users, we have objectively analyzed the Smooth 5.25 Treadmill and assigned it a meta score as follows:

If the total price is $799, you are getting a Super Bargain (5.0/5.0)
If the total price is $899, you are getting a Great Bargain (4.5/5.0)
If the total price is $999, you are getting a Good Bargain (4.0/5.0)
If the total price is $1099, you are getting a Small Bargain (3.5/5.0)
If the total price is $1199, it is No Bargain (3.0/5.0)
If the total price is $1299, it is Somewhat Overpriced (2.5/5.0)
If the total price is $1399, it is Greatly Overpriced (2.0/5.0)
If the total price is $1499, it is Severely Overpriced (1.5/5.0)

The current lowest price is $999.00 which makes it a Good Bargain.

Notes:

1. This meta review was first published on October 25th, 2007.
2. For a list of resources used to construct this meta review, click here.

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