When you are looking to purchase a sizable and costly piece of exercise equipment for your home, you would do well to consider the advice of the clever people at Consumer Reports, who advise that you should not pay for more than you need.

If all you are looking for is a straightforward treadmill, that is easy to assemble, has a fair variety of programs, an adequately powered motor and reasonably sized deck, then you would be mad to opt for a $5,000 treadmill which can do everything including putting the kettle on for a refreshing cuppa after your run.

The Horizon T91 is very reasonably priced at $599.99 but let’s ignore that irritating 99 cents and call it $600, okay? For that you get a reasonable 20” x 50” running surface and a 2.00 continuous horse power motor, 9 preset programs, up to 10 mph and an incline of up to 10%. Not bad at all. Add to that a few small extras like the cooling fan in the console and this does look like a good choice for the money. Even so, we do not recommend buying the Horizon T91 treadmill.

Most buyers do seem happy with their purchase of the Horizon T91 (read right to the end to hear the “but..”) and their comments include words like ‘sturdy’, ‘easy to operate’ and ‘well-built’.

Occasional negative comments have included the words ‘heavy’, ‘heart rate not reliable’ and ‘belt leaves a lot to be desired’. Some of the criticisms are likely explained by buyers expecting a higher quality machine for a low price but the general features of the T91 do represent value for money.

Some grumbles relate to shipping and the springing of surprise assembly instructions on the hapless new treadmill owners after they receive their treadmill packed in one very large and very heavy box.

One instruction that seems often to be overlooked until too late is DO NOT REMOVE FROM BOX. Really! Don’t unpack anything until you have the box in the place where the machine will live and have reviewed all the assembly instructions. If you do, you run the risk of getting your springs prematurely sprung which, take my word for it, is an inconvenience best avoided. I would have thought that it would make sense to have that printed on the outside of the box, but hey, what do I know?

There is also a printed insert cunningly hidden somewhere in the box that tells you to oil the machine before assembling the deck. Ooops. You missed that part and finished putting it together? Sorry.

On a positive note, Horizon have thoughtfully bagged the nuts and bolts making them easy to find and the allen wrenches included in the box are sturdy and fit for the job.

Now to the bad news.

The Horizon warranty is nothing to write home about. As stated on their website both the frame and motor have a lifetime warranty but parts and labor are only covered for one year. It is standard in the home treadmill market to have a lifetime warranty on the frame and not at all unusual to have a lifetime warranty on the motor.

These are not sensitive machines. Just like the old Timex adds they are supposed to take a licking and keep on ticking. The one year limit to the warranty on parts and labor is not really up to scratch.

The Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin where Horizon Fitness are based obviously agree. They have this to say about the Horizon warranty:

Be sure to read the fine print.

Product warranties often include technical phraseology and clauses that are easily missed when merely scanning the document, but actually pose inconveniences or serious threats to the consumer. Horizon Fitness product warranties include technical support from a Horizon-authorized service center, which may not be within 50 miles of a consumer’s location, in which case “Horizon Fitness will only pay up to $150 toward (the) first service call.”

In fact, in a press release issued in March 2010, the BBB made their assessment of Horizon Fitness very clear:

In the past 36 months, the BBB has processed 43 complaints against Johnson Health Tech/Horizon Fitness, with 12 of those occurring since January 1, 2010. These complaints range from faulty advertising and customer service to delivery and product issues:

“…hidden terms and conditions that I was not aware of and did not agree to. They offer no support and the nearest technician is two hours away.” –Luke, Redgranite, WI

“The trainer frame is broken and Horizon will not provide the broken parts because they say it’s not under warranty…The manual does not define ‘frame’ vs. ‘parts’.” –Robert, Ormond Beach, FL

“The treadmill is barely a year old and the motor has not been working properly for four months.” –Hussein, Arcadia, CA

“The treadmill sped up and threw me face down… causing me to have to go to the Emergency Room and get five stitches to my lip and face.” –Melanie, Topeka, KS

“For the second time my treadmill is changing speed on its own…from 3.4 to 7.3 then down to 1.2...I called Horizon about this problem some time ago…the problem has not been corrected—it has reoccurred.” –Frank, Pleasant Hill, CA

Taking the Better Business Bureau ratings into account we cannot we cannot in all conscience recommend buying any product from Horizon Fitness at this time. Hopefully the BBB has lit a fire under someone in the Customer Services department at Horizon and we will have happier news to report about them in a few months time