Budget treadmills are solid performers, our lab tests find

A treadmill can be a big investment. Budget models typically cost about $1,000 and premium models can run upwards of $3,000. They can hog valuable real estate in your home, and could become nothing more than a giant clothes hanger. If you're on the fence about whether to buy one, our latest poll of Consumer Reports readers may set you at ease: We found that the majority of treadmill owners said they actually used their machines as much as—if not more than—they planned.

We also tested dozens of treadmills (Ratings available to subscribers) and found 19 models worth recommending, including four Best Buys priced from $800 to $1,900. Our poll of 1,433 Consumer Reports online subscribers who said they owned at least one exercise machine found that just about half of them had a treadmill, and half of those cost $1,000 or less. ProForm was the most common brand of treadmill people owned (21 percent of machines purchased new), followed by NordicTrack (15 percent).

Most treadmills were being used as much as their owners initially expected (59 percent) or even more (11 percent). Just 30 percent were used much less than expected. And the exercise experience seems to be a family affair: 83 percent of treadmills and 74 percent of exercise machines overall were used by two or more people.

The machines were put to good use: Four out of 10 treadmills were used by our respondents for at least three hours a week in the past month. Three hours a week on a treadmill at the pace of a brisk walk easily meets the minimum two and a half hours of moderate physical activity recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services for healthy adults.

Only 8 percent of treadmills purchased since 2007 required a repair. Owners of about three out of four treadmills said they were highly satisfied with their machines, and the same proportion said they would buy a treadmill again, with 46 percent sticking with the same exact model.

For more, see How to Choose a Treadmill, Features that Count, and Safe Use of a Treadmill.

—Kevin McCarthy