AFG 3.1 AT Treadmill Review

   Hello friends! Hope everyone is doing well and staying active while it seems like the entire country is frozen solid under ice. I'm doing my best to think positive, stay busy and hope the groundhog was wrong!

   I didn’t think it would happen. I always considered myself one of those “hardcore” winter beasts that didn’t mind running outside in subzero temperatures through several inches of snow and ice. But, it happened anyways. With the addition of the new home treadmill, I’ve turned soft! Every time I think about going outside to run, I take a good look out my window, check the wind chill on my iPhone and decide it’d be much easier to trot downstairs into my basement. Luke Skywalker isn't stuck in some ice cave. So, why venture out onto Hoth? I’ll get out there again at some point I guess. The snow has been heavy this winter, so there’s even less room on the shoulder of the main road that I run on. The local drivers are even more homicidal than usual. So until everything thaws a little, I’ll settle for safety for the time being.

   Since I’ve been spending so much time on the new treadmill, I thought that this would be a good time to post a review of the unit itself and store that I purchased it from.

   I purchased my treadmill from a local fitness store named, G & G Fitness. G & G was first opened in Buffalo, NY in 1990 by the Gronkowski brothers. They sell both commercial and personal fitness related equipment. They offer several major fitness brands and have stores in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. I thought that store looked good. They had ample space to display all of the equipment they had to offer. They had several different treadmills to choose from. Prices ranged from about $500 up to $10,000 depending on size, motor type and available features. I was immediately greeted by a polite and knowledgeable salesperson. After some brief discussion I was shown models in my price range of about $1000. I was then switched to a different salesperson. This, I didn’t really care for. But, I was there on a weekend during a promotional sale and the store was busy as hell. The second salesperson was polite and more casual than the first. We soon discovered that we grew up in the same neighborhood and new some of the same people. This I liked very much. I narrowed my pick down to a particular model and was surprised when he knocked the delivery charge as well as about $200 off the retail price because I work in law enforcement. Nice! We took care of the paperwork and set up a delivery time. The entire process took I’d say, no longer than a hour and was quite easy. One of the best Christmas gifts that my mother has ever gotten me! Overall, a very good treadmill shopping experience!

   A few days later I discovered that the originally planned delivery date needed to be changed due to some personal conflicts. That’s when things got a little weird. I called the store to change the date and it took about a half an hour for them to figure out that my salesperson accidentally put the order under my mother’s name, instead of mine. He also put her middle name as her last name. Honest mistake. The delivery was moved ahead without any more problems.

   About a week went by and that’s when things got even stranger. As the delivery date approached, I called the store to ensure that everything was still scheduled. Again with the whole name issue! Got it straightened out yet again. Then they told me that they tried calling the number that I provided and that someone answered claiming that it was the wrong number. The person who answered claimed that they get calls for my wife and me all the time. The number that I gave them was my personal cell. I’ve had that number for about five years. This was the first time that I've had a problem like this. The salesperson spun me a tale about how the same thing happened to him years ago. I gave him my home number instead and was ensured that everything was still good to go for the new delivery date. After a little research, I discovered that it's next to impossible for two different cell phones to have the same number. It's technically possible, if done illegally. I wasn't in any rush to get the treadmill home. It wasn't like I couldn't run without it. The store could've just been honest with me and told me that they screwed up the paperwork again. I would've been fine with that. The fact that they tried to concoct an elaborate story to cover this was frustrating!

   Delivery day came and, you guessed it, there were more problems. The delivery window was supposed to be from 12-5 PM. The delivery company is contracted out by the store. They were supposed to call about a half an hour before they were going to arrive. 4:30 PM rolled on by and I called the store to ensure it was still coming. I was assured that it was. I finally got a call about a half an hour later. They were overbooked for the day. But, they could still deliver and do the set up if I didn't mind it being after five. At this point, I didn't care! I just wanted the damn thing already! They finally made it and set it up in about 45 minutes. Whew!

   Lets get down to the actual review of the unit itself. It's gotta be good for all of the hassle that I've gone through! Right? The model I bought is made by a company called AFG. Which stands for Advanced Fitness Group. The company is based out of Taiwan and is Asia's largest and the world's third largest fitness equipment manufacturer. The model itself is the cheapest out of the three models they offer and is called the 3.1 AT.

      Let's talk dimensions. It roughly measures three feet wide, four and a half feet tall and seven feet long. Not the biggest treadmill I've ever seen. The bed easily folds up and locks for storage. But, the resting angle isn't completely vertical. So, it's large enough that you need a dedicated space. As you can see from the picture, it also has rolling wheels. But, it sure isn't easy to move. So, wherever you place it, is going to be where it will stay.

  The instructions were easy to read and the unit seemed pretty straightforward. It comes with four hex tools for belt and motor adjustment. I was able to log onto the company's website and easily register my purchase for warranty purposes.

   The 2.75 HP motor runs quietly from speeds 0.5-12 MPH. The incline range is from 0-15% and can support up to 500 lbs. The unit quickly and quietly changes when adjusting either speed or incline. The belt runs smooth and is advertised as not needing to be ever lubricated. I highly doubt this. But we'll do some more research on that subject. The shock system seems to work well. When running I didn't notice any loud banging during my foot falls.

   The unit has built in speakers and came with an audio jack for a MP3 player, smart phone or tablet. The speakers have a fairly decent sound range and haven't had any problems with them yet. The unit has a built in headphone jack. Why? So you can plug in a device, then plug in a pair of headphones to listen? Why not just plug the headphones into your device instead?

   

   The display is bright yellow and easy to read. It displays the time of day, calories and heart rate continuously. But, will only display either elapsed time and distance or incline and speed. Your heart rate can be taken by touching the four sensors on the unit or linking up a heart rate strap.

 

   I've done several runs over the course of about three weeks on it. The first week I used it to train I noticed that my typical incline and speed ranges were feeling much more difficult than usual. I chalked it up to being sick. But, then I got an epiphany. I checked and sure enough, the unit wasn't completely level. I played with the adjustable castors for about 45 minutes without any luck. It was only off about 2-3%. But, that's a lot over the course of six miles. After researching the instructions and company's website I gave up. I went to my local hardware store and bought a small box of closeout ceramic tiles. After placing two under each back wheel I managed to even it out. Not sure what's up with that? Several of the online reviews I read mention nothing about this problem. Either way, it was easily resolved.

   Overall, I love the treadmill. It's something that I wish I would've gotten much sooner. Some days, it's just easier and safer to run inside. My biggest fear that held me back from getting one sooner was that I'm a REAL distance runner. Unlike many weekend warriors, my treadmill will get used often and not as a clothes rack. I was always afraid that I would wear it out too quickly. Not this one. It's sturdy, solid and comes with lifetime warranties on the motor and frame. Parts have a three year warranty and you get unlimited in-home repairs for a year. It has many features that are normally found on more expensive models. The experience with the store wasn't that great and I think that the price was marked up a little too high. So, not sure if I'd use them again. But, it's a great addition to my training equipment. I'm going to retain my gym membership for now. I still need some free weights and while running inside may be safer, it can get boring pretty quick. Even with my iPad plugged in! If you are looking for an affordable treadmill, I hope this review helps. Check out AFG. Good stuff!

   As always my friends, have a great day and put some miles into your life. Whether it's outside or inside, get out there!