Reebok T5.2 Treadmill Review

The Reebok T5.2 Treadmill is part of the Reebok Fitness performance series of equipment. This range has been around for a few years, and as an older machine in Reebok’s portfolio, it can be picked up at nicely discounted prices! Interestingly, despite being an older model, this machine doesn’t actually look dated – perhaps due to the classic design style and the machine itself being way ahead of its time when first released.

The Reebok T5.2 treadmill is the big brother of one of our favourite treadmills of all time: The Reebok T3.2 treadmill.

Let’s start with the basics: This treadmill is powered by a 2.25 horsepower continuous duty motor, has a 50cm by 150 cm running deck, a top speed of 12 miles per hour and 15 levels of electronically controlled powered incline.

So far, pretty standard and nothing special! The unique experience offered by this treadmill becomes apparent when it’s fired up and you start running on it. The T5.2 has Reebok’s patented swing arm suspension technology, which results in the entire running deck moving to absorb impact. Whilst on the surface, this seems like a strange idea, in reality it works incredibly well. Basically, the movement is greatest near the front of the deck, where heel impact takes place and the most cushioning  is needed, while the back of the deck doesn’t move and provides a firm surface for pushing off.

The innovation doesn’t with the suspension. The console is very different other typical treadmill console. At its center is a seven inch colour touch screen that provides an amazingly intuitive user interface for controlling every aspect of the treadmill. Even the volume of the speakers (which are either side of the console) and turning the fan (above the screen) on and off is done using the screen. And for the iPod fans, there’s even a charging dock so that their iPod can get charged up while the tunes play through the speakers.

In terms of programs, the T5.2 has a pretty decent range with the programs organised into logical groupings. Firstly, there are 3 target programs (time, distance & calories), speed interval (with 12 levels), incline interval (with 12 levels), weight loss (7 levels), heart rate control, 5k competition training and finally, for maximum flexibility, there are 3 custom programs that can be defined by the user. In addition, the console can store the profiles (age, gender, weight etc.) of 9 separate users and this data is used to provide more accurate estimates of calorie consumption.

We’re big fans of heart rate control and are pleased to see that this treadmill is offered with a wireless chest strap included as standard. So, everything needed for heart rate controlled training is in the box.

In addition to the cushioning and the clever console, there’s a third unique feature on this treadmill. There are a pair of motion control sensors! The speed of the belt can be controlled using these controls: just pass your hand over the right hand sensor and the speed of the belt increases, pass it over the left sensor and it slows down and pass it over both at the same time and it stops the belt. Your reviewer found that this method of control took a bit of time to get the hang of, but soon afterwards, using the buttons on the console to control the speed no longer felt natural. These ‘jedi’ controls are a very good idea and it’s a shame that more treadmills haven’t adopted similar technology!

This is one heavy treadmill and is also large (over 2 meters with the deck is down), so moving it may seem like a daunting task, but with the deck folded you can tilt the machine back a little bit and a little trolley wheel pops up and locks into place underneath the deck. This, along with the wheels at the front of the machine make it surprisingly maneuverable!

We’re really impressed with the design and build of this machine. A sign of the quality of the components such as the rollers, the motor and running belt used in making the T5.2 is that it’s pretty quiet machine. We’ve seen treadmills with larger advertised motor sizes that sound like a hair dryer in comparison to this!

The warranty on the T5.2 is pretty much what you’d expect from a top of the range machine from a big brand: lifetime frame, 10 years motor and 2 years parts & labour.