Walkolution arrived!
It took about four months longer than expected, but it’s here! My Walkolution 2 is on the scene, and I’m digging it.
What it is
The Walkolution is a “manual” treadmill, meaning it’s powered by your feet. A standard electric treadmill requires frequent lubrication and belt adjustment (at least on the cheap ones I’ve used). And the motor is going to wear out, rendering the entire treadmill as landfill fodder. It’s only a matter of time.
The Walkolution has no motor and requires no maintenance. It could in theory last the rest of my life. Having successfully experimented with the cheap ones, and having had one of them die on me, I was ready to pay a premium for quality.
I wasn’t alone....
Shipping delays
The original Walkolution cost over $5,000. The recently announced Walkolution 2 cost closer to $2,000, and the company offered a 20% early-bird discount on preorders. Apparently I wasn’t the only one moved by such a dramatic price drop.
The company was flooded with orders far beyond what they expected, and the shipping schedule was delayed by several months. I ordered in late December with a communicated ship date of late January. Then it moved to February, then to late March. It finally arrived on April 8th.
First impressions
Loving manual. With the other treadmills I’ve tried, including the nice LifeSpan model at work, starting and stopping takes some tapping. I have to start the treadmill, possibly wait for a countdown timer (my cheap ones require this), then push the faster button a bunch of times to get to my desired speed. Each button press emits a loud beep, bothering those around you — or much worse, risking waking my slumbering kids. If I want to pause, I have to stop it completely, and then redo all those taps and beeps.
On the manual treadmill, if I want to pause or stop, I just stop walking. Then I can take that sip of coffee, make that precise mouse drag, hop on that video call, help my kid with something, listen to what my wife is yelling at me, etc. And when I’m ready to start again, I just move my feet. That’s awesome!
No smell. The cheap walking desks smell. At least the ones I’ve used do. They smell like an overworked motor, or hot lubricant, or something in that ballpark. It’s the type of smell that makes me wonder, “Will this eventually give me cancer?” And I feel like the correct answer to that question is almost always, “Probably.”
The manual treadmill has no motor or lubricant. Win!
It’s quiet. There’s no motor noise, and walking is just quieter due to the belt design. The belt is mostly suspended in air rather than resting on a hard surface. This means when you walk, not only does the belt’s suspension give you some nice shock absorption, but your step doesn’t make much sound.
No remote control. The two treadmills I’ve owned can be controlled only by a small remote. Lose that remote and the treadmill is bricked. I’m glad to be done with that risk.
It’s an adjustment. While on the whole I’m quite happy with this upgrade, there is a learning curve. On an electric treadmill, your cadence is precisely set by the machine, and you can immediately settle into that predictable rhythm.
On a manual treadmill, your cadence is set by your exertion level and, at least on the Walkolution, by your forward/aft position on the belt. That’s because Walkolution curves up toward the front, so if you walk closer to the front, you get more gravity assist. This takes some getting used to. But you settle into it after a few days and it starts to feel natural.
Out of time. Cheers!