AFG Sport 5.9AT Treadmill, Gray

This machine arrives very heavy. It weighs more than advertised. I had to wait for my grown son and daughter to help me with it. The delivery guy had trouble just getting it to the front door. It sat in the box for weeks. We decided to put it together yesterday. We started by taking parts out to inventory. Me and my daughter lifted from the lightest end and my son from the heavy end. We lifted and my son immediately screamed in pain. The arms under the bottom had expanded and locked into place on his finger. We tried everything to free him. We tried to release it, but it was locked into place. We tried unscrewing bolts but we didn't have the right Allen wrenches. We had to call 911 to get my son out of this thing. They even had trouble. My son was trapped for almost an hour in this thing. I thought he was going to lose his finger. It was smashed flat. We went to urgent care and thank goodness no broken bones and the circulation is good. There should be a warning on this thing. I would never recommend this machine..I don't know what I'm going to do with it. Now I'm out of the money I paid for it. Medical bill and medicine .

Horrible purchase! Extremely dissatisfied! I bought this treadmill because of the Bluetooth technology and programs available because of that. I tried connecting it with 2 different Samsung tablets and it would not work. Complained to the company that it was not working as advertised. They tried to help me out. They even went to the trouble of sending a new treadmill to me. Still would not connect to either of my tablets. I went to the store and bought an iPad, to see if it would connect. Surprise surprise it connected. I informed the company of this and asked if they would reimburse the cost of the iPad. I had purchased the cheapest one because I had no other need for the iPad. They refused to. They said it wasn't their fault the app wouldn't run from my other tablets. I returned the iPad, because I have no use for it. No I have a basic treadmill. I had a basic treadmill already. I wanted this for the additional programs available. This was a waste of my money and time. Please don't waste your money or time on this horrible product. It does not work as advertised!

I run 50-70 miles each week, usually between 6-8 mph. I have been using a  LifeSpan TR1200i Folding Treadmill  since 2012 and I reviewed that product at length in 2015: https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/RX7SR6JFX3YSD?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl The Lifespan 1200i has some weakness, but in the end its strengths outweigh those weaknesses and I had learned to live with them after many thousands of miles. Before the Lifespan I was using a Proform 9.0ZT and it was just awful. With that information in mind, I am going to review this AFG 5.9AT Sport.Although these are only my first impressions, I will update this review as my experience warrants, like I have done with the Lifespan review.Overall, I am very happy with the machine – about 9 out of 10. With attached photos, here are my impressions so far:Shipping/packaging – 8 out of 10: the box arrived very damaged, but the treadmill was unscathed other than a few minor scratches.Assembly – 7 out of 10: I’m pretty knowledgeable for a consumer when it comes to treadmills and have adequate strength to do the assembly by myself. I think it will require a team effort for most purchasers. The instructions state to unbox and assemble the treadmill in the room for good reason. I couldn’t do that because of the size of the room so I had to bring the treadmill into the room in pieces. I cannot express enough what extreme caution must be used if you ever turn the treadmill deck on the side to move it through a doorway. I was prepared for this, but I could see how it could cause major self-inflicted injury. The hydraulic assist (pressurized shock) for the treadmill deck will very violently spring open along with the base if the treadmill is ever placed on its side. The weight of the deck on this part is what keeps the part in a compressed state. The manual has a warning regarding this and it must be emphasized. To avoid any problem, keep the treadmill deck horizontally flat to the ground at all times during assembly.There are a total of just 18 screws or bolts that have to be tightened. This is where I ran into a little problem. Three of the bolt/screw holes were not tapped correctly. I am certain they weren’t tapped correctly because I tried and tried to thread them correctly into place and couldn’t. For two, I was able to use a lot of strength and get them seated correctly, however, one of the bolts holding the left mast ended up not seating completely, however there were two other bolts holding it and the mast boot cover covers the protruding part. It is protruding about ¼” inch. This is one area where I think the manufacturer needs to address quality control. (It’s extremely frustrating and time consuming when bolts/screws won’t thread because of a bad tap job.)Physical design – 9 out of 10: The console is nice and big and feels more solid than the previous two treadmills I have had. The pocket stand for the tablet is adequate for the iPad with charging cable and a remote. There is a USB charger integrated into the console to charge the tablet, as well as AUX-input to play music on the included speakers if you aren't using the Bluetooth capability with the speakers (cable included to manually connect the console to your device). There’s no volume control on the console so you must use your device’s volume control. The cup holders are shallower than I would like. They don’t hold a remote securely.There are quick touch buttons for speed and incline in 1-degree/1 mph increments from 1-12 degrees and 1-10 mph. The fan is also adequate, but has only one setting.The side handrails are shorter than a lot of treadmills. As a runner, this is fine for me because I am not holding the side handrails. However, if you are a walker and tend to stray to the middle of the treadmill, you will find that you don’t have much of a handrail to grab onto if needed. As a walker, you will need to stay in the front 1/3 of the deck.Technology integration – 10 out of 10: This is where this treadmill shines. I am using an iPad Air 2 and I ran into zero issues. (I noticed a previous reviewer had trouble with a non-Apple device, but I didn't have such issues.) The iPad Air 2 works flawlessly with the treadmill. (Make sure your tablet has Bluetooth 4.0, which is required to pair to the treadmill. Early iPads will not work.) I downloaded the app and followed the pairing instructions and it was completely setup with the treadmill in mere minutes with no issues. The response time from a command on the iPad Air 2 to the treadmill is nearly instantaneous.The treadmill goes to sleep after about 10 minutes of non-use and in this sleep state, the treadmill can remain 'on' to charge the tablet via the integrated USB charging port.The one weakness of the app for the iPad is that it is not possible to design and store your own “manual” workout. There are several other programs (fat burn, hill climb, 5K, fit test and heart rate), but the app could be improved with the ability to customize and store a personally designed workout program.The included Polar heart rate monitor and (medium-size) chest strap integrates flawlessly with the treadmill and iPad app. Nothing has to be done than put the heartrate monitor on the chest.Mechanical performance – 9 out of 10: This is where I need more time on the treadmill to really be critical. So far though, I have only one complaint – when running on an incline, the treadmill console shakes with each step a little more than I am used to. I may need to fiddle around with the feet on the front of the treadmill to get it better balanced. I will update this area as I get more experience to adequately evaluate the mechanical performance. However, so far the treadmill is smooth, quiet and powerful. (You must lube the unit with the included lube before use.)