Standing Desks & Treadmill Desks

While the jury-rigged DIY treadmill desk may have been the best option in the past for someone with a running treadmill just collecting dust in the attic, and possessing of good garage workshop hacking skills, the office fitness industry has now caught up with demand by offering a wide array of quality products all across the price spectrum. We've compiled the specs of all the major treadmill desks on the market today, to easily compare them against each other so you can find the right treadmill for your walking workstation. For a comprehensive review of the many desk options for pairing with a walking base, see our Comparison Review of Adjustable-Height Standing Desks.

Like their positioning in the exercise equipment field, LifeSpan focuses on offering middle-of-the-road treadmill desk solutions that are of decent quality at a reasonable price, but their DNA is clearly that of an exercise equipment manufacturer, not an office furniture manufacturer. A consistent DNA marker with treadmill desk manufacturers is if they offer their treadmill bases for sale standalone, without a desk. LifeSpan does, and we strongly encourage you to read our detailed review of the LifeSpan TR800, T1200 and TR5000 treadmill bases in addition to this review to learn all about their core technology. The treadmill base, after all, is where the rubber truly meets the road.

TR1200 is reliable, well-designed, and relatively soft on the wallet—a combination of quality and cost-efficiency that we've found hard to beat. While other treadmills have it beat feature for feature, individuals looking for a basic, low-cost treadmill base that will last for years will find the TR1200 suits their needs perfectly. In the years since its introduction to the market the TR1200 has become the most popular base used in walking workstations, usually in concert with an adjustable height desk, such as a ThermoDesk Elite or Omega Everest.

In this review we'll go into greater detail on the TR5000 model - the most ruggedly built and capable of all walking treadmill bases in the market today. For a comparison between the three LifeSpan models click on the "Compare LifeSpan Models" tab. You can also read how these models compare to all the others in the market - including makers such as Steelcase (**), TreadDesk (*), Rebel Desk (*), Exerpeutic (*) and Woodway (*) - in our Comparison Review of Standalone Treadmill bases.

The worst thing you can say about the TR800 is that it isn't the TR1200. This pocket-sized treadmill's bigger brother has cast a long shadow over an otherwise impressive product. On one hand, the TR800 holds a clear advantage over all other budget treadmills we've seen pass through the labs; on the other, a relatively low price ($200) nets you a considerable upgrade in terms of walking space and durability. Within its price category the TR800 ($799.99) runs circles around its sub-$1,000 competitors, namely the TreadDesk ($855), the Rebel 1000 ($749), and the Exerpeutic Workfit 2000 ($700) -all three of which received 1-star reviews from our experts. The Rebel and TreadDesk treadmills [...]

The Rebel treadmill is targeted at the frugal customer who is looking for the lowest cost, smallest footprint solution, while attaining an attractive look that veers away from the “gym equipment” color scheme of traditional treadmills. The rub is that achieving a lower retail price point as a new, low-volume producer requires leaving out some popular features and reducing component quality cut in order to sustain a reasonable profit margin.