York Active 120 Treadmill Review

Product Description

We’re happy to tell you about the York Active 120 because it has plenty of appealing features and no major drawbacks. This treadmill is aimed at everyone from intermediate level to novice, and it has enough diversity in its programs to satisfy most athletes in these brackets.

Our Review

Useful Display Screen

The backlit display allows you choose from 6 speed and 6 incline programs – the York Active 120 has a powered incline of up to 12% and a max speed of 16 km, the latter of which is more than enough for its target users. Incline and speed buttons are separated on each side, which is a smart idea. You can also customise one program.

Distance, time, speed, calories, and pulse are measured, though some say that the pulse sensors aren’t too accurate. However, hand-grip sensors always are a bit hit-or-miss, so if you’re serious about measuring your heart rate, you would usually look at getting a cheap chest-strap monitor.

Each program has 10 parts of equal duration and can run for up to 1.5 hours. By the way, you can also use the hand-grips to set the speed and incline, which means you won’t have to stop moving if you’re nervous about letting go of the grips to make an adjustment when you want a change midway through.

A Straightforward Design

Although the YA 120 is heavy at 68 kg, it has wheels and is very easy to assemble. Most of it is already fitted together, and it will only take a little while to finish the job.

Its size is 164 x 73 x 129 cm, with a 120 x 41 cm running area, and you can fold it for storage. The deck consists of six parts that are elastic and cushioned, so it should feel comfortable and impact to the joints is nicely reduced. It has the standard 1-year warranty. Max user weight is 110 kg.

Overall Review

Although the motor is rated at 1.25 HP, it can actually achieve 2.5 HP, so it’s more powerful than you’d think.

Starting at zero incline and a minimum speed of 1 km/h, you can slowly get into the rhythm of the treadmill and take it all the way up to its maximum speed of 16km per hour – a brisk sprint for most of us. Even at a slow pace, a steep incline will challenge you if you’re not used to training on it, so we’d suggest trying a combination of a low speed and moderate incline or a higher speed and gentle or no incline until your muscles are ready for more.

With 6 incline settings and a brisk top speed, this treadmill offers rather more options than the average home set-up. And if you only want a treadmill for walking purposes, this will do fine.

One niggling issue is with the display – when you finish a program or stop for several minutes, it will reset to zero. There is no way to pause it. It’s best to write down the final readouts as quickly as possible if you want to have a record. Also, there is no bottle holder on the machine. Assuming that no partner or family member wants to stand by with your water, you’ll have to improvise!

For this price, you’d expect a good piece of equipment, and the YA 120 is well put together. It doesn’t make excessive noise, and it’s both durable and sturdy enough to give you lasting value.

The final issue worth mentioning is that you will want to ensure your stride length fits 120 cm. If not, you will need a larger, more expensive treadmill. The huge majority of users won’t need to worry about this, of course.