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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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* Using a running treadmill with a plank of wood over the arms is an option that can allow you to try out a treadmill desk without too much investment (assuming you have a running treadmill of course). However, there's a real risk of injury if the plank falls, dumping the wood and laptop (plus wires) into your path. A running treadmill is likely to be louder than a treadmill designed for use as a desk, and there may be concerns that protracted use at the slow speed is likely to burn out the motor.
* I purchased the Rebel Desk 1000 which is a treadmill designed specifically for use with a desk. The Rebel Desk is one of the cheapest options on the market, and has had generally good reviews. . See below for a detailed review.
* A great looking option is the [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016COFDOA iMovR ThermoTread GT]. However, I was put off by the lack of credible reviews and the price. (Note that [http://www.workwhilewalking.com/ http://www.workwhilewalking.com/] is owned by iMovR, so its reviews are not credible and I consider it rather deceptive of them to stand up a pseudo-review site like this.)
* LifeSpan does a range of Under Desk Treadmills, but they appear to be lightly modified running treadmills. While people seem to get on okay with them, there is a regular complaint that the user interface requires you to press a lot buttons to use them. Also, unless you buy the highest end model, they have restrictions on how long they can be used per day. (Note that the DT3 moniker is for the under desk treadmills, and they do versions that are combined with a desk.)
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! Treadmill
! Price
* The Rebel Desk has a no limitations on how many hours per day it can be used. This is important to me, as I intend to build up to using it for most of the (extended) working day.
* The footprint of the Rebel Desk is relatively small. I find it is larger than I need in terms of walking surface, and I like the way it uses up less of my limited floorspace.
* The walking surface is fairly close to the ground, something that's important to me as I have a ceiling fan and I want to maintain a good clearance between my head and the blades! It also works nicely with my standing desk, and a high walking surface would've meant my desk might run out of height adjustment. The low height also makes it easy to step off and step onto the treadmill while it's running, something I'm sure would horrify the manufacturer's lawyers, but it works quite well.<br/>[[File:RebelDesk Profile.jpg|center|thumb|200px|The side of the treadmill, with my usual size comparison of a Gu Packet. (I'm not sure my [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrology| Metrologist] friends would approve of this unit of measure.)]]
* The power consumption seems reasonable to me. On standby it uses 1.8 watts, so I don't feel the need to unplug it when I'm not using it. The power consumption in use will vary somewhat with the weight of the user, but for me it draws 50 watts @ 0.5 MPH, rising to 155 watts at 2.0 MPH (unloaded power consumption is roughly half of that.)
* I consider the noise levels of the rebel desk to be reasonably low, but it's hard to convey in writing what this means. It's easy to provide some metrics using a sound level meter, but that may not convey what you need to know. There are several components to the noise of using a treadmill. Firstly, there is the noise the treadmill makes on its own, which ranges from 42 dB @ 0.5 MPH to 50 dB @ 2.0 MPH. This is pretty quiet, and is the sound of an electric motor going round, a vaguely similar sound to an electric fan. Once you step onto the treadmill the sound changes quite a bit. There is the sound of the belt, that is now rubbing on the supporting plate due to your weight, and that raises the sound level, from 60 dB @ 0.5 MPH to 65 dB @ 2.0 MPH. The other audible component is the sound of your feet landing on the treadmill, and while this only adds a handful of dB to the noise level, the intermittent nature of the sound makes it far more intrusive and tends to travel much further. I have my treadmill upstairs, and the sound of my footfalls is clearly audible downstairs, which can be more than a little annoying to others in the house. As an observant reader, you'll have noticed that this bullet point is under the positives section of my review. That's because I think the Rebel camp desk is about as quiet as a treadmill is likely to be without becoming prohibitively bulky and expensive. Whether or not the sound levels are acceptable for you will depend on your circumstances. I find that it's quiet enough that there is no intrusion on my phone calls, though I am using a good quality noise canceling headset.
