Comments

• Fritz Holznagel - March 3, 2009

  This is a very cool product, and I’d like to get one for my home office.  Steelcase could be doing a little more to sell me on it, though, to be honest.

  Mainly I worry about annual maintenance and about the Walkstation breaking down. I know there’s a one-year labor warranty (three for parts, right?)... but should I plan for an annual visit by the fixit-man, just to keep it up?  How much should I expect for that?  After how many usage hours?

  Also, when it inevitably starts squeaking, can I oil it myself or does that kind of thing need an official visit?

  And: Can’t anything be done about that harshly high price? It comes out to $6000+ after adding in the various not-included extras and tax. That’s a lot to take a risk on for a fairly unknown product.

  Thanks for listening.

• Content Editor - March 6, 2009

  Thank you for your interest in the Walkstation.  I’d like to take a minute to address your questions/concerns associated with making a purchase.  The Walkstation requires no more annual maintenance than a regular treadmill.  We recommend the belt be lubricated at least once per year (6 months for heavy usage/10 hours per week and 12 months for lighter use) and there are instructions in the Users Guide to explain how to turn one or two screws to align the belt if it shifts and tighten it if needed.  We do not see a need for a certain annual visit by a repair person.  Both of these user maintenance items can remedy some noises, if there is a noise that comes from under the motor cover, we would recommend a service technician be called.  The warranty covers the labor for one year, parts and wear items for three years and the frame for life.

  We understand your concern about price. It is definately an invesetment. Included in the price of the Walkstation is our White Glove Delivery service.  White Glove Delivery service is required on most of our larger items, fragile items and products that require substantial assembly. When White Glove Delivery is required, we include this in the product price for your convenience. White Glove Delivery includes a delivery appointment, inside delivery, assembly and installation in your room of choice and removal of all packing materials. 

  I hope you find this information helpful and will consider the purhcase of a Walkstion. Feel free to contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with any other questions.

• Steelcase Store Team - March 9, 2009

  Hi Fritz,
  I hope you’ll notice that we recently reduced the price of the Walkstation by $500 to $4499. Thanks for the great feedback.

  The Steelcase Store Team

• Talpur - May 4, 2009

  Resources like the one you mentioned here will be very useful to me! I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful..
  Regards,

• Fritz Holznagel - May 7, 2009

  The price break sealed the deal for me and I just received my new Walkstation this morning.  (And did 4.5 miles since then!)  The “White Glove” setup was great, and thank heavens somebody besides me was setting it up.  I’m delighted to have it.

• David Goldsmith - August 1, 2009

  I have had my Walkstation since October and it is the best piece of furniture I have owned.  I routinely do 4-10 miles a day and it feels like free exercise.

• Fritz Holznagel - August 5, 2009

  I’m following up three months later with a few thoughts—and I’ll cross-post this to the reviews section.  I suspect other potential buyers may be as curious for information as I was.

  Overall the Walkstation has been exactly as advertised.  Most crucially, I find it easy to type and surf the web while walking. (I’m doing it right now, in fact.)  I’m a freelance writer and I use the Walkstation while handling emails, writing invoices, doing light editing, reading the news, etc. 

  So far I get off the Walkstation when I have to do heavy thinking or creative work. It just seems like one extra thing I don’t need when I’m really writing hard. 

  Overall, the time breezes by and I often realize “Jeez, I’ve been walking for an hour already.”

  I find that I go about two hours a day, and then seem to naturally quit.  The most I’ve done in any one day is four hours, in two two-hour sessions.

  Disappointments: I find I still need to stretch before using (and after), which is something I hated to do before running and other kinds of exercise. So this doesn’t get me out of that.

  Because of that, I hop on it a little less than I might otherwise for a 15-minute session while doing some small task.

  It’s still not a no-brainer to get on; I usually have to talk myself into it just a little bit. Once I’m there, though, it’s always fine.

  I also find there’s a little bit of noticable strain on my upper calves and knees. I believe this is due to the slightly unnatural position of walking with both hands held forward to type, instead of swinging the arms as normal.  If I walk for two hours outdoors my legs get tired overall, but here I notice the tiredness or soreness in those two particular points. 

  I chose the scallop-shaped desk—the one with the curved front—and it’s been very comfortable. After agonizing over colors, I just went with the basic white surface and silver legs. It’s a bit institutional, but better (I think) than the faux-cherry I was considering.

  It doesn’t do much for the color scheme in our living room, though.

  Overall, the Walkstation does what I hoped it would do: get me walking for a couple hours a day when I would normally be sitting.