Heat resistant treadmill bed suggestions?

[Wouter Hoogkamer]

Hi All,

We recently started riding bicycles on our self-built treadmill. During cycling the point of contact between the tire and the treadmill is rather stationary. As a result the temperature of the treadmill bed increases substantially, eventually causing our phenolic deck to start melting. Phenolic has always worked well for running (because the point of contact moves relative to the treadmill bed).

If you have any suggestions on what low-friction, heat resistant material we could use for our cycling / skiing / wheelchair treadmill, please let us know.

Thanks a lot!

Wouter Hoogkamer, Ph.D.
Locomotion Lab
Department of Integrative Physiology,
University of Colorado, Boulder

[Ted Andresen]

Re: Heat resistant treadmill bed suggestions?

Hi Wouter,

Phenolic is a bizarre material. It doesn’t melt, it decomposes. You can’t reheat it and push it back into its original shape. Like most plastics, it’s not very good at conducting heat. You might have better luck with sheet metal.

You can buy rolls of sheet metal at a home improvement center. Some call it flashing. I had to use two sheets, side by side to cover the width of my treadboard, but you might be able to find wider stock at a roofing or sheet metal supply house.

Just make sure you wrap the forward edge of the sheet over the front edge of the treadboard firmly, so it doesn’t protrude above the surface and scar the underside of the treadbelt.

If you can’t find a bending brake, you can do it yourself if you are careful, wear gloves and use a rubber mallet. You might find some of the Youtube videos on sheet metal bending of value.

Ted Andresen
St. Petersburg, Florida

[Wouter Hoogkamer]

Re: Heat resistant treadmill bed suggestions?

Thanks Ted,

We're a little worried that sheet metal imposes too much friction on the belt, but we will look into it!

Wouter

[Ted Andresen]

Re: Heat resistant treadmill bed suggestions?

Hi Wouter,

You might perform a simple experiment using an infrared thermometer gun. You can’t read the temp of the treadboard, but maybe a few measurements of the treadbelt just behind the wheel’s contact point while it’s under load will help. That will give you an idea as to whether it’s hotter or cooler with the sheet metal.

Remember to put the shinny side up.

Ted