Weslo Crosswalk 5.2t: the arm-bar treadmill, and what to buy now that nothing has arm bars

If the arm bars on your Crosswalk 5.2t have worn out, fold them down, lock them and keep walking; the treadmill underneath is worth a belt and some lubricant. If the controller board or motor goes, replace the machine. No current treadmill has moving arm bars, so the XTERRA TR150 is the closest match on deck and motor, the WellFit Folding Treadmill is the closest on price, and an elliptical is the closest thing to the full-body feel.

What the Crosswalk 5.2t was

The Crosswalk 5.2t was a $400 folding treadmill with a gimmick that, for some people, was the whole point: two padded arm bars that rose from the frame and swung back and forth against adjustable resistance while you walked. Weslo sold the Crosswalk idea on several models for the better part of two decades, and the 5.2t was one of the last and most common. Fold the bars down and lock them, and you had a plain budget treadmill.

We never tested one, so these are published figures, rounded and hedged: a motor rated about 2.25 HP, a belt of roughly 16 x 50 in, a 10 mph top speed, two manual incline positions and a user rating around 250 lb. It folded the same way as the Weslo Cadence G 5.9, deck up toward the console. Weslo is a budget label from the same parent company as ProForm and NordicTrack.

Who bought it

Walkers who wanted to feel like they were doing more than walking. The arm bars appealed to people following a doctor’s advice to get moving and to older buyers who liked the idea of a full-body workout in one machine. Most owners we hear from used the bars for a few weeks, then folded them down.

Why nothing replaced the arm bars

No current budget treadmill has moving upper-body bars, and nothing we track at any price does either. The bars added cost and moving parts to a machine built to hit a price, and they made a running stride awkward. The market also found a cleaner answer: if you want your arms and legs working against resistance, an elliptical does it with fewer compromises. Our ellipticals section covers the current ones, and the Sole E25 is the one we recommend to most people who ask.

If you just liked walking with your arms busy, you can do that on any treadmill with a pair of 1 to 3 lb hand weights, as long as you leave the handrails alone. If you have a shoulder or balance concern, ask a physical therapist before adding weights to a treadmill walk.

What fails on one now

A surviving Crosswalk 5.2t is 8 to 16 years old. Owners describe the usual budget-treadmill wear first: a belt that hesitates underfoot because the deck is dry, a stretched belt that needs tensioning, and a controller board that quits after a surge or after years of a dry belt overworking the motor. Our belt guide covers the first two.

The arm-bar mechanism is the part unique to this machine. Its resistance pads wear, and the bars start to click, stick or swing free. Replacement parts are scarce, so fold the bars down, lock them and treat it as a plain treadmill from then on.

Repair or replace

Lubricant, belt tension and a new walking belt are worth doing. Order by the model number on the sticker near the power cord, since the Crosswalk name covered several. A controller board or a motor isn’t worth it on a $400 machine. The parts plus an hour of work cost about what a new XTERRA TR150 does, and that comes with a lifetime frame warranty. Worn arm bars are a reason to lock them down, not a reason to replace the treadmill.

How we scored the equivalents

We score deck, motor, incline and price against the original, and a 5 is a straight match or better for the same money. None of the three has been bench-tested yet.

The WellFit is first because it’s the only one with full-length handrails, which is as close to the Crosswalk’s upper-body feel as a current budget treadmill gets, and it typically sells for $279 to $399. Its 2.5 HP motor is a touch stronger than the Weslo’s. The 17 x 43 in belt is about 7 inches shorter, so it’s a walking machine only.

The XTERRA TR150 matches the Crosswalk’s belt size and motor rating, adds a third manual incline position and a lifetime frame warranty, and typically costs $399 to $549.

The Horizon T101 is the step up: a 20 x 55 in belt, a 2.5 CHP motor, powered incline to 10% and a lifetime frame and motor warranty, usually $649 to $999. It scores a 2 on price because it costs about twice what the Crosswalk did. If walking was always what you came for, it’s what we’d buy. Our budget treadmill picks list the rest.