iMovR Olympus Treadmill Desk Review

[Editors’ Note—Oct 11, 2022: It is with great disappointment that we hear iMovR has decided to suspend production of the ThermoTread GT Office Treadmill Base. They give a full explanation of why on their website. They also elaborate on their continued commitment to developing products for the treadmill desking community, especially their standing desks—which remain the very best kind to pair with an under-desk treadmill (e.g. Lander, Lander Lite and Jaxson)—as well as SteadyType keyboard trays, treadtop standing mat, treadtop seats, treadmill lubricant, under-treadmill anti-static mats, etc.). We leave this content up for posterity, and hope to see iMovR re-enter the walking treadmill base market someday in the future. But for now we appear to have lost the #1-rated option in the category; along with 15 other brands of treadmill desk manufacturers out of 18 that we have reviewed since 2013 that have also exited the stage. The pandemic and other market forces has taken a great toll on these suppliers.]

[12/12/2017: iMovR’s highly popular UpStage Treadmill Desk Line (including the Olympus and UpTown) has been replaced by iMovR’s new Made-in-America Freedom Treadmill Desk Line (featuring the Energize and Cascade desks).]

Gold medalist performance on a silver medalist’s salary

When it comes to treadmill desk workstations, iMovR’s Omega line of standing desks—with their built-in, patented SteadyType keyboard trays—are the ultimate choice for combining with any office treadmill. Besides being the only desks on the market specifically designed for the ergonomics of walking while typing, the Omega desks are the highest rated, thanks to their ultra-durable and elegant 3D-laminated surfaces, advanced componentry, and long warranties.

Of the three Omega desks—the Everest, Olympus and Denali—the iMovR Olympus desk is the mid-tier model in price, yet offers the most value for its cost. While not quite as snazzy as the top-of-the-line Everest, it offers all the same functionality for those on a more conservative budget. The differences all boil down to the electric base, which is made in China instead of the USA (the tabletop is made in Michigan, as with all iMovR desks). While many Chinese-made bases on the market are sub-par in quality or performance, the UpStage base that iMovR uses in the Olympus (as well as its sister desk, sans SteadyType tray, the UpTown) is as high-tech as they come. These bases are manufactured in the largest and most advanced linear actuator factory in all of China, and feature improved capabilities compared to cheaply-made electric desks—especially when it comes to stability and durability.

The differences between the UpStage (Olympus and UpTown) and the Reliant (Elite and Everest) bases are nominal. Both come with silent motors—in fact, the UpStage base is a couple of decibels quieter than the already super-stealthy Reliant base. This makes the iMovR Olympus the quietest electric desk in the world and perfect for pairing with the ThermoTread GT, which is 5 decibels quieter than any competing office treadmill. The Olympus’ lift capacity of 265 lbs is over 50% greater than the Everest’s, so it’s a better choice if you plan to load up a lot of monitors on your desk—keep in mind that the motors need to overcome side load stresses, not just dead weight of the items atop the desk. Both have a transit speed of 1.5″ per second, but the UpStage Base features an acceleration/deceleration feature that makes height adjustments smooth. Its top reach of 50″ and its stability are extremely close to the Everest’s. The most noticeable difference between the two desks is their controllers. The Olympus controller is a bit less elegant than is the plastic bezel on the Everest’s digital hand controller—which is only slightly less elegant than the one on the Everest—and the fact that it has only three programmable height presets rather than four (still enough for “sit”, “stand”, and “walk”).

So what is it you’re really leaving on the table by saving a few bucks and opting for the Olympus over the Everest? In a word, warranty. While the Olympus’ warranty is excellent by industry standards—lifetime on the frame, five years on the tabletop and everything else—the Everest’s dual precision Bosch motors come with a ten year warranty. They are otherwise the same. Note that most sit-stand desks sold on the internet do not even offer warranties on their tabletops.

In this workstation combo the Olympus is paired with the iMovR’s all-digital ThermoTread GT Office Treadmill. Both the Olympus desk and the ThermoTread GT have received our top 5-out-of-5 star Experts Rating. You can find out more about them by reading their respective reviews.

While the ThermoTread GT can be combined with any number of suitable height-adjustable desks on the market, including at least seven models made by iMovR itself. The Olympus desk has long been a popular choice for combining with other treadmill bases like the LifeSpan TR5000-DT3. The Olympus/ThermoTread combination goes beyond the typical job description of a treadmill desk, thanks to iMovR’s upcoming CloudStation. This device, expected next year, digitally integrates the desk and the treadmill when they’re both connected to the internet using iMovR’s CloudStation adapter, an optional add-on component expected to be released next year. We’ll talk more about this below.

Built-in SteadyType™

In designing the Omega Olympus, iMovR drew on their extensive research on typing ergonomics for standing desks and treadmill desks. They developed the unique, patent-pending SteadyType keyboard tray that’s built into all their Omega desks in order to overcome the two primary ergonomic issues with other treadmill desks. The first issue is that adjustable keyboard trays—which are necessary to achieve a neutral typing posture—creates a “moment lever” against the desk. Assuming you can even find a tray that’ll mount to your stand up desk without running into the crossbar, the resulting moment lever can make any two-legged desk shake like a leaf in an October wind.

The second problem is that most conventional keyboard trays only adjust to a maximum of -15 degrees of tilt, because they’re designed to not dig into your lap while sitting. iMovR’s research has shown the best results for both productivity and comfort are between -30° and -40° (the SteadyType can adjust to -85°), at which typing speed and accuracy—regardless of walking speed – is restored to the same level as when seated.

As the name implies, the SteadyType keyboard tray is granite solid. Being mounted as closely as possible to the desk’s crossbars and center of balance, the moment lever is so small as to have virtually zero effect on the desk’s stability (see this amusing Battle of the Keyboard Trays video to get an idea of how remarkably the stability of the desk is improved with SteadyType). Your wrists are kept in a neutral position, which is especially beneficial on a treadmill: Because people tend to ‘anchor’ themselves onto the top of the desk to maintain their balance as they walk, walking users are more likely to develop repetitive strain injuries in their wrists. With the SteadyType tray, gone are the sore palms from pressing down hard in order to keep your fingers in position over the keyboard as your body sways with the walking motion. The difference in typing proficiency and comfort is so palpable that users opt for the Omega model in virtually every case.

The one downside to the Omega that we should note is a reduction in usable desk surface area, which is an issue for the rare individual who routinely works with a lot of paper in front of them.)

To get an idea of how ergonomically optimized an iMovR Omega desk is when used with an under-desk treadmill check out this video demonstration:

Reaching for the top

The iMovR Olympus desk has an exceptionally high reach of 50″ – like all the other electric height-adjustable iMovR desks. And as great as that is, this is one area in which the Everest does have the Olympus beat. With the addition of optional 4″ leg extenders, the Everest’s top end can be extended to 54.5″—more than any other desk in the market today. Another way to get more height out of the desk, however, is to add optional caster wheels to the base, boosting the height of the desk by another 2.5″, for a total tabletop height reach of 52.5″.

Here’s why the extra height might make a different to you, and possibly enough to warrant buying the Everest over the Olympus. Extending the “bottom tube” of the desk significantly increases the overlap area at the ends of each of the three telescoping tubes that make up the desk leg. Where most other desks top out at 48″ – the “ANSI/BIFMA” standard that most desk manufacturers strive for – this leaves taller individuals with a shaky desk at best, or completely out of range at worst. In contrast, the iMovR electric desks have three extra inches already, but adding a treadmill desk underfoot adds another 5″ to your height – so the extra 4″ extension can still make a big difference in stability.

While the extra height afforded by the Everest and its height extenders is especially useful for taller users, it’s important to note that average-height people will definitely want to consider the Everest with 4″ leg extenders as well, because they can improve the stability of the desk for anyone over 5’8″ tall when walking on a treadmill, regardless of the desk’s height. Based on our testing, we have to say that they’re well worth the additional $79 investment (when purchased together with the desk).

Vast options in tabletop colors and sizes, all made to order, and shipped within one week

iMovR’s factory is set up like Dell Computer’s, allowing them to offer literally thousands of different desktop customizations across their lines of adjustable-height desks. You configure your ideal desk online, selecting from five tabletop widths (ranging from 42″ to 71″), eleven standard 3D laminate colors, and a black or silver base. Then you can add any number of options such as a matching 2-drawer mobile file cabinet, or flush mounted power+USB nodes that go into the grommet holes on top of the desk. Being an Omega desk, on the 42″, 47″ and 59″ versions the SteadyType keyboard tray is center mounted. On the 72″ desk you can select from left, right or center. (If you’re looking to go even wider, the Everest’s biggest tabletop goes to 83″.)

3D laminate is the most durable and attractive laminate available, and unique to iMovR in the adjustable-height furniture world. It is more resistant to dings, scratches, chemicals and moisture penetration than the conventional high-pressure laminate (HPL) that’s been used by most manufacturers for decades, and allows for computer-controlled precision, ergo-contouring of all the edges prior to lamination. Even the grommet holes are completely sealed under the lamination, hermetically sealing the wood against potential moisture damage.

The result is a tabletop that costs the same as conventional HPL but has the extravagant look of natural hardwood, and designed to last a lifetime. Each top is made to order, kitted on the same pallet with the treadmill and all the other purchased components, and typically ships out the door in 5-7 business days. Also unique to iMovR is the highly popular option of having the entire desk pre-assembled at the factory and shipped complete.

Many desks come with a grommet option, which is important to consider. Check out our article on grommet holes, with everything you need to know about the different ways to use them to enhance your workstation, what to look for in your grommet holes, and where to find the desks with the best ones.

The only treadmill designed for the commercial office environment

The ThermoTread GT is not only quieter, smaller, and more power efficient than competing bases, it’s the only one with a touch-screen LCD desktop console. There are many advantages to this smartphone-like console, such as making the unit “future proof” with the ability to download new software features as iMovR adds them. In designing the all-digital ThermoTread GT, iMovR knew that for widespread adoption of treadmill desks to occur in the enterprise, the liability question would need to be addressed. Unique to the ThermoTread is a built-in “click-wrap liability waiver” that the user must acknowledge with one button press before the treadmill will power up. This protects the employer, property owner and anyone in between from any potential liability, because even though no one has ever been injured on a treadmill desk at 2.5 mph or less, perception is reality, and this built-in waiver makes the lawyers and insurance companies happy.

Up to five user profiles can be stored in the console, and next year, with the addition of iMovR’s forthcoming CloudStation adapter, users will be able to store they profiles in the cloud and access them from anywhere in the world, any time they’re at an iMovR standing desk or treadmill desk. Not only will you be able to change your desk height through the treadmill’s console, but when you change to Sit, Stand or Walk mode on the ThermoTread’s controller, the desk will also automatically move to the correct preset height, while keeping track of how much time you’re spending in each modality.

And that’ll be true on any CloudStation-equipped iMovR Treadmill Desk, anywhere in the world. While the standalone ThermoTread GT supports only 5 user profiles, with the CloudStation attached there is no limit to the number of users who can log in, retrieve their settings profile, and have all their usage data automatically updated to the web, and interchanged with their wearable devices and corporate wellness software platforms. Again, see our full review of the ThermoTread GT Office Treadmill for more details.

The most practical value in a state-of-the-art treadmill desk

If you’re looking at the best combination of desk and treadmill, you can’t go wrong with any of the Omega desks for their stability and ergonomics. And, of course, there is no better office treadmill on the market today than the ThermoTread GT.

Reasons you might want to upgrade to the Everest Treadmill Desk include the Made-in-America desk, longer warranty on the lifting motors, slightly nicer digital hand controller, and the option of adding 4″ leg extenders for even better desk stability, or if you’re particularly tall.

If you’re thinking the iMovR Olympus is still nicer than you need, there are a couple of good options to look at within the iMovR line. One option is to skip the SteadyType keyboard tray and go with the UpTown Treadmill Desk, which is otherwise exactly the same as the equipment we’ve just reviewed here. You can still install a stowaway keyboard tray on the UpTown, but you’ll spend the same amount of money, and you won’t have nearly as stable a desk.

You can take even one more step down in price, but without sacrificing on the ergonomics, by choosing the iMovR Omega Denali desk combined with the ThermoTread GT. The Denali’s base is a manual (crank) model, with a 200 lb lift capacity and easy-turn handle. If you can live without the electric height change feature, it’ll save you a good deal of cash. See our reviews of iMovR’s Everest Treadmill Desk and Denali Treadmill Desk for more info.