by Lloyd Shaw
This article is for all those consumers that say......
" I have read all the articles , but I am still confused , why cant I buy a great Training platform for only $1000 ?
Sounds like a reasonable enough wish , but a small thing called engineering gets in the way , and this is how it goes..........
Vibration Training/Therapy is only a match between engineering and the human body , it might be new but its not magic, and seeing as the human body is not evolving anytime soon, and supposing you are following a standard safety program , the ENGINEERING is the main variable we have to look for when buying a product. So what do we look for in a quality device, well funny enough it is so similar to tyre-kicking for a vehicle its uncanny so I will use those well known engineering values as a reference point.
THE BIG QUESTION......... What's it going to be used for... ?
(a) Is it a "shopping trolley" ,
Just for you , to tootle around in , go shopping and carry the groceries. Something you don’t really want to drive around in really windy wild weather with , why because its too light and not that stable, and it might tip over. This kind of car does have its uses of course , but they are limited. If you are trying to shift your belongings in it from once place to another , you can do it , but it will take longer than with a standard sized car. But these types of limitations are offset by the price it takes to build it , compact , light , small engine etc... One day you know you will have to upgrade if you want something better.
If some dodgy car salesman tried to jack up the price by changing the badge on the hood of one of these small cars , or say that a celebrity has one just like it , you would not fall for it right ? No amount of "marketing" will change what its real value is and what its capable of doing and not doing.
Note: The odd "pocket rocket" will appear on the market. Think of these as sports cars , grunty little units that will just get you there faster. But like all sports cars , expect to pay for the extra performance.
(b) Is it a family car/station wagon..?
The good old all rounder , capable of doing most odd jobs reasonably well. It can multi-task ,everything from the family shopping , going for a holiday, taking you to work everyday , or carrying half a soccer team in the back. And it only takes a few trips to shift your kids stuff out when they finally leave home. To do these jobs they need to be bigger , more steel in the construction , half decent suspension ( isolators ) , bigger engine , and has to be pretty reliable , things like that. You would expect it to cost a bit , but that’s ok , it will get enough use to justify the cost , and it will probably be passed onto your kids anyway or kept as the "second" car when it gets a bit "past it". .
(c) Is it for a commercial venture....?
Does this thing need to produce an income for you , day after day , year after year, which means it has to be designed for its intended purpose. It does not need to multi-task if it knows exactly what its job is , that makes it efficient in a workplace environment . It also has to do the job faster and/or better than other lesser units , or why bother buying it. And why would someone pay to use your service for that matter.
It may not even look like a standard vehicle and may take some special training just to drive it safely It may have to have a particular look about it to suit your company image , but just like any other "commercial" it has to have that blend of style and toughness . It will take almost anything you can throw at it and you would expect some sort of commercial warranty and information backup service .
Now these vehicles can never really get "past it" , as if you ever wanted to sell your business it has to be sold as a "going concern" A bit hard if the machinery is not "going " and its battered appearance causes a "concern" .
Now of course just like vehicles , vibration platforms have so many makes and models ( 200+ at present ) to choose from it is easy to be confused , but remember that's exactly what marketers and dodgy salesmen want . What they don’t want you to know is that this part of the industry is not rocket science , and follows basic engineering principles we all know without really thinking about it. And just in case you don’t feel confident about your own engineering prowess , I am very sure you will know someone who could spot a good car if asked. Get them to read this article , show them the machine you are considering purchasing and follow their advice.
So to recap........
If it looks like a Skateboard , it’s a Skateboard.
If it looks like a Truck , it’s a Truck
Now I will revisit that question again............
" why cant I buy a great Truck for only $1000 ? "
