Friday, 26 May 2017

How to assemble a treadmill

I have a treadmill here and today I am going to show you how to put it together. This is a sprint nine treadmill, and yours will be similar with some slight differences. So, we have a base with a running belt, legs, and the console.

I will tell you how to attach the legs. The main problem here is the wiring. A wire goes through the whole leg and it’s quite short so you may easily get it lost in the process. A tip is simple, it’s isolating tape. Get a little bit of it and secure it around one end of the connector. Then fasten it to the leg. What we have now is a long wire, which won’t get lost. 

When you’re done with it we can move on to attaching the leg to the base. All you have to do is to make the connections properly. Just attach the connections, and when you hear them click you know that you’ve finished. After you attach, you can just pull the wire and hide it. Now we can attach the leg with bolts. I always start the bolts finger-tight and then with an allen key push them up. They must be nice and tight in order to avoid any noises. 

And now we can attach the console. For this part I need a hand, this is a two-person job. Make sure that the connections are done in the right way. The pins need to be nice and straight. The procedure here is the same as with the connectors at the bottom. Just push and listen to the click. Hide the excess wires into the leg and put the bolts in. 

Then use an allen key to tighten them up. Attach the remote control, just push and click. Place the wires correctly so they won’t be damaged when you will be screwing the remote control. Don’t make it too tight because it’s plastic and we don’t want to damage it.

Check our new MAINTENANCE GUIDE!



Thursday, 25 May 2017

How to assemble a cross trainer

Today I am going to show you how to assemble a cross trainer. I will also give you some advice and tips on how to avoid possible problems. When you get your machine it will be in parts so you’ll need quite a lot of space to put them together. It will be easier if you could get some help but you can also do it alone. 

I’ve already put together a column and the legs. It’s pretty easy, just follow the manufacturer’s instruction. Now we can attach the column to the frame of the machine. You’ve got lots of movement here so you’ve got to be attentive here. The most important thing here is to get the connections properly. So make sure you put the pins in the right way and don’t bend any of them. You can hear a click if everything is done properly. 

Once you’ve done with it just slide the column onto the frame, hide the excess wires into, and put your screws into the holes. Then, tighten them up. Now we can move on to the lower leg pivots. This is pretty easy: just put a bolt through and use the spanner to tighten them up. If you want, you can lubricate them up with a little bit of grease to avoid creaking or squeaking noises of the machine. After that, we can attach the console. The main point here is to do the connections properly. Don’t bend any pins and don’t get any wires trapped. Adjust everything before putting any screws in. Start with hands and then tighten them up. 

Essentially, we’ve got the machine built now there. Finally, there’s the power cord to turn the machine on. You have to be careful of that and make sure you’ve got a nice safe route for that cable.

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

How to assemble an exercise bike

I have an exercise bike here and today I am going to show you how to put it together. I assume that you are able to put the seat and the pedals on your own.

So we will start with the frame. This is the master on this particular machine that sits on to this part of the frame. The problem here is that I might lose the end of these wires somewhere down the whole here. This may become a real problem. 

So just to save some time in future I am going to tie the cable to the frame. You can use an elastic band for this. Now I need to make my connections. To do this I am just resting the mast by the side of the machine. 

It gives me much space to do my connections. Just make sure that you bring those connectors together in the right way. Push the connectors together and listen to the click. Once you hear it, you know that everything is done correctly.

When the connectors are done and the cables are nice, I can put that mast on the frame. Just place it, make sure that the cables are free, line the holes up and put in the bolts with the spanner. Regard to squeak in and creeks. Tthere are also a couple of fixings on the legs on the front and the back it was worth just checking those because they can work loose. And let’s get to the console. As I secured my wires previously, now I need to take away the cable tie. 

Now I can attach the console. Pay attention to the connectors here and make sure you do everything correctly. Don’t bend any pin. In case you bent any, please look at other videos on our blog to restore the pin. When you place the console, you can hide the wires into the column or the console itself. Just make sure that you don’t get any of the wires trapped. 

Once you’re happy with that, you can secure the console with the screws. Use the screwdriver to push nice and tight. 
 

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

How to adjust your treadmill running belt

I have a treadmill here. And you probably can see that there is a problem with running belt here. In this particular case, it’s running too far on the left side. You can also hear that the belt is rubbing against the inner part of the machine. This will damage the belt in short time if you don’t act. So, today I am going to show you to how to solve this problem . I recommend you to stop the machine when you’re doing this at home, for safety reasons. However, I will do it with the machine running. To fix this problem we would need an allen key. I will be using this device, which is practically the allen key with ratchet. Just for you to see the movement easier. However, using the regular allen key has the same result.
All I need to do is to make the running belt go this way. I need to bring it to the centre. Imagine that my arm represents the running belt you will see that we need to make this corner out like that. This will make the running belt go that way. So there are two adjusting screws at the both sides here. I am going use the one closer to me. I am going to find the head of the screw and tighten it up. So I am just going to give half a turn and half a turn. It goes clockwise. And now I am going to give the machine time to react to the adjustments before making any additional changes. Just around 10-20 seconds. You can see that it started to move in the right direction. But it still needs some more adjustments. So I am just going to give it another half a turn, and another half a turn. And now you can hear that it started running quieter. This means that the left edge of the running belt stopped rubbing on the inside of the plastic trim here.
. Once the belt is running central, we need to do another check to the belt tension. You need to do the stomp test with the machine running., So with a foot just see if we can get the running belt to stall. When I do so I can hear the front roller is still slipping. This is not good. This indicates that the belt is too loose, so I need to put a little more of tension and bring this roller back. So what I am going to do I am going to use the same adjusters again. But this time I am going to give both of them a full 360-degree turn. Now I am going to do the test again. This time you can hear the difference. Now the tension is just enough. Remember NOT TO OVERTENSION the belt, because this would damage the belt, motor or controller. Please refer to other guides in this blog for proper running belt centering and tensioning instructions. 

 

Monday, 22 May 2017

How to maintain your cross trainer

I have a cross trainer here and I am just going to tell some tips on how to look after your machine. I also have different cleaning products you can use to maintain it. You may need to do this after 6 or 12 months of using the machine.
We’ve got a selection of light lubricants. What we have here is WD-40 and Gibbs. Both are very good lubricants which can be used for general purpose. The next is threadlock, This one is particularly good when it comes to securing nuts and bolts. They can become loose over time. We’ve got some lithium grease and the three-in-one oil or sewing machine or bicycle chain oil that kind of things you’d have around your garage. I’ll show you where we put that. And finally, the product which is often forgotten. These are wipes. These are wet, antibacterial wipes that are used to remove all sorts of deposits off the machine. So, after each time you’ve used the machine you should give it a wipe over. Use it on the most problematic areas of the machine. So pay attention to the arms of the trainer, columns, and stems, the top of the skis, and down in the base.
Now the Gibbs and WD-40. Use these ones ONLY on the bearings and the adjusters. Just put a bit of the lubricant on the bearings or the adjusters every 6 to 12 months and it will invigorate them. Don’t use too much, because the excesses will fall on the floor. You can also use it in the base of the machine.. If you don’t have those, then chain oil for bicycle will do equally good job. It’s a bit thicker so you may have problems with the bearings but the effect is the same. In case of some cross trainers can put that on slide way. So sometimes machine has this adjustment mechanism here. Pop it out and let’s use the Gibbs on this one. Just spray it over, not too much and then you pop it back in and tighten it up. Wipe away the excess with your cleaning cloth.
Now the treadlock. This is, an industrial product for nuts and bolts. .These bolts in the column have tendency to become loose over time. So just pop a bit of the treadlock over it and then tighten it up. good It’s good to keep those kind of fixings.
And now the grease. It’s very good for pivots, sliding pivots such as these one here. We’ve got a lot of load on the shaft, so put a little bit of grease and reassemble. That will keep any noises away, clean the excess away with the wipe. That’s the sort of thing that you need to do every 6 or 12 months and it will keep the machine at the top of the order.
Please remember NEVER use those kind of lubricants on a treadmill belt, because they would damage it. 
  

Saturday, 13 May 2017

How to correctly set up a spin bike/indoor cycle

This is an indoor studio bike. I’m just going to tell you some basic tips how to set the machine, how to look after it, and how to avoid some injuries.
In this particular bike there is a problem with pedaling. When I start pedaling the front wheel starts turning and gets lots of movement. This means that even when I stop pedaling the pedals continue to rotate. There is no clutch. Some people like to come out of saddle and start working on the machine really hard just to give it the most effort. However, it can become really problematic if something becomes loose.
There are couple of things you need to check. Just make sure they are nice and tight. The first one is seat. There are two adjustments here. The one that is right under the seat makes it move forwards and backwards. It has to be nice and tight. In case of this spin bike, you have this lever, which you can pull down and tighten up a bit. Just to make sure it’s nice and secure.
There are also a couple of bolts underneath the seat. You may need to tighten them up a bit every now and then. You may use a spanner for that. Usually it goes with the machine or you can use your own one. It’s very easy to do. You just need to make sure that the ear is nice and level. Just put it in the position which feels appropriate for you. And tighten the bolts up to ensure that the seat is nice and won’t rotate.
There is one more seat adjustment on this bike. When you unscrew this handle, and pull it you will be able to change the height of the seat. Just set up the necessary height and. make sure the pop pin clicks in. There’s a little peg which goes into a hole on the side tee and you will hear when it goes in. After that, you can just tighten that knob up and that’s all nice and tight.
We have a similar arrangement here on the handlebars. , You have the handlebar rake. It has the similar kind of ratchet to the seat., So you can put it into the position which is comfortable for you. Once it’s placed make sure it’s nice and tight. Finally, we’ve got this adjustment here. When you unscrew and pull it you can change the height of the handlebars. When you hear that pop pin click into the hole you know it’s engaged. Then you just tighten it up. Now your handlebars are nice and tight. All of that means that when you come to use the bike now you’re going to be nice and safe then you’re not going to have any injuries.
If you see anything worn during this process, you can find replacement spin bike parts here http://www.partsfortreadmill.com/index.php/spin-bike-parts/ such as knobs, pop pins, brakes, straps and cages. 
 

Friday, 12 May 2017

Proform treadmill repair. Speed keeps changing, it is not stable. How to solve?

In this video, we can see clearly the motor speed is changing very quickly and it doesn't respond to regulation from console. The problem may be likely in the speed sensor. In fact removing the speed sensor at all, the problem worsen. Another option may be that the treadmill board may be regulated (see blue trimmers). Last (worst option) is that there is a broken motor, controller, or display.


Another video with slightly different conditions



You should check the trimmer first (please note it may be in different position and have different colour as board layout may vary). And speed sensor.


Please also check all connections of the mc2100 board. See additional details pictures below
Connection of Proform controller mc2100
Top view Proform motor housing, it is similar in Weslo, Healthrider, Nordick Track 
Some details of treadmill speed sensor and drive belt vega x pj598
Closer view of treadmill controller connections

If you need these or other replacement parts for Weslo, Nordick track & Proform, check on www.partsfortreadmill.com





Thursday, 11 May 2017

How to set up a vibration plate machine

I have a vibration plate machine here and you can see that there is a problem with it. To be precise, it swings a lot. You can see that the machine is not stable if I tilt it. And the problem here is that the machine itself is going to vibrate when you use it. If the machine is unstable it will slap the floor and it will cause you or your neighbors some problems. Especially, if you’re in a house or a flat. This can also cause a lot of damage to the floor and the building. This can also become a problem if the floor in your flat is uneven. But, luckily, the manufacturer provided us with a solution to this problem. You can level the vibration plate before you start using it. Let’s tip it over and take a look. So here we have 3 feet with rubber on them. The rubber is here to keep the machine in a fixed position while it’s working. There are also two additional feet here. All the feet are adjustable. So you can change them as you want. To do so you have to screw it out or in. So I will just take a look at these and check why we have that wobbling. The floor in this room is quite even so let’s check the feet for the problems, I see that there is a problem with this feet here. I can get two fingers here, between the base and the rubber. In case with other feet I can get there only one finger. So this one is too far. It’s pretty easy to fix it. I have just to screw it in. Put it at the same position as the rest of the feet. It looks fine. And other feet also seem to be ok. So I am just going to turn it over and see if it helped. It looks much better now but still there’s a bit of movement there. So I will just adjust this one side which seems to be a bit problematic. I will just screw it down until it touches the carpet. And now it looks perfect. That’s nice and steady. Now I will just lock it and tighten it. As long as I keep this machine in this position that will be just fine. If you need to move the machine to another place you’ll just need to make some adjustments again. But I know that when I use it it’s gonna be nice and solid on the floor,. I’m not going to get any unnecessary noise caused by the machine bagging against floor. This is going to protect the machine itself and also importantly it’s not going to disturb the neighbors.

For further information, visit our website.


How to maintain your spin bike, studio cycle

This is an indoor studio bike and today I will tell you how to take care of it. So the biggest killer of indoor studio bike is corrosion. Corrosion happens mainly because of perspiration. So imagine that you been using the machine for 45 minutes. Either with the instructor in class or watching a video. Anyway you’ve been sweating over the machine and that causes a number of threats. That sweat goes onto the machine it can go inside the frame, it can get past the paint and cause corrosion. But luckily there’s an easy way to avoid this, All you have to do is to give the machine a quick clean after you use it. I suggest using something like gym wipes. They are antibacterial and are already wet. They’re designed to remove sweat and waxy fatty deposits. So just give the machine of a quick wipe, Clean all the places that are likely to catch the most of the sweat. , so Particularly, the front area and perhaps down on the flywheel. It will look tidy as well as keeping the rest away. Also pay particular attention to these places down here and the legs. This is the place from which the corrosion usually starts. Sweats gathers in this place. So just give it a quick wipe. Also pay attention to the pedals. Check them for any wears. You may also want to check those adjusters. Make sure that they’re nice and tight. This is basically all you have to do to make sure that this bike will give you the maximum life and it’ll be trouble-free.

Wednesday, 10 May 2017

How to use tools which come with your treadmill, stationary bike and elliptical trainer

Today I am going to talk about the tools, which might come with your machine. So this is a standard set which you can use with treadmills, cross-trainers, bikes, vibration plates and so on. .You will probably find some tools similar to these ones. The first one has got a couple of sockets. You can use , this for doing up nuts or bolts. It is also a screwdriver. It is that at the end and you could also use. This is an Allen key, It has the short end and a long one. So you might just use the short one, for example to tighten some bolts up and the long end for spinning up or quicker tightening. You will also have a spanner combined with a screwdriver. , Tthis has got various spanner attachments. You can use it for different sizes of knots or bolt heads. And again you’ve got a screwdriver there. This is another kind of spanner: you’ve got 3 different styles there. You may also have your own selection of tools. In this case, feel free to use those if it’s more comfortable. Or maybe you’re just more familiar with using those. But if you haven’t got any tools then these are a perfectly adequate for the job. All you have to know is which of the various fittings to use. 

For further information, visit our website.

 

Top tip for avoiding wiring damage on fitness machines

If you have to put a trim on the machine it can go straight through the column, as in case with this machine. In such case, you have to put a screw straight through the column. If you notice you could see some wires going down the column. So there is a possibility of damaging those in the process. So the tip here is to make sure that the hole is clear before you put the screws in. When you tighten the screws in and you start feeling that they are tight you need to stop tightening them more. Because if you overdo you may break the plastic. So put one screw on the top and one on the bottom and that’s it.
For further information, visit our website.

How to maintain your treadmill

I have a treadmill here and I will tell you some things you can do to make it last longer. The most important thing is keeping the running belt lubricated. To do so you have to apply 15-20 milliliters of the oil under the running belts, the best solution for home use equipment is to use the Silicon spray lubricant. For commercial treadmills you may want to use liquid lubricant. In this case we suggest to use Polydimethylsiloxane, which is the type suggested by Technogym.
This applies to domestic machines and you have to do it every three to four months. As for commercial usage do it much more frequently. Just put a bit of oil under the belt and walk it in. This is the most important thing you can do.
The other thing you can do is getting cleaning products. For example, gym wipes. Gym wipes are usually wet and are designed for this job. They have special chemical in so they remove the dust and fatty deposits without problems. Just clean the places where you are using the machine. Particularly these places at the top of the console. And also clean the inside part of the legs. If you want to do a better job, you can use the same lubricant on the metal parts. In such way, we prevent the sweat from getting in the frame of the machine and getting into the paint casing corrosion. The machine will look dirty and messy, Moreover, it may cause some structural problems in future. , So quickly wipe it over after you use it.
The next thing you can do to keep your machine nice and working is vacuum cleaning. , Just vacuum this area underneath the machine, this place under the running belt. Keep it free of dust and dirt. Also vacuum these parts of the machine under the running belt. It will stop the dust from getting under the running belt and prevent future problems.
The other things that you might need to do you can lubricate the pivots. There are pivot mechanisms here on the other side and underneath. , So from time to time just spray these pivots with Gibbs, wd-40 or three-in-one oil if you have of that bicycle chain oils. It will stop all forms of noises. So no squeaks, creaks and other annoying things.
Finally there’s adjustments at the back. You can use it to retighten the belt. Also if the belt drifts over to the left or the right you can keep it running nice and true and tight. Remember to follow the advice on our blog and avoid over-tensioning the running belt, which may cause damage to the belt itself or to the motor/controller system.
So these are some really simple tips. You don’t need any special tools to do this. Additionally, you can combine these tips with a service plan every now and then. And as a result, the machine will give you 10 to 15 years of good service.If you need the special lubricant, just get in contact with specialists on www.partsfortreadmill.com


Treadmill Lubricant
 

Sunday, 7 May 2017

Metakids

Today we support with a donation "Metakids", a research project for genetic Metabolic Diseases.


Friday, 5 May 2017

Top tip for fixing a squeaking cross trainer

I’ve prepared for you a few tips that will help you stop noisy squeaking on your cross trainer. So, cross trainers can make some noise and cracks. Sometimes it is difficult to locate those and often you just have to tighten something up to fix the problem, but today’s tip is about this front pivot of the machine. This is the lower part of the arm where it attaches to the ski where your foot goes and the problem that you might get is that you get a little squeaking noise with every turn of the ski. It is just a kind of thing that gets really annoying. So using the machine all the time you’ve got this noise going on once every circle. It is quite difficult to locate the problem because you can’t hear the sound once you get off the trainer. So the tip is to have a look at this fixing here, at the lower part where the arm attaches to the ski. You can do two things here. The first is to tighten it up and sometimes it will fix the problem. However, in other cases, you have to do completely opposite thing and slightly loosen it, just a quarter-turn of half-turn. As a result, the fixing will just relax a bit and the problem will disappear. And this is very effective fixing. But it can only be done if you have a nyloc nut here, because of their design. Nyloc nuts are designed in such way that they can’t be undone. And if you have a regular nut here I don’t recommend you loosen this fixing. It’s easy to say which nut you have. In case with nyloc nuts you won’t be able to remove it with your fingers and if you look closely you’ll see that there’s a little ring of nylon neoprene, just on the inside there. That is actually gripping the nut onto the bolt and you have to use a spanner and an Allen key to either tie up or undo it. So, you go top tip. Hopefully, that will be useful for you at some point to kill those particular sorts of noises.

For further information, visit our website.


How to fix a wobbling cross trainer

Today I am going to tell you how to fix a wobbling cross trainer. So I’ve just built this cross trainer and I can actually see that something’s not right. Something is loose somewhere. There’s a lot of noise and it doesn’t feel right at all. I think that the problem is with feet and I am going to show you how to adjust them. I’m going to remove foot here. It consists of a Teflon washer at the bottom and this is a locking nut. It goes into the hole here and then you can position the height of the feet by scrolling it. When you put it into the right position all you have to do is to tighten the locking nut so it looks nice and solid. All of the feet have to be at the same height, so you have to check it. When they are all at the same level, you can tip the machine back over and check the level once again. I am quite happy with the work I did; however, if you want you can make small adjustments right at this position. The point here is that the machine should be nice and level. There should not be any wobbling at all once when you are using the machine. So I’m happy with that and we’ll just lock that up so and then retest the machine and we should be good to go.

For further information, visit our website.


How to fix a noisy cross trainer

 This is a traffic cross trainer and is making all sorts of noises, you can hear it as you start using the machine. So you can hear some clunking noise at the back, there’re all sorts of noises coming from the front, here also I can feel it coming through my feet, some engine noises are coming through the frame of the machine. It’s quite uncomfortable experience, so I’ll show you the various places you can check to stop it. These are the most common problems and I’ll show you all the key areas that you can check by yourself. To start with, check the handrail adjusters at the back of your machine and make sure that they are all nicely tightened up. Then move on to the front part of the machine, particularly check the arms. If there is any movement like in this one, you can see it’s quite shaky, so you need to check how it is fixed. We can see it’s actually fixed onto the front column and it’s a bit loose, so you just need to tighten it up. If you still hear the noise and see the movement you might also need to check these two bolts that are used to connect the top part of the handlebars on to this shaft. Make sure that they are also nice and tightened up. However, even after this, you may still hear some noise. In such case, we need to check the next place. It is the front column itself. On it we actually have two places where this is fixed. Check this area at the bottom which has some fixings, they might also be loose so tighten them up. It may get loose from time to time, so you might need to tighten it up every few weeks or months. We just help keep those nice and tight and the same on the bottom. These are load-bearing pivots so they take a lot of pressure when you use the machine. You shouldn’t need to tighten them up very often, you might just do once a year. This column is nice and tight, but still noisy. The last thing I can think of is this hand adjuster that is loose. We’ll check here, this particular fix in here it doesn’t have to be really tight. We get back on the machine, it feels like a brand-new machine. It sounds really quiet, feels really good and that’s a job really well done.

For further information, visit our website.

How to stop rattles and noises on a vibration plate

I have prepared a vibration plate for you and I will tell how to make sure it works properly. This particular plate has 2 regimes of operation. The first is this one which is swinging. So basically the footplate which you stand on is moving left and right. The second mode is vibration, which makes the whole thing vibrate. You can turn them on separately or combine them together based on the sort of workout that you want to do. One the most important things, in case of this machine, is to make sure that all of the fixings at the back of the machine are really tightened up because we need to keep the console and the electronics nice and steady and we don’t want the vibration to move from the bottom to the top. In such way, we can avoid some problems with the console. Make sure you check all of the fixings, in this case, we have six at the bottom. If the manufacturer decided to put six fixings in this particular place we can say that this is important, so use the allen key to tighten all of them up. Further up where the console attaches we have some more fixing so do the same thing here. Mare sure they are all tightened up and steady. By doing so we’re not allowing anything to start vibrating and rattle independently due to harmonics. When the machine works is causes a lot of vibration and if everything is not tight and steady the console at the top could really start to rattle around and give you all kinds of problems in the long run. So check the fixings regularly and give them a nice tighten up every now and again.

For further information, visit our website.

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

The "bulb test" on a treadmill – easily testing a treadmill controller

In this video, the user is testing a treadmill controller after being instructed by our service team. A bulb (incandescent type) is connected to M+ / M- connections of motor. Originally, the treadmill had the following problem: turning on the treadmill and pressing start, the (general) power went out.
How to do this test:
  • Disconnect the two motor power wires from the board (M+ / M-),
  • Take an incandescent bulb in a lamp holder.
  • Plug lamp holder power cable into the board instead of the engine (M+ / M-),
If when you press start, the light bulb lights up fully, it means that the board is faulty.
Correct behaviour: if bulb lights up only mildly means that the board is working properly, you can set the light by adjusting (speed + and speed – keys).
Sometimes the fault on controller is due to the engine (may originate from the belt that does not slip properly on the deck, because it's not well lubricated, it’s worn or old).
In the video we see how the lamp remains alight always with maximum brightness. We therefore assume that there is a short circuit on the board.
In this case the customer sent the engine and the board for testing using this service: