Rolling issue

[herrpressey]

Hi. My Model D is a few months away from 3 years in operation. I've got 5.5 million meters on it.

The problem is that the seat feels "bumpy" way too often; like instead of asphalt I'm now on single track. I've been accustomed to taking a Clorox wipe and systematically wiping the rail and black residue off the white seat rollers whenever the ride gets a little bumpy. I've got that down pat. Used to happen oh, may once every few weeks. But in the past few weeks I've been having to wipe the rollers and rail darn near every day. The wipe's not very dirty after going thru the motions either, but it does take away the bumpiness and gets me back on the asphalt.

I'm wondering if it's time for me to swap out the seat roller assembly...?

Any help would, well, be very helpful. Thanks.

Keith

[jag]

After five million meters, you probably need new seat bearings. They are cheap and easy to replace. One of the few parts on the C2's that wear out, and as you found, it takes a lot of use before they do wear out.

[herrpressey]

After five million meters, you probably need new seat bearings. They are cheap and easy to replace. One of the few parts on the C2's that wear out, and as you found, it takes a lot of use before they do wear out.

Hi jag. Thanks for the quick reply. I don't see "bearings" anywhere on the seat assembly schematic or the seat roller assembly, both found here: http://www.concept2.com/service/manuals. Are those the big white rollers on the rails? If so, then yeah, that should be a cheap and easy fix. Thanks.

[DavidA]

Hi. My Model D is a few months away from 3 years in operation. I've got 5.5 million meters on it.

The problem is that the seat feels "bumpy" way too often; like instead of asphalt I'm now on single track. I've been accustomed to taking a Clorox wipe and systematically wiping the rail and black residue off the white seat rollers whenever the ride gets a little bumpy. I've got that down pat. Used to happen oh, may once every few weeks. But in the past few weeks I've been having to wipe the rollers and rail darn near every day. The wipe's not very dirty after going thru the motions either, but it does take away the bumpiness and gets me back on the asphalt.

I'm wondering if it's time for me to swap out the seat roller assembly...?

Any help would, well, be very helpful. Thanks.

Keith

I wipe my rail down after every row - it just takes a few seconds.
Every once in while I also need to wipe the rollers. They sometimes get a little grime on them, and once in a while a thread from my rag, for instance. I would look at the rollers, as sometimes I need to pull a thread off, as just wiping doesn't 'grab' it.
I have had my erg for over 20 years, and have never needed to replace the rollers, or anything else.

David

[herrpressey]

Hi. My Model D is a few months away from 3 years in operation. I've got 5.5 million meters on it.

The problem is that the seat feels "bumpy" way too often; like instead of asphalt I'm now on single track. I've been accustomed to taking a Clorox wipe and systematically wiping the rail and black residue off the white seat rollers whenever the ride gets a little bumpy. I've got that down pat. Used to happen oh, may once every few weeks. But in the past few weeks I've been having to wipe the rollers and rail darn near every day. The wipe's not very dirty after going thru the motions either, but it does take away the bumpiness and gets me back on the asphalt.

I'm wondering if it's time for me to swap out the seat roller assembly...?

Any help would, well, be very helpful. Thanks.

Keith

I wipe my rail down after every row - it just takes a few seconds.
Every once in while I also need to wipe the rollers. They sometimes get a little grime on them, and once in a while a thread from my rag, for instance. I would look at the rollers, as sometimes I need to pull a thread off, as just wiping doesn't 'grab' it.
I have had my erg for over 20 years, and have never needed to replace the rollers, or anything else.

David

Hey David. 20 years. Dang. That's pretty strong testimony to these rock-solid machines. Guess I'll make it a habit to wipe down the rails after each row. Damp cloth oughtta do it, especially since they're much cheaper than moist wipes.

Thanks.

[jag]

After five million meters, you probably need new seat bearings. They are cheap and easy to replace. One of the few parts on the C2's that wear out, and as you found, it takes a lot of use before they do wear out.

Hi jag. Thanks for the quick reply. I don't see "bearings" anywhere on the seat assembly schematic or the seat roller assembly, both found here: http://www.concept2.com/service/manuals. Are those the big white rollers on the rails? If so, then yeah, that should be a cheap and easy fix. Thanks.

Yes, I should have said rollers which is how you buy them, but it is the ball bearings included in the rollers that can actually wear out in my experience. If cleaning off the rollers and rail makes the bumpiness go away, then it isn't the roller bearings. But if the seat is still bumpy as you roll up and down after you have made it spotlessly clean, then look to the roller bearings.

[herrpressey]

After five million meters, you probably need new seat bearings. They are cheap and easy to replace. One of the few parts on the C2's that wear out, and as you found, it takes a lot of use before they do wear out.

Hi jag. Thanks for the quick reply. I don't see "bearings" anywhere on the seat assembly schematic or the seat roller assembly, both found here: http://www.concept2.com/service/manuals. Are those the big white rollers on the rails? If so, then yeah, that should be a cheap and easy fix. Thanks.

Yes, I should have said rollers which is how you buy them, but it is the ball bearings included in the rollers that can actually wear out in my experience. If cleaning off the rollers and rail makes the bumpiness go away, then it isn't the roller bearings. But if the seat is still bumpy as you roll up and down after you have made it spotlessly clean, then look to the roller bearings.

Thanks jag. I think I might pick up a set, if they're reasonably priced, if I continue to have this issue. Thanks, mate!

[Carl Watts]

My advice is replace only the roller bearings with some quality rubber sealed Japanese bearings.

The size is R6LL and is made by NTN, Saeco, SKF, Koyo, FAG, NSK and the likes. Inspect the white rollers for pitting or bad wear but most of the time if you have kept the slide clean over the years they should be reusable. I'm having problems with the white roller breaking up on the outside lips on my Model D, the older grey rollers on my Model C never did this so I'm going back to some spare grey ones I have in the not to distant future.

The Concept 2 bearings are Chinese, and I guess that's okay over in the USA as the complete roller assembly is as cheap as chips but over here its expensive and better bearing options are available from companies that specialise in just selling bearings.

A decent set of rubber shielded bearings will last forever, they not only keep out the dust they keep out the sweat. Rowing hard in the summer I literally get a puddle running down the slide, its extremely corrosive, probably due to the salt in it among other things, it just rusts everything it comes in contact with.

[rwmckellar]

My advice is replace only the roller bearings with some quality rubber sealed Japanese bearings.

The size is R6LL and is made by NTN, Saeco, SKF, Koyo, FAG, NSK and the likes. Inspect the white rollers for pitting or bad wear but most of the time if you have kept the slide clean over the years they should be reusable. I'm having problems with the white roller breaking up on the outside lips on my Model D, the older grey rollers on my Model C never did this so I'm going back to some spare grey ones I have in the not to distant future.

The Concept 2 bearings are Chinese, and I guess that's okay over in the USA as the complete roller assembly is as cheap as chips but over here its expensive and better bearing options are available from companies that specialise in just selling bearings.

A decent set of rubber shielded bearings will last forever, they not only keep out the dust they keep out the sweat. Rowing hard in the summer I literally get a puddle running down the slide, its extremely corrosive, probably due to the salt in it among other things, it just rusts everything it comes in contact with.

Hi Carl

Can you explain how to get the existing bearings out of the roller? By the way, on another thread I was mentioned that the bearings are R6-2RS, does that sound right? I'm not very mechanically minded so I don't know the difference between R6LL and R6-2RS.

Bob

[Edward4492]

Carl as always is a great resource, but living in NZ means he has to think outside the box due to brutal replacement costs. In the states, a roller with bearings and spacer is $11.80 (p/n 1728) so $23.60 plus UPS for two. Just replace 'em, the bumpiness could be caused by something imbedded in the roller that you're not seeing, it doesn't take much.

Like Carl said, the old gray ones seem tougher, but $25 every 5 million meters seems pretty do-able.

(No disrespect to Carl's excellent advice and extensive experience)

[Carl Watts]

The bearings are only a few dollars over here so much better to replace them from a specialist bearing distributor.

They just tap out, use a blade screwdriver if you have nothing else, put it into the opposite side of the bearing your trying to get out and just catch the screwdriver on the inside edge and push or tap, they just fall out. Make sure you put the bearing spacer back in the middle or when you do up the seat bolts the bearings will lock up.

If you clean the slide and rollers before you use it, then you get way over 5 million meters out of the bearings and rollers.