Seat Getting Stuck

[ROWING123PAK]

I have a Model D, and the seat is pretty smooth at the end of the rail, but there's an 8 inch patch on the rail a little behind the foot straps where the seat really sticks to the rail, and I have to use actual force to move it, it's not smooth at all. I don't think its a roller issue since the rest of the rail is smooth, and there are no visual differences in the rail that could cause it to be a rail issue. Any possible fixes for this?

[Ombrax]

Have you also checked the clearance of the lower rollers?

[ROWING123PAK]

hey, no, how do i do that? could it be that the rollers are too tight?

[Ombrax]

Just look and see if there's a small air gap between the top of the lower rollers and the lower surface of the rail. (there should be) Unless your technique is way off or you're doing something goofy, 99.99% of the time the lower rollers don't do anything at all - they're just there to keep the seat from coming off - so you don't need the lower rollers to actually touch the rail.

Edit: I should have mentioned that you can control the distance between the lower rollers and the bottom of the rail by changing which holes in the side plates you use to support the rollers - there are three options, each at a slightly different waterline.

[ROWING123PAK]

there's really little clearance between the rail and the rollers I'd say less than a a quarter of a cm, and even when not sitting on the machine, the seat gets stuck in this section. ive also noticed scratching on the monorail near the bottom rollers, could the clearance be an issue, and if I want to increase clearance how do I change the seat? its currently in the middle hole

[ROWING123PAK]

would replacing the entire seat all together fix the issue? as its 50$ on the concept 2 store, and if a bracket or bearing is broken maybe replacing it all together might be easier

[Ombrax]

If you look closely you'll see that the three holes are slightly tilted relative to the rail. To increase the gap you move the roller to a lower hole. However, before doing that I'd sit on the seat with it in a spot where it doesn't roll easily and carefully reach down and try to spin the lower rollers with my finger - if it spins easily then the current gap between the roller and the rail lower surface is enough.

If you do see scratch marks on the sides of the rail then perhaps something is touching that shouldn't be. Maybe something applied a load that bent the side plate, causing a lower roller to move inboard to the point where it's too close laterally to the rail. That won't be as easy to see as the vertical gap, but maybe with some poking around you can figure it out. (one option is to see if you can slip a piece of paper between the inboard side of the lower roller and the outside of the rail)

Good Luck

[Ombrax]

would replacing the entire seat all together fix the issue? as its 50$ on the concept 2 store, and if a bracket or bearing is broken maybe replacing it all together might be easier

Maybe, but see if you can figure out what the problem is first. Once you've done that you can then see if the fix is major or minor surgery, and based on that decide if you want a whole new seat.

[ROWING123PAK]

so I tweaked around and the seat is not bothering me while rowing anymore, but it still doesn't slide independently and requires a little force, I think the bottom rollers are curved inward and scraping the rail. So I'll try and use it for a while and see if the problem increases, if it does ill just swap the seat. On a side note, can bent rollers damage the monorail for future seats? I'm under the impression that the bottom roller doesnt touch the rail so it shouldn't be a problem any way- do let me know and thanks a lot for the help!

[Nomath]

Any possible fixes for this?

Fixes probably require first finding the cause. Here a suggestion. It may be difficult to find out whether there is enough clearance between the downside rollers and the rail. Take a colored felt-tip pen, as used for whiteboards. Apply a line on the downside of the rail. If the roller contacts the rail, the color probably transfers onto some of the rollers and you can probably see where the line is faded or scratched.

[Ombrax]

If you want to save a few bucks you could replace the "seat carriage."

They're a whopping $3 each, + shipping.

There's a left and a right. Part numbers 1126 and 1136.

Go to the link below and plug in the numbers above and you'll get them.

https://shop.concept2.com/58-model-d-original

[ROWING123PAK]

Thanks a lot, I'll definitely look into this if I have to replace the seat