Concept2 Forum

My fairly new Concept 2 is showing track marks on the rail from the seat rollers. Not surprising as I weigh over 200 pounds.
Can/will the rollers wear out? Is there anything I should do to enhance their life??

Are the "marks" purely cosmetic, or is the rail physically damaged such that you can feel it with your fingers or nails?

This is what C2 says about rail maintenance:

"Wipe the monorail with a cloth or non-abrasive scouring pad after use. You can use soap and water or any glass cleaner. Do not use mineral acids, bleach, or coarse abrasives."

At home I use Windex & a paper towel, at the gym I use the cleaning / disinfectant wipes they have available on site.

It also helps to clean the rollers themselves by carefully pressing your cleaning cloth against the roller (I do it while sitting on the seat) and gently moving the seat back and forth. The pad may get pinched under the roller, so you have to be careful to not be too aggressive as you move the seat.

Give the whole works a good cleaning then examine everything for actual damage. Chances are you're fine. (200 lbs is well, well below the capability of the system)

If they are black streaks that is normal and can be wiped off easily.

The rollers last forever if you clean the slide and the rollers with a damp cloth.

The bearings do not last forever, especially if you sweat. They are user replaceable with better bearings when they die. Swap the R6Z metal shielded bearings with R6-2RS rubber shielded bearings.

Thanks for the replies. The marks do seem to be cosmetic but do not easily come off (at least with Windex and a rag). I did clean it. I also applied a coat of car paste wax thinking it could not hurt.

thinking it could not hurt

Stainless steel is best left exposed to the air, oxygen keeps it stainless. It only needs to be clean, and water is good enough. The rollers too have to stay clean, otherwise the ride gets bumpy.

Any (bumpy) black marks are probably a mix of sweat, dust, skin and perhaps filler (if any is used) in the roller polymer. Slide marks represent the very limited mechanical action of the rollers on the steel and do not compromise its life.

That's a bit surprising that the marks don't come off easily. I use window cleaner and cloth and they are no issue.

I usually have a water bottle near the rower that I also use to get my heartrate strap wet before rowing thats also used to put a bit of water on an old towel that just rips all the black stuff off. Done before every row it comes off no problem at all with just water.

Ombrax wrote: ↑

January 20th, 2020, 1:20 am

It also helps to clean the rollers themselves by carefully pressing your cleaning cloth against the roller (I do it while sitting on the seat) and gently moving the seat back and forth. The pad may get pinched under the roller, so you have to be careful to not be too aggressive as you move the sea

I apply Windex to the rail after after every workout and remove it with a paper towel. On the three C2s I have owned in more than 20 years, the rails have always remained perfectly clean. I have however, encountered small black specks on the rollers themselves which a cleaning cloth with Windex doesn't seem to remove. While they don't seem to affect the performance of the rollers, I still want them to be as clean as possible. I need something smaller to apply more precisely to the rollers.

I soak some Q-tips with Windex then press them against the rollers as I move the seat back and forth. I do this when sitting on the floor so I can actually see how how this cleaning progresses. After I've finished, there usually are a few extremely minute specks remaining, but they are of no consquence.

I do this once a week and end up with clean rollers and some fairly filthy Q-tips.

My new C2 has the same thing as the OP described. Clean it daily as prescribed. The white marks are not coming off, but seem purely cosmetic.

When I refurbish C2 rowers, I use Simichrome polish and a random orbital sander with foam pad to bring the stainless rail topper back to nearly new condition. I've had great results with that product for cleaning the stainless steel i-beam rail topper and freeing it of black gunk.

It is normal to have wear marks on the rail sides where it contacts with the seat rollers. The rollers are embedded with a lubricant and that will tend to collect black crud (wear of the rail topper) on the rollers. I advocate keeping the rollers clean and as white as they were the day the rower was new and that's easy to do if you stay after it regularly.

In time, the crud on the rollers will start building up on the rail itself if both rollers and rail are not cleaned. Spray some Windex on a towel and then hold your index finger against the Windex soaked piece of towel up against the seat roller (contact area only) and press down with the other hand on the seat to make the roller rotate while holding wet towel and then work the roller back and forth changing the towel position constantly until you don't pull any more black off the roller onto the towel.

Here's a normal wear pattern at the end of a rail showing a bit of the scuff marks and black residue transfer. Totally normal.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Jp5yKo94KTDTGkMq7

Carl Watts wrote: ↑

January 20th, 2020, 2:09 am

The rollers last forever if you clean the slide and the rollers with a damp cloth.

The bearings do not last forever, especially if you sweat. They are user replaceable with better bearings when they die. Swap the R6Z metal shielded bearings with R6-2RS rubber shielded bearings.

I have noticed this as well. I've been rowing maybe six months and the bearings in the rollers on the seat that roll underneath the monorail (not the ones on top) look like they're completely rusty. This could just be cosmetic because they still roll fine. I sweat heaps and notice it pools on the rail and then drips off the side and I imagine goes straight into the bearings. Is this bearings swap you mention an easy fix and will it address the issue I have?