too much resistance in Skierg - slower times

[johnlvs2run]

There appears to be some resistance in my Skierg, which has been appearing since early this year
and is costing me about 9 seconds per 500m at all distances. I'm rather sure the difference is not me,
as my times on the Bikeerg are faster than they were in the spring. It could be me, but I think it's the Skierg.

I think the issue has something to do with the bearings, plastic bushings, pulleys, or the pulley compartments.
Whenever I spin the bearings with no cord, they always stop immediately, so they appear to have some resistance.
When I changed the cords early this year, the previous cords were all black, apparently from rubbing on the pulleys.
Possibly the new cords are much slower, which doesn't seem to be likely. Any helpful ideas will be much appreciated.

[johnlvs2run]

I've been all through the Skierg recently, and the bearings appear to be functioning as well as they ever did.

However, yesterday I took the cords off the spools and discovered an issue. Originally the spools would slide sideways back and forth rather easily. However, yesterday they kept sticking and were difficult to move back and forth. When I spun the flywheel around, the spools went with it. Is that normal? However, when I stopped the two spools, the flywheel slowed down much more quickly, which it shouldn't have done, so that must be what's affecting the times. The spacers moved back and forth quite easily.

I removed the flywheel, and the bearings in the spools appeared to be fine. However, it was difficult to put the spools on the axle, because both of the clutches had considerable resistance and were scraping the axle. They appear to not be completely releasing when the axle is not turning. When I wiped down the axle several times, it appeared to have a very light layer of rust but is clean and quite smooth. I have contacted C2 twice about this issue, but got the same person each time, who didn't know what to do.

So I'm asking here.
Is this an issue with the roller bearing clutches?
If so, would adding a bit of light oil help the clutches to operate better and fully release when they should?