Rubbery 'threads' coming off pulley...shock cord fraying?

[chicagoal]

Hi everyone. My wife noticed what she called 'white threads' coming off the Erg and sure enough, there are a few dangling there. They seem to wrapped around the chain idler pulley, part #1130. I see some here have had issues with the white shock cord fraying after short use, and I'm under 300K; erg was bought new late last year. If this isn't the shock cord issue...well idk what it could be coming from!

I'll be in touch with C2 Monday but any suggestion here is welcome. Thanks!

[I just wasted 10 mins trying to get a picture attached here, repeatedly got the 'it was not possible to determine the dimensions...' message. Anyway here's the imgur link.)

[Carl Watts]

Pull the bits of rubber off and Replace the shock cord.

[Tsnor]

Hi everyone. My wife noticed what she called 'white threads' coming off the Erg and sure enough, there are a few dangling there. ... and I'm under 300K; erg was bought new late last year.

bought new late last year.

Can you give month you got the Erg? (got mine in mid Nov 2020, so am very interested. My erg has a little over 700K. I should check the shock cord.)

[Citroen]

Hi everyone. My wife noticed what she called 'white threads' coming off the Erg and sure enough, there are a few dangling there. ... and I'm under 300K; erg was bought new late last year.

bought new late last year.

Can you give month you got the Erg? (got mine in mid Nov 2020, so am very interested. My erg has a little over 700K. I should check the shock cord.)

Call Concept2. The cords shouldn't fray in months. They normally won't fray in years.

[chicagoal]

I got my Erg late August 2020, but the serial number or something suggests it was from 2-3 months earlier production.

Will certainly be in touch with C2 Monday. Seems like there is an issue with the white cords, as others have reported, and this erg has gotten relatively light use.

Pulling the plastic cover from the underside and checking the shock cord revealed this (thanks to Citroen for the pic-posting tip!):

[StevenWayne]

Please update us as to your findings with C2 when you have info, ChicagoAl. Thank you.

[dstober]

Hi there

I purchased my C2 last July and noticed small pieces of elastic coming off within 2 months of use. The pics you provided look exactly like what I saw and after digging out bits of elastic from the pulleys, I got tired of it.

I reached out to Concept 2 and they were great. It sounds like the shock cords with the green tape on the end were below quality and they've made a change.

If you or anyone is asking for a replacement cord for this issue.....just ensure they send you a cord with the blue tape on the ends, which is how they are coding the new vs. old cords. I've had no issues since then.

The old cords will still work but you may get a lower life span on them plus you may see bits of elastic inside (and outside) the rower.

The replacement was pretty simple.....took about 10 minutes and there are a couple of really good YouTube videos out there that explain the process. After I put on a new cord....there was a big difference in the pull and the elasticity so was happy I switched out the cord.

Hope this helps.

[chicagoal]

dstober, thanks for your thorough reply. Yep, exactly the same issue.

New shock cord is on its way to me from C2 already. I got a nice email with an apology for the trouble and a shipping confirmation. Response time: a few hours. They're also sending some oil since I mentioned that the rower was coming up on 50 hours. This is a little overkill as I have 3 in 1 oil, as well as oil for Singer sewing machines, for Mitchell cine cameras, and at least three flavors of bike chain lubes. It'll take me several lifetimes to use all of them so I really need to keep my fitness up!

Correcting my earlier post, my erg's date code is August 5, 2020, not earlier in the year as I'd thought. I believe that code (at least on recent machines) is the date the erg is actually completed and boxed. And it now has over 500km; my wife and son have added more than I thought.

I'm not the least bothered by the shock cord failing; stuff happens and what matters is how you deal with it. Naturally, C2 comes through. And even if the erg had been out of warranty, the shock cord is a $5 part, designed to be replaced when it wears out.

Wouldn't the world be a better place if everything worked as well and was as well supported as your Concept2 rower?

[Joebasscat]

Count me in the same category. I had only seen one “thread”. Machine purchased in January of 2020. Contacted C2 last Monday and had the cord by Friday. Great response. When I opened my rower up there was no doubt the cord had to go. Easy process and as mentioned earlier great instructions and video’s on YouTube. Recommend the video from Sportsmith.







https://youtu.be/qeC7NLcGnFw

[Citroen]

Count me in the same category. I had only seen one “thread”. Machine purchased in January of 2020. Contacted C2 last Monday and had the cord by Friday. Great response. When I opened my rower up there was no doubt the cord had to go. Easy process and as mentioned earlier great instructions and video’s on YouTube. Recommend the video from Sportsmith.

viewtopic.php?p=521084#p521084

[RichBinAZ]

Our May 2020 rower has been dropping a few threads recently, including some that I just found on that white nylon chain guard.

[Citroen]

Our May 2020 rower has been dropping a few threads recently, including some that I just found on that white nylon chain guard.

viewtopic.php?p=521084#p521084

[RichBinAZ]

Emailed C2 with a few pictures and a new bungee is winging its way out west as I type.

[chicagoal]

The shock cord took over a week to reach me as FedEx evidently decided it needed a nice long rest in Londonderry, NH (actually weather slowed up their whole system). As I expected, the 'ten minute' job to replace it took at least twice that as I puzzled things out, but would be very easy next time. While I was at it I took off the flywheel cover and dusted inside there, and the chain got some oil, so I'm good on maintenance for quite a while.

We are taking a spring vacation trip later this month and I think I'm bringing the erg with me to our little AirBnB. It's easy to carry in our van and I don't want to leave it for a week!

[Joebasscat]

The shock cord took over a week to reach me as FedEx evidently decided it needed a nice long rest in Londonderry, NH (actually weather slowed up their whole system). As I expected, the 'ten minute' job to replace it took at least twice that as I puzzled things out, but would be very easy next time. While I was at it I took off the flywheel cover and dusted inside there, and the chain got some oil, so I'm good on maintenance for quite a while.

We are taking a spring vacation trip later this month and I think I'm bringing the erg with me to our little AirBnB. It's easy to carry in our van and I don't want to leave it for a week!

I would say that is par for the course. Any future replacements should be quicker but hopefully not for several years.