flat bungie and other questions

grams · Post by **grams** » April 22nd, 2006, 2:58 pm

Hi folks,

We are back from our road trip and I am deep into my erg guts, cleaning out the grit and dust.

Questions:
My bungie is flat and the covering is frayed where is travels over the pulleys. The less-used ends are stillround and smooth. Is this OK? My D is about 2 years old, and I have never looked inside it before.

What is the best way to get the dark 'corrosion' off the main shaft from the friction of the seat rollers? Good old elbow grease? I have a lot more than I usually do when I used it inside, although I wiped it off before using it every time.

There is a gritty noise when I rotate the bungie pulleys. Should I take out the shaft holding them (and spacers etc) in and clean it or not? It looks like it would be a pain to reassemble.

The chain was really dirty; I cleaned it and it looks much better. I cleaned off the flywheel gears pretty well, and the inside of the housing and the flywheel.

I think ergs are really made to be used inside. Now that it is spring maybe I should consider a single shell, except that it wouldn't fit in my camper van (or on the poptop either, probably).

thanks,

grams

grams · Post by **grams** » April 22nd, 2006, 5:29 pm

I turned the bungie over, cleaned everything and put it all back together. It seems work just fine and is quieter too. I need an erg session now, after crouching over the machine for several hours, getting all the pulleys etc threaded correctly.

grams

c2jonw · Post by **c2jonw** » April 24th, 2006, 7:51 am

Hi Grams- Sounds like you've done everything right- A flattened, bearded bungee is normal and still has a lot of life left in it. If you start seeing the rubber core material in the worn areas you should think about replacement.
Clean the monorail with a mild household cleaner like windex or 409, or WD40 will also work. Spray liberally and run the seat over the sprayed area. Let it soak in for a while. Use a fine Scotch Brite pad for heavy or persistent crud, holding it against the seat rollers as you push the seat away from the roller being scrubbed. Wipe dry with a paper towel or rag. Repeat as needed.
If the shock cord pulleys rotate freely I wouldn't worry to much about them. If they're really gritty and rough you could try cleaning them. Remove the bungee cord and end cap. Remove the 4- 1/4" allen fasteners from the ends of the shock cord axles. Remove axles, spacers and pulleys, noting location and order of everything. Flush out pulley bearings with WD40 or equivalent solvent. Lube with medium weight oil or light grease- Reassemble. The pulleys are not expensive so maybe if you're going to go through all this consider getting four new ones to put in.
Did you oil the chain after cleaning it? C2JonW

grams · Post by **grams** » April 26th, 2006, 1:27 pm

Thanks for the advice. The erg seems to be working just fine. Now if my body would just step up to the bar and turn in a decent performance to complement the nice shiny newly oiled chain.

grams