Resistance

Maintenance, accessories, operation. Anything to do with making your erg work.
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steve hussey
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Resistance

Post by steve hussey » May 24th, 2014, 8:54 am

I'd be grateful for some advice; I'm having to progressive lower the damper setting to gain the resistance I'm used to and comfortable with. I originally set the damper just below 8 and now am on 4 to gain the same feel. I have cleaned my rower and try to do my daily and weekly maintenance. On gym machines I can return to my favoured setting on 7 to gain the feel I am comfortable with. Therefore I'm concerned there is something wrong with my own Model D at home. Any thoughts? Steve

Bob S.
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Re: Resistance

Post by Bob S. » May 24th, 2014, 10:32 am

steve hussey wrote:I'd be grateful for some advice; I'm having to progressive lower the damper setting to gain the resistance I'm used to and comfortable with. I originally set the damper just below 8 and now am on 4 to gain the same feel. I have cleaned my rower and try to do my daily and weekly maintenance. On gym machines I can return to my favoured setting on 7 to gain the feel I am comfortable with. Therefore I'm concerned there is something wrong with my own Model D at home. Any thoughts? Steve
Equal DFs should give equal feel, but a couple of other factors could be involved. One is the strength of the bungee cables. A worn out, weak bungee might have an easier feel. Rail dirt and cruddy wheel bearings might make for a harder feel. Just couple of thoughts here; no actual observation.

Bob S.

jamesg
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Re: Resistance

Post by jamesg » May 24th, 2014, 1:24 pm

Guess the gym machines have dirty fans, so need a higher damper setting than your home machine for the same drag factor, which can be seen by pressing a few buttons: menu - more options - display drag factor - pull. The recommended number is 130, fine if you're young and strong, around damper 3 on a clean machine.
08-1940, 183cm, 83kg.
2024: stroke 5.5W-min@20-21. ½k 190W, 1k 145W, 2k 120W. Using Wods 4-5days/week. Fading fast.

joe80
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Re: Resistance

Post by joe80 » May 24th, 2014, 2:19 pm

As jamesg wrote, always check the drag factor when moving to a different machine. A new C2 machine will range from around 80-220 drag as you move the lever up to 10. The worst gym machine I've tried registered 78 on the 10 setting; the metal grill was so clogged with dirt that very little air could escape.

I dismantle the fan housing on my machine just once a year and give the internals a good hoovering and cleaning. This generally results in a gain of 20-30 in the drag factor on a particular lever setting.

It's worth experimenting to find the drag factor that suits you best. I've settled on 130 for nearly all my sessions but go to 140/150 for flat-out sprints.

Regards,

Joe

steve hussey
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Re: Resistance

Post by steve hussey » May 25th, 2014, 9:02 am

Chaps,

Thanks very much for taking the time to answer and for your sage guidance. I've given my machine a good old clean this weekend and can only achieve 197 on the 10 setting. I'd like to get it to 220; does anyone know if C2 offer a servicing option?

Steve

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Citroen
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Re: Resistance

Post by Citroen » May 25th, 2014, 11:25 am

It doesn't need it.

Bob S.
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Re: Resistance

Post by Bob S. » May 25th, 2014, 1:20 pm

Bob S. wrote:
steve hussey wrote:I'd be grateful for some advice; I'm having to progressive lower the damper setting to gain the resistance I'm used to and comfortable with. I originally set the damper just below 8 and now am on 4 to gain the same feel. I have cleaned my rower and try to do my daily and weekly maintenance. On gym machines I can return to my favoured setting on 7 to gain the feel I am comfortable with. Therefore I'm concerned there is something wrong with my own Model D at home. Any thoughts? Steve
Equal DFs should give equal feel, but a couple of other factors could be involved. One is the strength of the bungee cables. A worn out, weak bungee might have an easier feel. Rail dirt and cruddy wheel bearings might make for a harder feel. Just couple of thoughts here; no actual observation.

Bob S.
Whoops! I see that I blew it. My statement is valid, but it completely missed the point of the original post. Somehow I was answering under the assumption that the OP was using drag factors. There have been posts by folks who seem to get different results from different machines that have the same drag factor. But even a casual re-reading of this one reveals that there is no mention of that, just damper settings. I don't know how I managed to do that. It looks like another "senior moment." With the big 9-0 less that 5 month away now, they seem to be happening uncomfortably often.

Bob S.

jamesg
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Location: Trentino Italy

Re: Resistance

Post by jamesg » May 26th, 2014, 3:41 am

Happy birthday. No worry, you can always lay the blame on the writer/speaker. After all they should know the wisest might just be the oldest and not necessarily the craziest. What's white hair for I ask.
08-1940, 183cm, 83kg.
2024: stroke 5.5W-min@20-21. ½k 190W, 1k 145W, 2k 120W. Using Wods 4-5days/week. Fading fast.

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