Having Issues with my Concept2 Seat and Monorail

[Xtr3me]

Hi there,

I've been using indoor rowers for about 11 years now, usually at gyms I am a member of. For my 30th birthday, my wife has very kindly purchased me my very own Model D, which now sits proudly in our second bedroom, which I have very promptly turned into my working from home gym.

I absolutely love it, and have been racking up the meters on it nearly every day since I got it, and my wife is enjoying it too which is a bonus as it's something we can both do together at home and challenge ourselves why keeping ourselves fit and healthy.

The only thing is I am having issues with the seat and monorail. Both me and my wife noticed the seat was quite wobbly and on the powerful rowing sessions it can actually put you off balance slightly. From using about 6 different machines over the past 11 years, I also noticed the seat was more wobbly than I was used to. It wobbles from side to side and I can slightly lift it up and down before the bottom rollers touch the underneath of the monorail.

So I looked on the Concept2 website and found a guide on moving the bolt over on the bottom roller to a hole closer to the front, which I have now done. This was the guide: https://www.concept2.co.uk/service/indo ... -side-side

After doing this, there is no more wobble and the seat is very tight. So much so that when I let go of the seat, it no longer rolls back down the monorail towards the handle, like it used to and how all other machines I've used do. If I sit on it and raise my legs, it does roll however back to the start, but even if I push the seat, it just stops after a few inches.

When rowing, this doesn't seem to have an adverse affect, ie create more resistance, as far as I can tell. But it is a lot louder than usual with the rollers going on the monorail, and I am worried about long term damage to either the rollers of the monorail itself. Im starting to see various markings after a few sessions and I wanted to reach out and ask what I should do, as the last thing I want to do is cause further damage to my brand new rowing machine which I love very much.

I've taken a few photos of the problem in case they are useful, and you can see them here in this Imgur gallery: https://imgur.com/a/BLXjEWc

If someone could provide some help on this, I would be very grateful.

Thanks so much,
Ash

[Cyclist2]

There is a about 2-3 mm play in my seat also, but it doesn't throw off my balance. The adjustment holes on the bottom rollers are pretty large adjustments and I'm not surprised the seat is now too tight. I'd move it back to the middle hole. Make sure your technique is good and that little bit of play won't enter into the motion.

The black stuff on the rollers is dirt and grime buildup from use - it builds up pretty fast and I suspect the rollers being too tight are wearing and binding on the rail also. You should clean that off every row. Some people use a glass cleaner but I just moisten a towel, wrap it over my finger and run the seat back and forth holding the towel against the rollers where they meet the rail, front and back, then give the rail a good wipedown. Keeps everything clean and smooth. Every row.

[jackarabit]

Ash, move the underside roller bolt/axles back to central hole. Bottom rollers are preventers and not intended to make contact with the rail flanges EXCEPT in the event of catastrophic and unrecoverable seat tilt. In time, your legs will begin to work together as a team, the upper rollers will maintain continuous contact with the rail and the bottom rollers seldom or never. Believe it not, OTW (boat type) rowers build rocking seat platforms for the erg that train the balance required to keep a sharp shell with very little lateral stability from beginning the eskimaux roll every stroke.

I don’t believe Concept 2 is misrepresenting either the purpose or the operation of the bottom rollers. (Note that the underside of rail flanges are painted, a surface finish notorious for variation of thickness and not often chosen where precision contact between moving parts is an engineering spec.) if you are unsatisfied with my explanation, contact C2. They do need to keep an eye on QC. Sometimes variations offset, sometimes they add up!

[Ombrax]

Ash,

There is supposed to be freeplay between the bottom rollers and the lower surface of the rail. In general the lower rollers don't do anything at all, unless you're bouncing all over the place, because your weight should keep the seat and therefore the upper rollers in contact with the rail. If you do have contact, and therefore resistance from the lower rollers, then you've moved them too close to the rail and should back them off.

Another issue could be how smooth your stroke is, but that's probably an issue for a different thread.

Edit: looking again, I see that other posters have already said what I just posted, so I'm just repeating them. Sorry.

[iangallagher]

Hi there,

I've been using indoor rowers for about 11 years now, usually at gyms I am a member of. For my 30th birthday, my wife has very kindly purchased me my very own Model D, which now sits proudly in our second bedroom, which I have very promptly turned into my working from home gym.

I absolutely love it, and have been racking up the meters on it nearly every day since I got it, and my wife is enjoying it too which is a bonus as it's something we can both do together at home and challenge ourselves why keeping ourselves fit and healthy.

The only thing is I am having issues with the seat and monorail. Both me and my wife noticed the seat was quite wobbly and on the powerful rowing sessions it can actually put you off balance slightly. From using about 6 different machines over the past 11 years, I also noticed the seat was more wobbly than I was used to. It wobbles from side to side and I can slightly lift it up and down before the bottom rollers touch the underneath of the monorail.

So I looked on the Concept2 website and found a guide on moving the bolt over on the bottom roller to a hole closer to the front, which I have now done. This was the guide: https://www.concept2.co.uk/service/indo ... -side-side

After doing this, there is no more wobble and the seat is very tight. So much so that when I let go of the seat, it no longer rolls back down the monorail towards the handle, like it used to and how all other machines I've used do. If I sit on it and raise my legs, it does roll however back to the start, but even if I push the seat, it just stops after a few inches.

When rowing, this doesn't seem to have an adverse affect, ie create more resistance, as far as I can tell. But it is a lot louder than usual with the rollers going on the monorail, and I am worried about long term damage to either the rollers of the monorail itself. Im starting to see various markings after a few sessions and I wanted to reach out and ask what I should do, as the last thing I want to do is cause further damage to my brand new rowing machine which I love very much.

I've taken a few photos of the problem in case they are useful, and you can see them here in this Imgur gallery: https://imgur.com/a/BLXjEWc

If someone could provide some help on this, I would be very grateful.

Thanks so much,
Ash

Same issue for me. My rower dates back to 2017 but was barely touched until this year. I started noticing a wobbly seat that kept making a banging noise. Really off-putting. More so at lower SPM but when i was putting in bigger watts. So i moved the rollers into various positions. No change
I bought new brackets for the seat as i read they might be bent. No change. so i bought new rollers. Again no change. So in the end i put the rollers on the tightest holes so the seat doesnt roll down the monoroil. Has fixed the annoyance somewhat but there is still a slight wobble to one side. Infuriating and ive wasted hours taking the thing apart and retrying.

So im just sticking with a super tight seat as i dont think it will impact performance

Slight edit to say that i guess it could be my form and perhaps i am not balancing correctly. As if i go slow and easy the seat doesnt bang or annoy me. Just when i up the ante. So maybe thats something i need to work on. Had just never noticed it prior

[Xtr3me]

Thanks all for the replies. I also put this question to C2 and they suggested adjusting the bolts on the top rollers, which I did but it just made it feel loose and slightly unsafe. I looked again at the bottom rollers and maybe I did those too tight with the allen key, so I loosened it a bit and they spin a bit more with a gentle push. I put the seat back on and there is again a slight wobble, but not as much, and the wobble comes from the bottom rollers not the top. The seat now returns to the start position when I let go and there is less build-up of the black grime after a row.

C2's response:



Maybe this is a happy medium where the wobble is slightly reduced and it doesn't seem to grind the monorail in a bad way. I left the bottom rollers in the front hole for now, but I will definitely keep an eye on it over the next week and move it back to the middle hole if needed.

I understand there should be a slight wobble, but it was way more of a wobble than any concept2 machine I've used before, which is why it stood out to me.

Appreciate everyone's input on this.

Ash

[iangallagher]

Ive done about 2 million meters on my new rower
during the last 4 weeks ive noticed my seat being wobbly. its aggravating whilst rowing.

Initially i moved the rollers but it just made everything super tight to the point the seat wouldnt roll.

I bought new seat brackets and new rollers. Installed the other day, no wobble on seat. Then i hopped on and after 30 odd seconds the seat was wobbling again, predominantly to one side.

Is there a fix for this? Vide of the wobble below

https://youtu.be/68PfF8ChkWw

[jamesg]

Plastics have certain characteristics, such as a high coefficients of expansion due to water and temperature. They're soft too, so will incorporate the worst types of dust, becoming abrasive. So the normal precautions are keep it all clean and leave plenty of play.

[Citroen]

Is there a fix for this? Vide of the wobble below

Call Concept2 at 1-800 245 5676 they'll have the fix for it.

[Cyclist2]

As I said in my post to the OP above - and several others have said the same - my seat has some play in it, even more than your video shows. I never even considered it until this thread showed up and it's never affected my stroke or power. I have over 12M meters on this erg and many more on my model B, which also "wobbles".

Work on your technique, and I think you'll find it isn't a problem. I know that a very tight seat that didn't move smoothly would irritate me much more.

[jackarabit]

Ditto!

[mitchel674]

Ive done about 2 million meters on my new rower
during the last 4 weeks ive noticed my seat being wobbly. its aggravating whilst rowing.

Initially i moved the rollers but it just made everything super tight to the point the seat wouldnt roll.

I bought new seat brackets and new rollers. Installed the other day, no wobble on seat. Then i hopped on and after 30 odd seconds the seat was wobbling again, predominantly to one side.

Is there a fix for this? Vide of the wobble below

https://youtu.be/68PfF8ChkWw

Honestly, that amount of play (wobble) looks pretty normal to me. My frame of reference is probably 10 different machines over the past 3 years. I wouldn't notice that while rowing.

[nick rockliff]

Ive done about 2 million meters on my new rower
during the last 4 weeks ive noticed my seat being wobbly. its aggravating whilst rowing.

Initially i moved the rollers but it just made everything super tight to the point the seat wouldnt roll.

I bought new seat brackets and new rollers. Installed the other day, no wobble on seat. Then i hopped on and after 30 odd seconds the seat was wobbling again, predominantly to one side.

Is there a fix for this? Vide of the wobble below

https://youtu.be/68PfF8ChkWw

Don't think there is anything wrong with that. Mine moves much more than that and always has.

[jackarabit]

Ive done about 2 million meters on my new rower
during the last 4 weeks ive noticed my seat being wobbly. its aggravating whilst rowing.

Initially i moved the rollers but it just made everything super tight to the point the seat wouldnt roll.

I bought new seat brackets and new rollers. Installed the other day, no wobble on seat. Then i hopped on and after 30 odd seconds the seat was wobbling again, predominantly to one side.

Is there a fix for this? Vide of the wobble below

https://youtu.be/68PfF8ChkWw

Don't think there is anything wrong with that. Mine moves much more than that and always has.

Nick, everyone knows your erg has potholes in the rail from the rust. The rollers have learned where they are and what they have to do, right? A horse is a horse of course, of course, but no horse is so hardmouthed that a rough rider can’t make him buck.

[nick rockliff]

Ive done about 2 million meters on my new rower
during the last 4 weeks ive noticed my seat being wobbly. its aggravating whilst rowing.

Initially i moved the rollers but it just made everything super tight to the point the seat wouldnt roll.

I bought new seat brackets and new rollers. Installed the other day, no wobble on seat. Then i hopped on and after 30 odd seconds the seat was wobbling again, predominantly to one side.

Is there a fix for this? Vide of the wobble below

https://youtu.be/68PfF8ChkWw

Don't think there is anything wrong with that. Mine moves much more than that and always has.

Nick, everyone knows your erg has potholes in the rail from the rust. The rollers have learned where they are and what they have to do, right? A horse is a horse of course, of course, but no horse is so hardmouthed that a rough rider can’t can’t make him buck.

Not anymore, whole new rail assembly and footplates last year, just like new now. Seat rollers are original though but bottom rollers have never been in contact with the rail. Just looked and there's about 2mm between bottom roller and rail.