Flywheel Clutch Bearing Behavior in Cold Conditions

[Er1c]

I have a model D rower and recently experienced a sudden loss of resistance sporadically on intermittent pulls. So maybe one out of 3 pulls once I get going. The chain stays on and has no issues and there's no weird noises when it happens and the clutch immediately re-engages for the next couple pulls.

After reading a bit, I believe it's the clutch bearing failing. The machine was bought used about 4 years ago. I tried cleaning everything and re-lubing the clutch bearing but it still happened.

I read something about cold conditions causing issues. Is this really true? I have to admit that this happened the last two times I was rowing early in the morning with the garage door open (I keep my machine in my garage). It was quite nippy out; probably around 50 degrees F inside the garage. Before I go and replace the flywheel, I'm wondering how valid the theory about cold conditions causing this kind of issue is.

[jamesg]

Yes, there have been reports and I've had it too, below about 15C - 60F.

[Carl Watts]

The viscosity of the grease is quite important in the standard bearing with the plastic leaf springs.

If you experience really cold weather your probably better off flushing out the grease and using oil instead.

Having said that its usually the bearing thats stuffed anyway. The original bearing in my Model D only lasted about 5 years and I replaced it with an upgraded more expensive version with the Stainless Steel leaf springs part number RC-121610-FS.

[Er1c]

Having said that its usually the bearing thats stuffed anyway. The original bearing in my Model D only lasted about 5 years and I replaced it with an upgraded more expensive version with the Stainless Steel leaf springs part number RC-121610-FS.

When you say "stuffed" you mean it's worn out? Also, I've read that the bearing is quite difficult to replace and therefore, people just usually swap out the whole flywheel.

[Er1c]

If you experience really cold weather your probably better off flushing out the grease and using oil instead.

I can just keep the garage door closed while rowing and it should keep the temps from getting low enough to cause problems even on a cold day.

[c2jonw]

It's a known issue. Under cold conditions the factory lubricant thickens and hampers actuation of the rollers. It's possible that the unit is going bad with age/use, but it's definitely worth trying a lighter weight lubricant. Field replacement is generally not recommended.

[Carl Watts]

Having said that its usually the bearing thats stuffed anyway. The original bearing in my Model D only lasted about 5 years and I replaced it with an upgraded more expensive version with the Stainless Steel leaf springs part number RC-121610-FS.

When you say "stuffed" you mean it's worn out? Also, I've read that the bearing is quite difficult to replace and therefore, people just usually swap out the whole flywheel.

Its hard to replace, I made a puller to get the old one out. Basically a custom made thick washer, a long bolt and a bit of alloy with a recess to pull the bearing into. You use this to draw the bearing out and pull the new bearing in.

Yes stuffed is worn out. It only needs a couple of the rollers to stop locking up and it fails. The amount of time the bearing lasts appears to be a bit random and if you put some lube in it every few years or not. My Model C bearing is still fine but the Model D one failed pretty quickly.

[Tsnor]

FWIW, I'm seeing better low temp performance on a newer (11/2020) model D in my unheated garage. I put temp in the Ergdata comments field of my rows. Temp comes from a cheap digital thermometer that might be off a few degrees.

Last winter the lowest garage temp was 39F (4C) several times and was in the low 40s F a lot during rows. No issues with clutch. So it may be a combo of older grease and low temps, or your bearings may just be stuffed. I did not know I was rowing that close to the temp edge where clutch may not work ("Yes, there have been reports and I've had it too, below about 15C - 60F."). Almost all my erging is Nov-March and is done below 60F. Those colder temp, low humidity days feel much nicer than the full fan 70F days.

I also like a 10 min warmup in the 2:15 to 2:30 range before I do anything that requires a hard pull, so maybe that lets the grease heat up a bit before it has to deal with load??

[Tsnor]

.. a sudden loss of resistance sporadically on intermittent pulls. So maybe one out of 3 pulls once I get going.

Maybe gently hit the bearing area with a hair dryer (or heat gun used cautiously) and raise the temp before you start rowing to see if the fail is directly cold temp related ?? With a solid fail (1 in 3 pulls is pretty solid) the difference if any should be clear.

[Carl Watts]

Put a few drops of a motor oil on the bearing rollers, if that doesn't fix it the bearing needs replacement. From my experience with clutch roller bearings is that by the time they start to slip they are stuffed.

You need the confidence that a hard pull is not going to try and send you off the back of the rower.

[Er1c]

This morning I did the workout I attempted to do the other day (same intensity arc and duration). This time I kept the garage door closed and no issues. Also cleaned out the flywheel bearing and added some 3 in 1.

[Asterix]

Yes I recently experienced a complete loss of resistance that sent me flying backwards. First time in happend in November I thought it was my chain slipping, so I replaced the chain and sprocket on my 2005 Model D rower. This seemed to work for a month, until this morning when rowing in about 4 degree C, I intermittently lost resistance again. I would note that after about 3 minutes of careful steady rowing, resistance did improve, perhaps as the grease / oil heated up, or perhaps due to me adjusting my stroke to be more steady and consistent.

I've always rowed indoors until recently when we moved house and set up the rower in the garage. It hadn't occured to me that the ambient temperature would impact resistance (my own ignorance perhaps as to how the rower works). My concern is that if I buy a new flywheel as i've seen suggested, I will still experience the same problem when rowing in the cold.