Uh-Oh Spaghettio

Well, it seems my elliptical workouts are going on a hiatus. My elliptical (Proform 850) is about three and a half years old. I’ve had no issues with it except for the battery coils in the battery compartment getting smooshed, so the display screen doesn’t work correctly.

For the most part, I’ve been pretty consistent with going one mile every time I get on. I had my first mechanical glitch on Thursday. Things were going really well, I was going at a smooth pace, when all of a sudden it felt like the resistance kicked in. I knew that wasn’t possible since I don’t have batteries in the display screen at the moment. Thinking back it didn’t really feel like the normal resistance. It felt more like someone grabbed hold of the pedals and was trying to slow me down.

I got off the machine for a few minutes. My husband got on and he didn’t feel anything wrong. So I got back on and finished up my 1.2 miles. The first time it happened I had been on for 18 minutes. It happened again the last 30 seconds of my workout. So, it wasn’t my imagination or anything.

My husband took the machine apart and oiled up the bearings and things to see if that would help. Today, I get on the machine, and 1. it still felt like the resistance was on, and 2. it was making an odd noise.

I got off, and my husband got on. He went forward and backward with the pedals, and something is definitely not right. There was a loud clunk when he went backwards. You’re supposed to go backwards on the elliptical for a harder workout, so it shouldn’t have made the clunk noise.

My husband is in the process of seeing what’s wrong. He thinks he can see the problem, but isn’t sure if it’s fixable. We’ll see. I’m not sure what the problem is, so I can’t say. He said one of the parts isn’t doing what it should be doing.

I think this problem would have happened whether or not he oiled it. It was definitely not acting like it should have been. The oiling was just a hope. This problem was inevitable.

*****

Well, it looks like it’s a no go. Ball bearings just fell out of nowhere. So it looks like I’ll be without an elliptical for a while. I don’t see how anyone can fix it. I’m just glad it didn’t totally break while I was on it.

I was so close to getting to 300 miles on the virtual walk too. Today was the day. I have 1.2 miles to go to get to 300. Bummer. I’ve got photos to post, but I’ll do that in another entry. I’m bummed. Seriously bummed.

Anyone know how long a cardio machine lasts? Whether it be an elliptical, treadmill, stair master or stationary bike?

Oh, this is such a bummer.