How to get your gym ergo cleaned...

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Post by PSims »

Paul - I'm a Project Manager by trade and put up with bullsh1t like this all day long. I however do NOT put up with it when it matters - i.e. when it interferes with MY time and MY leisure.

Tell the f*ckers to get the vacuum cleaner out, undo the screws on the right hand side of the fan, swing it open and hoover it out.
It takes 2-3 minutes.

If they won't do it, offer to do it for them!
That's how I got ours done
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Stan
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Post by Stan »

Paul V - I agree with most of the posts here - it took months of nagging to get our model Cs cleaned but once done they were all reading df 210-220. I always used to row at damper 10 which equated to 140ish - I still row at 140ish but that is now damper 6.
The 100-140 the "service" engineer is claiming is total crap. My understanding of racing is that you can use any df you like but it cannot be changed once started.
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Post by Paul Victory »

I spoke to the manager of the leisure centre today and explained the issue to her. She agreed with me that a full range of drag factors should be available to members and suggested that I talk directly to the supplier. She gave me his name and mobile phone number.

I called him and explained who I was and what I was calling about. His main concern was that I should not have been given his phone number by the gym staff and that it was not up to gym members to contact him directly.

I explained that it was the manager of the sports centre who had given me his contact details and suggested that he talk to her if he had a problem with this. I asked him did he want me to call her back and tell her that he was refusing to talk directly to me.

He said that he did not want me to do that, so I told him about the problem I had with the drag factor. He said that 150 was the correct drag factor for the gym and I told him that I knew this was rubbish and that several people had confirmed to me that it was rubbish. I then asked him if he had taken the flywheel off when he was servicing the erg and he said "this is getting ridiculous" and hung up.

I called the gym back to tell the manager what happened and I was unable to get through to her. I left a message to say that I had spoken to the guy, that he might be calling her and that I would let her know what happened if she wanted to call me back. She has not done so and I'm beginning to wonder if she thinks I'm a nutter and is avoiding me.

I'm going to a winetasting tonight, so I won't be in the gym, but I'm half expecting a couple of bouncers to emerge the next time I show up there.

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Post by ptruz »

I'm on thw wromg side of the Atlantic bu this seems like a good time to get the FS together and go visit the gym. You know what I mean?
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Post by MaxDev »

I can empathise with people here... I used to hate going to the gym and finding that I couldn't get the right feeling even on damper 10 (and I generally row at about 170, so it can't be allowed to get completely clogged).

I have to admit, after reading this thread, I checked mine today to ensure it was still in the right range (since I haven't cleaned it in quite a while!), and was pleasantly surprised to find it was averaging about 216.

Now where's the smug smiley when I need it? :wink:

Keep pestering the gym staff, Paul... even if the manager's now avoiding you, she'll get fed up with it if the staff keep reporting your complaints to her. It might take a while though...
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Post by Thomas W-P »

Paul Victory wrote:I then asked him if he had taken the flywheel off when he was servicing the erg and he said "this is getting ridiculous" and hung up.....I'm beginning to wonder if she thinks I'm a nutter and is avoiding me.
How demoralising. Keep at it. We are right behind you. Not sure how we can help though.
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Paul Victory
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Post by Paul Victory »

Thanks for all the support.

I think I'll let it sit for a day or two and then try again.

In the meantime, having discovered how to test the drag factor on a Model C, I'll try out the two Model Cs in the gym and see what their drag factor is. I've always found them a bit hard to develop a rhythm on, but I guess it might be better than sticking with a max 150 Model D (unless of course, they turn out to have an even lower max drag factor).

I also think I need to bring forward the purchase of my own Model D/E, although I'm still working on where exactly I'm going to put it.

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Post by Paul Victory »

A belated update on the saga of the dusty erg.

I had a call back yesterday from the manager of the sports centre and I told her about my call with the supplier. She was horrified at his reaction to my call and said that she was glad I had persisted in following up on the problem as otherwise they would not know if their supplier wasn't doing his job.

I went to the gym last night and they said that the supplier was coming in again on Friday (ie. today) to sort things out. I didn't get to the gym today, but I hope to get in over the weekend to check things out.

Last night I checked the drag factor on the two Model Cs and they were 162 and 177. I also played around with the 2nd Model D and found there was a loose connection into the PM3. It had a drag factor of 176, but felt much smoother than the two Model Cs.

Not quite 210, but a chance to try out a much higher drag factor than I have been used to. I did a six minute warm up and then attempted a maximal 2K. I started at 1:42/1:43 pace and totally blew up after 500m. I limped home in 7:20. After a few minutes, I tried again at a steadier pace and again blew up, this time just managing to break 8 minutes.

I figure it's just a matter of getting used to the higher drag factor and learning how to pace myself at a higher resistance, but I'm beginning to back off the idea of attempting 2k at 200+ DF, if the erg gets properly cleaned. Maybe somewhere around 165 to 175 might be what works best for me.

I decided to try 100m, just to see what I could do. I managed 17.5 seconds, which is 0.1s inside my PB (even though my signature says 17.4, it should have read 17.6) and the same time on a 2nd attempt. I figure that's one PB I will manage to beat if I try it straight after my warm up next time, even if it doesn't count towards the nonathlon.

I finished with 30 minutes at 25 spm and managed to cover 7370 metres. A long way off my PB, but not too bad at the end of a session. Unfortunately, I've had some lower back pain today, so I guess I'll have to be careful not to overdo it at the higher DF.

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Post by Mike Channin »

WARNING - High drag definitely increases the chances of injury (and high drag low SPM is a real killer, so be careful if you try it)

The official wisdom is that you should be rowing at 135 to 150 MAX if your technique is good. That's what all the good OTW lot use...

I've always been a high drag rower myself, but am trying to gently ween myself down to lower drag. Am down to 175ish now, from originally racing at 200. Am finding it is easier to keep good splits on lower drag now my technique is better, but it does involve having a stroke that really whips the flywheel up to speed. On the good side, it does feel lighter and therefore easier over long distances...
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Post by Paul Victory »

Thanks Mike

I imagine my technique is closer to awful than to good, and that may account for my lower back pain yesterday. I didn't get to the gym today, but will try to do so tomorrow.

One positive aspect of the dusty erg saga is that it has made me much more conscious of drag factor and I no longer fall into the trap of just doing everything at damper setting 10. I presume higher DFs work better at shorter distances and I will play around with various damper settings to see what works best for me at various distances. I've already concluded that 176 DF would almost certainly be too high for me at distances of 10k or more.

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Post by Mike Channin »

Even quite short distances can benefit from lower drag. It is harder to get the split down initially, but you fatigue less quickly and you don't hit that point where the pull becomes really heavy (and the technique falls apart). Also, a lower drag allows you to raise the rating up more, as can be seen from some of my recent racing finishes.

I used to put it on damper 10 (drag 200) for a 500m, but have now found I'm faster on Damper 8 (drag 175) at home. (and yes, my erg needs cleaning!)
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Post by Wolfmiester »

I left a "members comment" at my gym on Thursday about cleaning the flywheels.
They actually phoned me on Friday to double check exaclty what I was talking about, and apparently are going to get the cleaning organised.
If it happens, that's good service.
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Post by Stan »

Its now been a couple of months or so since I got the machines at my gym cleaned and they are still registering drag factors above 200 on damper 10. Its definitely worth persisting with the "nag factor". :twisted:
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Post by Paul Victory »

I'm still waiting for the ergs in my gym to be cleaned properly. They were supposed to be done last Friday, but it didn't happen. It's now supposed to be tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.

In the meantime, I'm left with 2 Model Ds. One has a fully functioning PM3 and a maximum DF of 149; the other has a PM3 that works from time to time and has a maximum DF of 176. I have set a new 100m PB on erg2, but every time I try to access memory, I get an error message 137-1 or 137-4 and the PM3 then stops functioning for a time.

Having thrown a major hissy fit about the ergs in the gym a couple of weeks back, I'm reluctant to start hopping up and down again, but I'm now despairing of getting any proper 2k training in before the IIRC on December 10th.

I did 5k tonight in 18:38.9, which is over 20 seconds outside my SB and nearly 35 seconds outside my PB from this time last year. At this rate of going, I'll be lucky to break 7:10 at the IIRC.

Maybe I should just take the week off and arrive fresh at the IIRC.

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Post by johnglynn »

If it's any conselation Paul I don't think any of the Free Spirits will perform well at the IIRC .

I'm very very tired from all the stuff with the new apartment (1.5 yrs late, and when I get the keys it causes my IIRC training to go downhill) . Having said that I was stressed with it (before moving in) with the BIRC also .
It would be nice if the 2 races had bigger spacing so if something destructive to my rowing is going on in your life, at least you have time to get back to full speed for one of the races .

I think Mike is also a bit off the pace also
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