I am a technician in NYC I was on a service call with the same problem and have to go back. After watching your video I decided to remove the screws from the magnet and just add washers as spacers behind the complete magnet enough to bring the magnet closer to the wheel. This would eliminate the drilling and the hardware plus be a lot quicker. I believe this should work.
Gregs advice is spot on. I used simplified version. Removed the right side and fly wheel. Removed the screws of the magnet. Added 2 washers behind the front screw and 3 in de back one the magnets are parallel to the fly wheel. Gap is big enough to clear the runout of the fly wheel
Any advice or tips on removing the plate holding the magnets? I unscrewed it but the plate won't budge off. I want to place the washers behind it like you recommended.
I have the rw500 and the larger issue for me was that the little spring loaded “brake pad” that makes direct contact with the right hand side flywheel was applying more resistance than the highest magnetic setting could even apply, so on the lowest setting it was too hard and on the highest it felt exactly the same. My solution was to remove it entirely and that allows for the magnetic resistance to be the primary resistance and the mechanism now gives at least some perceptible difference between the levels.
Oh my goodness. Thank you! I have the same problem on mine. But of course 2000$ waisted on a rower that won't change resistance. Magnet is actually so close to the wheel that it was grinding down against each other. Nordic track sent me new interior pieces that are not apart of the problem. Thanks for your detailed help.
Thanks for the video Greg. I set out to fix this issue tonight after watching your video and made some additional discoveries. You are headed in the right direction to solve the non-working digital/magnetic resistance but nothing here will solve the issue of the lowest setting being too heavy. For the digital adjust/magnetic resistance the actual issue is that the mount/fulcrum for the magnets is not welded on straight. If you remove the arm with the magnets you can put a simple adjustable/crescent wrench on the face of the pin/pivot/fulcrum and the back of the mount and bend it so that the pin/pivot/fulcrum is square to the flywheel on that side. No need for any shims or spacers. With my unit the bracket was bent enough that even with the correct spacers the magnets still sat at an angle to the flywheel such that you would need tapered spacers to correct it. Just bend it straight and away you go. However, there is still a chance that it's welded on complete wrong and you need spacers anyway but straightening it is the best way to correct any off-angle. If your unit is just too hard to workout on even on the lowest setting the issue is that the brake is causing too much friction. My unit only has one brake pad and I re-applied the lubricant that was on it already and spread it out over the braking surface and found that it was still just too much resistance. In the end what I did was just removed the brake mechanism all-together. You can hold it around the outside of the pad mount with a channel locks and take the nut off the back. The pad is there to reduce the spin at the end of the stroke so that momentum doesn't help you on the next pull. You could alternatively put a lighter spring into the pad mechanism but I found that the wind drag on the flywheels is enough for my (and my wifes) tastes.
Where exactly is this brake pad, if you don’t mind me asking. Four repair visits and no one mentioned this or pointed it out as the issue, or a way to fix. iFit sucks btw, I will never deal with them again. They deserve their business to crumble around their feet. Just telling the universe! 🤞🏻
@@Crystalwren You have to remove the two halves of the enclosure around the flywheel/fan. You can find the brake on the inside of the flywheel. If you are looking at the flywheel from the right side, the pad is at about at the 9 o'clock position.
Greg thank you for this post. It’ helped me. I couldn’t do what you did exactly so I added magnets on top of the existing ones to give me the same distance you have at the end of your video. It worked! I couldn’t have done it without this video.
Wife and I purchased an RW500 at the beginning of the pandemic. We had both used the rowers at our gym occasionally in the past and thought that a rower would be the best choice for a home workout - better than a treadmill or bike. I didn't use the rower much in the beginning, but when I did start using it I found two surprises: 1) the force required to pull even when set at resistance 1 was surprisingly high (especially compared to the air rower at the gym) and 2) the fact that there was little to no perceived difference between resistance 1 and resistance 26. This video has allowed me to fix #2, though I didn't follow it exactly. Upon disassembly, I found that the distance between the magnet and the wheel was even greater than in the video - closer to 3/8 of an inch. After examining all the components, I went to Home Depot and picked up a package of twelve #8 flat washers and another package of #6 x 1" long round head sheet metal screws. I removed the magnet, stacked five of the washers above each screw hole, and then used the new screws to hold everything together. The washers are 0.040" (1mm) thick, so the stack of five had the effect of moving the magnet 0.200" closer to the wheel. Thankfully, both of the fan wheels on my rower run very true. With this change, I can finally perceive the difference between the lowest and highest resistance levels. What has not changed significantly is #1 - the force required to get the belt moving at all. I have read some owners complain that the force is so great that they are simply unable to use the machine at all. I don't have that problem, but I would like it to be much less than it is currently. I see in the earlier comments that this may be caused by poor brake design? I'll have to remove the casing again when I have time to do so and see if there is a practical solution. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would be very happy to read them.
Thanks Greg....this is helpful. In pricing out this rower, I now need to factor in my time spent rebuilding it and this is likely a deal breaker. I hope that Nordic Trac decides to build a machine worthy of their glitzy programming.
I just bought mine online two days ago. And it's so effing sad that in buying such an expensive product, I'm wondering to myself, "is it going to be me? Am I going to be one of the lucky ones who gets the messed up magnetic wheel?"
A huge thank you for this video and fix. I picked up an RW500 for free as the previous owner was going to throw it out because of the resistance issue. A $1.50 for longer screws and washers and it works great thanks to you! The wheels/fans are trued up and everything has been cleaned and greased and is good for another 100 miles of rowing. Thank you so much. Dave
Thank you so much! I bought the RW200 second hand but basically brand new. The wheel was very wobbly and the magnet was too far from the wheel. I used your fix and now it's great! Getting the wheel seated properly was pretty finicky.
Hi Greg, thanks for the video. I am going to step this very same fix on my nordictrack rw700, I bought it second hand for a great price but found it had the same issue with the resistance staying the same, just like on your video the magnet is miles away from the metal plate, I just wanted to know if you do video showing the fix in action? I wondered if moving the magnet closer allowed the resistance to get easier as well as harder??? As I am already finding it tough on the setting it is stuck on! 😂
This unit is a piece of junk. I have the same issue of the resistance being the same throughout all settings. I would have hoped they would be willing to make things right with so many customers complaining. Thanks for making the video. I was going crazy over this issue for months now
Thanks for posting. My main issue was the brake pad exerting too much force on the wheel. I cut a few coils from the brake pad spring and it fixed it for me. The majority of the resistance comes from this brake pad. It's really a scam rower. The magnet offers little to no resistance in the overall rowing
I bought this 1.5 years ago, and it's never really worked like I thought it should, but structurally, it looks great, so I never took it back, I have other equipment I use so it doesn't get used all the time, but this is exactly what's wrong with mine, I've been using it on 26 the entire time thinking that was just the way it was supposed to be " my first ever rower" I hope I can get mine fixed like you have with yours 😢 I'm soo upset with how much money I feel I wasted
Great video Greg ! In my 200 Rower, left fan touches and grinds against bearing bracket screw heads (71), making noise. Left side of axle has no groove/snap ring, to keep left fan away from screws. Right side fan sits against snap ring(25) in a groove, so doesn’t touch the screw heads. Any suggestions ? Thanks. Solved my problem, left side snap ring broke, axle shifted slightly to the right, snap ring groove was hidden under the bearing, replaced snap ring, put everything back together.
Just wanted to say that this modification works 100%. I found an rw200 series locally from a lady that never used it for 200 dollars. The resistance was honestly a joke and it was pretty much worthless as is. I just shimmed the bottom of the magnet with aluminum tape instead of making it adjustable but I may go back and do this in the future if the machine holds up. It now has just as much if not more resistance than a concept rower set on 10. I don’t know about the durability of the rower because I haven’t had it long enough but if it holds up it would be a sound investment if you can find one cheap and secondhand.
Greg, thanks for making this video. I picked up a rw500 last weekend and have noticed the resistance feels same through all numbers. Ordered my park tool today. What keeps the magnet bracket from sliding up and down the screws on the magnet side. I understand the adjustment side. Maybe it will be more intuitive once I break into it tomorrow. So does the 1 setting feel lighter or heavier since you are moving the magnets closer? thanks again
The attraction to the fan wheel keeps the magnet fixed at the end. In hindsight, a couple of small compression springs would have been a nice touch. As to what 1 feels like, that partially depends on where the final adjustments land. Given how far out of alignment "position1" is, I would assume magnetic resistance is basically zero due to the rotation no matter how close it is. Therefore, "everything feeling like 1" is pretty much saying the product as shipped had zero functioning magnetic resistance whatsoever. Well done NoluckTrack. Once you do the fix it is going to feel very different as actual magnetic resistance enters the product experience for very the first time.
I think the fan was to imitate the Concept 2 type rowers. I wonder if this explains why the RW 900 for 2022 has undergone a radical redesign? I enjoy the slight breeze, or apparent breeze, I got from my club-owned Concept 2 rower. I would miss it from the NordicTrack, but I understand it's now gone.
a lot of design and theory opinions offered here. however i agree this design is flawed. modifying the magnet mounts is a lot of work to do on something you already paid good money for. on my RW200 the unadjustable dampening resistance (drag) provided by the felt pad seems to be the critical reason the two-component magnetic resistance adjustment system doesn't work well. my elliptical has about a dozen magnets positioned on the outer rim resulting in a much better range of resistance.
this is very informative video, i learned a lot about how it setup, how to take it apart and make adjustments. based on your video i can see that my magnet on the lowest setting (not aligned with the wheel) but resistance is too high. i have 2 issues: 1. resistance too high (while magnet off the wheel). 2. my resistance motor is not moving (they sent me a new one and once replaced it's not doing anything either). any ideas on what could be wrong or how to troubleshoot?
Thanks, this is all great information. However, there is an easier way I fixed mine. It's true the fan wheel with the metal bracket doesn't track true. That is part of the issue. It doesn't have to track perfect but needs to be within a few thousands of an inch tracking. I rotated mine and took a pry bar between the frame and fan wheel to gently adjust the tracking. After that, I removed the cam-type mechanism holding the magnets as you described. One of my magnets wasn't as close as the other one so I shimmed that up with a .037 washer on one side under the metal magnet bracket. That made both magnets parallel to the metal plate on the fan wheel. My gap between the magnet and fan wheel was now about.050-.060 of an inch. That did not solve the problem of the lack of adjustment of feel force when rowing. There is a white nylon bracket that attaches to the cam-type black plastic bracket that holds the magnets. That white nylon bracket is adjustable with a nut on both sides. There is a threaded rod running through the white nylon bracket. When you change the resistance via the 1-26 level, a motor attached to that threaded rod changes the position of the magnets up and down via the black plastic cam-type magnet holder. I had to adjust the white bracket to the left, via the two locking nuts, to change more of the magnet location away from the metal plate on the inside of the fan wheel. My feel force originally was too great. By adjusting this white nylon bracket, you can change the amount of resistance. Now, my rower works great! Hopefully, my description of this fix of my problem helps others. BTW, the 22 mm fan wheel remover is available on Amazon. Here's the description: CyclingDeal Bike Crank Extractor Puller Remover for Square Threaded Taper Crankset or ISIS & Octalink - Easy Bicycle Crank Arm Remover Removal Tool
Kelvin, thanks for your comments here. I curretly have same issue with no resitance change at all between 1 and 26. My gap between magnet and fan wheel disc is at least 5mm (0.20inch). The rowing force on level 1 is also too high. My question is if the magnet to fan wheel disc distance is reduced to say 3mm (0.10 inch) won't this increase the magnetic level of force?
@@alanb7604 That's what would be logical to me. However, I am not an engineer. I would recommend adjusting the white nylon bracket first. This bracket can rotate the magnet holder more or less over the metal part of the flywheel. My resistance was also too high on the lower settings of 1-26. So, I adjusted that white bracket to the left. That puts less of the magnet assembly over the metal part of the flywheel. Hopefully, this works for you also. Good luck!
Kelvin ok undertook two tasks. First was file away 2 MM of plastic and inner metal sleeve so the magnets are now 2mm closer to the fan wheel disc. Secondly I adjusted the white arm and two screws so that at level 1 only the smallest portion of magnet is near the fan metal disc, the bulk is below it. At ,eve, 26 all the magnet covers fan metal disc, we shall see.
@@gregsguidetogeekdom1222 Fixed mine tonight! Works perfect now. I just added a couple of washers under the magnet to move it closer, although I did use bolts (with stop nuts) for added strength instead of the screws. The RH wheel had a slight warp, so I straightened it by gently prying up the side that was bent in. Problems solved! You'd think as expensive as they are, the quality control would be better! I'm loving it now though.
The warranty is a total complete joke! I struggled with literally 5 video troubleshooting sessions as they sent me a bucket of replacement parts that failed to fix it because none of them could ever alter the welded magnet mount position. Then they sent me an in-person repairman who proceeded to write up an eval saying "yes all of these rowers have crappy resistance" NT translated this into "all is well, we will not do anything because nothing is wrong" I am still angry at how miserable this product and company are. There is just no excuse for such substandard engineering and service.
Very helpful video. Thanks. Was there are reason you didn't put the screw heads on the side nearest the metal track, and just use lock nuts on the side you adjust?
I think that arrangement would have been harder to adjust. Maybe put a clamp on the rod and then rotate the lock nut? Seems difficult to be precise with that.
Nice idea. Do you know if the sensors used by the computer can account for the extra work now required to spin the fly wheel to reflect accurate calculations, etc? Or are the calculations just based on a preprogrammed set of values based on the specified resistance and the wheel rpm?
I'm blown away that Nordictrack think it's acceptable to sell equipment that simply doesn't work as intended and instead of taking responsibility for fixing the issue, send a bunch of non related parts. I suspect the underlying issue is the fly wheel is not being seated consistently and close enough down the spindle to reach the magnet mechanism. It looks like the design is not intended to have any adjustment, or to need any, but does rely on accurate assembly during manufacture.
@RobertC as a software engineer I also have issues with the quality of their programming but not even thinking of going there and hacking this thing. It runs Android though and I do wish there were some fun game options for rowingtainment.
Greg, what is the acceptable runout tolerance of the left flywheel (i.e., the one with the magnets)? Mine wobbles at least 1/4" (circa 6mm). When I removed the flywheel cover, I was shocked to discover that much wobble given that the other flywheel appeared to run true. Because of that large wobble, I can only position the reed switch close to one magnet. The other magnets are quite far away. Obviously, I'm getting no data on the screen as to my stroke pace, distance, speed, etc. -- only the timer works.
I have the same problem with resistance. Even worse is the wheel is so warped, that any resistance above 4 makes a loud clanking sound because the edge of the magnet is hitting the metal ring. So crazy that these wheels are so out of whack. I'm waiting for a new wheel from NT, but I'm not too confident that it won't be wobbly as well, considering it's plastic with a metal ring attached to it. Thanks for the video Greg!
From my small personal experience, a good portion how true the wheel spins is the careful, gentle tapping with a rubber mallet while installing. Do not begin cranking the bolt down until it spins perfectly true with a loose bolt. Good luck!
Thanks Greg! I have a question, if the screen display don’t work, if is possible to adjust the 26 resistance option, or in this case is only possible to adjust the air 5option air system? Thank for your time !
You should put a piece of foam under your new magnet adjustment so it has a cushion and is not moving and widening the holes over time. But it's understandable that the flywheel would warp over time. I agree there's no benefit to the wind adjustment. I though it was just to set how much air is blowing on you. 😂
Do you know the thread size needed to pull off the wheel? Same problem with mine, just recieved a replacement unit today. Same thing, but worse alignment problems. Need to fix it myself apparently. Thanks
Thank you for the video- we sadly bought a rw900 rower and it has too much resistance all the time. We had their repairman come out and he thought he could fix it. He ordered a part but then when he opened the rower up to install it, he was pretty sure he couldn’t fix it. A part is welded on crooked. But he installed the part anyway to try. It didn’t work. He reported it back to Nordic track. But they are giving us the run around! Talk about a company that knows their rower has issues yet they don’t want to take responsibility for their product. My advice, stay away from Nordic Track!!!
You can bend the misweleded part to fix the digital resistance issue but it won't solve your over resistance all the time problem. The issue is the brake inside the unit applies too much friction. I just removed mine and it's great.
My RW500 rower will not register rowing when at least the magnet side fan blade is off. With the fan blade off and you begin to row, the screen gives the start message "Begin rowing to start" even after you start rowing.
With mine, the pulley was just slipping, so a different problem. Somehow I don't know how to stop the pulley slipping and keep it connected to the magnetic wheel.
I have a problem with the RW200 and the console doesn't respond to rowing, it goes up to a timer of 6 seconds and then flashes 0 for all the settings. I know it is a different model, any chance you know how to trouble shoot this? I have opened it up and ensure the cables aren't loose..
I have this problem with my rower. I’m a pretty handy person so I thought I would give your fix a try. But I can’t get the nut loose to take the fan blades off. Any suggestions or tricks?
Too late to have any significance, but I just did some maintenance on mine and I needed to use an impact drill to get off the nut. After the nut is removed, then then the crank puller is necessary.
Thanks so much for this, I have the same issue with an RW500. Will give your fix a try and let you know how it goes. How is it that NordicTrack couldn't figure this out? Haha 😀
Thanks for the video Bill! Mine is less then a week old and fear the same problem. Mine does seem to get a little resistant when increasing but it doesn’t seem like it is very hard. In one of your videos you talk about the fan/wheel. Mine has a visible wobble and when pulling back it seem easy at first then I have resistance. I realize you’re not the Nordic tack support hotline but I stubbled on you video and thought I’d ask. Thanks in advance!
I had two problems with mine..... the magnet was too far away and the RH wheel was warped and would wobble where the gap didn't stay consistent. I gently rolled it around where it was too close.....then I gently pried it apart in the places where the gap was way closer to the magnet. I used a long flat metal bar and just kept spinning it and gently adjusting it until the wobble was completely gone.
I would be cautious about using a bar to bend the righthand wheel into place. The risk is you dont know exactly what/where it is going to bend. I had good results removing and reseating it carefully with a rubber mallet tapping gently to get it lined up as i slowly tightened the nut.
Getting the wobble out of the wheel is a good choice either way. NordicTrash support is both very friendly and supremely frustrating. At one point they sent me a replacement seat base as if that might help!
@@gregsguidetogeekdom1222 I very gently pried mine as I spun it and watched the gap. The dang metal is THAT soft..I actually used the handle side of a large crescent wrench and it took very little force to move it. But yes, if someone pryed too hard it could mess them up. I work on motorcycles as a hobby and have a lot of experience trueing up wheels. I got mine perfect....there were places where the magnet hit the wheel where in other places it was too far away. After I gently pried the places to the correct gap, the other gaps leveled out too. I bet when you took your wheel off and pushed it back on, the soft metal gave and corrected itself. Thanks again Greg....I knew it was something simple, I just wasn't happy with the lack of resistance but knew that my actuator was fine (I could hear the motor changing resistance.) Before fixing it, I actually thought that maybe the glued on magnet was either missing or fell off! ha ha!
@@chambwp Hi Bill, Can you tell me what you were prying against to gain leverage? I understand that the wheel needs to be bent with the wrench handle, but what was the wrench up against? Thank you
Can you make a video of how to take the machine apart to get to where you are right now? My machine is working fine but it doesn't tell me the distance I'm rowing as I row. I don't know what to do.
I'm not mechanically literate, I'm having issues just getting the cover off to fix the magnetic issues. Does anyone have a video for that. I don't want to break anything.
Great video Greg, thank you so much. It’s too bad that NordicTrack does not understand their own equipment, leaving their customers to fix the product themselves.
Wear gloves when repairing your machine! My machine was very tight and I cut my hand up really good on the fan blades when trying to get it off the machine. Be careful and protect your hands!
If I can fix my Nordic track I would be the happiest girl on earth….. Edit: it has been fixed!! Just need to mess around with the reed switch to correct the meters
![ALLY - OH MY! [ REACTION ] 'Amarin Nitibhon' #ALLY_OHMY #ALLY #allynitibhon #แอลลี่](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nX9qpHjVfbQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I am a technician in NYC I was on a service call with the same problem and have to go back. After watching your video I decided to remove the screws from the magnet and just add washers as spacers behind the complete magnet enough to bring the magnet closer to the wheel. This would eliminate the drilling and the hardware plus be a lot quicker. I believe this should work.
Gregs advice is spot on. I used simplified version. Removed the right side and fly wheel. Removed the screws of the magnet. Added 2 washers behind the front screw and 3 in de back one the magnets are parallel to the fly wheel. Gap is big enough to clear the runout of the fly wheel
Any advice or tips on removing the plate holding the magnets? I unscrewed it but the plate won't budge off. I want to place the washers behind it like you recommended.
I have the rw500 and the larger issue for me was that the little spring loaded “brake pad” that makes direct contact with the right hand side flywheel was applying more resistance than the highest magnetic setting could even apply, so on the lowest setting it was too hard and on the highest it felt exactly the same. My solution was to remove it entirely and that allows for the magnetic resistance to be the primary resistance and the mechanism now gives at least some perceptible difference between the levels.
I’m about to open my rw600, I hope that this is all I have to do!! Does resistance 1 and 29 feel different? Also does the airflow make a difference?
Oh my goodness. Thank you! I have the same problem on mine. But of course 2000$ waisted on a rower that won't change resistance. Magnet is actually so close to the wheel that it was grinding down against each other. Nordic track sent me new interior pieces that are not apart of the problem. Thanks for your detailed help.
Thanks for the video Greg. I set out to fix this issue tonight after watching your video and made some additional discoveries. You are headed in the right direction to solve the non-working digital/magnetic resistance but nothing here will solve the issue of the lowest setting being too heavy.
For the digital adjust/magnetic resistance the actual issue is that the mount/fulcrum for the magnets is not welded on straight. If you remove the arm with the magnets you can put a simple adjustable/crescent wrench on the face of the pin/pivot/fulcrum and the back of the mount and bend it so that the pin/pivot/fulcrum is square to the flywheel on that side. No need for any shims or spacers. With my unit the bracket was bent enough that even with the correct spacers the magnets still sat at an angle to the flywheel such that you would need tapered spacers to correct it. Just bend it straight and away you go. However, there is still a chance that it's welded on complete wrong and you need spacers anyway but straightening it is the best way to correct any off-angle.
If your unit is just too hard to workout on even on the lowest setting the issue is that the brake is causing too much friction. My unit only has one brake pad and I re-applied the lubricant that was on it already and spread it out over the braking surface and found that it was still just too much resistance. In the end what I did was just removed the brake mechanism all-together. You can hold it around the outside of the pad mount with a channel locks and take the nut off the back. The pad is there to reduce the spin at the end of the stroke so that momentum doesn't help you on the next pull. You could alternatively put a lighter spring into the pad mechanism but I found that the wind drag on the flywheels is enough for my (and my wifes) tastes.
Where exactly is this brake pad, if you don’t mind me asking. Four repair visits and no one mentioned this or pointed it out as the issue, or a way to fix. iFit sucks btw, I will never deal with them again. They deserve their business to crumble around their feet. Just telling the universe! 🤞🏻
@@Crystalwren You have to remove the two halves of the enclosure around the flywheel/fan. You can find the brake on the inside of the flywheel. If you are looking at the flywheel from the right side, the pad is at about at the 9 o'clock position.
Greg thank you for this post. It’ helped me. I couldn’t do what you did exactly so I added magnets on top of the existing ones to give me the same distance you have at the end of your video. It worked! I couldn’t have done it without this video.
@huda dawud your idea of adding another magnet on top is a very creative and elegant solution!
What did you use for magnets and how did you attach them?
What size magnet did you add on top? I think that solution would be easier for me to perform.
Wife and I purchased an RW500 at the beginning of the pandemic. We had both used the rowers at our gym occasionally in the past and thought that a rower would be the best choice for a home workout - better than a treadmill or bike.
I didn't use the rower much in the beginning, but when I did start using it I found two surprises: 1) the force required to pull even when set at resistance 1 was surprisingly high (especially compared to the air rower at the gym) and 2) the fact that there was little to no perceived difference between resistance 1 and resistance 26.
This video has allowed me to fix #2, though I didn't follow it exactly. Upon disassembly, I found that the distance between the magnet and the wheel was even greater than in the video - closer to 3/8 of an inch. After examining all the components, I went to Home Depot and picked up a package of twelve #8 flat washers and another package of #6 x 1" long round head sheet metal screws. I removed the magnet, stacked five of the washers above each screw hole, and then used the new screws to hold everything together. The washers are 0.040" (1mm) thick, so the stack of five had the effect of moving the magnet 0.200" closer to the wheel. Thankfully, both of the fan wheels on my rower run very true. With this change, I can finally perceive the difference between the lowest and highest resistance levels.
What has not changed significantly is #1 - the force required to get the belt moving at all. I have read some owners complain that the force is so great that they are simply unable to use the machine at all.
I don't have that problem, but I would like it to be much less than it is currently. I see in the earlier comments that this may be caused by poor brake design? I'll have to remove the casing again when I have time to do so and see if there is a practical solution. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would be very happy to read them.
Looking into this now!
@@Mangoomads FWIW, I did find that applying a good amount of silicone grease to the brake pads helped with #1 above yeah that's
This process worked great! I ran the two screws through compression springs also to help keep everything tight.
Thanks Greg....this is helpful. In pricing out this rower, I now need to factor in my time spent rebuilding it and this is likely a deal breaker. I hope that Nordic Trac decides to build a machine worthy of their glitzy programming.
I just bought mine online two days ago. And it's so effing sad that in buying such an expensive product, I'm wondering to myself, "is it going to be me? Am I going to be one of the lucky ones who gets the messed up magnetic wheel?"
A huge thank you for this video and fix. I picked up an RW500 for free as the previous owner was going to throw it out because of the resistance issue. A $1.50 for longer screws and washers and it works great thanks to you! The wheels/fans are trued up and everything has been cleaned and greased and is good for another 100 miles of rowing. Thank you so much. Dave
Thank you so much! I bought the RW200 second hand but basically brand new. The wheel was very wobbly and the magnet was too far from the wheel. I used your fix and now it's great! Getting the wheel seated properly was pretty finicky.
Hi Greg, thanks for the video. I am going to step this very same fix on my nordictrack rw700, I bought it second hand for a great price but found it had the same issue with the resistance staying the same, just like on your video the magnet is miles away from the metal plate, I just wanted to know if you do video showing the fix in action? I wondered if moving the magnet closer allowed the resistance to get easier as well as harder??? As I am already finding it tough on the setting it is stuck on! 😂
This unit is a piece of junk. I have the same issue of the resistance being the same throughout all settings. I would have hoped they would be willing to make things right with so many customers complaining. Thanks for making the video. I was going crazy over this issue for months now
Thanks for posting. My main issue was the brake pad exerting too much force on the wheel. I cut a few coils from the brake pad spring and it fixed it for me. The majority of the resistance comes from this brake pad. It's really a scam rower. The magnet offers little to no resistance in the overall rowing
What tool did you use to remove the 'wheel' to get to the motor?
I bought this 1.5 years ago, and it's never really worked like I thought it should, but structurally, it looks great, so I never took it back, I have other equipment I use so it doesn't get used all the time, but this is exactly what's wrong with mine, I've been using it on 26 the entire time thinking that was just the way it was supposed to be " my first ever rower" I hope I can get mine fixed like you have with yours 😢 I'm soo upset with how much money I feel I wasted
Great video Greg ! In my 200 Rower, left fan touches and grinds against bearing bracket screw heads (71), making noise. Left side of axle has no groove/snap ring, to keep left fan away from screws. Right side fan sits against snap ring(25) in a groove, so doesn’t touch the screw heads. Any suggestions ? Thanks.
Solved my problem, left side snap ring broke, axle shifted slightly to the right, snap ring groove was hidden under the bearing, replaced snap ring, put everything back together.
Just wanted to say that this modification works 100%. I found an rw200 series locally from a lady that never used it for 200 dollars. The resistance was honestly a joke and it was pretty much worthless as is. I just shimmed the bottom of the magnet with aluminum tape instead of making it adjustable but I may go back and do this in the future if the machine holds up. It now has just as much if not more resistance than a concept rower set on 10. I don’t know about the durability of the rower because I haven’t had it long enough but if it holds up it would be a sound investment if you can find one cheap and secondhand.
Greg, thanks for making this video. I picked up a rw500 last weekend and have noticed the resistance feels same through all numbers. Ordered my park tool today. What keeps the magnet bracket from sliding up and down the screws on the magnet side. I understand the adjustment side. Maybe it will be more intuitive once I break into it tomorrow. So does the 1 setting feel lighter or heavier since you are moving the magnets closer? thanks again
The attraction to the fan wheel keeps the magnet fixed at the end. In hindsight, a couple of small compression springs would have been a nice touch. As to what 1 feels like, that partially depends on where the final adjustments land. Given how far out of alignment "position1" is, I would assume magnetic resistance is basically zero due to the rotation no matter how close it is. Therefore, "everything feeling like 1" is pretty much saying the product as shipped had zero functioning magnetic resistance whatsoever. Well done NoluckTrack. Once you do the fix it is going to feel very different as actual magnetic resistance enters the product experience for very the first time.
Ah. Springs make since. Do you happen to recall what length M4 screws you used?
@@roberttaylor1240 i bought some 4inch ones and will just Sauter it down rather get to big than to small.
@@gregsguidetogeekdom1222 can you tell me how to get the wheel off to fix the resistance
@@andreastacey7282 this video shows how to use a crank puller on this rower th-cam.com/video/av8Qgw6Z2Lg/w-d-xo.html
I think the fan was to imitate the Concept 2 type rowers. I wonder if this explains why the RW 900 for 2022 has undergone a radical redesign? I enjoy the slight breeze, or apparent breeze, I got from my club-owned Concept 2 rower. I would miss it from the NordicTrack, but I understand it's now gone.
Great video but I can not get the flywheel off. I see nowhere to attach a puller? HELP
a lot of design and theory opinions offered here. however i agree this design is flawed. modifying the magnet mounts is a lot of work to do on something you already paid good money for. on my RW200 the unadjustable dampening resistance (drag) provided by the felt pad seems to be the critical reason the two-component magnetic resistance adjustment system doesn't work well. my elliptical has about a dozen magnets positioned on the outer rim resulting in a much better range of resistance.
this is very informative video, i learned a lot about how it setup, how to take it apart and make adjustments. based on your video i can see that my magnet on the lowest setting (not aligned with the wheel) but resistance is too high. i have 2 issues: 1. resistance too high (while magnet off the wheel). 2. my resistance motor is not moving (they sent me a new one and once replaced it's not doing anything either). any ideas on what could be wrong or how to troubleshoot?
You are da man! EXACTLY my issue and the perfect solution! Many thanks!
Thanks, this is all great information. However, there is an easier way I fixed mine. It's true the fan wheel with the metal bracket doesn't track true. That is part of the issue. It doesn't have to track perfect but needs to be within a few thousands of an inch tracking. I rotated mine and took a pry bar between the frame and fan wheel to gently adjust the tracking. After that, I removed the cam-type mechanism holding the magnets as you described. One of my magnets wasn't as close as the other one so I shimmed that up with a .037 washer on one side under the metal magnet bracket. That made both magnets parallel to the metal plate on the fan wheel. My gap between the magnet and fan wheel was now about.050-.060 of an inch. That did not solve the problem of the lack of adjustment of feel force when rowing. There is a white nylon bracket that attaches to the cam-type black plastic bracket that holds the magnets. That white nylon bracket is adjustable with a nut on both sides. There is a threaded rod running through the white nylon bracket. When you change the resistance via the 1-26 level, a motor attached to that threaded rod changes the position of the magnets up and down via the black plastic cam-type magnet holder. I had to adjust the white bracket to the left, via the two locking nuts, to change more of the magnet location away from the metal plate on the inside of the fan wheel. My feel force originally was too great. By adjusting this white nylon bracket, you can change the amount of resistance. Now, my rower works great! Hopefully, my description of this fix of my problem helps others. BTW, the 22 mm fan wheel remover is available on Amazon. Here's the description: CyclingDeal Bike Crank Extractor Puller Remover for Square Threaded Taper Crankset or ISIS & Octalink - Easy Bicycle Crank Arm Remover Removal Tool
Kelvin, thanks for your comments here. I curretly have same issue with no resitance change at all between 1 and 26. My gap between magnet and fan wheel disc is at least 5mm (0.20inch). The rowing force on level 1 is also too high. My question is if the magnet to fan wheel disc distance is reduced to say 3mm (0.10 inch) won't this increase the magnetic level of force?
@@alanb7604 That's what would be logical to me. However, I am not an engineer. I would recommend adjusting the white nylon bracket first. This bracket can rotate the magnet holder more or less over the metal part of the flywheel. My resistance was also too high on the lower settings of 1-26. So, I adjusted that white bracket to the left. That puts less of the magnet assembly over the metal part of the flywheel. Hopefully, this works for you also. Good luck!
Kelvin ok undertook two tasks. First was file away 2 MM of plastic and inner metal sleeve so the magnets are now 2mm closer to the fan wheel disc. Secondly I adjusted the white arm and two screws so that at level 1 only the smallest portion of magnet is near the fan metal disc, the bulk is below it. At ,eve, 26 all the magnet covers fan metal disc, we shall see.
Thanks for this. My brand new RW900 has the same problem even though the adjustment motor is working like it should.
I am still disgusted with them but the product is working now. If you have any questions, let me know.
@@gregsguidetogeekdom1222 Fixed mine tonight! Works perfect now. I just added a couple of washers under the magnet to move it closer, although I did use bolts (with stop nuts) for added strength instead of the screws. The RH wheel had a slight warp, so I straightened it by gently prying up the side that was bent in. Problems solved! You'd think as expensive as they are, the quality control would be better! I'm loving it now though.
I have the same issue with my new RW900. No luck going thru warranty?
The warranty is a total complete joke! I struggled with literally 5 video troubleshooting sessions as they sent me a bucket of replacement parts that failed to fix it because none of them could ever alter the welded magnet mount position. Then they sent me an in-person repairman who proceeded to write up an eval saying "yes all of these rowers have crappy resistance" NT translated this into "all is well, we will not do anything because nothing is wrong" I am still angry at how miserable this product and company are. There is just no excuse for such substandard engineering and service.
Very helpful video. Thanks. Was there are reason you didn't put the screw heads on the side nearest the metal track, and just use lock nuts on the side you adjust?
I think that arrangement would have been harder to adjust. Maybe put a clamp on the rod and then rotate the lock nut? Seems difficult to be precise with that.
Nice idea. Do you know if the sensors used by the computer can account for the extra work now required to spin the fly wheel to reflect accurate calculations, etc? Or are the calculations just based on a preprogrammed set of values based on the specified resistance and the wheel rpm?
I think the sensors use RPM and random lame guesses that are nowhere close to correct.
I'm blown away that Nordictrack think it's acceptable to sell equipment that simply doesn't work as intended and instead of taking responsibility for fixing the issue, send a bunch of non related parts. I suspect the underlying issue is the fly wheel is not being seated consistently and close enough down the spindle to reach the magnet mechanism. It looks like the design is not intended to have any adjustment, or to need any, but does rely on accurate assembly during manufacture.
Thank you Greg. I hope that Nordic Track follow up and designs a machine worthy of their glitzy programming. I really wanted to like this machine.
@RobertC as a software engineer I also have issues with the quality of their programming but not even thinking of going there and hacking this thing. It runs Android though and I do wish there were some fun game options for rowingtainment.
Mine had the same problem. Nordic track makes the worst rowers and has the worst customer service in the world.
Greg, what is the acceptable runout tolerance of the left flywheel (i.e., the one with the magnets)? Mine wobbles at least 1/4" (circa 6mm). When I removed the flywheel cover, I was shocked to discover that much wobble given that the other flywheel appeared to run true. Because of that large wobble, I can only position the reed switch close to one magnet. The other magnets are quite far away. Obviously, I'm getting no data on the screen as to my stroke pace, distance, speed, etc. -- only the timer works.
I was able to get my wheels true within about 2mm, it takes a little time bending it closer or away and rechecking, rinse, repeat.
I have the same problem with resistance. Even worse is the wheel is so warped, that any resistance above 4 makes a loud clanking sound because the edge of the magnet is hitting the metal ring. So crazy that these wheels are so out of whack. I'm waiting for a new wheel from NT, but I'm not too confident that it won't be wobbly as well, considering it's plastic with a metal ring attached to it. Thanks for the video Greg!
From my small personal experience, a good portion how true the wheel spins is the careful, gentle tapping with a rubber mallet while installing. Do not begin cranking the bolt down until it spins perfectly true with a loose bolt. Good luck!
@@gregsguidetogeekdom1222 thanks again for the tip
What distance do you recommend between magnets and wheel? you probably said it in video, can't find it now 😀
As close as possible if you want more resistance. Less close if it is too hard to row at level 1
Thanks Greg! I have a question, if the screen display don’t work, if is possible to adjust the 26 resistance option, or in this case is only possible to adjust the air 5option air system? Thank for your time !
You cannot adjust the digital/magnet resistance in any way other than with the screen or if you open it up and preset it to one position.
Where did you get the rotor puller from please
You should put a piece of foam under your new magnet adjustment so it has a cushion and is not moving and widening the holes over time. But it's understandable that the flywheel would warp over time. I agree there's no benefit to the wind adjustment. I though it was just to set how much air is blowing on you. 😂
Do you know the thread size needed to pull off the wheel? Same problem with mine, just recieved a replacement unit today. Same thing, but worse alignment problems. Need to fix it myself apparently. Thanks
Crank puller tools are fairly standard threading. I did not see multiple options when ordering one. The brand I got was Park Tool
I don't have a magnet system on my rw200. How do I fix mine? 😭
will it be easier if the gap is adjusted using washers between the magnet and the base?
I'm wondering the same thing.
To adjust by adding or removing washers would require removing more parts.
Its what I did...
Thank you for the video- we sadly bought a rw900 rower and it has too much resistance all the time. We had their repairman come out and he thought he could fix it. He ordered a part but then when he opened the rower up to install it, he was pretty sure he couldn’t fix it. A part is welded on crooked. But he installed the part anyway to try. It didn’t work. He reported it back to Nordic track. But they are giving us the run around! Talk about a company that knows their rower has issues yet they don’t want to take responsibility for their product. My advice, stay away from Nordic Track!!!
You can bend the misweleded part to fix the digital resistance issue but it won't solve your over resistance all the time problem. The issue is the brake inside the unit applies too much friction. I just removed mine and it's great.
Hmm interesting. Didn’t know there was a brake.
That spring is applying too much force to the brake. Cut off 3 coils and problem solved
Great video mate! Thanks for sharing!
I'll give it a try on my rowing machine, see if I can manage to solve this annoying problem...
Let me know if you run into any issues.
Did you ever try it without the fan blade and if so what was your experience with that?
My RW500 rower will not register rowing when at least the magnet side fan blade is off. With the fan blade off and you begin to row, the screen gives the start message "Begin rowing to start" even after you start rowing.
How do I get the fan wheel off. I removed the nut but it won't budge.
Hi, Greg stArting my adjustment how did you get the magnet out with all this glue!!!
Not sure what you mean about glue. Maybe something is different. Can you share a picture?
With mine, the pulley was just slipping, so a different problem. Somehow I don't know how to stop the pulley slipping and keep it connected to the magnetic wheel.
I have a problem with the RW200 and the console doesn't respond to rowing, it goes up to a timer of 6 seconds and then flashes 0 for all the settings. I know it is a different model, any chance you know how to trouble shoot this? I have opened it up and ensure the cables aren't loose..
I am not sure about this issue.
I have this problem with my rower. I’m a pretty handy person so I thought I would give your fix a try. But I can’t get the nut loose to take the fan blades off. Any suggestions or tricks?
Are you using a crank puller?
Too late to have any significance, but I just did some maintenance on mine and I needed to use an impact drill to get off the nut. After the nut is removed, then then the crank puller is necessary.
Thanks so much for this, I have the same issue with an RW500. Will give your fix a try and let you know how it goes. How is it that NordicTrack couldn't figure this out? Haha 😀
Did you end up fixing this with the rw500? Looking at picking one up used tonight.
Well, I wish I watched this video first before I fixed mine. My magnet was too close. So I bent the metal fulcrum back slightly and it no longer rubs.
Also great vision Greg
Thanks for the video Bill! Mine is less then a week old and fear the same problem. Mine does seem to get a little resistant when increasing but it doesn’t seem like it is very hard. In one of your videos you talk about the fan/wheel. Mine has a visible wobble and when pulling back it seem easy at first then I have resistance. I realize you’re not the Nordic tack support hotline but I stubbled on you video and thought I’d ask. Thanks in advance!
I had two problems with mine..... the magnet was too far away and the RH wheel was warped and would wobble where the gap didn't stay consistent. I gently rolled it around where it was too close.....then I gently pried it apart in the places where the gap was way closer to the magnet. I used a long flat metal bar and just kept spinning it and gently adjusting it until the wobble was completely gone.
I would be cautious about using a bar to bend the righthand wheel into place. The risk is you dont know exactly what/where it is going to bend. I had good results removing and reseating it carefully with a rubber mallet tapping gently to get it lined up as i slowly tightened the nut.
Getting the wobble out of the wheel is a good choice either way. NordicTrash support is both very friendly and supremely frustrating. At one point they sent me a replacement seat base as if that might help!
@@gregsguidetogeekdom1222 I very gently pried mine as I spun it and watched the gap. The dang metal is THAT soft..I actually used the handle side of a large crescent wrench and it took very little force to move it. But yes, if someone pryed too hard it could mess them up. I work on motorcycles as a hobby and have a lot of experience trueing up wheels. I got mine perfect....there were places where the magnet hit the wheel where in other places it was too far away. After I gently pried the places to the correct gap, the other gaps leveled out too. I bet when you took your wheel off and pushed it back on, the soft metal gave and corrected itself. Thanks again Greg....I knew it was something simple, I just wasn't happy with the lack of resistance but knew that my actuator was fine (I could hear the motor changing resistance.) Before fixing it, I actually thought that maybe the glued on magnet was either missing or fell off! ha ha!
@@chambwp Hi Bill, Can you tell me what you were prying against to gain leverage? I understand that the wheel needs to be bent with the wrench handle, but what was the wrench up against? Thank you
Thanks for the video, I hope I never need it but it's nice to know where I can find it if needed.
Can you make a video of how to take the machine apart to get to where you are right now? My machine is working fine but it doesn't tell me the distance I'm rowing as I row. I don't know what to do.
I'm not mechanically literate, I'm having issues just getting the cover off to fix the magnetic issues. Does anyone have a video for that. I don't want to break anything.
What’s the 4mm screw length?
Great video Greg, thank you so much. It’s too bad that NordicTrack does not understand their own equipment, leaving their customers to fix the product themselves.
Anyone had the chance to see the new 2022 RW900 model to see if they redesigned this area to make it better?
not yet, lol, bought it march 28, my husband has just listened to the fix, the fan is warped and it has one setting .... HELLA HARD resistance
@@carmenmta7977 did you manage to get it sorted?
Wear gloves when repairing your machine! My machine was very tight and I cut my hand up really good on the fan blades when trying to get it off the machine. Be careful and protect your hands!
Excelso. Gracias
I need some help to get the wheel off in one side.
See this video example of fan removal th-cam.com/video/av8Qgw6Z2Lg/w-d-xo.html
same problem here.. Would never buy a NordicTrak rower again.
If I can fix my Nordic track I would be the happiest girl on earth…..
Edit: it has been fixed!! Just need to mess around with the reed switch to correct the meters