Just got my new recumbent exercise bike put together, and man did I work up an aerobic sweat putting that bad boy together. Tunch, of course, was NO help, jumping in and out of boxes, attacking pieces, etc.
At any rate, the damn thing is up and put together. I do not know why companies that send things like this do not label the actual pieces, but want you to rely on little diagrams. is it too hard to just label each piece, so when it says “Insert seat carriage frame into rear support rod,” i will know what the seat carriage frame and support rod actually are, rather than what I think they are from a dinky little picture?
And another thing. If I ever run a company, I am going to make sure we intentionally ship double the nuts and bolts needed for assembly. As usual, I was one bolt short. Just ship double-triple the bolts needed, for goodness sakes, and put a little warning in the book:
“NOTICE- DON’T FREAK OUT. After assembly, you might have some screws, nuts, and bolts left over. We sent you twice what you need, because we know this crap always gets lost in transit or lost during assembly. Just our way of thanks for buying our product.”
Seems to me you did that, word of mouth would get around and you would increase sales The profit margin can’t be that tight that five nuts or bolts will break the company.
Here is a pic:
You can get one at the “O” for a couple hundred bucks.
Vladi G
That big console would get in the way of watching TV. If I can’t watch TV while I exercise, what’s the point?
John Cole
Actually, no it doesn’t. I put it right in between two couches for now, and it is right in front of the wide screen.
JWeidner
Damn, send me an email after a couple months pass and you haven’t used it….I may buy it from you for a steep discount.
Just kidding. Looks like a nice piece of machinery – hope you get the results you’re looking for!
John Cole
Heh. I had another exercise bike I called the ‘$400 towel rack’ because all I ever did was throw towels and stuff on it. It was a regular exercise bike, not a recumbent one, and it felt like I was being slow motion castrated with a wooden spoon or dull instrument everytime I rode it.
This one (which I just used) is comfortbale as can be. If you are taller than 6’2″, it might be a touch cramped in tthe legs, though (knees might hit the handle bar- I guess you could always scoot back more, though).
Stormy70
I put my elliptical together and I had the correct number of bolts, the instructions were precise and everything was labelled clearly.
And I’m a girl. :)
I love it because it is quiet and I can watch my stories at a decent volume. And by stories, I mean Surface, all CSIs, Lost, The Amazing Race, etc. Plus, I have a place to put my book during commercials.
Yes, my kitties were a huge help during the process. My little kitten thinks it is one giant toy to be batted down while I am in motion. He has rather large ones, I’m afraid.
Krista
Stormy – I put my elliptical together myself as well, but when I moved out here, it got jolted one too many times in transit, so the heart rate monitor, time display, etc. don’t work anymore. The only thing that still works is the resistance setting, which is the most important part, I guess. So I use it once in a blue moon on weekends, but for the most part, it’s a towel rack now. Oh well, I at least got three years of solid use out of it, and lost 65 lbs. thanks to that thing. (I didn’t have pets at the time, so nobody interfered with the assembly process.)
Stormy70
I have yet to move it, so it works very well. I have had it about 10 months and it is easy on the joints and knees. Plus, I can hang my laundry on it when necessary.
Krista
Anything that’s easy on your joints is a good thing. ;)
Gold Star for Robot Boy
Your cat’s name is Tunch, as in former Steelers OT Tunch Ilkin?
Awesome.
iocaste
They don’t label the parts because they sell it in countries that speak languages other than English. Prob’ly easier to just change the instructions than to change the part labels.
I assume.
Sine.Qua.Non
I love the “O”…been shopping there for years, like since ’97 or ’98. I bought every Xmas present from them one year. What an easy Xmas that was.
I bought my pilates machine from them and it is quite excellent. Now, if I’d only use it.
Brian Patterson
This one has lot’s of room for towels John.
MMM
What is the over/under for miles in December? I’ll take 30 and below.
Al Maviva
I put in 30 miles on my slick tired mountain bike yesterday, easy to do now that I commute on it. Last night I rigged up my fixed gear to commute, shifting the rack, lights & speedo to it, but sadly we have storms blowing in late this morning so I couldn’t take the leather-seated sweetie out for a spin. I’m averaging 60 – 90 miles per week on the commute, putting in another 30 mile ride on the fixie every Saturday, and doing a 30 – 40 mile hard group ride on my geared road bike on Saturdays. Pretty good regime for the winter. Yep, I had to buy some cold/wet weather riding gear and lights to keep rolling, but such are the lengths I’ll go to, to keep off one of those devices like you got there.
Good luck with it, and just remember, there’s always spin class if watching Buffy reruns isn’t motivation enough.
farmgirl
I won’t buy *anything* from the “O” until they get that whore off their TV ads…
Krista
farmgirl – who’s that? I haven’t seen their ads lately…
leelu
Last time I assembled something (two lateral files), the nuts ‘n’ bolts came in a blister pack. No fubling thru a pile of random parts.
And there was a little baggie labeled “Extra Parts”, with one or two of everything just in case.
Clever devils, those Chinese.
No indoor cats, but the Schnausers were of no help, either.
Mac Buckets
Well done, Krista! And it reminds me that The Biggest Loser finale is on tonight. Nothing like watching people who’ve lost 100+ lbs in 3 months to make me feel worthless for not taking off the 15 extra I’ve been lugging around for a year!
Barry
Congratulations, John. Looks good. And I heartily second the idea of overpacking the little-bits-which-escape-from-airtight-plastic.
BIRDZILLA
A great way to get your exersise without getting wet when its raining or freeze when its snowing just peddal away without all that bother