In June 2011 I turned 50. Since I am getting older, I feel that I should slow down and enjoy my bike rides more. So I will being doing more solo riding and touring that will give me the time to just ride and enjoy.

The purpose of this blog is to share my ride 'events', insights and experiences with others.

Enjoy my blog and hopefully you will get something out of it that will benefit your own riding.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Proform Tour De France Indoor Trainer (Exercise Bike)


I got my TDF in October 2011, it was ordered in July 2011, but took 3 months to actually get it.  The bike was a little flaky at first, then the controller (control panel) stopped associating with the wireless.  I was sent a new controller, got it installed and everything worked well until March 2012.  The lift motor, controls the incline/decline, went out leaving the bike in a 20% decline.  The resistance was that of 20% decline as well, so there was no using it as there was basically no resistance.

They replaced the lift motor and sensing wire.  This did not fix it, so they replaced the console (second time).  Technician still could not get it to work, a third console was sent and a replacement power board.  Still not working and now we are into May 2012.  Fourth repair attempt by the technician was to replace the entire wiring harness from the console to the main unit, a second power board and a second lift motor was sent.

Technician could not get the lift motor out as the holding bolt was stripped.  My son actually got it removed for them.  Had to wait for a new bolt to arrive.  By the time it arrived, got technician rescheduled an actually got the unit repaired it was mid June 2012.  This was now great outdoor riding weather so I was not interested in using at this time.  So the next time I actually get on the bike is October 2012.

The great thing about the TDF is the interface with iFit.com.  The iFit.com website allows you to create your own routes with a google map interface, so when you do the ride it will simulate the hills.  You can also download other available maps, like some sections of the actual TDF route.  As I say this is a great feature, but it is the same as the bike, it is great when it works.

iFit.com upgraded their website at the end of November 2012.  Since that time they have not been able to restore my previous workouts or previously created routes.  New routes that I create and some of the downloaded routes fail to load on to the bike.

On January 1st, I was doing my first ride on the new year when my TDF broke down again.  It is now stuck in a 20% incline, the good thing is that the resistance is not affected.  It would be impossible to ride a 20% incline all the time.  So right now I am stuck with a bike sitting at a 20% incline that I have to manually adjust the resistance on.  Icon Fitness has ordered and sent me a wire, once it arrives I get to call the Technician and wait for them to come out and repair it.

I have really not had the use of the TDF as much as I would like.  It is a great bike when it works.  But the customer service from Icon Fitness is poor at best.  You tell them the issue, they guess at the parts you will need and ship them.  Once the parts arrive you call the service technician out, wait two weeks for the appointment date to find out they did not send what was needed.

I have the 1st generation TDF.  I have heard the 2nd Generation TDF is much better, and I see a 3rd generation model is due out this spring.  The 3rd Gen model has drop handlebars with standard controllers for shifting and a 7 inch touch screen.

Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get this off my chest.

13 comments:

  1. Great info, Thanks. May I ask where you have heard any info on the 3rd Gen model?
    I appreciate your time!

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    1. It was in a review by Wired magazine. They did not call it 3rd Generation, but that is what it appears to be considering the upgrades listed.

      http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/12/tdf-bike/

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  2. Thanks for the review, I'll wait for the 3rd. Gen, do you have an idea when are they going to release it?

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  3. My issues mirror yours almost to a tee

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  4. Thanks for the posting, this is helpful. My bike went out after 3 years and is stuck in the 20% decline position. After aligning the Reed Switch the resistance seems to work fine. If I could get it out of the 20% position I'd be happy for awhile. Anyone know if/how I can manually adjust the incline?

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  5. I am very enjoyed for this blog. I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me

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  6. My experience is very similar.
    No way would I recommend this piece of crap.
    It's a total waste of money and doesn't work as advertised (for very long)

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  7. Mine is still broken after today's latest service visit. Only one more part to replace which may or may not fix the same issue for day one.
    Proforms phone prompts suck and it took 17 minutes to get to the right person. I told her that you get one more try or your buying it back.

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  8. Well, the repair company has given up so Icon has found another repair that is supposed to call me to fix it. This will be visit #3
    At least I have a spare control panel I can try and sell.
    Bike has been broken since February.
    As soon as it's fixed it's going straight to Craigslist.

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  9. A new service company finally arrived and replaced the loft motor. She finally works again. Now straight to Craigslist .....

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  10. Really a great post! I enjoyed a lot to read this post. Hope to hear more from you soon.

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  11. I have a TDF model PFEX01414.0 bought it September 2017 and I barely used it. Five days ago I turned it on and display began loading normally but the display stayed blue so incline and resistance are not working due to the console failure. I called proform service but since I'm out of warranty they gave me a different number to call for service and the technician told me it was the console and I had to change it but since it is discontinued there's nothing I can do to fix it. Does anyone here know what I can do or how can I fix it?

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    Replies
    1. Same problem. Did you receive any insights for a solution?

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