ProForm Le Tour De France Spin bike - April 12th update

From my last post you will see that the repair only lasted 40 minutes of riding.

3/28/13 - Rode trainer for approx. 40 minutes before incline motor failed. Notified UTS
Received email notice that parts were ordered.

• 4/3/13 Parts arrived
• 4/4/13 Notified LAPD Engineering Inc. that the parts had arrived
• 4/11/13  LAPD Eng technician showed up for the repair
• UTS had sent a new handlebar with wiring harness, harness to connect handlebar to control unit in body of the bike.  (They forgot to include the heart rate monitor cable that connects the console to the wireless sensor.)
• Technician installed all the harnesses, no change, incline still did not work.  He checked out the incline motor.  When he tapped the relay, the incline started working.
• Technician said he would order a new lift motor as the current one would likely fail again.

So far these are the parts and number of times they have been replaced. (Note that I have not counted the lift motor that is currently on order)

Lift motor                               4
HAL Effect wire                    3
Console                                  3
Power Board                          4
Wire Harness 40"                   2
Wire Harness 15"                   1
Hex Nut                                  1
Loctite                                    1
Teflon lube                             1
Handlebars w/harness            1
Bushing                                  1
Axle                                       1

One of these days they may decided that this unit I have is actually a lemon and just replace it.

ProForm Le Tour De France Spin bike - The ever continuing saga

So continuing from my last post on March 13, 2013.

2/12/13 - Bike broke - notified UTS - sending new circuit board

2/13/13 - Notified by UTS part has shipped

2/18/13 - Part from UTS arrive - Notified LAPD engineering

2/20/13 - LAPD engineering shows up - they need a new lift motor.

2/27/13 - Contacted LAPD engineering to get status.
They state parts were ordered on Monday 2/25/13

2/28/13 - Notified by UTS that new parts have been ordered

3/1/13 - Nofified by UTS that new parts have shipped

3/7/13 - Parts from UTS arrive

3/8/13 - Notified LAPD engineering that parts have arrived.

3/14/13 - Called LAPD asking for status update

3/15/13 - Sent email and online request asking for status update

3/18/13 - received call from LAPD stating they are waiting for work order from UTS

3/21/13 - contacted UTS, "LAPD received new work order on Feb 28 and acknowlede it,  also re-acknowledged on March 7"

3/21/13 - Sent email to LAPD with update from UTS

3/21/13 - LAPD stated technician would contact me shortly

3/22/13 - Contacted by technician, repair scheduled for March 23rd.

3/23/13 - Technician showed and repaired bike.  He fully tested bike, incline, etc

3/28/13 - Rode trainer for approx. 40 minutes before incline motor failed.   Notified UTS
         Received email notice that parts were ordered.

Summary:  Repair took 39 days from time UTS was notified until bike was actually repaired.  Repair lasted 5 days.  Acutally broke again 40 minutes into my first ride on the bike.  The incline function does not work, but at least the bike is not tilted at a 20% incline this time.

The iFit.com website still is not working properly.  Every time I ride the bike it duplicates all the prior workouts but with the current date.  I can not download any routes (created or purchased) from the iFit website to the LTDF bike so that function, which is one of the main reasons I got the bike, does not work.  The only options I have on riding the bike is manual or one of the dozen 'canned' rides that are already programmed into the bike.

ProForm Le Tour De France Spin bike - The saga continues

I just updated my post from the breakdown in Janurary.  The bike again brokedown on February 12, 2013.  So I had about 3 weeks of use before it broke again.  Same issue, the bike is stuck in the 20% incline postion.

UTS =  Universal Technical Services -  Extended warranty provider - Owned by Icon Fitness
Proform = Manufacturer of fitness equipment -  Owned by Icon Fitness
iFit.com =  Online fitness tracking for compatible devices  - Owned by Icon Fitness

• 2/12/13 - Bike broke - notified UTS - sending new circuit board
• 2/13/13 - Notified by UTS part has shipped
• 2/18/13 - Part from UTS arrive - Notified LAPD engineering
• 2/20/13 - LAPD engineering shows up - they need a new lift motor.
• 2/27/13 - Contacted LAPD engineering to get status. 
                                 They state parts were ordered on Monday 2/25/13
• 2/28/13 - Notified by UTS that new parts have been ordered
• 3/1/13  -  Nofified by UTS that new parts have shipped
• 3/7/13  -  Parts from UTS arrive
• 3/8/13  -  Notified LAPD engineering that parts have arrived.

ProForm Repair Update

Well, I was hoping that having a different company responsible for the maintenance and them using a different company for the actual repair might speed up getting my ProForm Tour De France trainer repaired sooner than the manufacturer.  I really should have know better since Universal Technical Services (UTS)  www.utserv.com, ProForm and Ifit are all owned by Icon Fitness.

So the rundown so far:

Jan 1, 2013          TDF stuck in 20% incline

                                Incline calibration shows = results show a bad Trans Max value = 0

Jan 2, 2013          Called Icon extended warranty service

                                LAPD Engineering will be the company taking care of repair.
                                They will call and schedule an appointment.
                                Shipping sensor wire to me via standard USPS. 
                                Will take approximately a week for it to arrive.

Jan 3, 2013        Received notice that sensor wire was shipped

Jan 5, 2013          Received call from technician assigned to do the repair.  Explained what was going on.

                                He said he would ordered more parts.

Jan 7, 2013        Received notice that parts were ordered (lift motor and power board)

Jan 8, 2013        Received notice that parts were shipped

                                Received sensor wire and Teflon grease

Jan 10, 2013        Received lift motor (did not open box, thought it was both lift motor and power board)

                                Sent  notice to LAPD Engineering that parts arrived

Jan 11, 2013        Received power board

Jan 14, 2013        Left VM at LAPD Engineering stating that I had not heard from them yet.

Jan 14, 2013        Received call from Technician, repair scheduled for Jan. 23rd.  (Next available date)

So currently it appears that I will have a functioning trainer only 3 weeks after I first notified UTS of the problem.

The service plan that I purchased is the "Premier Warranty".  Their website says unmatched customer service.  Not sure any other company would want to have service levels that match their poor service.

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.

New Year and New resolutions

Well it is 2013, don't know what happened to the Mayans but I am glad to be here.

As stated before I crashed on my bike on November 8, 2012.  Because of the crash I had become sedentary.  Hard to do exercises when your left wrist, right knee and right elbow all hurt.  This has had an effect on my health as well.  On December 10, 2012 I weighed 267.9 pounds, the heaviest I have ever been!

On December 21st I had my annual physical, the results were not good.  High cholesterol and other things that are common for someone with obese weight.  Don't really want to list the details, but I was actually shocked at some of the results. So this has made up my mind that I need to change my lifestyle.

I had been cutting back on snacks and such since Dec. 10th, but after the results from the physical I decided that I needed to do more.  On Dec. 27th I started using LoseIt (again), I was down to 256.6 by then, as of today I am down to 251.4.   16 pounds lost in under a month.

LoseIt is great, it has great tools and helps me to stay on track.  The friends that I have made on the site give me the encouragement that I need to help me stay on track and stick with the lifestyle change.

I have been riding my ProForm Tour De France (TDF) indoor trainer.  It allows me to ride when the weather is bad.  I has also allowed me to get back on the bike sooner, since my accident, than I would otherwise would have been able.  See my coming post  for information on the TDF indoor trainer.

I am also looking at health and fitness programs.  Currently viewing Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age (The Great Courses).  I am also starting to use David Nordmark's Animal Stretching (Animal Kingdom Workouts.com).

So my health resolution for the new year is:

1. Eat an appropriate diet (volume wise) that is more natural (less refined foods).
2. Exercise more (not just cycling).  This will include core exercises, stretching and what is called 'body weight resistance' exercises (no gym and no equipment)
3. Do more cycling training so that I will be a better rider this summer.
4. Goal weight of 180 by end of September 2013 

2012 winding down

Well just an update to keep the blog alive.

I only did six out of the seven days on the Oregon Coast ride this year.  Just 50+ miles from finishing.  I had crashed in July during the STP (Seattle To Portland bike ride), bruised my ribs and ended up with pleurisy.  I was getting sick and the pleurisy was acting up, decided to abandon for health reasons.  Hope to edit and post those last two days soon.

Since then I had not done much riding, occasional weekend rides along with the commute to work.  Not as many miles as previous years, and my weight is showing it.

On November 8th on my way to work I crashed when I hit a car sensor cable that was laying in the bike lane.  Road rash on my right elbow and knee, bruised my right leg from the thigh to the bottom of my foot and broke my left wrist.

 Had surgery on the 11th, they added a little something. And yes it is permanent.

Between the break and the injury to the right knee, I had not been able even ride my trainer until just a few days ago.

I also was not able to type very well until just recently.

Still have not assessed the damage to my bike yet.  I do know I broke the handlebar mirror as well as twisted left controller with nice scrapes.

I hope to use some of this down time to add more information to my blog: What I travel with and why, reviews on equipment, websites and services that are related to cycling.