Schwinn 431 Elliptical Trainer
After the second workout on my new Schwinn 431 Elliptical, I started hearing an annoying squeak. It occurred several minutes into the workout and I hoped it would eventually work itself out as my new assembled elliptical got broken in. Not so. It repeated every day for the next week. I was so pleased with how smooth the machine felt but that squeak made me want to cuss and throw it out the window! I could not workout on this machine with that awful squeak. I got online to check the reviews to see if there was any known fixes for a possible recurring issue of squeakage with this model. Several reviews mentioned to just loosen the bolts where the handlebars attach. Technically, that is incorrect. Well, incorrect if you assume the upper handlebar segment where your hand actually grips the bar (at least in my case). Those upper handlebars are attached using 4 button head bolts each. It didn't seem intuitive that a squeak could or would be coming from there. Well, it wasn't. So, I tried to target the bolts securing the lower handlebar segments into the Arm Pivot Rod. One review stated that it only took a quarter turn of loosening to solve this issue. I ended up doing about 5 full rotations and it didn't even appear to loosen much (if at all). Nonetheless, I thought that should be good enough and started back on the machine to see if the squeak had left. Not so. It was still present and in full force. Since I am practically tone deaf, I recruited my teenage son who is an aspiring guitarist with good ears to locate the exact location of the squeak. He honed in right on the Arm Pivot Rod area. I relayed that I had already loosened that earlier that morning, but maybe I didn't do it enough. When I went to loosen it again, he laughed and pointed out that I should secure the bolt head on the other side with a box end or crescent wrench because it was turning with my turns on the other side. I am embarrassed because I am only a mechanical engineer and I have to have my teenage, musician son instructing my hands-on efforts. Nonetheless, we secured the other side with a box end wrench and then I noticed a significant difference on the torque required to rotate and loosen my bolt. I gave it a push, heard a low thud, rotated it about a half turn. And, that was it. I put the covers back on and she is running like a dream!!! NO SQUEAKS!!! I took her for a 20 minute run this morning and she just purred like a kitten.
Other areas worth commenting: The fan is practically no more than a gimmick. It was one of the factors of me upgrading to the 431, but it is practically ineffective. If I had to be picky, I'd say I would prefer the upper handlebars to extend up a little further and maybe angle out away from me a little more. I am 5'11". I usually grip the top knobs at the end of the upper handlebars, but I don't mind that. I can change my grip that way to almost a straight punching motion that feels good. Also, I like to know that I am not putting excessive wear on the handlebar grips that way. Those top knobs look like they will last forever. Other than that, it's well constructed, compact to place in a tidy space in your home, very smooth motion. Excellent buy! I am so glad I purchased.
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