Our Bowflex Treadclimber Review
by HPN
(CA, United States)
My husband and I bought the Bowflex
Treadclimber TC 5000 in February 2006.
We love this machine for some reasons, and don't
like it for other reasons. I'll explain below.
ASSEMBLY:
We assembled this machine ourselves. The assembly
instructions were fairly easy to follow. Two
persons must work together to lift and assemble some parts. It took us about 2 hours to put the
machine together.
IMPRESSION:
We chose this machine because of its compact
size. The space available in our home does not allow room for a treadmill or elliptical machine.
We feel great, invigorated, and sweaty at the end
of each workout on this machine.
My husband says that this machine gives him a
more vigorous workout than regular treadmills.
USAGE AND RESULTS:
Since 2006, I've been using this machine 5 days a
week for 35-45 minutes, at medium speeds ranging
from 2.5 to 3.5 mph.
For nearly 2 years, my husband stuck to a
fast-paced (3.5 to mostly 4.0 mph), 5-days-a-week,
80-minute regimen. He now reduces the workout to 3 days a week
Before buying this machine, we were in good
health. Now, we're in excellent health, God willing.
I've lost about 3 lbs. My husband has lost about
7 lbs. We've toned up visibly over the last 2
years, but not entirely because of this machine.
After each Treadclimber workout, we add 30-40
minutes of lifting weights (25-50 lbs).
When time and energy permit, I also add a 10-15
minute abdominal exercise, and about a 25 minute
Taebo workout to my daily routine.
RESISTANCE LEVEL:
We started at the lower resistance levels. Within
a few weeks, we quickly progressed to the
maximum setting.
Since then, we leave the resistance at the
maximum level. We feel no need to interrupt any workout
to adjust the resistance level.
FUNNY NOISES:
We put a rug under our machine for cushion and
noise reduction.
When we began to use this machine, the right
hydraulic piston made squeaky noises. Terribly
annoying.
We sprayed silicon oil on all the hydraulic
joints we could think of. But the noise continued.
After a month or so, we sort of became tone-deaf
to this squeak. Eventually, it disappeared.
Thereafter, from time to time, we hear unusual
noises from the machine. Not loud, but clearly
noticeable.
Out comes the silicon spray can. A squirt here. A
squirt there. Silence restored.
If you own this machine, arm yourself with a
lubricant spray can, and prepare for sporadic battles
to vanquish weird noises.
MOTOR:
After almost 2 years of usage, our machine broke
down. The odometer reading was 49,400. (This is
the number that briefly flashes on the console
after you insert the safety key.)
Through the phone, Bowflex customer service
department walked us through different diagnostic
steps to pinpoint the source of the problem.
Yes, one needs to be next to the machine (i.e. at
home) while calling in for help. Calling from
work is futile without the machine.
The final verdict? The motor died, within the
5-year warranty period. Thank God.
We weren't happy to learn that the warranty
covers parts, not labor. Customers must replace the
parts themselves. This is an important point that
you need to keep in mind, if planning to buy a
Treadclimber.
After our machine was kaput for 5-weeks , the
motor finally arrived. Without instructions. Perhaps
a shipping oversight. Again, we called Bowflex.
They sent the instructions by e-mail.
We're the do-it-yourself type. In spite of
previous engineering degrees, we found the written
instructions hard to follow. But the photos in the
instructions were helpful.
It was a great challenge to replace the motor.
The most difficult part was pulling the tight, new drive belt over the roller pulley and motor
flywheel.
Without my husband's muscles, there's no way I
can do the work myself. Together, we spent over 3
hours on this project.
BELT:
We keep the treadles and belts regularly
lubricated, even more often than instructed in the
manual.
Almost immediately after we installed the new
motor, the belt on the treadle began to make a
scraping noise.
We squirted silicon oil, and adjusted the belt
tension. But the noise got worse and more annoying.
When the odometer reached 49,600 or so, the
scraping sound progressed to a loud screeching noise.
The belt was tracking excessively to one side,
and scrape against something under the treadle.
Again, we called Bowflex customer service. We had
the number memorized and on speed dial by now.
The customer service representative told us to
adjust the belt tension. Several times. No good.
She could hear the screeching noise over the phone.
The final diagnosis? The belt got old, and over
stretched. So, they sent new belts, under the
3-year warranty. Thank God.
A few days later, a set of new belts arrived.
With instructions this time, luckily.
Unfortunately, the belt replacement instructions
is a complete enigma.
No pictures. No drawings. No idea what they're
talking about.
Again. Two laborers. Two engineering degrees.
Much head scratching and muttering. Many cuts,
scrapes, and grunts. More than 4 hours later. Two
aching backs. New right belt.
The left belt? It's worn, too. But not making any
noise yet. And we had no energy left to replace
the left belt.
The left belt is tougher to replace than the
right. We must remove the drive belt, roller pulley,
and motor flywheel to remove the left belt.
With fresh memory of our struggle with these
parts, we want to leave them in peace for now.
So, we're walking very carefully on the left
belt, and hope to delay its replacement as long as
possible.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
If you buy this machine, guard the receipt with
your life. When problems develop, to get parts
under warranty, you must first fax your receipt to
Bowflex.
Their customer service department is open on
weekdays, from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PST.
This meant having to juggle our work schedules to
be at home during the times that we contacted
Bowflex.
You need to be next to your machine when calling
Bowflex for help. Their customer service
representative will walk you through certain steps.
You'll have to follow each step, and describe
over the phone what your machine is doing.
It's like getting your car mechanic to figure
out, over the phone, what's wrong with you car.
He'll send you the replacement parts and
instructions. Although in English, some written
instructions make absolutely no sense to you.
At the end, you'll have to take your machine
apart and fix it yourself.
Below is our tally of contacts with Bowflex after
our machine broke down.
- 13 phone calls to Bowflex - too many wasted
hours to recall without pain.
- 10 days delay for Bowflex to return our 1st
phone call.
- 9 Bowflex representatives - some inept, 2
helpful, 1 knowledgeable.
- 3 wrong diagnoses (replacement of speed sensor,
jumper wire, and circuit board).
- 3 failed attempts to take the machine apart
pursuant to wrong diagnoses.
- 1 correct diagnosis (motor replacement),
finally given by the 6th representative.
- 1 shipment delay due to bad data entry - wrong
shipping address.
- 4 e-mails sent to 2 representatives - no reply
received.
- 3 weeks delay for new motor - part not
available.
- 1 run-around attempt to get supervisor's
contact information - wrong information given, still no
clue who's the head honcho of customer service.
The above is the good, bad, and ugly account of
our experience with our TC 5000 Bowflex
Treadclimber over the last 2 years.
We hope that you find it helpful in your decision
whether to purchase one for yourself.
