ProForm XP Whirlwind 280 Upright Exercise Bike

WHIRLWINDS FLAWS CAN BE EASILY FIXED January 30, 2012

I do like this exersize bike. It's half the price of the Schwin Aerodyne. The Profoms frame fits me comfortably and I like the lever-arm action it provides as well as the upright console for viewing progress and resting my arms. I felt the frame was substantial enough, yet conveniently sized for moving about in the room for a guy my size ( 5'8" height and about 280 lbs). I need the daily workout for cardio-weight loss and improvements in my breathing quality, which this does for me. I use it twice per day, 20- 30 minute in the morning & evening, and I am slowly loseing weight and improving my other aspects of health and strength as a result. The flaw to this bike lies in the manner that the pulley belt drive wheel and the axle are affixed to each other, and the bearings that this axle rotates on. If you are somewhat mechanically inclined and able to work with a few hand tools, you yourself can fix this bike so it works trouble free. As to the pulley belt drive wheel-axle assembly flaw, I found that they were tacked to each other with just 3 spot welds- not good, as they could -as in my case- fracture at the weld points and break loose from each other. However, I solved this problem by removing the pulley belt drive wheel-axle assembly from the exersize bike and bringing it to a local neighborhood muffler shop to have them arc weld an outside bead around the entire contact perimeter where the axle flange meets the pulley belt drive wheel. This will give you a solid assembly that should last. This cost me $35.00 cash. As to the bearings issue, I removed the old bearings and their components (bearing cages, cups, cones lock washer, washers and nuts) discarded the old parts (except the locking washers & thin nuts, I saved these), cleaned out the bottom bracket chamber, bought a new bottom bearing kit (old fashioned American (Ashtabula style) bottom bracket bearing kit for an adult sized bike complete with bearing cages, cones, cups, washers, and nuts). I bought this kit from a local bike shop. This bearing kit cost me $10.00- buy the grease tube/pouch also from the bike shop, you wont need much ( I already had my own tub of grease to use at home). You will also need a gear puller to take off the pedal cranks after removing their bolts. Any inexpensive pulller should do- this is about the only specialized tool you will need. This bike has a three piece crank assembly- two cranks and a tapered square ended axel like some bikes have. Take your digital camera and photo document each step of dissassembly so you maintain an accurate record of how everything goes and fits. When you go to take your pulley belt drive wheel-axle assembly to the welders and the weld joint had already failed so the assembly was loose as mine was, I used a 1.25" diameter by 3" long galvanized threaded nipple pipe fitting from ********** as an alignment spacer for the assembly. I took the new threaded cone and installed it onto the axel to press the pully firmly against the axel flange, then slipped the nipple over the axel, and then placed the other cone onto the opposite end of the axel to tighter the nipple against the first cone. This helped me because my threds were stripped and could not properly seat the cone next to the pully. This for me eliminated any wobble issues with the pulley belt drive wheel-axle assembly for welding purposes and acted as an alignment clamp. The nipple seats nicely onto the flat outer ring area of the cones. Use the cones from your new bearing kit. This galvanized theraded nipple cost me about $2.50 at **********. Remember, normally when you thread a nut and bolt the addage is-righty-tighty, lefty-loosey so you thread properly. BUT HERE YOU ARE THREADING A REVERSE THREAD FOR THE BEARING CONES AND AXEL SO ITS REVERSED. AS A RESULT YOU MUST THREAD IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER: LEFTY-TIGHTY, RIGHTY-LOOSEY, REMEMBER THIS SO YOU DONT STRIP THE THREADS. Youtube has a good two part video on servicing/replacing an american bottom bracket bearing for an adult bicycle you will have to look bit for it, but its there and very helpful- the guy works on a silver bike. Unfortunatly, I do not remember the name of the posting, but it will show you the steps involved in taking apart and reinstalling the bearings. It helped me a lot. Dont forget to use the grease and get the grease inside the bearing cages, also wipe grease onto the riding surfaces of the cups and cones. Make sure when you install the bearings that the ball side faces inside to the cups (The cups get tapped onto the bottom bracket housing-use a block of wood and a hammer or mallet to tap and seat them onto the housing), and the back side of the cages face against the cones (the cones have the threadings on their insides and are threaded onto the axle) The total cost for parts for me to fix the problem flaws on this exersize bike was just under $50.00- Good for another 10 years. I hope you find this helpful

ProForm XP Whirlwind 280 Upright Exercise Bike January 16, 2012

Love love love this machine! I've been using it for a week and have noticed an improvement in my mood and sleep. I did pay for delivery and assembly, extra $ but worth it. I also opted for the 5 year maintenance plan as it was reasonable and it looks like I'll be giving this bike a workout! I am a mature woman, not planning on running any marathons but want to stay in shape!

The ProForm 280 Whirlwind exersize bike is a good value. December 28, 2011

I have degenerative disc disease, so I needed a piece of equipment that would help me exercize my upper and lower body. I get a good work-out from the bike. It is heavy and appears to be much sturdier than many of the dual action bikes that I looked at. I purchased mine already assesmbled, so no stress there. I have used it for 6 months with no problems. I also have a ProForm treadmill that I have had for 7 years with very good performance. I would recommend either to my friends or family.

Proform xl was the best total gym workout birthday present. November 19, 2011