NordicTrack cross-country ski exercisers were all the rage during the 1980s. Although the company has since branched out to manufacture other types of exercise machines, including elliptical trainers and treadmills, NordicTrack cross-country ski trainers remain in production more than 20 years after the first model was introduced. As of July 2010, the current model is the Classic Pro.
NordicTrack skiers remain relatively simple machines, powered by a one-way-resistance flywheel, with pulley-operated arm cords for an upper body workout. Because there are no complicated electronic parts involved, you can troubleshoot some of the common problems you may encounter yourself.
Tangled Arm Cords
Step 1
Untie the knot at each end of the arm cords, slide the washer off each end of the arm cord, then slide the hand grips off the cords. Set the washers and hand grips aside.
Step 2
Slide the arm cord out of both the small pulleys and unwind it from the large pulley. Once unwound, the arm cord will still be threaded once through the center of the large pulley. Pull both ends of the arm cord out from the pulley and compare their lengths. If one end is shorter than the other, pull until the ends are even.
Step 3
Note that one of the cords emerges from the center of the pulley higher than the other cord. Wrap this cord counterclockwise around the large pulley, then thread it through the right-hand small pulley, passing from left to right.
Step 4
Pull on the cord you just threaded through the small pulley. It will spin the large pulley, spooling the other cord around the large pulley as well. Let the loose cord, currently being spooled, run through your hand with very gentle tension to keep it from tangling as it winds onto the large pulley spool.
Step 5
Feed the end of the second cord through the left-hand small pulley, passing from right to left. Pull the ends of the cords back and forth until they lie smoothly on the large pulley and both ends are even.
Step 6
Thread the end of each arm cord through its respective handgrip. Slide a washer onto the end of each cord, then tie a figure eight knot in the end of the cords to secure the handgrips.
No Flywheel Resistance
Step 1
Locate the flywheel between the skis on your NordicTrack pro. Check that the resistance strap is still threaded around the flywheel. If the strap has slipped off the flywheel, set the resistance to the lowest setting, slide the strap back over the flywheel, then readjust the resistance and try skiing again.
Step 2
Move the cover over the bolts that fix the flywheel in place aside. Check the nuts. If the resistance strap was still in place, loose nuts are the most likely cause for no resistance.
Step 3
Tighten the flywheel nuts evenly if they’re loose, but take care not to overtighten; the NordicTrack Pro manual cautions that overtightening these bolts can break the “U” bolt.
Step 4
Slide the bolt cover back into place.
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