[David Alexander]

Guys,
I have an unusual question.
You see I love the ex3. Want one but in my neck of the woods it is not possible to purchase it. However I travel to the states often.
And so I would like to buy one and bring it back with me.. in parts.
(the weight and size exceeds the allowed limit taking it whole)

Now my question:
What do I end up with when disassembling it.
I ask this especially in regard to the size of the biggest part. Length, width etc.
Pictures would help, assembly drawing also of course. Would very much like to get an insight of what I will find when opening it up, when the plastic covers are removed etc.

It seems likely that I can just disassemble it and take it with me in parts that will fit in a larger suitcase over a couple of trips. And so I would like to learn about the parts size before buying one and get cracking. I am quite handy. If anyone can give me some info on this I would very much appreciate that!! 👏

Thanks for now!Grz David

 

[Hank G]

I would advise against doing this; don't even think of it!

I loved my EX-4s+; BUT, if mine WAS a valid example, I know that the whole assembled cycle is ~100 pounds. (That I think is the least of your worries.)

After 8 weeks, my unit developed a 'no power to tablet issue', that has been reported, here, by others.

To avoid the hassle of logging in every session, I mostly left the power to the tablet "ON" between sessions. The manual does no warn against this, but my limited experience in electronic diagnosis led me to think that some critical circuit simply got 'cooked', over time; but no physical evidence or smell, was apparent.

Poor CMOS mfg, in the 'old days', could alter the 'turn-on' voltage of switching transistors. The occurrence of this problem would accelerate if the transistor was held long at elevated temperature.
(The cleanliness of CMOS processing has improved over at least 30 years to the extent that I think would 'rule-out' this type of defect!)

I consider myself above average 'handy', and found that this issue is most likely related to damaged cables.

I could temporarily fix the circuits by slight disassembly of the tablet, handle bar assembly and even the bar-height adjustment assembly and 'monkeying-with' (and even replacing) the top 2 cables.

However, my repairs were quite temporary.
Eventually, the system took it's last breath.

(I'm including more info than you would reasonably need, at this point; by my nature I often get 'fixated' at determining the 'root cause' of problems like this; I also have some occupational experience.
The system operates at 12V which is fed from a common external wall-connected transformer at the rear.
For the system to operate, this 12 V power must reach the tablet; however, the cable going forward, up the handlebar adjustment tube is 'Y'-shaped at its top end.
One branch runs 12V to a 'Blue-Light' mini-board that is at the rear of the handlebar-support tube. The other branch delivers the 12V to the system's tablet.
Apparently, the mini-board provides a switching function and the best I can reason is that the blue-light's switch is fully 'activated' to "On" only when 12V is reaching BOTH the tablet and the blue-light mini board.
Sometimes, I could get that mini-board to light when, clearly, no 12V power was reaching the system control tablet. (I could get the tablet, itself, to light-up whenever I moved the plug from the wall-transformer from the cycles rear
jack, directly into the tablet's power input jack.
The tablet always seems OK!

Lastly, Echelon Customer Support sent me 3 replacement cables; but they could not accomplish the promised technician support for diagnosis and installation of these replacement cables.

I wanted to fix my excellent system, nevertheless; so I proceeded w/ the straight-forward replacements, myself, with some limited-duration of successes.
When I could no longer get power to the tablet, reluctantly, I decided on attempting to replace the 3rd (lower) power cable, that reached into the relatively 'secured' chassis region (within which the pedals and other 'guts' are enclosed).

This proved to be an all-day (factory-suitable) activity bc a pedal rod must be removed before the chassis cover plate can be removed.
(No instructions or diagrams are provided in the user manual for performing this scope of replacement.)
Obsessed by the mission, (at this point prepare to laugh at my action, as well as your suggestion in the Original Posting).
The (R)-pedal rod was swaged onto its square tapered crank posts, by (2) 500-pound gorillas, or one robot-operated airhammer!

Through the combined powers of my wheel-puller, jerry-rigged protection for the center-bolt, a socket on an 18" breaking-bar, a hammer and several prayers, 'Bang', the pedal bar separated from its post, (w/ no resulting damage)!
After removing the chassis cover. I came face-to-face with my folly.
There was a montages of zip-tied cable packs, w/ no obviously easily replaceable 3rd (lower) cable.

At that point I went back to the package of replacement cables to look at the cable marked, "Lower Power Cable" for a hint on what to do next.
The bag actually contained a second "Middle Power Cable", apparently mislabeled.

Joke's on me! I got what I deserved for operating compulsively!
Next day, I put it all back together with no changes within the chassis.

Lessons learned:
1- All connectors that were not detachable for purpose of shipping and assembly, were cemented together w/ silicone compound, suggesting there is a known sensitivity to deteriorating connectivity.
2- Once problems w/ not-lighting the tablet appear, the deteriorating seems progressive/unstoppable.
3- With perseverance, Customer Support and Tech Support tries to be responsive, and genuinely helpful; but promised at-home technician support proved a phantom, for me, (and from my own experience, it seems like such outside-contracted service would likely have to cost as much as the Echelon cycle, itself!)
4- Many similar exercise cycles (mostly used Pelotons) are available at attractive prices, FOR LOCAL PICKUP. ONLY, on eBay.
It sounds to me like one of these offerings would best serve your needs.
5- A working Echelon would be a worthy alternative to the Peloton; but, I think "Caviate Emptor" is particularly worth heeding, here.
5a- Beyond reliability, the only obvious advantage of the Peloton, FOR ME, is the availability of an automatic resistance control feature that enables the session instructor to remotely set up hill climbs during a 'tabata style' workout!

Echelon recently shipped me a warranty replacement cycle, (which I now must assemble, myself)!
Compulsively, here we go, again.
Stay tuned if you, too, are obsessed!
Hank G. 😉🤞(🙏)

 

[David Alexander]

Hi Hank,

Thank you for your eláaborate treatise! 👏

Now I do not wish to rebut what you are bringing forward. It is a clear and extensive account of experience.
My intent is to look at the framework as is, regarding the possibility of succeeding in my plan.

You see first off.. as well as the Echelon.. also the Peloton is not obtainable in my neck of the woods. Looked into it.. it is just not being sold in my country.
Then.. my situation and limitation I am seeing before me is quite specific. And so allow me to elaborate.

Firstly, my bike of choice is an EX-3, a model that has no screen included. (But does have the automatic resistance control in combination with the so called qdomyos app).
Then.. the whole electronic part is not something I plan to tinker with (it can just stay as is).
The EX-3 in the box, comes already partly disassembled, (saddle, steer, stand, paddles).

For me the fly wheel would have to be disassembled (due to it’s weight and size), however I gathered that this is something that is very much doable.
And so with the fly wheel removed. And with the steer and saddle and rod already being detached as is..
We are already left with quite a small package.

My first question would then be, and then mainly for my own indications; what are the dimension I am left with now?
It seems that this unfortunately would still be just outside the parameters of an airplane suitcase.

And so then.. would it be possible to loosen the column/ beam that supports the steer?
And/or would it be possible to disconnect the beam that supports the saddle?

It seems to me that would I disconnect either one (in combination with the earlier mentioned flywheel) that I will be able to get it home with me.

Now I understand from what your are saying that the pedal bar/ crank arm removal is a b*#ch.
And so that leaves me.. is this my biggest hurdle?
And of course… is it possible to detach the steering column or saddle support column?

I just really desiring having one of these next level spinning bikes. And I will succeed! One way or the other!


Thanks for now. Friendly greetings,

David

 

[David Alexander]

I would advise against doing this; don't even think of it!

I loved my EX-4s+; BUT, if mine WAS a valid example, I know that the whole assembled cycle is ~100 pounds. (That I think is the least of your worries.)

After 8 weeks, my unit developed a 'no power to tablet issue', that has been reported, here, by others.

To avoid the hassle of logging in every session, I mostly left the power to the tablet "ON" between sessions. The manual does no warn against this, but my limited experience in electronic diagnosis led me to think that some critical circuit simply got 'cooked', over time; but no physical evidence or smell, was apparent.

Poor CMOS mfg, in the 'old days', could alter the 'turn-on' voltage of switching transistors. The occurrence of this problem would accelerate if the transistor was held long at elevated temperature.
(The cleanliness of CMOS processing has improved over at least 30 years to the extent that I think would 'rule-out' this type of defect!)

I consider myself above average 'handy', and found that this issue is most likely related to damaged cables.

I could temporarily fix the circuits by slight disassembly of the tablet, handle bar assembly and even the bar-height adjustment assembly and 'monkeying-with' (and even replacing) the top 2 cables.

However, my repairs were quite temporary.
Eventually, the system took it's last breath.

(I'm including more info than you would reasonably need, at this point; by my nature I often get 'fixated' at determining the 'root cause' of problems like this; I also have some occupational experience.
The system operates at 12V which is fed from a common external wall-connected transformer at the rear.
For the system to operate, this 12 V power must reach the tablet; however, the cable going forward, up the handlebar adjustment tube is 'Y'-shaped at its top end.
One branch runs 12V to a 'Blue-Light' mini-board that is at the rear of the handlebar-support tube. The other branch delivers the 12V to the system's tablet.
Apparently, the mini-board provides a switching function and the best I can reason is that the blue-light's switch is fully 'activated' to "On" only when 12V is reaching BOTH the tablet and the blue-light mini board.
Sometimes, I could get that mini-board to light when, clearly, no 12V power was reaching the system control tablet. (I could get the tablet, itself, to light-up whenever I moved the plug from the wall-transformer from the cycles rear
jack, directly into the tablet's power input jack.
The tablet always seems OK!

Lastly, Echelon Customer Support sent me 3 replacement cables; but they could not accomplish the promised technician support for diagnosis and installation of these replacement cables.

I wanted to fix my excellent system, nevertheless; so I proceeded w/ the straight-forward replacements, myself, with some limited-duration of successes.
When I could no longer get power to the tablet, reluctantly, I decided on attempting to replace the 3rd (lower) power cable, that reached into the relatively 'secured' chassis region (within which the pedals and other 'guts' are enclosed).

This proved to be an all-day (factory-suitable) activity bc a pedal rod must be removed before the chassis cover plate can be removed.
(No instructions or diagrams are provided in the user manual for performing this scope of replacement.)
Obsessed by the mission, (at this point prepare to laugh at my action, as well as your suggestion in the Original Posting).
The (R)-pedal rod was swaged onto its square tapered crank posts, by (2) 500-pound gorillas, or one robot-operated airhammer!

Through the combined powers of my wheel-puller, jerry-rigged protection for the center-bolt, a socket on an 18" breaking-bar, a hammer and several prayers, 'Bang', the pedal bar separated from its post, (w/ no resulting damage)!
After removing the chassis cover. I came face-to-face with my folly.
There was a montages of zip-tied cable packs, w/ no obviously easily replaceable 3rd (lower) cable.

At that point I went back to the package of replacement cables to look at the cable marked, "Lower Power Cable" for a hint on what to do next.
The bag actually contained a second "Middle Power Cable", apparently mislabeled.

Joke's on me! I got what I deserved for operating compulsively!
Next day, I put it all back together with no changes within the chassis.

Lessons learned:
1- All connectors that were not detachable for purpose of shipping and assembly, were cemented together w/ silicone compound, suggesting there is a known sensitivity to deteriorating connectivity.
2- Once problems w/ not-lighting the tablet appear, the deteriorating seems progressive/unstoppable.
3- With perseverance, Customer Support and Tech Support tries to be responsive, and genuinely helpful; but promised at-home technician support proved a phantom, for me, (and from my own experience, it seems like such outside-contracted service would likely have to cost as much as the Echelon cycle, itself!)
4- Many similar exercise cycles (mostly used Pelotons) are available at attractive prices, FOR LOCAL PICKUP. ONLY, on eBay.
It sounds to me like one of these offerings would best serve your needs.
5- A working Echelon would be a worthy alternative to the Peloton; but, I think "Caviate Emptor" is particularly worth heeding, here.
5a- Beyond reliability, the only obvious advantage of the Peloton, FOR ME, is the availability of an automatic resistance control feature that enables the session instructor to remotely set up hill climbs during a 'tabata style' workout!

Echelon recently shipped me a warranty replacement cycle, (which I now must assemble, myself)!
Compulsively, here we go, again.
Stay tuned if you, too, are obsessed!
Hank G. 😉🤞(🙏)

Thanks! 🙏

 

[Hank G]

Hi Hank,

Thank you for your eláaborate treatise! 👏

Now I do not wish to rebut what you are bringing forward. It is a clear and extensive account of experience.
My intent is to look at the framework as is, regarding the possibility of succeeding in my plan.

You see first off.. as well as the Echelon.. also the Peloton is not obtainable in my neck of the woods. Looked into it.. it is just not being sold in my country.
Then.. my situation and limitation I am seeing before me is quite specific. And so allow me to elaborate.

Firstly, my bike of choice is an EX-3, a model that has no screen included. (But does have the automatic resistance control in combination with the so called qdomyos app).
Then.. the whole electronic part is not something I plan to tinker with (it can just stay as is).
The EX-3 in the box, comes already partly disassembled, (saddle, steer, stand, paddles).

For me the fly wheel would have to be disassembled (due to it’s weight and size), however I gathered that this is something that is very much doable.
And so with the fly wheel removed. And with the steer and saddle and rod already being detached as is..
We are already left with quite a small package.

My first question would then be, and then mainly for my own indications; what are the dimension I am left with now?
It seems that this unfortunately would still be just outside the parameters of an airplane suitcase.

And so then.. would it be possible to loosen the column/ beam that supports the steer?
And/or would it be possible to disconnect the beam that supports the saddle?

It seems to me that would I disconnect either one (in combination with the earlier mentioned flywheel) that I will be able to get it home with me.

Now I understand from what your are saying that the pedal bar/ crank arm removal is a b*#ch.
And so that leaves me.. is this my biggest hurdle?
And of course… is it possible to detach the steering column or saddle support column?

I just really desiring having one of these next level spinning bikes. And I will succeed! One way or the other!


Thanks for now. Friendly greetings,

David

Well, I have always believed, "Where there's a Will, there's a Way!"
The Delivery Company just picked-up my EX-4s+, being returned totally dead!
I have a Warranty Replacement in a 138 pound carton; so I will soon be able to inspect and address the questions you raise.
Also, there's a relatively easy way to remove the pedal-arm. It turns out that I have the needed Park CCP-1 tool; (I just forgot about this 'press-out' approach).
I'll follow-up the best I can.