Servicing the Rock Exotica

[Chads93GT]

Trying to set up a rope treadmill in my basement and I noticed that the wheel on my rock exotica is really deflecting side to side. I took the wheel off with a 5mm alan wrench and examined the bearing. it appears to be the same bearings you will find in skateboard wheels or roller blade wheels. Can anyone confirm this? Im wondering also if the nylon bushing washers are also shot.Has anyone else serviced their rollers before?

[chh]

That's curious. I would guess that it's the nylon bushing since nylon will wear out before bearings, barring other extreme circumstances. Allthough, it isn't unheard of for bearings to get worn, though it's usually in things that see a lot of heavy use. Though I've seen several pulleys broken from use, I'll say that I've not yet seen one get worn out. Has the pulley always been used in a recreational/body weight scenarios? Have you taken it anywhere repeatedly that is extremely sandy? Hauled it through the dirt? Pulled trucks with it? Otherwise abused it?
Anyway, I would think bearings would be relatively easy to find or order if you can determine their size. The bushing on the other hand will probably have to come from the manufacturer if I'm picturing the type of bushing correctly that is.

[chh]

Oh, wait, are you talking about your chest roller or a pulley?

[Chads93GT]

Haha chest roller. I was like, pulled out a truck, wtf??? But the bearing really looks like the same ones in skateboard/rollerblade wheels. you are probably right about the nylon bushings being worn out. I guess I could pull the other side off and micrometer the difference of each since i have a double roller. I just notice when I climb that im not 100% straigh tup and down so the roller does get a little side loaded from time to time. The gate on the side actually has a groove worn into it from where the rope rubs on it.......

[chh]

I've only ever had a single simmons, and I haven't used it in years. However I have a theory about double rollers. No matter how close the rollers are to one another your body is always going to want to drift towards the outer edge of whichever roller you are using because you naturally want to center the unit on your chest, but you only use one side for the rope.
Do you use the other side for a QAS or is it largely unused? Try switching sides on the roller, or do you do that already from time to time?
You might also want to check to see that axle is still true and not bent.

[Cody JW]

Do not have the RE , but I did have to replace the roller assembly on my Simmons from a bushing to a bearing in a short amount of time . On Rope says that if you are barrel chested or over 200 lbs ( guilty on both accounts your honor) that you need a bearing as the bushing will not last long. I can attest that is fact. Do REs come in bushing and bearing ??

[gdstorrick]

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[chh]

However I have a theory about double rollers. No matter how close the rollers are to one another your body is always going to want to drift towards the outer edge of whichever roller you are using because you naturally want to center the unit on your chest, but you only use one side for the rope.

Look closely. My double REs each have one centered and one off-center roller; however, that doesn't guarantee that anyone will climb perfectly centered.

Gary

Huh. I'd not noticed that. That's clever.

[gdstorrick]

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[Chads93GT]

I never noticed it was interchangable by flipping it, but my harness is sewn in so thats not possible anyway. Learn something new every day.

[mooreshire]

This might work.... but I haven't tried it myself. Measure everything carefully before ordering, and know that I wouldn't necessarily encourage this approach for maintaining life-trusting climbing gear but it should work fine for a chest roller... I own an R.E. double too, but haven't serviced it myself - purely theoretical!

http://www.mcmaster.com/#ball-bearings- ... -bearings/

Go to Ball and Roller Bearings at the top of the list, you'll find drop down menus for Shaft Diameter, Outside Diameter, and Width - good luck. Keep an eye on that Dynamic Radial Load Capacity Range. If there's nothing in the size you've measured then I would resist the urge to try the next size over.

As for the other;

http://www.mcmaster.com/#nylon-bushings/

Go to Sleeve Bearings and specify Nylon, your best bet might be looking in Thrust Bearings for something that precisely matches your measurements.

Good luck again.