replacement parts for home fitness equip?

My wheels all just started breaking apart after 20 years. Have only used the CSA Alpine Tracker in the fall/winter, before ski season, to get my legs back in shape. The machine is in great shape so I figured I would fix it but like everyone else could not find wheels anywhere. There is one person that says they have black ones for $9.99 each but you would think after all his posts on different sites he would have posted a picture or someone would have commented that has bought them?

Anyway, I decided to try to fix mine and after a bunch of thinking, here is what I did.

I bought some real heavy duty 1” shrink tubing. Sumitube Part # W5DL. Here it the data sheet. It is 1” Diameter and has a Wall Thickness of .075” (1.91 mm) I bought 4 feet of it so I had plenty to play around with.

http://www.seipusa.com/products/W0207001.asp?parm=W5DL

I did not have a heat gun so I used my toaster oven. Shrink temperature for this produce is 140 C (284 F). Would be easier to shrink evenly, I believe, with a heat gun?

I removed the bearings and I cut a piece of tubing 9/16” wide. I sat the bearing on the mounting bolt with the hub side up so there was a space at the bottom or the bearing for the tubing to shrink around.

I placed it on my oven tray and placed the piece of shrink tubing over the bearing and centered it. I put it in the oven about 3” from the element on the top and turned on the oven with the door open so I could watch. Once the element heated up and started to turn red, the tubing started to shrink around that top side and the bearing. Once it shrank about 2/3 of the way over the top I turned the bearing over and let the other side shrink. Once this side shrank all the way I turned it back and finished the other side.

On a few of the bearings it did not shrink even so I used an Exacto Knife the trim around the hub where the shrink tubing was touching. I set them aside and let them thoroughly cool.

I did all eight wheels on the foot pads. I removed the magnet, that the sensor uses, on the one foot pad because I knew the wheels were slightly smaller and it would rub. I put both foot pads back on CSA Alpine Tracker. The foot pads sits lower now because the wheels are only about 15/16” in diameter instead of the original 1 1/4” but the foot pads slide fine. They do not rub anywhere and can not come out of the track.

I used it for about 2 hours, 20 minutes at a time, and removed the foot pads to check the wheels. The all looked fine.

On the foot pad with the magnet, I left the magnet mounting bracket on the foot pad and replaced the magnet with a thinner one. The original magnet was 3/8” thick and I replaced it with a very strong, 1/2” diameter, 3/16” thick, round magnet I had laying around the house. I did not attach it in any way. The magnet was strong enough to just stick to the metal bracket and not move and the sensor works.

CSA Alpine Tracker back in business! :)

jsuvman
September 2012

I have new roller wheels for the csa alpine tracker, they are black. blikowski74 at gmail

Bruce
December 2011

Hi, Steve near Boston, I'll buy your 6 wheels for $20? If you still have them, for my Alpine Tracker E365 I just had the same problem with. Thanks!! Tim

Tim Olivetti
September 2011

Hi JS, I just took one of these machines from my brothers attic last week but 2 of the wheels are no good. I was about to give away for scrap metal. If want to sell the other six used wheel rollers for $5 each let me know. Also, is your display still working?

Steve near Boston
April 2010

I have a CSA Alpine Tracker on which 2 of the 8 poly plastic wheels have broken. As I have been unable to find replacement parts, am willing to sell the remaining parts for a reasonable price. The wheels are about 1.25" in dia. and requires a .25 dia bolt.

Any other part of the device I will also sell.

JS in Houston
March 2010

Buyfitnessonline...won't answer their phones and you can't leave a message. They've been running the same "promise" ad for new roller wheels for over one year now. Guess it's their way of playing the "bait and switch" game.

Native in Miami
December 2009

Buyfitnessonline lists the CSA skier for sale, but they're apparently not selling it because of the wheel roller problem. They told me they're trying to get someone to produce a new roller, but have not yet done so. Don't know if they're still trying. You might want to contact them to get an update, though all of the comments on their website re the skier are about getting replacement wheels.

goldenbough
November 2008

I have the same Alpine XC Skier (E270, 272) that I bought in 1994 at Harts Dept store in Huntington, Wva. The two foot saddles takes a total of 8 wheels that have small bearings on each wheel & are covered in a hard poly plastic like wheel, about 1/1/4 in Dia. Ive tried for 2 yrs to find these replacement wheels but no luck. I have extra nylon belts for mine & it is in excellent shape, but if one of these plastic wheel coverings break or chip, your skier is ruined. This is "awful" that you cannot get replacement wheels for these after buying the skier. If you have any luck, please let me know. CSA made these skiers but went out of business.

Dana
November 2008