Nordic Track Basic Maintenance - Ski Glide Buttons

My second hand Nordic Track Skier was in reasonable working order, but it did have a couple of niggles.

One was the condition of the skis, they had definitely been well used. The ski glide buttons were either a) worn or b) missing. They may not be essential, but they do help prevent the skis rubbing along the side of the 'tracks'

Missing ski glide button

You can buy replacement ski glide buttons online. Mine came from http://www.nordicparts.com/ who provided very quick and helpful service.

What do you need? Replacement ski glide buttons (obviously), something to pick out the old buttons such as a micro screwdriver, and something to tap in the new buttons. In this kind of situation a mallet is preferable to a hammer.

Tools!

First you pick out the old buttons, taking care not to damage the surrounding area. This was surprisingly easy to be honest.

Here you can see the difference between the worn one bumper and a new one.

Then you align the bumper over the empty slot and gently tap it in.

Keep tapping along the bumper until it is evenly inserted.

Nordic Track Skier basic maintenance - Oiling the idler wheels

I bought myself a Nordic Track Classic 300 on ebay recently. I desperately need to improve my fitness before going on holiday next year so I can at least do some of the ski trails.

The ski machine I bought was in 'reasonable' condition, but there was a strange noise when skiing which I wasn't sure where it came from. Luckily it came with the manuals so I could read how to do some simple maintenance actions.

After a bit of waggling around, I discovered the noise was coming from the rear idler wheel/roller.  You have these idler wheels at the front and rear of the ski-bed. These can be oiled (unlike the drive rollers - DO NOT OIL THESE)

What you need is a can of 3 in One oil.

Put some something under the machine to protect the carpet (newspaper, plastic sheet) and remove the 'skis'. Push the idler roller to one side, this will expose about 1mm of axel if you're lucky. Drop a single drop of oil there. If you put on too much oil then it will spray everywhere when you ski, so don't do this. Push the idler roller to the other side, and repeat the operation.

Go round all the idler wheels and oil them all.

Replace the skis and try it out!

This really helped with the noise on my machine, hopefully it will help you.

Nordic Track Skier Basic Maintenance - waxing the skis

No pictures for this one!

All you need is some paraffin wax, you can buy specialist stuff from http://www.nordicparts.com/vshop/index.php  or just use a candle. Most 'normal' candles are paraffin wax, usually only premium candles are made with soy or beeswax.

Take your candle and rub it along the sides of the skis. DO NOT WAX THE BOTTOM OF THE SKIS.

Carrot Cake Recipe

This recipe is adapted from one made by a friend of the family. I had a heart stopping moment recently when I couldn't find the original, so I'm posting it here in hopes I never lose that vital piece of paper!

6floz vegetable oil (sunflower/corn)
8oz soft brown sugar
5oz plain flour
5oz coarsely grated carrot
2 large eggs
2 oz chopped nuts (original recipe calls for walnuts, but not all people like the earthiness)
1 tsp ground mixed spice (original recipe uses nutmeg, but again, this is my adaptation)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Whisk together oil and sugar until smooth.
Whisk in eggs
Mix cinnamon, nutmeg, bicarbonate and flour together.
Add this to oil/sugar mixture.
Beat in carrots and nuts with wooden spoon until evenly combined.

Bake in a lined 7" round baking tin for 1 hour at 180C/Gas Mark 4