Stamina Hydraulic Rowing Machine, BodyTrac Glider with Cylinder Resistance, 250 Lbs – Home and Gym Exercise Equipment – Ideal for Fitness Training and Body Workout

UPDATE – Five Stars now.
Those who read my previous reviews probably noticed that I very seldom write a negative review. This of course is because I have been lucky when selecting what I buy. Unfortunately the BodyTrac is a sad exception. I am copying below the e-mail I just sent do Stamina. It tells the whole story. I will write a follow up after I hear from them. (I uploaded a picture of the faulty wheel to the product page)”I just bought a BodyTrac Glider (serial # 11SET022964), from Amazon.com, along with a Stamina Fold-to-Fit Folding Equipment Mat (84-Inch by 36-Inch). I assembled the the BodyTrac easily and started enjoying it immediately. Unfortunaly, after just 336 strokes registered in the computer, my wife was using the machine when a round piece of metal, similar to a big washer, came loose from one of the wheels, falling inside the wheel track while she was moving forward. That made the seat stop suddenly and my wife slid out of it landing on the frame and almost hurt herself. I am frustrated since I was hoping we could do some good workout with the machine. Now I am afraid that even if I get a replacement wheel it can fail again and somebody may be injured. I don’t worry much about myself, I don’t believe I can be harmed by that kind of failure, but my wife indeed may be wounded, as it almost happened. Now I am stuck with a dangerous, unreliable product, since it is too big and too heavy to be shipped back. I think the Glider has a tremendous potential to be an excellent machine, but the quality of the components seem to be too cheap to be trusted. Unfortunately I will have to give a negative review of this product at Amazon. I am attaching both invoices and a picture of the faulty wheel.”Update – 02/17/2012:Stamina responded to my e-mail above within one business day asking for an address so they could send me a new set of wheels overnight. No other questions asked. I e-mailed them my address and the next day the package was at my door. it contained the new rollers (or wheels), tools and easy, detailed instrucions on how to assemble them. The instructions showed that the bolts that hold the wheels should be fit with a set of three washers, which were not included in the package. No big deal, I was sure the idea was to use the washers holding the old wheels. When I removed the seat and accessed the old wheels, surprise, they were mounted without any washers. This time run to the phone and call Stamina Customer Service. After a very short wait I was answered by a gentle lady to whom I reported the fact. She consulted her documentation and acknowledge the the washers should be part of the original assembly. She apologize and send me a complete set of washers overnight. I received the small shipment next day and promptly put the new rollers in place and started using the machine. Then another setback: after just one thousand of strokes the shocker suddenly lost resistance!!!. I changed the resistance settings at no avail. In dismay I called Stamina again. As before, I was quickly answered by another agent, who was also very politely and apologetic. Without hesitation she said she was going to send me a replacement shocker. Not overnight, at this time. I received the part a couple of days later and replaced the bad origian (easy task). It’s been a week now that I am using the machine half an hour, every day, without any other incidents. So, here is the summary of my feelings towards this product:- First of all, their Customer Service is five star. They never contested my claims and promptly replaced the bad parts. They are really standing behind their products.- The machine operation, itself, is very enjoyable. It runs smoothly and silent, so you can exercise at any time without annoying the neighbors or other people in the house. I would give it four stars for enjoyment of use (not considering the failing components at the beginning). The reason I would not give it five stars is the foot holder which really requires some effort for me to keep my feet in place. It may be a real problem for people with small feet.- In view of the great number of positive reviews, it is possible that I had bought a “lemmon”. For the price and with a great customer service I now think it is worth a try.UPDATED – 11/4/2016On 7/29/2016 I bought another of these machines, now numbered as 1050-D and after using it for about three months I noticed a few nice improvements over the one I bought in 2012. First of all, the feet supports now have two ways to mount the straps with all but eliminated the problem people with small feet had to keep them in place. Second, the shocker had its maximum resistance greatly increased, which was great for those who want a heavier load. The overall quality seemed to be better, hence the upgrade to five stars.

Thanks.

Excelente artículo, fácil instalación, se guarda fácilmente, buena calidad, para hacer un ejercicio completo, es para uso casero.

I’ve been using this rower almost everyday day for 2 weeks now and I’m giving it 5 stars despite some flaws that I’m willing to accept because of the great price.It has great resistance and feel. The motion feels smooth and is actually pretty satisfying with the way it behaves like you are holding ores rather than just pulling a belt back and forth. People of all fitness levels can find a resistance that really challenges them.The monitor is cheap and doesn’t provide enough useful information. I broke the little lip that secures the battery cover putting the battery in so be gentle. It’s fine but I’ll need to pry it open with a knife whenever I need to change the battery. The calories are not accurate at all. It’s telling me I’m only burning around 250 cals in an hour (2,000 strokes) when I’m probably burning more like 700 cals. The total stroke count resets after it reaches 9999 so depending how many strokes you are doing a day, it will reset every few days or so. It might be useful to monitor your strokes for the week if you do shorter sessions, but it would be nice if total strokes meant it was an odometer that let you know how many total strokes you have put on the machine. This means the only useful stats are time and strokes. If they ever upgrade the monitor strokes per minute (pace) and meters (distance) would be much more useful.Assembly should be easy but on of the screws by the foot pedals gave me a really hard time. Either the machining was off or the powder coating was too thick around the hole causing them not to line up properly. I was finally able to get it in with a drill. Also the instruction manual needs to be updated because they have changed some things in the way they pack the unit, but these are pretty self evident. Just something to watch out for.The seat is very uncomfortable. You probably will want to invest in a seat cushion. The one I got is thin but still helps. You might also want to invest in a floor mat. I have hardwood floors and the rower would slide across the room and rock a bit without a floor mat underneath.2 other things I wanted to address in my review. I’ve heard some people say that after about 25 minutes because the piston gets very hot the resistance gets easier and you may need to crank it up to compensate. I have not noticed this. The piston does get hot and you don’t want to touch it, but I never felt like the resistance felt noticeably easier even when rowing for an hour. I also heard that the piston generates a strong smell and you might want to open a window or keep a fan on. I have not noticed any smell at all so maybe Stamina addressed these issues.So despite these issues I am still giving this rower 5 stars because of the value.