Background

About 4 months after opening our first of two clubs members were complaining that some of the equipment felt loose and needed maintenance. I called Ecological Services and spoke with the warranty manager Jay Friese who told me the bushings probably needed to be replaced. The bushing is warranted for 90 days and our club had been open four months so each delrin plastic bushing would be $3.00 each. Jay also told me that the brass bushing used in the Glute could be used in all of the machines at a cost of $6.00 each and these would wear longer. However, to use the Curves Warehouse brass bushings all machines needed to be drilled and tapped for installation of a grease fitting kit. The complete kit cost approximately is $80.00. The Curves warehouse brass bushings are not self-lubricating and need regular greasing.

The basic equipment maintenance instructions recommended all of the machines be disassembled for periodic greasing. Disassembly and greasing is time consuming work (typically 4-5 hours) and messy. Converting to the Curves Warehouse brass bushings and grease fitting kit for 12 pieces of equipment would cost more than $300 with shipping. (There are 38 bushings x $6.00 each = $216 + $80 grease fitting kit = $296). As these bushings must be greased regularly you still need to deal with the mess resulting from greasing.

With the help of several members of the Curves Owners Yahoo Group I developed a "Sintered Bronze, Oil Impregnated, Self-Lubricating Bushing Kit." This kit has everything needed to install improved bushings that NEVER need greasing. Plus the sloppy feel on the equipment goes away!

Since developing this kit I talked with the General Manager of Ecological Services, the equipment manufacturer, and the Chief of Staff at Curves International Legal about these bushings and the marketing of this kit. Both told me they do not have a problem with the selling of the self-lubricating bushings.

HOWEVER - They both said that neither Ecological Services nor Curves will accept any liability or warranty claims from people using bushings or other parts NOT provided by Curves Warehouse as that would void the equipment warranty. This is quite normal, as they are not manufacturing the kit. Just like when you add an item to your car not manufactured by the manufacturer.

Ecological Services told me that parts that wear out like the bushings, seats, pads and rollers are warranted for 90 days from club opening. Therefore if your club is older than 90 days – no warranty applies to these parts. Although I have never seen anything written, Ecological Services has told me that the hydraulic cylinders are warranted against leaking or not having resistance for 3 years. The machine itself is supposed to be warranted for 1 year. I don’t exactly know what this might cover but I assume it might be against a part falling off because of a weld failure.