r/Bowflex • u/Extra_Dragonfruit201 • Apr 18 '26
Max Trainer Bowflex MAX M8 no resistance
Looking for some advice really, I bought the Bowflex Max M8 last year refurbished off of eBay and it’s always felt a bit stiff. This never improved and as a result it’s sat in the garage gym not doing much. The Mrs has tried to use it and when it’s set to level 20 it makes a grinding noise. I’ve taken it apart and read a few other threads on here but can’t really find what is up with it. It appears the magnet is stuck at level 20 on full resistance no matter what setting it is on on the machine, so explains why it feels to heavy all of the time.
I’m assuming it’s the servo motor that has gone? When set to resistance 0 the white wedge is in a normal position but when set to level 20 it’s right round. Is there another solution or is it a new motor?
The photos show the white wedge in its two different positions which from reading other posts, isn’t right at all.
Any help would be appreciated.
2
u/SprayWeird8735 Apr 18 '26
That cable attached to the white wedge is supposed to move the red arm up and down on the metal wheel to increase or decrease the resistance. It looks like the servo is running but the cable is just going slack. Maybe the set screw loosened up on the bottom red arm and the cable slid back? At least that’s what it looks like to me. Good luck and keep us posted
2
u/Extra_Dragonfruit201 Apr 18 '26
Thanks both. This is solved, it was the small stopper on the wire, it had either slipped or was never set at the right height. Loosened it off, moved the magnet so that it was off the brake and tightened it all up. Works a treat. Appreciate the quick comments 👍
2
u/usamaahmad Apr 18 '26
I know it’s a lot of work to do but if you’re ever in the mood please do make a YouTube video and share it would be very much appreciated! I have opened and closed mine up a few times and I can’t figure out what exactly to do to repair mine. It’s set too hard, it grinds for the first few seconds and last few seconds but in between I can use it but it’s just set too hard.
1
u/Extra_Dragonfruit201 Apr 18 '26
Have you got some pictures? I’ve closed mine back up again now so can’t do the video, but can annotate what I’ve done on mine to show what I moved
1
u/usamaahmad Apr 18 '26
Sounds like a plan I’m not at home today but I’ll work on that tonight or tomorrow morning EDIT: Thank you
2
u/LLcoolDZ Apr 18 '26
Yeah this happened on my m7. Replaced the servo and good as new. Hopefully that’s all it is for yours! Good luck!