Bowflex Max M5 Grinding Noise Fix

[@EnriqueMaxx]

5 years later and this is still useful. Thanks man. Saved me so much hassle

[@lanceneemia7259]

Mate, you are a champion, this is exactly what’s wrong with my Bowflex m5. Thank you so much.

[@bccie1pres]

Glad to help Lance! I wish you a safe and good day!!

[@UniversalSleuth]

I watched several videos on the topic and this was clearly the most helpful for my machine’s problem. Thank you.

[@bccie1pres]

I appreciate the feedback. And I am glad I was able to help you!

[@timhagelburg730]

Perfect, I use mine nearly everyday for the past 2 years with this being the only problem ever, fixed it no problems. Thanks

[@veronicadavidson444]

Very helpful! We have an M7 but it still did the trick!

[@jeanfouquet3857]

Great video!!! This will also work for a max trainer m6 as well if you have the same issue

[@tomwarner5132]

nicely done. I appreciate your help and willingness to show us the fix!

[@bccie1pres]

You're welcome!

[@AliArmstrong100]

Thank you so much for the video, I fixed my max 5 following your instructions. Thank you

[@etgm5986]

You the best Steven! Saved my Bowflex!

[@bccie1pres]

You're welcome!

[@Kat-ft4uv]

Thank you! Brilliant video i followed your instructions and fixed 🎉

[@ilidelgado]

Thank you so much for the video. That part on my MaxT M5 collapsed completely already and the wheel can’t move anymore but now I can’t remove the plastic cover to fix it, I couldn’t find any video showing that!🥺

[@BrianBattles]

Fixed it! Great video, thanks, Steve!

[@robertrobey5566]

fixed my problem, thanks for showing the way.

[@jasonbell1899]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@alancooper8130]

Thank you. Problem resolved.

[@sidbarry1931]

Many thanks. This helped me a lot.

[@bccie1pres]

You are welcome!

[@KimSmith-rz7ec]

Excellent jus what we needed to fix it !

[@bccie1pres]

Thanks for letting me know I helped you!

[@juanmelgar79]

Thanks. It is the same problem I have with the M7

[@chonwayne909]

Nice Sounds like whats happening to my Max trainer I haven't taken it apart but I'm pretty sure this is the same problem I'm having Thanks

[@scottmcdowell459]

Thanks Steven, my trainer has been setting idle for a bit and recently went through a move. First time trying it in a while and it sounded like disk brakes grinding with no pads. Pretty sure this is the fixThanks for the legwork and troubleshooting.

[@fu277]

This is exactly what I needed. Thank you for helping me solve a mystery.

[@bccie1pres]

You're welcome! I am glad to help.

[@DVelez-wz3fe]

Thank you!

[@ahmadadabdolsaheb3159]

Thanks for the video. Since you disassembled the max trainer, I was wondering if you see any wiring connected to the fan on the other side? I am planning to take out the fan as it makes a lot of noise and I live in an apartment.

[@bccie1pres]

The fan provides the resistance. Google it to see if anyone else has done that.

[@norcalkid2776]

Hi Ahmad - No, the Max Trainer fan does not have any wiring connected to it, BUT you should not remove the fan for the following reasons: 1) The #1 reason - Your Max Trainer will no longer work! This is because mounted to the fan's backing plate are 4 small magnets. When you pedal the machine, the fan rotates and those magnets pass in front of a "speed sensor". The speed sensor is what "wakes" the machine up and determines the RPM (pedal speed) and your calorie burn rate. If the fan was removed then the speed sensor would never detect any rotational movement and thus your machine would also "Pause" any workout every 5 seconds. There is a workaround (though still not suggested): 2) The fan BLADES are riveted to the fan's backing plate and so, in theory, you could drill out the rivets and remove ONLY the fan BLADES. Then those magnets on the fan's backing plate would remain and so the speed sensor would still function OK. However, the fan blades provide SOME resistance and so your machine would not have as much resistance as it should, which means the calorie burn values would be incorrect. Note the REAL resistance is provided by the brake disc and the brake magnets (using "eddy current" braking technology). Also, the fan blades remove the hot air and help cool the brake disc's heat and so with no fan blades the brake disc would be much hotter.

[@ahmadabdolsaheb]

@@norcalkid2776 ​ Thank you for the detailed information. I will try the second option as soon as I find a used m5 in my area :)

[@AcesGaruda]

Would this also apply to m7?

[@davidocchetti5572]

Nice fix. Mine is loud and creaky and I can't figure it out yet. Something when the left side spins

[@orvalstuckemeyer127]

Actually, the real problem is most likely your adjustment servo motor. Those magnets move over and away from the disc to change the resistance. It's going too far into the high resistance adjustment. Your adjustment cable may be broken, the servo motor is defective, or the cable is very far out of adjustment.

[@bccie1pres]

The 21 people who who have so far taken the time to thank me for helping them solve the problem clearly prove that I am right.

[@trgdent]

Thanks....

[@bccie1pres]

You are welcome!

[@BrianBattles]

How do you get it open to see that screw and stuff?

[@bccie1pres]

When you are facing the front of it look at the Lower Left side. Remove the screws holding the plastic cover with the holes in it in place then remove that cover.

[@BrianBattles]

@@bccie1pres Thanks!

[@samsc795]

Hi, I have just noticed my resistance levels are not working unless really high levels. The first 15 the resistance is the same. Any idea how I can adjust this? The magnet is really below the disc. Thanks

[@bccie1pres]

I strongly suspect the piece I highlighted in the video is involved in the adjustments. I gave the Max 5 to my wife's trainer in trade for sessions because it was making her sciatic pain worse. So I can't take it apart to give you advice.

[@CADALYTZ]

I have the same problem. Now the resistance is all out of wack. 1 thru 6 feels like 10 and so on.

[@linandy1]

Thanks. This machine is nice but some parts built like junk. Especially the servo mechanism.

[@Verinha9]

1:43 on ne voit pas que le disque touche la vis. Il est donc dommage de ne pas avoir fait une démonstration en utilisant le Bowflex, pour faire tourner le disque afin qu'on puisse entendre le bruit que ça fait... parce que, là, on ne voit rien dans cette vidéo, on ne comprend pas vraiment quel est le problème. Du moins, moi j'ai pas compris quel était le bruit 🤔