Stride System (Ss) - Life Fitness Weekly Service Manual

Stride System (SS)

Overview:
The Stride System is comprised of the striding belt, the deck, the belt barrier, the Life Spring suspension components,
the front and rear rollers, and the rear roller guards.
The striding belt is impregnated with a lubricant. The deck is also coated with a paraffin wax on both sides. This
combination allows for low friction between the striding belt and the deck which results in increased belt/deck life. The
striding belt and deck are wear items and when the friction becomes large enough, the user may experience speed
slowdowns. This slowdown is an indication that the belt and deck need to be replaced. The deck may be flipped over
if it has never been flipped previously. In addition the console may display the message UNABLE TO ATTAIN TARGET
SPEED.
The striding belt is initially tensioned and centered about the rollers at the factory. The striding belt may have to be re-
centered at the customer's site during installation because of customer for irregularities. These irregularities may also
require the leveling of the treadmill by adjusting the rear leveler feet. The centering adjustment is done via two
adjusting screws at the rear roller. With normal usage, the striding belt stretches over time which may cause the front
roller to slip. This is an indication that the striding belt has to be re-tensioned. Re-tensioning is done by turning the
adjusting screws.
A simple method of determining if a belt is loose is the 2 mph stall test. This test requires the treadmill to run at 2 mph
and the technician to stomp hard on the striding belt to try to stall the motor while observing whether the front roller
spins when the striding belt momentarily stops.
During treadmill use and depending how a user runs on the treadmill, the striding belt may move to either side
causing the belt to go off center. To aid with this the front and rear rollers are tapered at the ends. This feature helps
the striding belt center itself during use. In addition, the treadmill frame has belt guides at each side known as belt
barriers. The purpose of the belt barriers is to contain the striding belt from walking off the edge of the rollers and
being damaged during use.
The striding belt has a logo on the edge of each side which identifies the belt as an authentic Life Fitness part. The
purpose of the logo is a visual warning that indicates whether the striding belt is moving in the event that a user gets
off the treadmill during the workout and does not press the stop button to end the workout.
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