Stamina Glider Hydraulic Rowing Machine

This machine has very nice action. It really feels like your rowing a boat. And it seems to be pretty good exercise. Not as intense as the treadmill or bike, but good for an alternative. However, this piece of equipment isn't made to last, at least not without replacing some parts every so often. The plastic bushings in the main moving parts don't hold up. I finally replaced the main pivot bolt and plastic bushings with a larger bolt and brass bushings. I was able to find these parts at a local Ace Hardware. These are a lot better than the original parts. Today the shock broke where it connects to the frame. I've owned the Body Trac Glider for about a year and 4 months, so for the shock to die in that time isn't too bad considering I use it every other day for about 20 or 25 minutes (600 to 850 strokes). I just ordered a new shock, bushings for the extension arms, and 4 seat rollers. With shipping that's about a $50 order. So, if you use this every day, and more than 1 person in the family uses it, you could potentially wear out 2 shocks and 2 full sets of bushings every year, for about another $100 per year to keep it working. Considering the initial cost of about $150, that is not too terrible, but it is a hassle having to maintain it. I also have to tighten the bolts and lube it every couple months or so. This machine does make some creaking noises, especially as it gets older and the parts start wearing out a bit. That doesn't really bother me. I just pretend I'm rowing a boat, which is also a pretty creaky activity. The calorie counter is more or less meaningless as it does not change based on the shock adjustment. I would not expect that it reads too high like some counters on cheap equipment do. If anything maybe too low - but who knows! The stroke counter only goes up to 10,000, which for me is a little less than a months use. I mark it down on the machine body every time it turns over so I can track my total usage. They should have made it to go up to at least 100,000 or a million would have been better. They probably don't figure that people will actually use their equipment enough to care or notice. So, this is an OK machine if you don't mind changing some parts occasionally. Its not too expensive, so the expense over time is tolerable. Also, I expect that if you use it with the shock at about the mid adjustment point or less, the shock and some of the bushings might last a little longer - but don't know this for sure. I use mine almost at the maximum adjustment. I would recommend this product with some reservations. If only they would improve a few fairly minor quality issues this would be a great machine. Of course then they would probably charge twice as much. Note: The woman I spoke to when I ordered parts sounded like a sweet little old lady. She said she lives in Missouri, and talked like a real down home US citizen. Kind of a nice change from what you usually get.