Care & maintenance
Replacing reformer carriage wheels
The short answer
Replace carriage wheels when they no longer spin freely and silently by hand, when flat spots are visible, or when cleaning the rails fails to resolve carriage noise. Replace all wheels as a set so the carriage sits level and rolls evenly.
The hand-spin test
Lift the carriage clear of the rails, or tip the machine safely, and spin each wheel by hand. A healthy wheel turns several revolutions freely and silently. One that stops immediately, feels gritty or makes noise has a failed bearing.
Do this whenever you clean the rails. It takes a minute and catches the problem before the wheel starts damaging the rail.
Flat spots and material wear
A wheel that has sat under load in one position for a long period — a machine stored unmoved for months — can develop a flat spot. It produces a regular tick at the same point in every carriage stroke.
Polyurethane wheels also wear down gradually. When the carriage sits noticeably lower or contacts something it should not, the wheels have lost diameter.
- Wheel does not spin freely and silently by hand
- Regular tick at the same point in the stroke
- Visible flat spot or material loss
- Carriage sitting lower than it should
- Noise persisting after thorough rail cleaning
Replace as a set
Wheels wear together and a new wheel alongside three worn ones sits at a slightly different height, which loads it unevenly and makes the carriage sit fractionally out of level.
A full set is not expensive and it restores the machine to its original glide, which a partial replacement does not.
Check the rails at the same time
A failed bearing usually means the wheel has been dragging rather than rolling, and dragging scores rails. Inspect the running surface before fitting new wheels — putting good wheels on a damaged rail wastes them.
If the rail is scored, find out whether it can be replaced. On better machines it can; on cheaper ones it often cannot, which is a useful thing to know before the next purchase.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if reformer wheels need replacing?
- Spin each by hand with the carriage lifted. A healthy wheel turns freely and silently; roughness, noise or a flat spot means replacement.
- Should I replace all the wheels at once?
- Yes. Wheels wear together, and a single new wheel among worn ones sits at a different height and takes uneven load.
- Can worn wheels damage the rails?
- A wheel with a failed bearing drags rather than rolls, and dragging scores the rail. Inspect the rails before fitting new wheels.
- Why does my carriage tick at the same point every stroke?
- Almost always a flat spot on one wheel, often from the machine sitting unmoved under load for a long period.