X-pert spin question? Halp!

rabidshrooms started this discussion · 2/25/2010

Well I got my x-pert today! Yay! I did have one question though. My boyfriend and I (mainly my boyfriend) put the pole together. My ceiling is 8'1 at best (more like 8 1/2 but I gave it the extra half inch just in case) so we only use the smallest extension the x-pert comes with. We didn't have many problems with putting pole up except for the fact the adjuster got majorly stuck and I freaked and thought somehow it had gotten stripped. Luckily some extra elbow grease (both of us had to turn it) got it unstuck. Anyway, onto my question 😛 When we put it on spin mode it feels....slightly tight. I don't notice it when I'm twirling around but when I just put my hand on it and try to rotate it it spins easily about halfway and then hits what I can only describe as pressure. I can even see when it hits the "pressure" spot on the dome (it kind of....bubbles....bad wording, but you can see it). I called x-pole and they said to make sure the pole was level and not overtightened so we lessened the tightness a bit and made sure it was level on all four sides. It didn't help. Maybe I had a different idea since I have never seen an x-pole in person but the pole looks like it spins so easily, does it almost have to be "broken in"? I had the idea that I could just put my hand and flick it and it would twirl....I know, sounds a bit stupid but is my pole how the xpole spin mode is?!? I'm sorry if this is a stupid question or has already been anwsered! Xpole even said we could take the screws completely out and even that didn't do any good.

42 replies

Peppa · 2/25/2010
Unfortunately I cannot answer your query but Im in the same boat... My xpole also gets to a 'sticky' spot on one part of its spin when turning it with my hand and I believe that this would still be the case when my body weight is on it and would hinder the turning (which sucks as I cannot turn slowly and smoothly only fast, which gets me dizzy) I have looked at my pole and it seems to be slightly bent in the middle... Im thinking of pulling it down and rolling it on the floor to try to straighten it out a little bit but not sure if that will fix the problem... I will try loosening the joints and see how it goes, I may also try taking out the bolts at the bottom. If anyone has any other solution or knows how a pole should spin by hand it would be great if you could help (Mayb post a vid of spinning a pole so show how much it spins on its own?) Thanx, Peppa
Jenn · 2/26/2010
Not sure how the new Xpoles work, but with the old ones, it usually means you overtightened it.
psychoholicslag · 2/26/2010
You may have overtightened it, especially if it is bowed. About the spin, it should spin smoothly. Does the rotation constantly feel tight (this would be too tight) or does it spin slightly and then kind of hit a spot where it comes to resistance and then spin and then resistance? How else could I word this? Like speed bumps you have to push through. If this is the case, it's the ball bearings. I'll try making a vid to show you what I mean if I can get it to show up in a video.
rabidshrooms · 2/26/2010
Yes, it's like speed bumps. It'll turn halfway and then come to a pressure "hump" and then keep spinning until about half way again but it never bowed. The dome would kind of....not ripple but make the ever so slightest movement. My bf and I took it down today and really worked with it. We also made sure to look at the base, dome and We made sure to only tighten as was needed and it seems to be better. It is completely level (I mean, PERFECT. There is no way this pole could get anymore vertically level). I also made sure the dome was level and touching all four sides of the ceiling as it had previously been. It spins much better. You can take your hand and give it a couple good twirls. I like this pole a lot but it takes some work to get up and down. Maybe it won't after this but it didn't sound that hard lol Now it's weird because it doesn't do the pressure catch thing anymore but now I think I am seeing things like the pole is kind of "bowed" while spinning but PERFECTLY level by eyesight when not and level when actually checking it with a level. Thank you all so much for your help!
Mary Ellyn · 2/26/2010
If your pole is bowed a little it may be difficult to validate that with a level unless you slide the level all the way up and down each side of the pole to find the part that is bowed...in other words, the side may be level 3 feet from the ceiling then bow a bit then be level again. Keep in mind too that levels are not "exact" unless you have a laser level. THey are just water and bubbles! The best way to see if your pole is permanently bowed it to roll it on the floor but it may be bowed when you tighten it and if it's not bowed hard, it may not stay that way when you take it down to roll it on the floor. Another important point for other problems with spinning...my main pole sectoin got stuck the wrong way onto the very base of the pole and wouldn't spin right. I had to remove it from the base (which wasn't easy as once I tried it as it was really stuck!) and put it back on again.
psychoholicslag · 2/26/2010
Yeah, it's like that vase is vacuum sealed. Hubby has to knock it with his shoe.
rabidshrooms · 2/26/2010
Thank you! I am going to have to purchase a laser level and see. Also, I may take it down and roll the pieces just to see but honestly, I have no clue why they would be bowed. My pole was slightly more tight than tight enough but it wasn't THAT tight. I mean there is no way the pressure should have made the pieces bow and I just got the pole 2 days ago now so having it slightly too tight for all of 10 minutes shouldn't have made it already bow - I would think it'd take more than too much pressure for a small amount of time to actually bend the pieces....maybe I am wrong though? After taking it down it does spin better, and doesn't have the speed bump. I am pretty sure it is spinning like it should be spinning. I think the pole is actually messing with my boyfriend and I's eyes as it is chrome plated and the light reflects diffently when it's turning making it look weird. When I put it next to something straight, there is no outward (kind of bowed) movement it just gives the illusion that there is.
rabidshrooms · 3/5/2010
Sooo a week later and my pole is still doing this! So, it was fine for several days after we took it down and put it back up - spun pretty well. Then, we tightened it because it was becoming unstable and we're back to square one. I called x-pole and they think a bottom piece could be messed up but I don't see how. It feels as if something is going on at the top. I swear I do not have it overtightened! It is actually not even tight enough to be on so I'm stuck looking at it until I can figure out wtf is wrong with this thing.
Daphne77 · 3/6/2010
I have exactly the same problem. 🙁 No idea what to do about it.
rabidshrooms · 3/6/2010
Ugh, I am sorry you're going through this too! I really thought my bf and I had it figured out. I mean, it is LEVEL as level is going to get for this thing. There is no more level to go so it can't be that. I mean, it's not overtightened. I am a bigger girl (I weigh more than 160lbs) so I obviously need it to hold my weight so it does need to be tight but it's not excessively tight and I have ton of the adjuster left. Only 2 inches is showing. Ugh. I am really frusterated because I was so excited and now I'm just...blah.
rabidshrooms · 3/7/2010
So, X-Pole told me they'd probably send me a new piece (adjuster). Told me they'd call me back on Friday or the next day but they're closed Saturday, whoops. Tommorrow I am calling them first thing since I want to get my pole working. Also, when my bf and I carefully took my pole down we realize the base is STUCK to the adjuster (pole A piece I believe). We're still not quite sure how to get that off. I mean it is STUCK STUCK, not just slightly stuck. We took the pole down and carefully packaged the pieces in the tubes and took the spin/static screws out of the pole and we could not get the base off at all. Didn't even budge so I am wondering if this has something to do with anything? Probably not, but we still can't get it off and I don't want to grease it until I talk to XPole. Although X-Pole has been great as far as their support and customer service I am still really bummed. Makes me sad I can't use it yet after paying all the money I did for it.
Daphne77 · 3/7/2010
Also, when my bf and I carefully took my pole down we realize the base is STUCK to the adjuster (pole A piece I believe). We're still not quite sure how to get that off. I mean it is STUCK STUCK, not just slightly stuck. We took the pole down and carefully packaged the pieces in the tubes and took the spin/static screws out of the pole and we could not get the base off at all. Didn't even budge so I am wondering if this has something to do with anything? Probably not, but we still can't get it off and I don't want to grease it until I talk to XPole. I have that problem too. I used 2 big screwdrivers (one on each side) to get it off. You really have to lift both sides at the same time, otherwise it won't come off. It took some power to do that. But it happens every time I take the pole down.
Mary Ellyn · 3/7/2010
That happened once to one of my pole and my husband used a rubber mallet to get it off. In fact, now that I think about it...it was sticking and would not spin correctly/smoothly when I realized what the problem was and once we got the base off and put it back on, it spun just fine! I can't believe I forgot that!!!! 😲 Try to get the base off either with the two screw drivers or a mallet if you have one - of course you don't want to chip or damage anything - and then put it back together. That may be the problem!
rabidshrooms · 3/7/2010
Ah shoot, my boyfriend suggested taking a rubber mallet to it...Haha, I am so trying this today and seeing if this helps! Thank You! I will report back on my findings lol I really appreciate the trouble shooting ideas because I really want to avoid having to send a part back especially if nothing is wrong with it and it's something simple like the base just being stuck. I may go out and get some axel grease (this is what xpole recommended) and put a VERY small amount on the base and adjuster (it gets stuck a lot it seems). When we took it down yesterday and took the adjuster all the way down (no pressure anywhere) I held the pole steady and my bf unlocked the static/spin screws and it seemed to spin just fine but whenever it gets any (the slightest) pressure on it (from being adjusted to the ceiling), poof....back to the pressure speed bumps so we are going to try and get this base off and see if that helps with anything.
Daphne77 · 3/7/2010
@ Empyrean I already did that several times. It doesn't make any difference to my pole (how it spins). That's not the answer to my problem. 🙁
Mary Ellyn · 3/7/2010
Unfortunately for you guys I had the advantage of two poles...so I systematically started at the top and replaced each piece one at a time from the dome all the way down. It just happened that my problem was the base so it was the last piece I replaced and that was the problem as soon as I tried to remove it and found it was stuck I knew that was it. Rabid as I recall mine was also sticking when I took it down and took the pressure off so this may not be the problem but it's still worth trying to get the base off and see. How about checking the insert section of the dome when you have it down and see if there is any sticking to that part? The insert of the dome should rotate freely too.
rabidshrooms · 3/7/2010
Awesome! Ty! It's crazy because my bf and I were tugging on the base yesterday and it wouldn't budge, took a rubber mallet to it and it pops right off with a slight swing of the thing. Wtf. Anyway, haven't put it back up yet because I was going to move where I had it to see if maybe the placement was just bad (which would be weird).
petitejam · 3/8/2010
Hmmmm reading all these posts is making me very so-so about the new X-Poles. It seems really hard to set up, take down and re-put back up. And into spin mode. 😕 Compared to the old ones (if you have had either) which do you prefer?
rabidshrooms · 3/8/2010
Petite: You know what, I was wondering if that isn't part of the problem? I mean, did people have this much of a problem with the older top loading poles? Most of the people I talked to about their x-pole had the older versions (pre 2010). I had it pretty decent on spin ONCE but it wasn't tight enough (it had been tight enough though...checked it and everything before use) and I almost took the whole pole down. Could have been worse, but makes me a little nervous now :/ Hmmm. I dunno. I picked the Xpole because no one really had anything negative to say about it and the weight limit was higher which I liked. I'm not sure if I will have to sacrifice superb working spin mode for stability. At that rate I could have bought the sport for a hundred less. I am going to actually lightly grease all of the contact parts (like the inserted part of the base, the inserted part of the dome adapter, etc). Who knows, maybe it'll help? Doubt it but I can dream lol If that doesn't work, I am calling x-pole tommorow. They already told me they'd probably send me a new adjuster.
Daphne77 · 3/8/2010
@ rabidshrooms I contacted Xpole with these problems. I will let you know what they say.
rabidshrooms · 3/8/2010
Awesome Daphne, I'd love to know. I need to call them back today and bug them. They told me they'd more than likely send me an adjuster and would call me back either that day (friday) or the next. Unfortunately, they aren't open Saturday so the guy probably forgot. Anyway, they've been nothing but nice but I have heard of them trying to say you're the reason it doesn't work right and that their product isn't defective so just stick to your guns.
psychoholicslag · 3/8/2010
I have found their customer service to be excellent. Kimara has been great with any issues I have had.
rabidshrooms · 3/9/2010
Psycholic - I agree, they have been very helpful. Kimara actually called my boyfriend back today. I need to take pictures of the dome and send them to her and she will send me another. My bf and I didn't think it was the adjuster because everytime we'd put it up without the dome on and unlock it, it'd spin perfectly fine but as soon as you'd lock it back, put the dome on and tighten it it'd be funky so I guess they think it's in the dome which makes more sense. I'm excited!
jvks1mom · 3/11/2010
My pole has been fine but now I feel the speed bump thing when on spin mode. Also, my ceiling is a tiny bit over 8' 5" and I had to use all standard poles even though according to xpole's measurements I shouldn't have had to. So why is there a gap at the lower part of the pole at the bottom of the adjuster cover? You can see the inside part where it is greased. Is this normal????
Daphne77 · 3/26/2010
I've got an email from x-pole. They think there is something wrong with my bearings. They will sent me new ones. Does anyone know what bearings are??

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