Stamina AeroPilates Double Power Cord for Extra Resistance | Two Cords Included | Compatible with AeroPilates Corded Reformers

Of course, these are made/designed for AeroPilates machines. But I got to thinking...why not make my own. Bungee cord is cheap on ebay. I also wanted to get something even stronger. However, looking at my machine, it was clear that the black plastic head on these is well made for the purpose. Hold one end of the cord and slip it on and off the bracket at the front of the machine. Well, I had a worn out black cord that came with the machine, so I pulled the cord out of the plastic head. The plastic head comes apart and I could see how they attached the cord inside. I measured the head and it takes up to a 1/2 inch diameter cord. So, I bought some 1/2" diameter bungee cord in bulk...cheap. About 60 cents per foot. Cut the length to 40 inches and attached a metal stopper on the end, just like the red cord from Stamina. They pressed a piece of aluminum pipe, maybe 1/2" inside diameter, on to this red cord. Looks like a machine was used to squash it on. I used a piece of steel pipe...conduit...that was maybe 3/4 inch inside diameter, cut off maybe 5/8 inch of the pipe to make the stopper. I put the pipe over the end of the cord and used a round, flat end chisel to smash it on the cord. That worked perfect. Pulled the cord tight inside the black plastic end piece...it was a tight fit...put the plastic cap piece back on and I was good to go...or so I thought.The half inch diameter bungee I had was stronger...harder to pull than this Stamina made red cord. However...it did not like being stretched as far as using it on the AeroPilates machine will do. It started to stretch out rather quickly...with very little use. Compare a new red cord from Stamina with red cord I've been using for, say, 50 sessions and the difference is maybe 1/2 inch in length...that's how much my use has stretched it. The cheap 1/2 inch diameter bungee stretched out 3 inches within 10 workout sessions. It's just unacceptable. So, I sent it back to the seller. What is needed is bungee cord made for a trampoline. Something that can handle the high level of back and forth stretching the AeroPilates machine produces when used. That type of bungee is harder to find and more expensive. I found some that was not quite 1/2 thick...but still thicker than this red cord. However, it was $3 per foot. So...the 40 inch length necessary for use here comes to $10. Not counting shipping.My conclusion: unless you really need stronger cord, there is no reason not to buy this Stamina cord...and be satisfied with the price once you realize you won't save much, if anything, trying to do it yourself.Edit: FYI...in this review, I'm comparing the price of doing it yourself to one red cord. If you purchase here, they do send you 2 of the red cords...so figure $12 each.

The red cords are the strongest cords in the Stamina line. They are not the easiest to replace but the end result of having more resistance is essential for a good workout. I with Amazon carried black replacement cords.

Perfecto

I have the 4-cord reformer, which comes with all black cords. I'm a young, fit, experience pilates practitioner. No judgement (just observation): I think most people that use this machine are senior citizens and/or physically challenged. I went through several reviews of the reformer on several sites and that's what I found. I mention his because for this demographic the 4 black cords make sense. For me they were way too easy for many of my usual exercises. (I've taken private, one-on-one pilates classes for years.) This red cord definitely helps. I'm able to get the resistance I need on certain exercises. Of course no resistance is also challenging, depending on what exercise you're doing!)This extra cord was perfect for my use. I suggest you use whatever your machine came with for several weeks, then decide what more you need (red or yellow extras).

What a difference a new set of cords makes! I got a used Aeropilates from a neighbor and everything felt a little too easy, so I replaced the one red cord with one of these. Boy, the workouts are 2x harder now. It was a little hard to install as a single person. Probably took me about 10 minutes since it was so tight. But once installed, it works great and I haven't had any issues.

The bands did stretch a little requiring me to re tie them, but the knots do hold well if you tie them as suggested in the photo. This allowed me to use an old Pilates/total body gym that I purchased 20 years ago. I couldn’t order parts for the old gym, but these worked since I could tie the knot anywhere I wanted. Now that I know these work for me, I’m going to buy a set of the lighter strength yellow bands to get a lot more resistance combinations.

works like the originals. pretty simple to install but you might want a second person to hold the cable why you tie the knot

Very happy to have more resistance on my machine now! However, this would have been tough to install by myself without using a clamp. I pulled each cord as far as I could and clamped it off with a strong clamp and then I was able to tie the knot. I would not have been able to do it otherwise and would’ve had to wait for someone else to help me.