Machines SurfShelf Will Not Fit
While the SurfShelf has been designed to fit 99% of the treadmills, stationary exercise bikes and elliptical trainers, stair masters, etc. known to man, there are unfortunately a few machines that it will not fit.
We don’t want to sell you anything that won’t work perfectly for you, so please skim the section below to make sure you don’t have one of the few machines that don’t work with the SurfShelf.
Rule #1: The SurfShelf rests on the face of the exercise machine control console — therefore, the console must not be completely obstructed. There are a couple of elliptical trainers that have “handle-bars” directly in front of their consoles that block the installation of the SurfShelf.
NOTE: If the handle-bars are wider than 14 inches they ARE NOT a problem as the SurfShelf will fit between them.
Here is an elliptical trainer that has narrow front handle-bars that block the SurfShelf:
Elliptical with front handle-bars
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Rule #2: The stationary exercise machine must have a control console near the level of where you would want your laptop to be. The reason for this is simply that the SurfShelf rests on the face of control console.
For instance, here is an exercise bike with a low console that will not work well with the SurfShelf:
Bike with low console
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Rule #3: The exercise machine control console must be large enough to support the SurfShelf (and your laptop). This is a difficult criteria to define because with smaller consoles, the shape of the console is also very important.
NOTE: Sometimes extremely small consoles will work fine if shaped properly, so if you think your console is too small, please contact me with your make/model number and I’ll look into it for you personally.
As an example, this this console is really small AND rounded which makes it a little difficult to hook onto:
Bike with small and rounded console
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Easy Trick: If the control console is at a level less than ~35 degrees with respect to the ground (i.e. it is somewhat horizontal itself), there is a simple ‘trick’ that must be employed.
A rolled up hand towel (or similar) tucked behind the top of the SurfShelf back plate solves the problem. The tray can then be easily adjusted to be horizontal.
In addition, this configuration will lift the SurfShelf above the control buttons allowing easy access to the buttons.
The configuration is easy and quick, and we have tons of happy customers who are thrilled with the results.
Here are some pictures one happy customer sent to us that show how nicely it works:
Using easy trick to prop up SurfShelf
Using easy trick to prop up SurfShelf
If you think your treadmill has a control console that is at a 35 degree angle or less and you would like to get my opinion, please contact me with your treadmill make/model number and I’ll look into it for you personally. Thanks!
Here is a picture of a treadmill that has a control console that is at a low angle.
Treadmill with low angle control console
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