Rowing Machine

Miz_Owl

I'm looking into buying a rowing machine .
First off I hate that they are so expensive !
Secondly there are different kinds .
I don't know witch one is the right one for me .

This one looks cheep and it doesn't look like it would give me a full body work out .



This one I like but it's crazy expensive .




I was wondering if anyone on here has one and if so are you happy with it ?


Any info. you have will be very helpful .

Thanks .

steveko89

My perception on rowers is very much you get what you pay for. Concept2 and WaterRower have excellent reputations to go with their hefty price tags. I love our C2; they're pretty bulletproof and if you're patient you might be able to find a used one locally using something like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. The only real difference in the newer models are some connectivity options for the telemetry, which you're not going to have with the two options you asked about anyway. Certainly worth saving a few hundred bucks for a used one in decent shape.

marathon_44

I have a concept2 rower. Love it. A rower is the only indoor piece of cardio equipment I can stand. Pricey, but it is very high quality (which is important if you are going to use it regularly) I gave up my gym membership, so it has already paid for itself. https://www.roguefitness.com/black-concept-2-model-d-rower-pm5

Jennliftsandspins

We have an Oxbridge WaterRower. Its wood with a water reservoir for resistance. It’s the only rower I’ve tried and everyone in my house likes it. I don’t know much about rowers.

BrianSharpe

I've had a Concept2 rower for about 10 years now and have never regretted buying it. Basically the only maintenance has been cleaning the bar and lubing the chain in close to 10,000,000 meters of rowing.

The C2 units are not cheap (with the pandemic there are waiting lists for them) but they are the gold standard of rowing machines (used by competitive rowers for dry land training) and, IMO, are worth every penny.

SuzySunshine99

I have a Concept 2. It was expensive, but very much worth it to me. The maintenance is very minimal.
I'd rather pay more for something that is going to last a long time than buy something cheaper that's going to break down. The rower, plus a few weighs and resistance bands, allowed me to cancel my gym membership, so I'm saving a bunch of money there.

MikePfirrman

Everyone says running is cheap. Buy a Concept2 and it's much cheaper than running. I ran for nearly 8 years. $125 to $200 pairs of shoes every 3 months is a lot of money. I took up rowing around 8 years ago when I had a chronic knee injury and haven't ever ran again. $950 for a C2 -- mine has lasted five years already with heavy use and I could sell it today for $750. That's a workout value.

The only issue is that Concept2 itself doesn't sell them on payments. You'd have to do it on a credit card to make payments, but for less than the price of most gyms, you'd have something that's going to last a lifetime.

AmunahSki

A friend lent me a machine which looked a bit like the one in your first image: I didn’t like it because the fixed handles meant that the action felt unnatural, and just didn’t work for me (maybe I’ve got shorter legs, arms and trunk than it was designed for?).

Back then I couldn’t afford a new C2, and looked for second hand ones in vain... so I bought a JLL R200 (which has done me proud so far), and I have promised myself that if/when it breaks - and I’m still putting in the km’s - I will treat myself to a C2!

Let us know what you decide!

AnnPT77

I know a little about rowing (boats, machines), but less about machines per se. If you ever want to or plan to row actual rowing shells, the 2nd type you posted will tend to support body motions more similar to rowing an actual shell (yes, despite the single handle).

Pretty much all on-water rowers row Concept 2 machines. Yes, they're expensive - maybe too expensive if your interest is tentative or casual. After all, most exercise machines go unused, realistically, after an initial period of enthusiasm. I've had my C2 since, hmm, I think 2004. I only row it in Winter (except during pandemics), but cumulatively millions of meters. A little chain oil, maybe clean out the flywheel chamber once a decade or so? That's about it. Bulletproof. And I could sell it for almost as much as I paid for it, probably. Not gonna, until much more decrepit than I am now, at age 65.

If you think you could get more serious about rowing, with time, get the 2nd type. I'd get the Concept 2, myself, but I already know how I feel about rowing. (On water? Great. On machines? Will do it just so I don't need to start over from zero in conditioning every Spring when the river thaws. 🤣)

Hoping you have fun!

Miz_Owl

Thank you everyone for your input .

I definitely don't want the first picture I posted .
I went to dicks sporting goods and they had one on the floor and I didn't like the feel of it .


C2 is more my style for sure .

sgt1372

The Concept 2 rower is simply the BEST rower you can buy!

What is "expensive" is relative but the trurth is that you get what you pay for.

I bought a brand new C2 rower direct from C2 for $940 including shipping w/o any sales tax.

That was "cheap" to me because I spent about $5k putting together an Olympic quality wt lifting "gym" in my garage plus about $1k setting up a crossfit course in my backyard and another $1k on s LeMond RevMaster Pro Spin bike.

So, the C2 only cost me about 15% of all the $ that I've spent on exercise equipment

On top of that, the C2 is the only piece of gear that I am currently using - not uding the bike or the lifting/crossfit gear at all right now -- on which I am rowing about 1 hr/10km per day and on wc I have rowed about 7 MILLION meters in total over the past 5 yrs and 1.8M meters this yr to date w/2 months in the rowing yr remaining to go and NEVER during this time has my rower broken down or required any maintenance beyond oiling the fanwheel chain periodically.

If you don"t have the $ for one right now, sign up on the waiting list and try to save $300/mo for the 3 months that it will take to get to the top of the list. Most ppl who are employed can save $300/mo w/o much difficulty and you dont have 2 pay until the C2 is ready to ship

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy one from the flippers who are buying them from C2 and then trying to resell them at $1300 for a 50% profit and DO NOT buy the cheaper FAKE knockoffs that have also hit the mkt.

Buy ONLY direct from C2, which insures that you get the real product with a FULL warranty and customer support.

Good luck!

Ikeeptrying2

Concept2 - worth the wait if there is one.

If you compare the cost to ellipticals and moderate priced treadmills, they are less expensive, much easier to store and much lighter to move around.

MikePfirrman

Not to sell you any longer, but the Concept2 is also the only rower that has like 6 or 7 integrative apps that work with it. I didn't spend much time on this one, but was asked to be a Beta tester on it. It's basically Zwift for rowing.

There are others -- ErgData, RowPro, LiveRowing and a few others. Also, if you end up loving it, there are virtual clubs and even virtual racing competitions. World Indoor Rowing just ended yesterday and Crash-Bs, usually a live competition in Boston, is virtual this year.

Asensei is also a great new app. Among others, Eric Murray (probably the most famous Olympic rower of all time) teaches classes on the Concept2. Both live classes and training programs.

People mistakenly look at the Concept2 and think it's not interactive. It's actually incredibly interactive with Bluetooth and direct ethernet plugs for computer interfaces. It also has computer card readers for Logbook storage and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIyA6yJs-b4&feature=emb_title