Rowing machine recommendations

[Pesty]

Can somebody point me in the way of a good rowing machine. Preferably one that can be put away in a wardrobe to keep the Mrs off my back.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Concept 2 or water tower are the two best. C2 is the defacto machine.

Water tower looks nicer as it's wood.

Neither that storable though.

[Mr Pointy]

The Waterrower is the more bedroom friendly of the two:
https://www.waterrower.co.uk/

The A1 is the more compact model.

[Pesty]

They look awesome. But a bit pricey sorry should have said £400 ish

Strictly amateur just want to burn some calories. Expected gyms to be open by now.

I do note they have a rental scheme that doesn’t look too bad.

[esuuv]

For that price in normal circumstances i’d say a used waterrower - but i’d inagine they’re at a bit of a premium about now.

Renting one seems like a good bet. The water machine is way quieter than a concept 2 - and looks a lot nicer.

[CubanPete]

take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:

Concept 2 or water tower are the two best. C2 is the defacto machine.

Water tower looks nicer as it's wood.

Neither that storable though.

As above.

Water rower is far nicer to use than a concept 2, and more bedroom friendly as it stands easily on end.

Concept 2 is the gym / rowing club / indoor championship standard bit of kit.

[hopeydaze]

The standard Concept2 feels heavy at the start of the stroke/drive which puts a load on your back particularly if your technique is not so good.

However Concept2 is the default machine for rowing clubs and gyms, as Mr Cuban says. it also has strong residuals if you want to sell in the future.

It can be stored vertically, over 2m though

[G111MDS]

Keep an eye out on Facebook marketplace, gumtree, etc as they quite often come up for sale. I paid not much more than your budget.

[Pesty]

Good idea thanks

[Pesty]

Good idea thanks

[Imad]

Don’t underestimate the effect of noise. Water machines are so much quieter than the air ones, and much less likely to annoy everyone else while in use. The concept 2 may not feel that loud in a large gym full of other noises but is really loud when it’s in your bedroom.

[kambites]

To be honest, if you just want a decent cardio workout rather than to train for rowing, a cheap magnetic resistance or even a £100 "rubber band" type thing will do the job adequately.

We had a second hand concept 2 and it was a fabulous bit of kit bit as others have said they're big, cumbersome and loud.

[benjipeg]

concept 2 do split in half at the seats most forward point

[Miocene]

By chance we bought a cheap rower and had it delivered this week and used it this morning, a JLL R200, which was £230.

I've used Concept 2s before, and although this isn't as good, for a quarter of the price its excellent. It gets consistently well reviewed on rowing sites, so not just the Amazon reviews (which are also high).

It's magnetic, so can't manage the resistance of an air / water one, but at least for general keep fit purposes I'd imagine it being fine. We wanted a folding one and as my wife wants to use it in the house, a quiet one.

If we keep with it we may move to a water rower, but maybe when the secondhand prices settle back down.

[Europa1]

OP, if it helps, most rowing clubs, and oarsmen/women at home use a C2.

The water rower is a lovely looking, beautifully engineered thing, but I don't know if there are any issues around the water - whether it needs changing regularly etc. What I can say that is for longer pieces on a water rower, I found myself busting for a pee thanks to the swishing noise of the water.

[Hobo]

I've just bought a JTX Freedom rowing machine for my 13 year old son who rows, but due to Covid has obviously not been doing it. Its well made, gets good reviews, foldable, and overall am very happy with it (or he is). Also didn't break the bank financially, as expect it will likely become surplas to requirements in a few months (hopefully not though).

https://www.jtxfitness.com/jtx-freedom-air-rowing-...

[tribalsurfer]

Hate resurrecting old threads but .............................

I have this afternoon got my old rowing machine from the garage and firmly planted it in the conservatory to commence operation Lockdown 2 : Get Fitter !!!! What is everybody using to log their sessions ? I regularly (or did prior to March) swim and use swimtag that allows you to log your distance and assign it against a challenge. For example if I swim 2km then I can sign up for the English Channel swim and slowly whittle the equivalent of a crossing. I like this feature a lot.

I am signed up to Strava but not digging it for non cycling, running (gps) activities.

[TheDrownedApe]

I've been rowing (erg) for years now and at the sprightly age of 45 have just bought my own. I really wanted a c2 but the price of them put me off.

I found a new company that have basically ripped off the design and are selling them in the UK. its called evo 3 and its great, albeit stil, pricey for the amateur at £600. Mines been in the study for 3 weeks now and I've racked up about 80km already.

I log my workouts with screen shots of the computer, thats it. I have started a FB group for my rower (as its new release) but not many out there to compare against.

Edited by TheDrownedApe on Sunday 22 November 11:52

[Pyrolysis]

I bought a C2 model D with the good monitor. I managed to get a bit of a bargain though, a newly established local gym closed down during the first lockdown (unfortunately for them, the guy was clearly gutted he had to sell off equipment). I paid £500 for it which I thought was ok. As said above, the C2 seems to be the benchmark machine for most. Never tried the water ones so cant comment on those but heard good things. Sure to be some bargains about just have to be in the right place at the right time as per most things.