1. Precision rowing machine with deluxe ball-bearing rolling system
2. Smooth hydraulic cylinder action with adjustable tension controls
3. Multifunction fitness monitor tracks speed, distance, strokes, and more
4. Thick padded seat and pivoting footplates for maximum comfort
5. Measures 32.5 x 27.75 x 48 inches (W x H x D); weighs 47 pounds

Customer Review :

some good, some bad

The machine works well and is easy to adjust. It is comfortable. It has not been particularly durable. The first week I had it, one of the hydraulic devices broke loose from the frame. Stamina replaced it with no problem. After a few more uses, one of the four wheels the seat rides on "flat-spotted". It will cost me 25 bucks to get replacement wheels. I don't use it a great deal, so I kind of wonder how well it would hold up under really aggressive, frequent use. Still, since it is so inexpensive, I guess you get what you pay for.

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Great rower

I work out at least 6 days a week. Running has become very painful for me, and I was looking for an exercise that would compliment my workout just as well as running does. This rower works great for me. I am sure you could probably purchase a much nicer rower for more money, but this one suits me great. I am 5'2", and I don't have any problems with using it daily. It took me a couple of hours to put it together, but I am a female and blonde so I think that's pretty good doing it alone.

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ROWER

I took a chance and purchased this item based on the reviews. They were right on target with what they said. I was able to assemble it more quickly after reading one of the reviews on how the instructions were demonstrated. It works well for the price and it is used by 2 people for 3 hours per day. I would recommend it and also recommend reading the other reviews before assembling. Amazon had the best deal for this item.

Rating :

Good Value - Great Workout

Simply put - this product works great for the price. Assembly was fairly simple, less than 1 hr. I've been using it for 3 weeks and would certainly buy this rower again!

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Great Value - Great Workout

I jokingly told my husband that I wanted to sit down while exercising and thought a rower would fit the bill. Now that I have it, I use it everyday for 30+ minutes. I am 6' tall and it has plenty of length to stretch out. It sits in my basement, so storage is not an issue, but it would fit under a bed if needed.
The glides have not broke down as mentioned in another review nor have the hydraulics.
I do not care for the foam handle covers and imagine they will eventually fall apart. I will look for hard rubber replacements if this happens.

The 1205 is a good value for the money and the one to experiment with if you are not sure a rower is something you would like.


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More reviews...

1. Home rowing machine with compact footprint--23.5 x 46 inches
2. Adjustable gas-shock resistance
3. Monitor shows time, stroke count, and calories burned
4. Sturdy, steel frame construction
5. Folds for easy storage

Customer Review :

Very satisfied

I am very satisfied with this product. I am only 5' tall and I think it works great for me. It is quite a workout that uses my whole body well.

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Practical

Easy to use and store, takes up very little space, am very pleased with this product.

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Great machine

I received this about 6 weeks ago and with the exception of the foot pedals the machine is excellent.

I drilled the holes in each pedal as shown in another customers picture, put in an old pair of boot laces from my workboots and have had no problems at all with slippage.

7000 strokes later its running smooth, quiet and gives me a real good workout. I have been doing 15 minutes to warm up, then my bowflex routine then another 15 minutes to cool down. Love it !!

I do have a question for anyone in the know. Every website I have visited says that even a moderate 30 minute workout on a rowing machine is burning 240 ish calories. Yet the counter on this says anyplace from 85 - 96 after 30 minutes of rowing.

Any idea whats real ?



Rating :

Easily Assembled, Compact, Simple Rowing Machine

This rowing machine was easy to build right out of the box. I used only the picture portion of the directions in the manual and was able to assemble the machine in less than 45 minutes with the tools provided. Immediately upon completion of the assembly, I rowed for half an hour and worked up a good sweat and plenty of muscle fatigue. Although it's not as strenuous as a cable-resistance machine like at a gym (I had the resistance on ten), I really liked that I was able to row in my own room which is rather small (I only have room for a twin bed and watch TV on my computer). For me, this machine was the ideal choice because of it's small storage footprint (stores upright in about a 2ft footprint that's approx. 4ft high) and because I can row in the comfort of my room and watch TV to entertain myself while I work out. One thing I should mention is that at first I was a little concerned because the extension arms are not at the same level from the factory, but it doesn't affect the performance of the machine at all for them to be a little out of flush. Additional rave reviews are that the the machine arrived in ONE DAY with free shipping from Amazon and the price for the value is amazing at $150.00 USD (it was the deal of the day when I purchased it, I think it's typically $175.00 USD). Definitely a phenomenal purchase!

Rating :

Good Surprises and Bad

Having read all the reviews before purchasing I was a little nervous. I have to say I am seriously impressed with how sturdy the rowing machine is built. And while I scoffed at people saying that it was put together (I consider myself a master assembler), I too had difficulties. Mostly because the instructions are verbose in all the wrongs ways. Instead of just labeling things "Part A" it has a ridiculously long name that causes more confusion than clarity. But really, you only assemble something once so who really cares.

It provides a great upper body workout, that's for sure. But, one of the reasons I bought this was because its touts a full body workout. Here it falls short. Sure, my legs are pushing off for the "drive" portion of the row, but with no resistance at this step its just window dressing. Its great for what it does, but I'm going to have to buy another piece of equipment for the lower body.

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More reviews...

1. Indoor rowing machine with sliding seat for complete total body workouts
2. Quiet flywheel minimizes noise while providing smooth feel of water rowing
3. Lets rowers choose between sleek, fast boat and slow, heavy boat
4. PM3 performance monitor tracks your distance, speed, pace, and calories
5. Requires footprint of 9 x 4 feet; 500-pound capacity; 5-year frame warranty

Customer Review :

Good product.

I have the machine for 2 months and it is a good one.

The only comment that I have for the design is that they could have collected and directed the air flow from the fly weel to the rower direction and that would provide a cooling breeze with zero carbon foot print.

Natan

Rating :

Great workout! Display not compatible with my 2 yr old Mac.

15 years ago I was 18 and was introduced to the Concept 2 by friends in Crew. My very first Concept 2 workout was the best workout I'd ever had, but I never got much time on the Erg.
Years passed and bicycling and running were my almost exclusive workouts. After a couple knee injuries, trading my bike for a motorcar, and putting on 20 pounds (not muscle) I have to be a little more deliberate about my exercise.
The wife and I got a treadmill to help in training for our first marathon and we set up the whole garage for working out on a stationary bike or treadmill while watching dvds. But something was missing...
Out of nowhere I had an insane impulse to order up a Concept 2 rower.
Reading many of the other reviews I had the OPPOSITE experience regarding the price. Other reviewers were reluctant to pay the $900. Without having any idea what the rower would cost, and knowing the incredible quality of the machine and the amazing workout it offered I actually expected it to cost far more. I was steeling myself for it to cost $1500-$2000. When I saw it was ONLY $900 I jumped on it.
This machine is awesome. It's still the best workout ever. I wish I could share it with the world. While I'm rowing I actually fantasize about throwing it into the back of the truck and setting it up at a park for people to have a turn. Although I have no intention actually doing this, in reality it wouldn't be very difficult, since the machine is surprisingly portable.
I think I saw where other people got a DVD showing rowing technique. I actually didn't get one. I don't know if that was an oversight or if they've discontinued providing the DVD, but it was very easy to go to the Concept 2 website and see several good demonstrations of technique.
Its a good idea to watch these videos to prevent injury and to avoid ingraining bad habits. Most helpful to me has been learning to use the feature that shows power distribution between the strokes. I thought I had great form but saw that I had "two peaks" it was good to correct this early.
The Concept 2 is a terrific machine, and it's the one exercise I can do while "spacing out" or listening to music. For some reason on my treadmill I go crazy if I don't distract myself with DVDs. On the Concept 2 I can get an excellent workout while just enjoying the scenery of my backyard or watching my dogs.
I do have a criticism which is this: the computer display is NOT compatible with my Mac.
The Mac is a wonderful computer and I actually suspect that many of the "type" of people who get into rowing are probably the "type" of people who would own Macintosh computers. They are simply superior computers for general, all around use, and they are used by a sizable minority of schools and homes. Why the heck didn't my unit ship ready to plug and play with my Mac?
If I want to keep track of my meters rowed for the "Million Meter" club I have to do it manually on a clipboard, or find some other solution. That's pretty annoying.
And speaking of the Million Meter club, I went to the site to read up on it and found that the Million Meter T-shirts are not available anymore. What's that all about? I know it's just a shirt, but it's not just a shirt, it's a trophy; it's something to reach for... and it's "No longer available"? That's pretty crappy. How much could it cost to print up a bunch of t-shirts and just have them ready on a shelf? Free advertising for Concept 2, too. Tsk tsk tsk.
Oh well, I bought the Concept 2 for an awesome workout. The "display downloading to my computer" and the little incentives clubs were just gravy. And who eats gravy, anyway?

Edit: Oh, I forgot. One more tiny little complaint... the "Calories burned" feature is set to assume the user is a 175 pound male. (Which I am not.) I found this out on the C2 website. I know that "calories burned" are almost never accurate on workout equipment, and I'm not a calorie freak, but it would be nice to be able to get a better approximation based on my own stats.
Weight loss is only one of my fitness goals, so this is definitely not a deal breaker. I still love the machine. Just one of those little "hang-nails" that proves I'm not dreaming.

Rating :

The best single piece of exercise equipment one can own

Indoor rowing is perhaps the best cardiovascular/toning exercise one can do. This is the defacto machine for doing it as most crew teams around the world, and other training programs use Concept 2 rowers exclusively.

It does not matter if you are an elite athlete, or someone just starting out, or even someone who cannot do high impact exercises like running. This is low impact, and as intense as you want it. Almost all muscles in your body are used as well. So by using this machine you get a great cardio work out and total body motion. Honestly, there is nobody I would not recommend this to, it is for all levels.

The computer keeps track of your work, and you can keep your pace at whatever you feel comfortable with. In time you will see that your split times are going down as your fitness improves. It keeps a log of your workouts and also stores it on a card that you can bring to other machines. The great thing is that these machines all automatically calibrate, so your time on any one machine is valid everywhere because they all yield the same results.

The company is great, this is made in USA and of very good quality. I used to row on a team, and none of our machines ever broke. Even if it does break, the company is very responsive and friendly. They have a very good website where you can log your times, and see how you stack up with others, or just keep a record for yourself. They have contests all the time there where they select random people that row certain distances and give them free gear. Also if you row a million meters on your machine or a marathon they give you free gear as well. All of this is free!

The most important thing to learn is proper form, otherwise you will tire out fast. The biggest mistake beginners make is using their arms too much and not enough legs. Concept 2 has a lot of videos that show you proper rowing technique and the good thing is it pretty much directly translates to what one would do on a real boat!

At my gym these things sit there collecting dust while people do the inferior treadmills etc, but everyone I know that I have introduced to rowing loves it. It is good to have one at home because it is very possible to watch TV while you are rowing (it is not loud). The machine also disassembles and can be stored pretty easily. If you stand it up fully assembled it is nearly 8ft tall so it is not very storable that way, but if you take the sled off, you can store it even in a coat closet.

Rating :

Professional Gym Equipment Right at Home

Rowing has always been my favorite aerobic activity in the gym and every rower I have used in a gym has been a Concept2 machine. When I started shopping around for a rowing machine for home use I thought I'd save some money and look at cheaper models. It's not like the Model D was very expensive at $900 but there seem to be quite a few machines out there at lower prices. After reading all of the reviews I could get my hands on I just gave up. Every single one of those cheaper machines had one or more reviews complaining about it.

My reasoning is this... for a reasonable price why not own the same rowing machine that's been in use for years and years in almost every single gym in the US? Just using a good piece of equipment can be motivating in and of itself.

Assembling the Concept2 Model took around 10 min. It was just a matter of attaching the base under the flywheel. It stores vertically in two pieces and only takes up around 4 sq. ft. of floor space. Setting it up can be done in under a minute.

The Model D console offers almost everything you need. I just wish it had a built in hear rate monitor since the one you can get from Concept2 that supports Polar transmitters needs to have the receiver mounter under the seat and that means playing with the wires every time it's taken apart. That's really my only quibble.

There's a solid online community so you can post your rowing times and compare your progress to others and there's also a piece of software called RowPro which is exclusively available for the Concept2 rowers. But that's another review.

Overall I've been very satisfied and I'm glad I just got it over with and bought the same machine for home use that I'd be using the gym anyway.

Rating :

Concept2 Model D indoor Rowing Machine

This machine was the one I used at my Gym before they close it... I try every other exercise; weights, Body Systems, orbitals, but rowing... rowing with a Concept 2 machines really makes the difference.
It is gentle to your knees and you do a complete body workout.... COMPLETE BODY WORKOUT...

It is expensive..but believe, do not hesitate, do not look at other brands... CONCEPT 2 ROWER is the only one...

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More reviews...

1. Patented resistance rowing machine with pair of articulating arms
2. Dual pivot-action handlebars create 360 degrees of free-flowing motion
3. Adjustable resistance system provides multiple smooth-flowing settings
4. Comfortable seat slides along aluminum rail; 250-pound capacity
5. Accommodates users up to 6 feet 5 inches tall; folds for easy storage

Customer Review :

No review yet

1. Indoor rowing machine with sliding seat for complete total body workouts
2. Flywheel is designed to minimize noise while providing the smooth feel of rowing on the water
3. Separates easily into two parts for transport and storage. Caster wheels make it mobile
4. PM4 Performance Monitor accurately measures performance and heart rate, includes chest belt HR transmitter
5. Requires footprint of 9 x 4 feet; 500-pound capacity; 5-year frame warranty

Customer Review :

Pathetic Shipping

My rowing machine has not even arrived and already I am disgusted with the service from Amazon. Amazon promised on their website that if I ordered on 5/31/10 delivery would take place on 6/4/10. They have now rescheduled the estimated date to 6/10/10. Don't make promises you cannot keep!!!

Rating :

Great Rower, Terrible shipper

Ordered the Concept2 Model E from Amazon. I'll separate the purchase/shipping experience from the review of the machine itself.

1. PURCHASE/SHIPPING. Purchasing on Amazon was easy and pleasant, as always, but that is where the fun stopped. The shipper they used, Ceva Logistics did an awful job. They gave me a four hour window on the first shipping attempt, forcing me to stay home, and proceeded to miss the appointment. Next, on the reschedule, they came a day early, when no one was around. Finally, they came on the correct day, but the box holding the rower legs was damaged as were the legs. I complained about the experience to Amazon, who did refund a portion of the shipping charge. Only reason for 1 star. I don't recommend buying any large shipping item from Amazon if they continue to use this shipping company.

Amazon web experience: 4 stars

Shipping experience: 1 star

2. ROWER/CONCEPT2. Rather than call Amazon about the damaged legs, I called Concept2. They immediately shipped a set of replacement legs at no charge. Of course, they would rather I do this than return the whole rower to Amazon for a replacement, but then I didn't want to experience Amazon shipping again, so we were both happy. I was very pleased with the customer service from Concept2 - the people I spoke to were very professional, courteous and helpful.

I rowed in college a couple decades ago, and we used Concept2 rowers then, and the Model E is a refinement of the great product they have been making. The feel of the rower is still better than competing air and water rowers I tried, and remains the benchmark to beat short of a gamut erg.

Concept2 Model E & company: 5 stars

Rating :

I love it

My order was lost, then I received only one box, with less than half of the components of the rower. As instructed by Amazon, I now am returning the partial order and I should receive a new order. Why is Amazon using such terrible shipping practices?

It's a week later and I finally have the item. Setting it up was not too difficult, but because of the odd shapes, you really need another person. The exercise machine itself is very sturdy, made to take a lot of beating. Other people complained that there is too much plastic: yes, there are some plastic components, but the things that matter are all solid metal. It's no-impact and I get a good workout with only 30 mins/day.

Rating :

Best rower in the world

I have owned two Concept 2 rowers, the Model C and now the Model E. I donated the Model C to my parents when I "ascended" up to the Model E. Without doubt, Concept 2 has produced the world's best rower. It's built to last a lifetime of private use. And if parts are ever an issue, Concept 2 still has parts (quite cheap) for all their rowers, even the Model A! If you seriously plan to row for exercise or sport, the Model E (or any model, for that matter) will be your best investment.

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Amazingly Easy to Set up and Use

This is a great product. It is sturdy, gym quality, and easy to set up and use right away. Everything you could ask for in a rowing machine is included here, except the paddles. :-)

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More reviews...