Any rowers on here? Water rower or C2?

[johnfm]

C2 seems the 'obvious' choice - but for home is it too noisy?

Will I get too addicted to the competitions etc on the C2 -it seems there is a big C@ community out there and I dont want to get hooked on 2k times!

[MattMM]

Depends how big and/or sound-isolated your home is and when you plan to use it. I had a C2 that I couldn't use during my sons afternoon naps, now he's older its no problem. If you can stick it in a garage or an out-the-way room then no issues. The newer models are much less noisy than the older ones. I'd go for a C2 all day long as I've been using for 20 years+ in gyms and in my home, wouldn't worry too much about the competition element, at the end of the day you're only competing with yourself to get fitter. If you are of an alpha male inclination, then of course external competition could appeal.

[johnfm]

Depends how big and/or sound-isolated your home is and when you plan to use it. I had a C2 that I couldn't use during my sons afternoon naps, now he's older its no problem. If you can stick it in a garage or an out-the-way room then no issues. The newer models are much less noisy than the older ones. I'd go for a C2 all day long as I've been using for 20 years+ in gyms and in my home, wouldn't worry too much about the competition element, at the end of the day you're only competing with yourself to get fitter. If you are of an alpha male inclination, then of course external competition could appeal.

No longer an alpha male - thankfully I have matured!!

[dtc2]

C2 seems the 'obvious' choice - but for home is it too noisy?

Will I get too addicted to the competitions etc on the C2 -it seems there is a big C@ community out there and I dont want to get hooked on 2k times!

these must be the industry standard and be built to last.

Every gym I have been a member including my current one of uses these and they see a hell of a lot of use as its a very bsuy gym.

whats your current 2k time ? :mrgreen: i'd be embarrased to mention mine.

[a13x]

Can't comment on the water rower but I have the newer model C2. I don't have any issues with noise, although it sits in my garage so no one else to bother. Great piece of kit and my extensive research before purchase, suggested that the C2 was the one to go for.

[johnfm]

C2 seems the 'obvious' choice - but for home is it too noisy?

Will I get too addicted to the competitions etc on the C2 -it seems there is a big C@ community out there and I dont want to get hooked on 2k times!

these must be the industry standard and be built to last.

Every gym I have been a member including my current one of uses these and they see a hell of a lot of use as its a very bsuy gym.

whats your current 2k time ? :mrgreen: i'd be embarrased to mention mine.

I'll tell you my 2k time when I have my C2 or water rower!

[JWL940]

Loved my C2 to bits and even competed in the National Championships in Birmingham until the fateful day I gave myself a hernia. The NHS was very slow to repair it and when it was repaired it still gave me some discomfort for a number of years. Until the 'accident' it was certainly the greatest way I had found to keep fit and the C2 community on the web made it all the more fun.

[thechatteringclasses]

Concept 2 all the way. Used them for 20+ years and nothing else, apart from the river, comes close. Visit any decent rowing club, and they're all you'll trip over.

[dtc2]

C2 seems the 'obvious' choice - but for home is it too noisy?

Will I get too addicted to the competitions etc on the C2 -it seems there is a big C@ community out there and I dont want to get hooked on 2k times!

these must be the industry standard and be built to last.

Every gym I have been a member including my current one of uses these and they see a hell of a lot of use as its a very bsuy gym.

whats your current 2k time ? :mrgreen: i'd be embarrased to mention mine.

I'll tell you my 2k time when I have my C2 or water rower!

my current gym fad is trying to run 10k. So far i'm up to 4k so a while to go yet.

i've always focused on the weight lifting side so this cardio work is all new to me.

i've never used a water rower they sound like they might give a more realistic rowing feel ?

[IANAN]

I used a C2 for years but am not a "real" rower, a friend of mine who is heavily into rowing (she coxes the Army women's eight) has a Water Rower and rates it very highly. I think that I would buy a C2 if I was in the market for one rather than using club/gym machines

[jukeboxs]

I own the current C2 model E, bought new 3 years ago. I don't use it as much now as I used to (only twice at weekends as I now work away from home), but it's a very robust machine. I like to go on for 1-2 hours at a time, and so prefer watching TV while I'm rowing (chasing a small boat on the LCD display becomes tedious!). The noise from the fan does mean having the TV volume very high, so I try to do it when the wife and girls are out. The new house will have an extended rear section to the garage, so thinking I'll start rowing there once we move in. And, from the prices these go for on Ebay, it doesn't look like you lose much on resale (evidence again of the indestructibility).

I've never tried a water rower, so can't compare.

[adrianw]

Iv'e been looking for a C2 on ebay for months at the right price, they seem to command high second-hand prices, or am i looking in the wrong place?

[Gruntfuttock]

I own the current C2 model E, bought new 3 years ago. I don't use it as much now as I used to (only twice at weekends as I now work away from home), but it's a very robust machine. I like to go on for 1-2 hours at a time, and so prefer watching TV while I'm rowing (chasing a small boat on the LCD display becomes tedious!). The noise from the fan does mean having the TV volume very high, so I try to do it when the wife and girls are out. The new house will have an extended rear section to the garage, so thinking I'll start rowing there once we move in. And, from the prices these go for on Ebay, it doesn't look like you lose much on resale (evidence again of the indestructibility).

I've never tried a water rower, so can't compare.

+1: says everything I was going to say!

But mine went in the garage straight away as I don't have room anywhere else. These things are the Rolex of the rowing machine world; robust, designed to last, the recognised industry standard and they hold their value.

[mickylall]

I like to go on for 1-2 hours at a time

:shock: 2 hours??!! i do 5000m in 20 minutes on my c2 and can't walk afterwards,seeing stars and feeling like i'm going to blow a gasket.
2 hours would be night night mickylall :cry:

cheers,mick

[thieuster]

C2. No doubt. I've seen a Water rower in action a few years ago (perhaps they've updated the model) Apart from the noise of the water, there's nothing spectacular about that machine. The guy who owned the machine told me (back then) that you have to refreshen the water every now and then. Even water in a tank gets 'old'.
My C2 is in the cellar under my house. No noise problem. But be well aware of the fact that it's a noisy b*gger. And the harder you pull, the more noise it makes. Think about that too.

(My current time - 3 months after angioplasty: 2155m in 10min. During a test session in the hospital two weeks back, I pulled 2410m. in 10mins. A once but never again workout. That distance is too much to repeat a few times a week).

Menno

[Snipe]

A vote for the water rower from me, much more like proper rowing in terms of the catch in my opinion.

[Mr Pointy]

I'm not a rower so I can't comment on how realistic it is but WaterRowers are quiet. I use mine in the living room & don't have to raise the TV volume when I'm using it. It upends easily to park it away so it lives tucked away round the corner of the lounge/diner & being wooden blends in slightly better with the room. That's not relevant of course if you are using it another room or garage. It's true it does need a clorine tablet dropping into the tank once every six months but I would have thought any rower would need some maintenance now & then.

[Christian]

Got to be a C2 for an indoor rower.

[siddhartha]

I purchased a used WaterRower about 6 months ago. It is a brilliant machine. I rowed competitively in college, and missed the workouts, and once we bought a house, I told my wife that's what I wanted.

Strangely, I was going to go with the old standby C2, but before I purchased, I looked up WaterRower, learned about it, and found one in excellent shape on Craigslist that day!

Drove about 45 mins to pick it up (narrowly fit in my GTi) and all is well. Very well built, and a great workout. Not the same as the C2-more like true rowing, and at first I wondered if I was getting as good a workout. HR/calories burned, etc., are comparable, but the WaterRower is more comfortable to row. I enjoy it, enjoy the "feel," and enjoy the sound of the water in the tank.

Highly recommended!

[PreacherCain]

If you're used to the C2 (a.k.a. "King of Pain") then nothing else feels quite like it IMO - and certainly nothing else is as durable. That said, it is indeed a noisy bugger and the WaterRower is much, much quieter. That being the case, even though I am a C2 chauvinist (they were all I used when rowing at school and university, and I still prefer them when in the gym) I use a WaterRower at home. The feel is a bit different: rather more like being on the water; it is harder to adjust the "weight" of the pull since this is achieved by changing the amount of water in the tank; and it is quiet enough to watch telly while using it without deafening the neighbours.

[andyjay]

I have a refurbed C2 Model C, with the most up to date electronic module thing. Also bought the storage card and HRM module to finish it all off. Brilliant machine, best exercise you can do apart from proper swimming training. It lives in the garage with a stereo and iPod to pass the time. Currently doing about 25k a week in an effort to get fitter.

Curtently doing 6:50 for 2k, and about 18 - 19mins for 5k, but haven't properly timed it yet as I not sure I can stand the pia/effort! The C2 website is also brilliant, there is so much free stuff and tips and tricks to train with. Every time I read it, I find something else new to read?

If you want to get fit, get a C2. Apparently, whilst in training for the 2004 world cup, Martin Johnson's knees had nearly packed p, so he did 85% of his fitness training on a C2. If it is good enough for him....

[johnfm]

Tried a water rower and a C2 today.

Pros and cons for each. Probably get the water rower, as I preferred the feel and the lower noise.

[mrpgkennedy]

i've had both, a water rower feels more like rowing, the concepts, feel like a concept. The concepts have always favoured having a big finish and a softer catch. You can't do this on the water rower and yes the water needs to be replaced often.

silly question, how close are you to a river you could row on, there's a company who's name escapes me who does training sculls that you can't flip but are still pretty nippy. In the end i missed the actual being on the water and bought one of those, similar money to an ergo but to be on the river is so much better. It's small and light enough to go on a roof rack, so just pop it on go down a real river, it's a much better way to be distracted from the pain.

[Tokyo Tokei]

Rowed a bit ( Imperial College ) in the past. Entered the Head of the River in 1989 and remember Steve Redgrave's eight came in around fourth. Can't recall, or have erased, where our boat finished

I do remember the training, running up and down the towpaths, crossing the bridges and then getting into a freezing Thames at Putney with ice forming on my shirt. As others have mentioned, the C2, or "erg" as we all called it, was the BEAST for indoor training even though we had a full tank trainer. I can fully understand the previous poster's comment about 10 minutes workout on it leaving him seeing stars. The machine just cannot be beaten.

The main issue I would have with one at home, apart from the space and noise, is that I'm not sure that outside of a competitive environment, I would ever regularly force myself to torture, I mean exercise, on it. The best exercise is the one you actually do.

Paul

[Seabadger]

Entered the Head of the River in 1989 and remember Steve Redgrave's eight came in around fourth. Can't recall, or have erased, where our boat finished

I think we were in the same race, then...

With regard to the two machines, as everyone else has said, the Concept II is the "industry" standard, but to be honest, for home use I think I'd go for a water rower. They're good enough, quieter (although I note people are saying that the latest ergs are less noisy) and in terms of my flat, it would spend most of its time tucked away in the living room, and the water rower would be better from that aspect. If one has a garage or spare room, probably not an issue.

As an aside, I don't know if any of the rowers here remember the pre-Concept II era? For ergo trials, the ARA used a small number of calibrated machines - they were hugely expensive and so there weren't that many in the country. At school, we looked after the machine that covered the north west, and it was an absolute beast - a huge contraption of levers, rods and pulleys set in a substantial metal frame; it took 4 people to carry it and needed a vast amount of space to be used in - probably about 15ft or so. It worked on a large metal flywheel with a belt providing tension, and in some respects probably felt slightly closer to being in a boat than either of the ones above. Almost completely silent as well...

[Tokyo Tokei]

Entered the Head of the River in 1989 and remember Steve Redgrave's eight came in around fourth. Can't recall, or have erased, where our boat finished

I think we were in the same race, then...

You know, now I come to think of it, I do recall passing a team in some difficulty :mrgreen: :bom:

Paul

[markie3182]

We have concept rowers in the gym I go to, been a member for 10 years and have never seen any of them not in working order, not sure I would want one in the house though.

[Seabadger]

Entered the Head of the River in 1989 and remember Steve Redgrave's eight came in around fourth. Can't recall, or have erased, where our boat finished

I think we were in the same race, then...

You know, now I come to think of it, I do recall passing a team in some difficulty :mrgreen: :bom:

Paul

I suspect we probably were - we were primarily down for the Schools' Head which was the day before that year, but my school had a spare place in the Head so we put a scratch crew together and made use of it. Hangovers feature pretty heavily in my memory of the event...

[tertius]

Entered the Head of the River in 1989 and remember Steve Redgrave's eight came in around fourth. Can't recall, or have erased, where our boat finished

I think we were in the same race, then...

Me too. We came 14th that year.

Having rowed at a pretty high standard, I would say Concept 2 all the way, though personally I wouldn't have one in or near the house ... the memories are too awful ... :D

[Tokyo Tokei]

@seabadger and @tertius : To be honest our team was rubbish so you probably passed us. Most teams did. I dimly recall looking to my right and watching a team of what appeared to be Boy Scouts pull up alongside, patiently adjust their woggles, and speed off. Our cox had previously given us all a pep-talk that alternated between the paternal "you know, gents, the rector is very proud of the rowing tradition here blah blah" and the maniacal "really ( looking right into your face ), when you joined this club, you did it because you wanted to beat the living $&@& out of the competition, right ? Every time right, go out and win every time. Destroy them. PUNISH them. Otherwise what's the point ?" and so on, punching his hand and getting quite wild-eyed. In the race he was screaming "If not now, WHEN ?" repeatedly, eyes popping, as we lumbered on to our unmemorable finish. I never raced nor faced an ergo showdown again.

Paul