MyRow took my Concept2 rower and made it sensible

I’ve been wishing for a product like MyRow to return onto the market for so long as I can keep in mind. I like rowing, and personal a Concept2 Model D, which is without doubt one of the world’s hottest rowing machines. Concept2’s ergometers — which is the flamboyant phrase for “rowing machine” — are a mainstay of gyms all all over the world. However the Vermont-based firm has dragged its toes in the case of embracing the sensible health revolution. One of the best it affords is a few clips on its newest machine that can be utilized to carry a third-party pill in place.

Impressed by Peloton, loads of different corporations have bolted HD screens with dwell courses to their fitness center tools. However Concept2 remains to be standing by the PM5, a little bit black field with a liquid crystal show that debuted in 2014 which shows stats like your break up occasions and stroke fee. Should you can’t fairly think about how I really feel: It’s as if you happen to personal a Recreation Boy, and everybody else on the planet is rocking a Steam Deck. To try to enhance issues, I purchased a little bit 3D-printed smartphone holder from eBay however, even so, it’s onerous to not really feel short-changed.

Step ahead MyRow, the brainchild of Gary Simpson, founding father of Transit Wi-fi, the corporate that introduced cell service to the New York Metropolis subway. Whereas sheltering in place from COVID, he had a Concept2 and a Peloton bike at residence to assist preserve in form. Again at CES, he instructed me, regardless of his love of rowing, he would typically default to the bike with its shiny display and video courses. Impressed, he based MyRow within the spirit of bringing one thing just like the Concept2.

The tip product is an internet-connected show that may be retrofitted onto a Concept2 Mannequin C, D, E or RowErg as long as it’s geared up with the PM5. The package deal features a 22-inch show, energy adapter and the mounting arm you’ll must bolt onto the rower. As soon as put in, you possibly can entry on-demand video courses and digital exercise guides, in addition to only a nicer solution to stare at your rowing stats in comparison with the sub-Recreation Boy show you’re used to.

Set up took me lower than half an hour, and most of that was simply bolting the mounting arm onto the rower. Keep in mind, you’ll must run an information cable from the PM5 to MyRow because the pill can’t interface with the machine instantly. I hope you’re good at cable administration, because you’ll must discover a solution to elegantly route the information and energy cables alongside the physique of the rower.

Beneath the hood, MyRow is only a skinned Android pill which takes a minute in addition, with software program updates taking one other minute. Given the gadget is so new, there have been numerous updates, together with the addition of plans and options. The UI is straightforward sufficient, with large goal packing containers and clear traces, which is good if it’s worthwhile to change a setting mid-row.

There’s a stunning quantity of connectivity on this factor, too, with ports for Ethernet, USB-C, micro-USB, USB-A and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Plus, it’s Bluetooth and ANT+ appropriate for any wi-fi headphones or heart-rate screens you employ. There’s a forward-facing webcam within the physique that isn’t getting used for something proper now. The corporate is seeking to construct a type evaluation software that’ll harness it will definitely, and may use the digital camera to boost group rows.

As soon as your toes are strapped in and also you’ve obtained one hand on the seize, it’s time to choose your exercise. Customers can choose from video exercises, in addition to preset and customized coaching plans that can simply throw your intervals on the display. The stats are laid out like just about each different on-demand health class, along with your key vitals operating alongside the underside. That features energy burned, distance rowed, stroke fee, tempo per 500 meters, common tempo, stroke size, energy and common energy.

On the left aspect of the show, you’ll get a timeline exhibiting you when the subsequent inside is, and on the right-hand aspect, a leaderboard for the video class you’re taking part in. I shocked myself, as a result of I don’t consider myself as somebody who’s that aggressive, however the leaderboards introduced one thing out in me. The very fact I used to be capable of leap into the highest 10 in various courses is, I’m certain, simply all the way down to MyRow’s presently small consumer base. However, a win is a win.

As a lot as I get pleasure from utilizing MyRow, I do have one gripe given the customized nature of the product. Concept2’s rowing machines use air resistance, so if you pull the chain you’re driving a fan. A fan which kicks out sufficient noise that it could drown out the trainer’s voice and music even if you flip the quantity as much as max. Perhaps sharper-eared rowers gained’t discover it an issue, however I want they’d have made extra effort to compensate for the final noise of the rower.

Now, 2024 has been a 12 months of rigorous self-examination and one the place I’m humble sufficient to confess my flaws. I’m practically 40 and I’m by no means going to magically evolve into a type of individuals who cares about their very own marginal positive factors. I’m not going to have a look at a countdown timer, examine it to my earlier lap’s greatest after which attempt to beat it frequently. And as a lot as I like rowing, I get bored, and a giant display might alleviate that if I can watch the streaming service of my alternative whereas I achieve this.

That is why I’m excited to know that MyRow has promised to combine streaming movies into its platform by spring 2025. As a result of if you’re not taking an on-demand video class, you’re simply observing a well-designed stats display. The earlier we will add any kind of leisure to that, even when it’s only a clip of somebody rowing down a good looking river, the higher.

I’m optimistic about MyRow’s potential to assist flip the Concept2 right into a machine that’s a little bit friendlier, even for its diehard customers. It’s available to buy now, with the pill setting you again $500 and the membership prices both $36 a month or $359.88 if you happen to pay for the 12 months, which represents a 20 % low cost. Should you get the pill by itself, nonetheless, you’ll nonetheless have the ability to use the Simply Row function, though it’s a hefty worth for mainly higher knowledge visualization.