Concept2 Forum

I own a C2 Model D from 2005 with PM5. I use the machine for periods of time over the years, but I typically stop erg rowing due to other seasonal sports taking its place (eg hiking, golf, etc). I will never row competitively, eg CrossFit or Crash-B, or on the water. I prefer not to purchase a C2 Dynamic Rower because I find its complexity of pulleys and Dyneema unappealing. I have read other forum threads regarding slides and have some idea about the comparison of slides to non-slides for rowing times and splits. The cost and adequate indoor space are not issues for me. I do not have access to slides to try them personally.

I am contemplating slides for these three reasons:

Although I do not have any immediate orthopedic medical issues (eg low back pain, knees, hips), I am in my early 50s and wish to keep as low-impact in my rowing as possible over the years ahead.

I frequently row while watching a large-screen TV, and am wondering if doing so would be more comfortable with slides due to less back-and-forth motion of the eyes and head relative to the fixed-in-place TV.

Variety is crucial to me and I am wondering if the slides will give enough of a “different feel” (eg. smoothness, increased SPM, moving rower wt rather than body wt, etc.) that mixing slide workouts with my non-slide workouts would reduce long-term boredom over months to years of erg rowing (independent of row-alongs, challenges, teams, training partners, etc).

Am I barking up the wrong tree? Perhaps there are other slide benefits for non-competitive general fitness that I am missing, or maybe even the ones I have outlined are full of holes.

Thanks for any input or personal experience with incorporating slides into your workouts.

If you've got the room

https://shop.concept2.com/accessories/22-slide-pair.html wrote: Sliding single (one indoor rower on a pair of slides)—11 ft x 4 ft (335 cm x 122 cm)

And the $290 for the pair (you need two slides for the first ergo) then go for it.

If you don't have the space go for a dynamic.

There's a massive amount of difference between an ergo on slides and a grounded ergo as it completely changes which pieces move (ergo moves under you rather than you moving up and down the ergo rail).

I have a dynamic. Why? Terribly bad back. This was not my first choice, which were the sliders. Why? Cheaper & under C2's stellar customer support. But lack of space put a kibosh on that option quickly. I feel the dynamic will have many characteristics in common with a static on slides.

Positives: gentler on the body, easier to watch TV & aim the fan at yourself. I've read comments online on how the dynamic action is "fun", "enjoyable", "pleasurable", a "delight", "a real treat", etc, etc..... I definitely would NOT characterize it in those terms. It's still an indoor exercise machine, not a trip to Disneyland, for goodness sakes! But I can say that the movement interplay between the fan assembly & the seat is more interesting than the back-and-forth movement on a static. So, I suppose you could call it less boring, but I'd still rather be outside doing something else.

Another plus for me was it helped me clean up my horrible technique. I felt like a billiard ball bouncing off the front & back stops at first. Better now, but always working on perfecting my stroke. Sure, you can learn proper technique on a static, but a dynamic/slides sort of forces it on you. A static is just more tolerant of sloppy technique.

Negatives? Cost, for one. More moving parts, so slightly more maintenance & potentially less robust than the simpler Model D.

I think you will be very satisfied with your choice of slides.

If space isn't an issue then I'd say go for it. Regarding cost, I doubt the market for used slides is as robust as the market for ergs, but if you hate them, I bet it would be relatively easy to find a good home for them.

Caveat: I've never rowed on slides, but have thought about it. I'll probably get some eventually.

Maybe see if there is a rowing club in your area where you can try slides.

re: "...I frequently row while watching a large-screen TV, and am wondering if doing so would be more comfortable with slides due to less back-and-forth motion of the eyes and head relative to the fixed-in-place TV..."

Not sure what would upset my TV viewing more (a) rowing as you do today where you are constantly changing distance to TV, or (b) rowing on slides where you are moving a foot or so while the entire C2 is flowing a couple of feet to and fro. There's a lot of moving metal. Watch this guys head as he does a good job of using slides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXmCQzRIla8

re: "... mixing slide workouts with my non-slide workouts would reduce long-term boredom ..." My club does that during winter workouts (or did before covid). Slide use was maybe one session in 10, and no one was calling for more. That said, when we used them we made hooked together boats, not just each rower on a slide. Definitely adds variety, although I'm not sure if I would take a free pair given storage when not in use, additional space required when in use. YMMV.

Thank you all for taking the time to comment.

Citroen, thanks, you have lots of experience and have confirmed the "massive amount of difference" between static and slides, so that's one of my three concerns addressed. Thank you.

mict450, thank you for sharing your dynamic ownership experience. You have a great wit, enjoyed that in the Positives section. haha. Disneyland...outside doing something else. Good point about technique...I didnt think of that, but I can see that would be another positive. And you have a bad back and can use the dynamic...I am trying to avoid a bad back, so the gentler on the body makes sense. And the TV watching, too. Appreciate your encouragement to get some.

Tsnor, not having access to rowing clubs, I appreciate your insight as a rower. I see from your video link that the guy on slides--and an excellent form rower, it seems--still has a lot of head movement. Your notion that slides might not help as much as I imagine with TV viewing is a good one. And your club experience with some slides, and "no one is calling for more" lol, I hear you. Does add variety, thats what I want, but good point about the storage when not in use. Ugh! Good advice, thanks.

I have slides under my model C. I bought them when I sold a boat but still wanted the feel of a boat. I only removed them during the last month of training for the winter erg races, which are on static ergs.

The major difference I notice is the catch. That "gap" and hard catch on the static is almost eliminated on the slides. It does feel different but not significantly, to me anyway. It just makes the motion more fluid and smooth. If your technique is good, there should not be big differences. YMMV.

If you have the room, I'd definitely go for it. On some rows I put on a scenery or race video where I can hear the action of the rowing (no music), close my eyes, match the stroke rate and imagine rowing on the water. Very nice!

Cyclist2 wrote: ↑

December 30th, 2020, 11:07 pm

The major difference I notice is the catch. That "gap" and hard catch on the static is almost eliminated on the slides. It does feel different but not significantly, to me anyway. It just makes the motion more fluid and smooth.

You bring up a good point, Mark. There is practically no slack on a dynamic. You pretty much have instantaneous engagement at the catch. I like it!

Nice description, Eric. Smooth, especially at the catch. And confirmed by Mark. Appreciate the perspective. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy a pair of slides and it'll be a lifelong investment (unless they redesign the C2 erg enough that I can't use the slides on any new erg...lol) Thanks.

Sorry, I got your names backwards. But thanks

I hope you’ll update this thread if you proceed with the slides. I’ve wondered if they might be a good add eventually and would be interested in hearing your first impressions, as well as a bit of ongoing experience, with them.

I would be interested as well.

I think people get slides for different reasons. I had someone tell me they went for slides because of their back, but if you row over 8300m in 30 minutes on slides and somehow you cannot row at all on a static then something doesn't quite line up. I suspect the performance gains if your tall and heavy made slides quite attractive. Nothing like an extra few hundred meters on your 30 minute time to want to continue using them if you have that competitive streak.

Although I do not have any immediate orthopedic medical issues (eg low back pain, knees, hips), I am in my early 50s and wish to keep as low-impact in my rowing as possible over the years ahead.

I've found that using low drag and classic rowing technique on a grounded erg not only avoids problems but can also cure them.

To some extent the dynamics of a machine on slides allows a longer stroke without use of high drag so should be even more favourable. Smoother catch as noted above. Needless to say I don't pull very hard in any case: ergdata tells me around 35kg average.

Thanks for your input, Rick, Carl, and James.

I'm a bit concerned about the noise (a "clattering" is what someone mentioned to me, privately) of the slides. I like the solid feeling and whoosh of the static erg, and I'm unsure if the noise would be an issue--not the volume so much as the loss of tranquility

If I buy the slides, though, I will definitely update impressions accordingly.

StevenWayne wrote: ↑

February 9th, 2021, 2:33 pm

I'm a bit concerned about the noise (a "clattering" is what someone mentioned to me, privately) of the slides. I like the solid feeling and whoosh of the static erg, and I'm unsure if the noise would be an issue--not the volume so much as the loss of tranquility

My slides are perfectly quiet. I suspect that the noisy slides are because the rollers and tracks are very dirty and there is lots of bouncing as they move. I clean the rail of my erg every row and I check and clean the slide rails and rollers about once a month. I don't leave the heavy erg sitting on the two carriages between rows (lift the erg off the carriages, and set it on the frame - you don't have to move the slides every time). This prevents the rollers from making indentations in the rails, which are pliable material. I'd feel those dents!