Good experience using the EndureRow seat!

[Rick]

I have searched, read, and posted in several threads pertaining to seat comfort, pads, and derrière injuries sustained from longer distance erging on our beloved rowing machine. Having used several thicknesses of pads from Hornet, and a Vapor Fitness silicone seat cover, I’ve experienced varying levels of success in fighting glute fatigue and discomfort, along with a relatively painful abrasion that would form right at the base of my tailbone in a most unpleasant location… let’s call it an upper crack scuff. I felt, at the least, somewhat less embarrassed about that one after finding others discussing the same issue in this very forum.

So, when I researched possible fixes, the EndureRow seat kept popping up. Looking at photos of it, there were holes or cut-outs in all the right places, it seemed very well constructed of quality materials, made in the USA, and (unlike many things now) was actually in stock! Price was a tad steep, but a sore bum has a way of making you price-flexible. All the reviews I could find were good and there is a 30 day return, so I placed the order.

It is always a good sign when a company responds with an order acknowledgment, and follows that up with a shipping notice the next day. Shipping was cheap, but they shipped it FedEx 2-day! Positive vibes about the company already. It did indeed arrive two days after I ordered, and included brief instructions, screws, and a wrench. The screws are shorter than the C2 screws, just FYI. I removed the C2 seat from the roller assembly, one screw breaking off in the threaded collet in the process… going to have to drill that out if this seat doesn’t work! I placed the EndureRow seat on the roller assembly and tightened it down.

It’s actually a nice looking seat, with the mounting plate made of grey carbon fiber showing through the tailbone cutout. There are two slightly oblong (side to side) holes through the seat for your sitz bones to occupy. On first sit down, I tried to sit more to the front, as that was where, visually, the bulk of the seat appears to be. That wasn’t comfortable and put pressure on the tailbone. I slid back a bit, and felt almost like I “clicked” into position. No pressure anywhere. Hmmmm… promising.

My wife was due for her session, so she tried it first. She wasn’t sure if she preferred it or the old seat feeling. Then I put one of the thin pads on the seat, and she really liked it. You still get the relief of pressure with a pad, but a more solid feeling. She completed her workout and said the seat felt good to her. I tried it the following morning, doing about 12K in two interval sessions; one more steady distance, one sprints. I really liked it… no pads, just the seat, which is a touch softer than the C2 seat. Not only did it eliminate the discomfort, but the seat really stays with you under high intensity rowing. One thing I disliked about the pads was a tendency to shift when you’re at max effort. None of that here. I felt solidly connected the whole way.

So, we’ve put about 45K in on it since it arrived. My wife likes it, and so far I’m loving it. It fixed every seat problem I was having, the company seems solid and is responsive, and installation is 4 screws out, 4 new screws in… done. I’ll update this thread if I have any problems. So far, it’s a marked improvement in comfort.

Note: the seat sits slightly lower than the C2. Some might need a foot stretcher adjustment, but my wife’s worked fine as was, and I think mine is even a tad better.

All in all, the EndureRow seat makes the world’s best rowerg even better. Price was $112.99 shipped in the US, and they will ship overseas. Check their site, if interested, for more info and pictures. EndureRow.com

[Fig]

Excellent review Rick! I am blessed (from many years of road bike riding) with a bum that is comfortable on just about anything . I find the stock seat just fine, but I am sure there are many out there that could benefit from an "upgrade" such as this. Sounds like a quality product, though a bit pricy, that delivers what it promises.

[Rick]

Just an update, following week #4 of the Dog Days of August challenge (completed!). The seat remains a more comfortable option for me. I find that you can still make yourself uncomfortable by sitting in the wrong way, so this is reminding me to sit up and straight, and not toward my tailbone with a curved back… something I apparently need reminding on! Perhaps that was part of the issue with the stock seat, being more me than it as a problem. At any rate, this seat is working well, and of course I have the original seat should I ever desire to go back to it.

So far, all good. Once I get a couple of hundred km on it, I’ll report back.

[Squeekybobo]

Just wanted to add another positive review of the Endurerow seat… far less discomfort for me on the longer distance rows.

I also second the comment that it feels like it “locks” you in place, so I’m not fidgetting around nearly half as much as I was with the std seat (+ vapourware cover).

Great service too

Tom

[jsarche]

I decided to take the leap on an EndureRow seat this fall and wanted to post about my experience now that I've rowed about 100K meters with it. There are so few reviews of this seat (at least I was able to find only a handful I found helpful - including the original post in this thread), that I thought another opinion may help those who are trying to decide whether to give it a try.

I'd say it took me maybe 15K to 20K meters before I felt I was used to the seat and could position myself well on it. During that "break-in" time, I kept waffling between giving up or keeping the seat, and I'm so glad I chose the latter. Now, after a few weeks of use, I don't think I'll ever go back to the stock seat. I feel more connected to the machine, and I find I don't wiggle around nearly as much as before trying to find the right position on the seat; with the stock seat, I'd unintentionally slide around a little bit and have to readjust my position every so often, and that was distracting and annoying.

The EndureRow seat really seems to lock me into the right position. I'm finding it to be very comfortable, with just the right amount of padding. In workouts ranging from short, sharp sprints to much longer pieces, haven't felt any need to use any supplemental pads and don't think I will need to, but then again, I never used pads with the stock seat unless I knew I'd be erging for more than an hour or so at a time. The seat is thinner than stock, and the company advises lowering the foot stretchers by a notch to compensate, but I must have been between holes on the stretchers before; after one relatively uncomfortable workout, I raised them back to where I'd originally set them.

Some of the testimonials on the EndureRow web site are from people saying they are faster with the seat. I don't think I could make that claim. I just know that feeling locked into position and more connected to the machine makes for a more efficient stroke, and I feel better on this seat than with the stock seat. If you're thinking about it, I'd say give it a try. It is a little bit pricey, but in my mind, it's totally worth it, and the company's return policy seems pretty generous. I highly recommend it!

[EAB1]

Agree with the comment it takes just a bit of time to settle into this seat. I too replaced my seat a couple months ago as I was getting jammed up with piriformis symptoms that I couldn't clear. Had been using the foam cushion on the standard seat but each time I thought I was ready to get back into the erg earlier this year it would flare at some point during a session and set me back. Felt like I had rolled over something, in me.

I'd had no problems with the standard C2 seat over the years! But this spring I was getting pinched on my back left side and no matter what I did I couldn't avoid it. Started thinking it was overuse, my positioning/biomechanics, and frankly a relatively recent lack of padding my body brought to the table that gave me the perfect storm (some seriously-high for me meters and weight loss didn't mix well).

My reason for getting the seat was to find something that fit my back end more like the Model B seat which fit well. With some recent meters on the ER seat I'm cautiously optimistic - I've had no flares/setbacks upon my latest sustained restart on the erg. For me I think it just fits me better as I don't get the sensation that I had recently started to get on the stock seat that I was rolling over a band in my hind-end as I row no matter how hard I try to position myself and hinge correctly. Fingers crossed.

[Carl Watts]

No problems with the standard seat myself, must have a big ass or something.

Just some notes that the old black Model C seat is harder than the newer Model D with the grey seat. Like any rubber its also likely to harden with age.

The C2 seat is way more comfortable than my bike seat thats for sure, it used to take me weeks to not get off that and not have a sore ass.

I think for most people just more training and your bum would get used to the standard seat.

[Ombrax]

Just some notes that the old black Model C seat is harder than the newer Model D with the grey seat. Like any rubber its also likely to harden with age.

+1 on this.

On my Model C I use the C2 pad. On the gym's Model E I don't need it.

I don't know how much of that is due to age, but either way, my butt can tell the difference.

[Carl Watts]

Only a very few people must have a problem with a new grey Concept 2 seat. I would say that very poor Glute muscle development is the issue. I mean if the seat was dead flat you may have an argument but its pretty heavily contoured with a huge surface area of contact.

It would be interesting to know if the problem still existed after 6 months of decent training and then trying the seat without the pad.

[jackarabit]

Jsarche writes:

Some of the testimonials on the EndureRow web site are from people saying they are faster with the seat. I don't think I could make that claim. I just know that feeling locked into position and more connected to the machine makes for a more efficient stroke, and I feel better on this seat than with the stock seat. If you're thinking about it, I'd say give it a try. It is a little bit pricey, but in my mind, it's totally worth it, and the company's return policy seems pretty generous. I highly recommend it!

THIS. I stayed with the stock model D seat for 2 yrs and 7MM meters b4 springing for the EndureRow. No regrets.

[Rick]

I’m sure opinions, just like backsides, might vary from person to person. One mentioned piriformis syndrome, something I’ve also struggled with and try to avoid aggravating. I’ve got somewhere between 700 to 800k on the new seat so far, and still like it over the stock seat. I’m not slagging on the stock seat, it’s fine and I’d still be using it if I didn’t have options to try. I found something that works better for me.

My hope in bringing it here remains that if someone else were to be struggling with the same difficulties, they might give it a shot and maybe get a little relief and a lot more meters. In the end (no pun intended), that’s the goal. Telling everyone to grin and bear it is just foolish when there are options, and good options that have worked for many here.

The stock seat is great for many, probably most, people who row. That’s a credit to C2, and a good design. If it isn’t working for you, try something else. Don’t quit.

[jnoble123]

A lot of really good information in this thread already!

Another tip that works for me personally for longer more steady paced rowing sessions consider having a particular tv/netflick etc series that you only allow yourself to watch while rowing. Many single episode tv shows are about 40 - 45 minutes in length which can make it both a motivator to row due to wanting to watch a favourite show as well as a motivator to keep going while watching.

A good set of blue tooth ear buds with possibly a bluetooth transmitter if needed for your tv can also help a lot with being able to hear the dialog.

Finally the CBreeze fan sleeve is also great for giving you a nice airflow while rowing.

I hope this helps you, it does help me!

[Rick]

One last update, to put a better longer-term spin on this thread. I’m now well over one million meters in on the EndureRow seat, and it is still performing well. While I’d have kept rowing with the stock seat, this has been a clear upgrade for me and was well worth the price. No regrets at all, and the quality has proven to be there. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a change or some help with sitz bones discomfort.

YMMV (your meterage may vary) and all that, but I’m very satisfied with this seat.

[Ron Ginsberg]

I thought I'd also weigh in on this topic. I had a model B and loved the seat; however I did experience some fatigue on long rows. When I purchased a model D in 2004, it came with a black seat of a different shape. I was selling my model B, but I had a chance to compare the two seat designs. I was torn because I preferred the shape of the model B seat, but I enjoyed the slight extra padding built into the model D seat. So I kept the D seat and sold the B seat with the rower (I wish I had kept the model B but I didn't need it at the time). On long rows I've found the old black D seat caused pins and needles in my butt. So over a year ago when I saw references to the EdureRow seat I thought I'd try it because it appeared to be well made and similar in design to the model B seat. My advice is to carefully follow the installation directions so that the mounting screws are set in position correctly and that you use the screws supplied. And as mentioned, you may need to adjust your foot stretcher. When I first used it, I liked it, but on longer rows I felt some fatigue. It took a couple of weeks for my butt to get used to the seat. Once it did, there was no comparison. I can now row for two hours with no problems whatsoever. This seat is clearly the most comfortable seat I've ever used. I would suggest that anyone who has seat issues try it out but keep at it for a few weeks if it doesn't seem quite right at first. As an aside, this seat is really high quality and it also looks great. I just purchased a C2 Dynamic, and this came with a grey seat that is even softer than my black Model D seat. I felt this new grey seat was not very comfortable. I rowed with it for only a day or two while I waited for a new EndureRow seat to arrive. This. time I kept my old rower for a different location. By the way, I really like the Dynamic!

[Rick]

I thought I'd also weigh in on this topic. I had a model B and loved the seat; however I did experience some fatigue on long rows. When I purchased a model D in 2004, it came with a black seat of a different shape. I was selling my model B, but I had a chance to compare the two seat designs. I was torn because I preferred the shape of the model B seat, but I enjoyed the slight extra padding built into the model D seat. So I kept the D seat and sold the B seat with the rower (I wish I had kept the model B but I didn't need it at the time). On long rows I've found the old black D seat caused pins and needles in my butt. So over a year ago when I saw references to the EdureRow seat I thought I'd try it because it appeared to be well made and similar in design to the model B seat. My advice is to carefully follow the installation directions so that the mounting screws are set in position correctly and that you use the screws supplied. And as mentioned, you may need to adjust your foot stretcher. When I first used it, I liked it, but on longer rows I felt some fatigue. It took a couple of weeks for my butt to get used to the seat. Once it did, there was no comparison. I can now row for two hours with no problems whatsoever. This seat is clearly the most comfortable seat I've ever used. I would suggest that anyone who has seat issues try it out but keep at it for a few weeks if it doesn't seem quite right at first. As an aside, this seat is really high quality and it also looks great. I just purchased a C2 Dynamic, and this came with a grey seat that is even softer than my black Model D seat. I felt this new grey seat was not very comfortable. I rowed with it for only a day or two while I waited for a new EndureRow seat to arrive. This. time I kept my old rower for a different location. By the way, I really like the Dynamic!

Hey Ron,

Yes, I have to agree. I’m nearly two years in on using it now and I wouldn’t trade it. It works so well for me. My wife likes it but prefers a flatter seat, so we just put the silicone seat cover on it that we bought for the stock seat. She likes it and says the holes below make it more comfortable. I’m definitely glad I swapped and, should I ever buy another erg, it’ll get one too!