Concept2 Forum

Hi all

I cannot believe I am the first to ask about this . . .

The ergs at the gym at work are quite old. The ones at my home gym are the same make but clearly much newer. For some reason, I can't help feeling that the ones at work are much easier. I can't prove it, but when I broke my 6k record recently on the home gym erg, I felt sure I would have done much better on the work erg.

Does this happen?

Giles

Gilesyb wrote:Hi all

I cannot believe I am the first to ask about this . . .

The ergs at the gym at work are quite old. The ones at my home gym are the same make but clearly much newer. For some reason, I can't help feeling that the ones at work are much easier. I can't prove it, but when I broke my 6k record recently on the home gym erg, I felt sure I would have done much better on the work erg.

Does this happen?

Giles

An Older machine "feels" lighter. The dragfactor gets lower due to dust in the machine. You probably set the damper at 10 ?
To see what drag you have on a machine press rest and ok and start rowing. the number you see on he right unther is the drag.
On a model D look onther settings for the dragfactor.
If you want to know more about this subject look around on the forum ( also the uk one)

But tp cut the story short. A lower drag is not easier. Just differant. The fan slows down slower.

found this :

. Resistance level -- Drag factor

The resistance you experience comes from the acceleration of air by means of the fan in the circular housing at the front end of the erg. The leaver on the side of the fan opens or closes the fan (resistance level setting). The more air you let in the more air you have to accelerate and the more resistance you will experience. How much air gets accelerated depends on how far the fan intake is opened (resistance level setting) but also on the condition of the machine (dust in the fan intake and on the fan blades).

Consequently the same level setting on different machines can lead to different actual resistance levels. To account for these differences we have the so called drag factor, a normalized measure of the actual resistance. Equal drag factor on different machines means equal resistance. The erg can measure and display the drag factor. To display the drag factor at any given resistance level setting proceed as follows:

PM2/PM2+ monitor: Clear the monitor (press Off/On twice). Now hold down both the "rest" and "OK" button. The word "drag" appears in the lower right corner of the monitor. Row for a while at 2:15 splits. The drag factor will be displayed in field labelled "drag".
PM3 monitor: Press "other options", then "display drag factor" and proceed as above.

Now move the resistance lever up and down (while rowing) and observe how the drag factor changes.

Which drag factor should you be using: 100 - 130 is a good setting for most but opinions on this differ. There is much discussion of the drag factor on this message board. My own preference is for the lower end of the range. Note that these settings correspond to low resistance settings on the erg. It is a common mistake for beginners to be on level 10.

Great reply, entirely answers my question.

And great PB's - I think I will have to row a few more million metres to beat those!

Giles

hjs wrote:But tp cut the story short. A lower drag is not easier. Just differant. The fan slows down slower.

I think this could be misleading. A lower drag is easier. It's just not easier for high speeds, because it's tough to move the handle any faster.

Gilesyb wrote:The ergs at the gym at work are quite old. The ones at my home gym are the same make but clearly much newer. For some reason, I can't help feeling that the ones at work are much easier. I can't prove it, but when I broke my 6k record recently on the home gym erg, I felt sure I would have done much better on the work erg.

I feel that my model B is slightly faster than the model C, though because of logistics and newness the C is the one that I row on the most. Also the B "feels" much smoother than the C, and the sound from the cogwheel is less. The drag factors and fan resistance are the same.

One very obvious reason the older gym ergs you row on could be faster is the tension of the shock cord. Check and see if the resistance to the cage is much less with the older machines. If so, then this is a very likely reason they are faster.

Other reasons are likewise anything to do with internal resistances that are not related to the drag factor. Perhaps the chain is not as smooth sliding over the cogwheel. This is what I feel on the C. There is quite a bit of vibration as the chain slides over the cogwheel on the C, to the extent that it bothers my hands, whereas the chain on the B is so very smooth and quiet. I'm sure this definitely makes a difference to the times. It might not be much but it does amount to something and adds up.

Does the tension of the shock cord on an erg change the pace that a given effort will produce? I hope not. That would really mess things up in terms of racing.

Hmmmmm

John

Of course it does.

Consider if you could hardly pull the shock cord back on it's own.

In such a case you wouldn't be able to apply nearly much speed to the handle.

The more tension from the shock cord, the less speed you'll be able to apply to the handle.

John Rupp wrote:Of course it does.

Consider if you could hardly pull the shock cord back on it's own.

In such a case you wouldn't be able to apply nearly much speed to the handle.

The more tension from the shock cord, the less speed you'll be able to apply to the handle.

Well in that case there is never a 'level playing field' when it comes to racing. That can not be fair, surely?

John

Well hopefully the floor will be level.

John Foy wrote:Does the tension of the shock cord on an erg change the pace that a given effort will produce? I hope not. That would really mess things up in terms of racing.

Hmmmmm

John

The PM2 / PM3 reads the angular velocity of the flywheel and the acceleration / deceleration of the flywheel (nothing more / nothing less). So the tension in the shock cords has no effect on deceleration of the flywheel. The drag factor will compensate for crud in the fan and altitude.

http://www-atm.physics.ox.ac.uk/rowing/ ... meter.html

John Rupp wrote: The more tension from the shock cord, the less speed you'll be able to apply to the handle.

On the contrary, a taut shock cord transmits applied power to the flywheel. A slack cord fails to pick up the catch. To use an OTW analogy, the slack cord misses water.

A slack cord fails to pick up the catch.

If it is too slack sure. At one time the shock cord on my model B was only coming within 6 inches of the cage and was no tighter than this. Up to then it was fine for rowing at all distances. Then it was getting so it was not quite catching for sprints so I snugged it back up to the cage.

The shock cord should come up to the fan cage on it's own and stay there.

A cord that is too slack can be slow on the catch as you've said.

A too tight shock cord can cause increased resistance on the drive.

RTFA I refered to; you total BOZO.