Question on slides

mrwr382 · Post by **mrwr382** » April 11th, 2006, 1:43 pm

c2jonw wrote:mrwr382- 4" of shimming sounds like a lot to make the monorail level. All C2 rowers (mods A,B,C&D) have been designed with about 1-1/2" of forward slope to them. Check the assembly of the front legs as suggested- it has happened before. C2JonW

IMHO it is more comfortable to row on a level erg. I have verified my legs are attached properly. Checking with a good bubble level, 2.75 inches of shim make the monorail level. I believe it would be proper to adjust levelness by inserting a block into the rail/flywheel attachment joint.

Is there a reason the monorail slopes toward the flywheel; is that how sculls are adjusted (so the nose is out of the water)? or is there some biomechanical reason?

c2jonw · Post by **c2jonw** » April 11th, 2006, 9:06 pm

mrwr382- 2.75" sounds closer to normal.
The intent of the sloping monorail is to give a closer simulation of the biomechanics of the return portion of the stroke in a rowing shell. In a shell, contraction of the legs results (mostly) in the boat coming to you, since the boat is lighter than your body. On a rowing machine, the machine is stationary so your body has to move up to the catch. Thus the return phase takes more energy on the rower than in a boat if the monorail is level. A slight incline to the rail simply felt more like rowing. This was determined by simple trial while developing the Model A in 1980.
C2JonW