Concept2 Forum

Hi All,

Obtained my C2 last Friday. Been getting twenty minutes in each day, slowly ramping up the intensity, and enjoying every minute

Used to hit the gym, both strength training and cardio (HIIT) five days a week. Covid-19 threw a wrench into that, from which I never recovered. Now my gym's closing its doors. So I decided to go the home gym route. The C2 was my choice for cardio.

I created a spreadsheet in which I'm tracking:

• Date
• Damper setting
• Time (elapsed)
• Meters
• Pace/500m
• Strokes/Min.
• Watts, avg.
• Cal/Hr, displayed
• Weight (for the two following)
• Cal/Hr, true
• Cals total
• Heart rate, avg (from Apple Watch)

Any suggestions on other stats I should track?

Thanks!

Don't bother with calories, they aren't in any way accurate.

Look at watts and pace/rate.

Instead of damper setting us Drag Factor. If you’ve not considered this before it will be useful to track your performance and perceived effort with different DFs so you can work out what is the best for you.

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Citroen wrote: ↑

November 9th, 2022, 6:09 pm

Don't bother with calories, they aren't in any way accurate.

FWIW: The PM3 on my C2 agreed with my Apple Watch w/in 5 kcals for two of the three sessions. For the session in which the difference was 14 kcals, the my weight in Apple Health was out-of-date.

In any event: I regard it as a valuable metric for me, as it'll roughly tell me how I'm doing compared to what I used to do when my cardio was at or near the top of my form, years ago.

Citroen wrote: ↑

November 9th, 2022, 6:09 pm

Look at watts and pace/rate.

Yup, doing those.

Tony Cook wrote: ↑

November 9th, 2022, 7:07 pm

Instead of damper setting us Drag Factor.

Assuming consistent altitude, relatively consistent temperature, humidity, and fan/cage cleanliness, the DF vs. damper setting will remain constant, no? (Speaking of which: I should probably pull the fan cover and check the condition of the fan and the inside of the cage.)

The way I'm currently recording my metrics is by quickly scrolling through three screens directly following a session, snapping photos of each with my phone, and later entering them into my spreadsheet. Crude, yes, but it's the only way I have and not all that much effort. Getting DF that way, each time, could be tricky?

Tony Cook wrote: ↑

November 9th, 2022, 7:07 pm

If you’ve not considered this before it will be useful to track your performance and perceived effort with different DFs so you can work out what is the best for you.

This comment led me to researching damper setting vs. DF, which led me to the ZOAR Drag Factor Test. Is that a reasonable/effective way to figure that out?

Hi, most of these data, including drag factor, are logged in a logbook which is free to use. You only have to connect your phone to rower using ergData provided by c2 (or similar app from other 3rd parties).
If you never saw how it looks like - link in my signature to my log, all should be visible.
Would be much easier to transfer the data to your sheet, as you don't need the snapshots.

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:04 am

You only have to connect your phone to rower using ergData provided by c2 (or similar app from other 3rd parties).

My C2 has a PM3, so no Bluetooth connectivity.

jseymour wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:36 am

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:04 am

You only have to connect your phone to rower using ergData provided by c2 (or similar app from other 3rd parties).

My C2 has a PM3, so no Bluetooth connectivity.

As far as I know PM3/4 support USB cable connection. On Android devices you only need an OTG adapter to enable the host mode.
Before ergData major update I used cable connection as well for the PM5, but now only BT is supported by the app. For PM3/4 there is the old app available.

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:41 am

As far as I know PM3/4 support USB cable connection.

Well Doh! I never thought to check that.

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:41 am

On Android devices you only need an OTG adapter to enable the host mode.

We use iThings.

But I may need to update the firmware in the PM3. It's currently on v304. The only MS-Win machine I have to do an update is an older laptop with Win7 Pro on it. Plus the info on Apple's App store says I also need "A cable that may be available from liverowing.com" (it is: $60) and a USB OTG Adaptor.

I like data, and it would be nice to get the data more easily, but I'm not certain all that is worth the money and effort to me. (Particularly given all the ErgData wonkiness I'm seeing reported in the Ergdata, Online Racing, Rowpro & RowIt section )

jseymour wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 10:13 am

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:41 am

As far as I know PM3/4 support USB cable connection.

Well Doh! I never thought to check that.

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:41 am

On Android devices you only need an OTG adapter to enable the host mode.

We use iThings.

But I may need to update the firmware in the PM3. It's currently on v304. The only MS-Win machine I have to do an update is an older laptop with Win7 Pro on it. Plus the info on Apple's App store says I also need "A cable that may be available from liverowing.com" (it is: $60) and a USB OTG Adaptor.

I like data, and it would be nice to get the data more easily, but I'm not certain all that is worth the money and effort to me. (Particularly given all the ErgData wonkiness I'm seeing reported in the Ergdata, Online Racing, Rowpro & RowIt section )

You can get a simple printer/USB cable for a PM3/4 connection......Ebay/Amazon and they are cheap as chips. I bought the one below....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

They an OTG cable which is also cheao.....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

The PM3/4 needs to have the latest firmware on it for sure.

Then you can connect both cables to phone/PM, open Ergdata and Bob's your Uncle . I have been using this method for the last couple of years on the older machines in my work gym. At home I have a PM5 so it's all bluetooth.

jseymour wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 10:13 am

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:41 am

As far as I know PM3/4 support USB cable connection.

Well Doh! I never thought to check that.

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:41 am

On Android devices you only need an OTG adapter to enable the host mode.

We use iThings.

But I may need to update the firmware in the PM3. It's currently on v304. The only MS-Win machine I have to do an update is an older laptop with Win7 Pro on it. Plus the info on Apple's App store says I also need "A cable that may be available from liverowing.com" (it is: $60) and a USB OTG Adaptor.

I like data, and it would be nice to get the data more easily, but I'm not certain all that is worth the money and effort to me. (Particularly given all the ErgData wonkiness I'm seeing reported in the Ergdata, Online Racing, Rowpro & RowIt section )

Ok, iThings never used, but know that it's different (at least in terms of money and connectivity)
Firmware update should also be possible with a Mac or a prepared USB stick.

Obviously it is cheaper to get an old Android device (perhaps anyone has an old phone?!) and OTG adapter (<5€/$) to use it with the PM. Android supports USB host mode since Android 4 when I remember right.

Thanks for the connectivity suggestions, guys, but I'll just stick with what I'm doing. It works well enough for my purposes, is trouble-free, and costs me no more than a few minutes time typing the data in.

No problem
Comfort comes with some costs. I often also stick to less comfortable solutions as not willing to pay for more comfort

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 11:57 am

No problem
Comfort comes with some costs. I often also stick to less comfortable solutions as not willing to pay for more comfort

I'm often perfectly willing to pay for greater comfort or convenience. In this case the returns don't seem worth the investment, to me.

jseymour wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 12:51 pm

Sakly wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 11:57 am

No problem
Comfort comes with some costs. I often also stick to less comfortable solutions as not willing to pay for more comfort

I'm often perfectly willing to pay for greater comfort or convenience. In this case the returns don't seem worth the investment, to me.

The investment would be ~50€ for an old Android device + OTG Adapter. And the update of PM at no cost
If you need to update your sheet anyway as you calculate stuff in it, then it makes no sense at all.

jseymour wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2022, 10:13 am

But I may need to update the firmware in the PM3. It's currently on v304.

Are all PM3's capable of this, or is there a hardware limitation? I ask as I never got the PM3 in my gym to work (but they never updated them as far as I can tell).