Model E coming in September?

[lurker]

OK I have been saving up money for awhile to get a concept 2 rower and now that theres going to be 3 choices I am confused as to which I should get. I am just planning on using it by myself at home, I have tried rowpro so I would like to be able to connect to the PC to use that, is there any advantage of the PM4 over PM3 for someone like me?

[Warduke]

Looks like the new Model D color scheme is out.

[skippyonthewater]

D
D2
E

http://www.c2shop.co.uk/shop/new_models.php?

No idea if the links worked but you get the idea

[Citroen]

OK I have been saving up money for awhile to get a concept 2 rower and now that theres going to be 3 choices I am confused as to which I should get. I am just planning on using it by myself at home, I have tried rowpro so I would like to be able to connect to the PC to use that, is there any advantage of the PM4 over PM3 for someone like me?

You could go for model C with PM2+, PM3 or PM4, model D with PM3, model D with PM4 or model E.

The only advantages over PM3, that I can see for a home user is the rechargable battery pack and the support for ANT wireless Suunto HRMs in the PM4.

[Spectre]

I got to try the new E at the masters National regatta in Seattle this weekend. the PM4 is cool and the wireless racing works well. we had fun doing 100m sprints against each other. There is no difference in the machines other than the E is higher and has a fancy chain. The big deal was that 100 feet down the way the new rowperfect was on tap and amazing everyone. The rowperfect is going for 1200 the same price as the new E. Up till now the Rowperfect seemed kind of overpriced but C2 has foolishly bridged that gap. The new Rowperfect is re designed and has the flywheel lower and to the side making it look really slick. It is far smoother than the c2 on slides and takes up half the space. It is louder than the E but quiteter than the old Bs. The prototype did not have a monitor (there is one available but was not on the machine I used) and apparently will come with a USB type hook up so that you can use a software package on your PC. My prediction is that in 5 years Rowperfect will have made a significant dent in the US market with this product. All in all the new E is just an expensive D with some cosmetic changes to appeal to the folks at gyms who never use them anyway IMO.

[Rockin Roland]

I have to agree with you on that one Spectre.

I'm interested to know which machine drew the most interest from the crowds at the Regatta. The Rowperfect of the C2?

However the real question is if C2 have done enough to the Model E to maintain that edge over Rowperfect. I don't think they have and as an OTW rower I'm more excited over the new Rowperfect than the C2 Model E.

I've been hanging onto my Model C for years waiting in hope that the new Model E would be worth trading up to. Now that it has arrived I'm really disappointed. It's still the same basic design with the WIFI venue racing feature only of interest to me.

What do I do now; wait for a hopefully more innovative Model F OR bite the bullet and go for a new Rowperfect, which I believe I'd get more enjoyment training on?

[lurker]

Good morning I have another question, will the PM3 continue to be updated with new features or will this be the final version, in other words will the PM4 become the standard monitor on both model D and E in the future? If the PM3 will continue to be upgraded/improved, will those new features whatever they may be also be added to the PM4 if it doesn't already have them, or can we expect a sort of "divergent evolution" for lack of a better term where different features are added to each monitor and PM3 and 4 become more and more different over time?

[Spectre]

In answer to your questions Roland: the rowperfect did not show up until late in the regatta and so it would be unfair to say that either machine got more or less attention. what I would say was once the Rowperfect was going people were really interested. I get the impression that the Rowperfect is going to become more and more popular as an integrated coaching tool. From an OTW perspective, the slides on a c2 or the rowperfect do help to teach good OTW technique. I am a huge C2 fan and feel like a total traitor but even at the cheaper price for a D with a pm4 you will need to buy slides and they take up so much more space than the rowperfect does. I would have to say the Rowperfect has the slight edge over the C2 at the moment. The proof will be in the next few years as US college crews start to use the rowperfect in their programs. I think what you will see from a rowing club use perspective is that C2s will remain the bulk of the machines in the boathouse with one or two Rowperfects off to the side being used to work on maching force curve outputs and technique coaching. Again these are just my first impressions. The other issue is that C2 has the best customer service of any company I have ever dealt with. As we all know they really try to keep parts avaliable for older machines etc. Rowperfect is a relatively new to the market so we dont know if that is going to be an issue or not.

[PaulS]

I have to agree with you on that one Spectre.

I'm interested to know which machine drew the most interest from the crowds at the Regatta. The Rowperfect of the C2?

However the real question is if C2 have done enough to the Model E to maintain that edge over Rowperfect. I don't think they have and as an OTW rower I'm more excited over the new Rowperfect than the C2 Model E.

I've been hanging onto my Model C for years waiting in hope that the new Model E would be worth trading up to. Now that it has arrived I'm really disappointed. It's still the same basic design with the WIFI venue racing feature only of interest to me.

What do I do now; wait for a hopefully more innovative Model F OR bite the bullet and go for a new Rowperfect, which I believe I'd get more enjoyment training on?

The Seat on the new RP is a bit more captive than it used to be. It feels exactly like the older model, but since the new one will fit a CBreeze quite nicely (cage is very Model C-Like, with even a better edge for the bungee to rest in), I'm hopeful that many will take advantage of that.

You are fortunate in that RP distribution is going to be centered in AUS from what I heard, so perhaps the price will be a but better for you. However I'd guess that the $1200 figure was without any sort of monitoring, and the stand alone Monitor is apparently quite costly (>$500?), though using a computer will be a bit less. The new software for Windows (Gee, that's only taken 15 years to get away from the DOS version) looks pretty darn good.

There was the usual "Exercise Machine" Vs "Rowing Simulator" marketing drivel going on, but hey, can't blame the guy for flogging the party line.

Perhaps RP should come out with taller legs. Remember who said it first...

[c2bill]

peter dreissigacker was at the seattle regatta - and had this to add to the question of the PM3 and 4.



Hello all, I hope you don’t mind if I chime in to clarify some of the questions posed here concerning C2 erg developments. First, the model E is being added as an option to the model D, not a replacement. We will continue selling the D, and I suspect the D will remain the predominant choice between the two.

As noted in your posts above, the E is basically a D but made to seat the rower higher to be easier to get on and off. This is a feature that has been requested by a significant segment of our customers, mostly the older populations and the fitness community. As a rower, we are used to working out closed to the ground (or water) but this is not universal.

Concerning the PM3 and PM4…The only planned upgrade to the PM3 will be the inclusion of the fish game. The PM3 hardware is basically maxed out at this point. We have moved to offering two monitor options so we can continue to add function (on the PM4) and still keep a lower cost monitor option (PM3) for those who would not find value in the additional functionality.

Both the D and the E frames are compatible with the slides either for single use or connecting to row as a double or quad for team boat training. Thanks for your interest,

Peter

[lurker]

Seems to me like the best overall choice out of the 3 is going to be the model D with PM4. The new rowperfect sounds interesting, probably a bit too specialized of a tool for the average user though, does anyone have a link to a pic?

[PaulS]

Just to add a bit on the possibility of retrofitting a PM4 to a D. I discussed this with Peter in Seattle.

The regular Model D will not have the magnet or pickup to utilize the recharge feature of the PM4, presumably battery life would simply remain similar to a PM3, so something like "1/2 of forever" (in my experience so far with a home Machine).

The Model D with the PM4 (Option) will have all the right stuff for the recharging to be done, which is why it's not merely the difference in price of a PM3 and PM4 to do that. (Stronger magnets and a secondary coil are required from what I got out of our conversation).

And just to give another C2 Customer service experience, I'd purchased 2 pair of sculls when the new sleeve was introduced and they showed wear quite quickly, and issue which C2 addressed by changing the plastic formula a while after the introduction and then also the color to denote the new formula. I brought them to the venue and Dave and Phil made quick work of fitting new sleeves for me and the oars have already been back in use, better than ever. Thanks guys!

[johnlvs2run]

The Seat on the new RP is a bit more captive than it used to be. It feels exactly like the older model, but since the new one will fit a CBreeze quite nicely

That's a great idea.