New to Erging

[TCMBUNA]

I have rowed a couple of times now on a public rower (Model C) and love it. I cannot think of another cardio exercise that uses such a large part of the body at once.

I have two areas of questions. My first is I am looking at buying my own erg. I have noticed Model Cs on sale on EBay. Since I am new what is a good price for a used one? How many meters should I expect it to have on it? How do I inquire about its condition to ensure it is in good condidtion? I feel like I am buying a car and just got my learner's permit. LOL. That and is the Model D a better investment. I cant afford a Model E. I have found a local ERG Regatta in February where I could save about $80 on a Model D PM3 after the Regatta. It would be hard to wait but if the benift is great enough I will.

Second I feel like from what I read that I will never be able to compete. By my nature I must compete. My problem is I am only 5'5" and I weigh 190. I am hoping through rowing to drop to around 175. Getting to 165 would be very hard since I power/olympic lift with my son and I am a fairly well-muscled guy. Any ideas on how to overcome this height challenged issue. Would my ability to pull hard make up the difference once I build the required strength endurance? I can deadlift and squat quite a bit Any ideas here would be appreciated.

[Ducatista]

I'm a Model C fan. The Model D is prettier and quieter. Both are negatives in my book (prettier does not, in this case, equal better looking).

[TCMBUNA]

It will go in my fitness area with my Power Rack and weights. Not too worried about prettier and quieter but I understand what you are saying. I am more worried about getting the best I can for the dollar. If it is worth it to go to the Model D I will pay the extra and try to patiently wait.

[Rocky]

I greatly prefer the D. I rowed on the C for several years, and upgraded to the D because of the PM3 monitor and the quietness factor.

You can see the difference between the PM2 (available on the C) and the PM3 by looking at the user manuals on the concept2 site. There is also a new monitor called the PM4 that has some extra bells and whistles. The bottom line is that the PM3 allows you to easily save the results of your workouts, and it allows a great deal of flexibility in terms of setting up complicated workouts, such as intervals with different work and rest times. There are also multiple views including a force curve and a pace boat that are not available on the PM2.

The quietness factor is important if you are working out in a room with other people who might be trying to listen to the radio or watch the tube. With me rowing on the C, my kid was having to turn up the volume on the TV so she could hear it, which made me have to turn up my ipod to drown out the TV!

In terms of used ergs, they tend to wear well, and support from C2 is excellent. Be aware that replacing a monitor is expensive, so I would not want to buy an erg with a broken monitor.

[TCMBUNA]

Well hoping to here a little more about the C vs D but my better half approved of spending the extra to get a new Model D. Santa is coming early for me. Any further considerations before I purchase?

Tim

[johnlvs2run]

I have had a model B since 1993, purchased a model C 2 years ago on ebay then sold it a couple months ago for $120 more than I'd paid for it, and having used it quite a bit in the meantime.

Then I purchased a new model D which arrived last week and it's great.

I like the model D a lot. There are some things about the pm3 that are not as smooth as the pm2+ but there are many more features that are nice and the pm2 doesn't have.

So I feel you would be well served by getting the new model D, instead of a used one from Ebay.

Also the resale value for either of them is quite excellent.

[ancho]

PM2+ and PM3 allow you to use RowPro, a very interesting feature for somebody with a competitive nature...