Concept2 Forum

So I'm on the fence about a new purchase - whether to get a BikeErg or Rower ((un)fortunately, at this point I'm pretty set on getting something from C2 and this is probably not the forum where I'll get convinced not to do so...). Main motivation for purchase is that I want a piece of equipment is for a quick (sweaty) workout. I am quite tall at 6'4 / 1.95 so not really built for running, and outdoor cycling while living in city not always the safest.

I know the rower is a tried and tested piece of equipment- and that is definitely interesting to me - I want something that lasts, not trying to chase the latest fitness fad... BUT - having grown up riding bikes, I also see the appeal of jumping on an exercise bike for 20-30mins max and just getting it out of the way. On the rower - and maybe I've been doing it wrong the four/five times I've tried - can you still / effectively tire out your legs within say 20 mins? I am not a crossfitter or really into super-structured workouts. I can see myself following along to some videos but anything that is too complicated in terms of 3 rounds of x, followed by 4.5 rounds of y ... I'd see myself lose interest pretty quickly.

The pros and cons I've developed are as follows

BIKE - pros
- leg-focused workout - I sometimes just need to get my legs tired, this seems like the perfect assault weapon for that job
- less technique involved - so easier to just get on and watch some youtube / listen to a conference call etc
BIKE - cons
- potentially more strain on back if riding it in more aggressive stance / not beneficial for overall posture
- newer product - while I'm not particularly worried about resale value, the rower has been through multiple iterations and is probably 99% perfect the way it is. The lack of horizontal saddle adjustability on the bike for instance - while may not be an issue - feels like an oversight / something that may get fixed in next iteration
- leg only - even though I listed this as a pro, it's as much a downside

ROWER - pros
- (more) full-body workout
- while i don't know if this is true, I can see (and would like to believe) that proper rowing form could lead to better posture away from rowing - which is a HUGE bonus for someone who's desk-bound >12h a day
ROWER - cons
- more technique focused. While I'm sure I can just mindlessly use it for 15-20 mins, my back may feel less happy about that the next day
- more involved / more of a "workout" rather than just spinning away while multitasking
- seems like generally a longer workout - ie you could do a couple sprints on the bike - does it work the same way for rower?

Thoughts? Anything I'm missing? I know I won't get a perfect answer, primarily because I don't have a clear question, but really interested in hearing people's motivation for choosing one over the other (or if you have both, any things that surprised you / would be useful to know). Appreciate any insights - thanks in advance

As a cyclist I would 100% recommend the rower instead of the bikeErg. It's a much more complete workout, and IMO much more tolerable for an indoor workout compared to riding a bike inside.

Also, in my experience, if time is at a premium and you're looking for as quick a workout as possible, I've found that it's much easier to do that on the rower compared to a bicycle-based device (rollers, trainer, stationary bike, etc.).

Thanks - that's helpful. When you say more "tolerable", what specifically are you referring to? Less monotonous perhaps, given you may be comparing indoor bike with actual being on a bike outside, or something else?

Time is at a premium indeed - both from perspective of not always having enough time, nor would I want to spend an hour on a bike / rower ...

PorterCooper wrote: ↑

May 18th, 2021, 3:07 pm

The lack of horizontal saddle adjustability on the bike

You've been mislead in that regard. The Bikeerg saddle position is completely adjustable.

I did 41 million meters on the C2 rowing machines, not counting the meters I did prior to 2002, and last used one
in 2010. Among the reasons that I stopped was due to not wanting to keep sitting on my butt all the time, especially
not during exercise. I sold my third and final row erg and slides in 2010 and happily went back to running full time.

Recently, I got a Bikeerg not quite 2 years ago, and have been using it every day since. Although the bike likewise
has a seat, it is not seat dominate like rowing is. I can move into different positions, and am completely free to stand
often as I wish, both of which I do quite constantly. Personally, I like the bike much, much better than the rowing machine.

Sometimes I think of getting a row erg again just to have more variety. In fact I was thinking of this just yesterday.
Wouldn't that be nice, since I did it so much in the past. Then I thought of all the reasons that I stopped, all of which
are still there, in addition to the issue with sitting, and I don't want to deal with them anymore.

johnlvs2run wrote: ↑

May 18th, 2021, 6:38 pm

PorterCooper wrote: ↑

May 18th, 2021, 3:07 pm

The lack of horizontal saddle adjustability on the bike

You've been mislead in that regard. The Bikeerg saddle position is completely adjustable.

I'd love to be wrong on that - but my understanding was that the BikeErg doesn't have the same amount of fore/aft movement as, say, a Peloton / Schwinn / etc. In other words, the position of the saddle relative to the pedals is relatively - though not completely - fixed.

PorterCooper wrote: ↑

May 18th, 2021, 6:44 pm

my understanding was that the BikeErg doesn't have the same amount of fore/aft movement as, say, a Peloton / Schwinn / etc. In other words, the position of the saddle relative to the pedals is relatively - though not completely - fixed.

Where did you get that misinformation?

I have a Bike erg and I use it every day, have tried and used different saddles, have moved them forward and back
and forward again. I have tilted them up, down and level. You can adjust the bike erg saddle just like a regular road bike.
I do use a regular road bike saddle, not the one that came with the C2 bike erg, although that one was fully adjustable too.

We may be talking about different things. I'm not disputing the fact that there is some horizontal adjustability on the saddle on the BikeErg - in fact, that's exactly the same as you'd have as with a normal bike.

What I mean is that there's less adjustability as compared to some of the other indoor bike options out there. Not sure if I'm allowed to post links here, but if you look at for instance a Peloton bike, you have quite a bit of adjustability (https://www.treadmillreviewguru.com/wp- ... saddle.jpg). With a "regular" bike, you'd resolve part of that problem I guess with frame size.

Clearly not the expert as I don't own one - and not trying to tell you anything different. Just something I picked up on as I tend to play around with that feature with indoor bikes at my gym trying to get comfortable. As I noted in opening past, given my height, the one-size-fits-all solution generally works less well for me.

I was competitively involved in both rowing and cycling over the years. I've rowed millions of meter, ridden thousands of miles. I've used the rowerg, indoor trainer and rollers. My personal preference for indoor training; the rowerg, next would be rollers, then trainer (bikeerg). Why? Like you say, you can hop on the trainer and watch a movie and spin away, work up a sweat in about 20 minutes. To me that is not what I want in my workouts. I prefer a little more mind engagement on the workout, not the video.

Having said that, I've been restricted to the trainer for the last 5 months due to shoulder surgery. However, I still watch workout videos (GCN cycling has a ton of workouts, with and without scenery/music) or if just scenery, I program myself a specific workout to keep my mind engaged.

Back to the rowerg. Once you learn the proper technique, get some muscle memory built up, and don't have to think quite as hard about it, you can definitely hop on it, put in a video and work up sweat in 20 minutes if that's what you want. Getting to that point may take a few weeks or more, but it's a much better overall workout, much more interesting. And in my view, more fun.

PorterCooper wrote: ↑

May 18th, 2021, 5:46 pm

When you say more "tolerable", what specifically are you referring to? Less monotonous perhaps, given you may be comparing indoor bike with actual being on a bike outside, or something else?

This may well be why I find indoor rowing to be "better" than indoor cycling, at least it's the best theory I've come up with. Because I'm not an OTW (on the water) rower I don't associate the rowerg with rowing outside, whereas on the bike I do.

Regarding time, and in response to your question about "tiring out your legs" in 20 minutes - the rower can provide as brutal a workout as you wish, and I can guarantee you with 100% confidence that if that's what you want, and if you put out the effort to get there, a rower can very easily turn you into a puking mess on the floor in well under 10 minutes. There is zero doubt in my mind about that.

Not sure where in the world you are, but if you're in the US or UK, then I suspect you can't go wrong with buying either one of them and seeing how it goes for a couple of months. The resale value will be good, and these days there is a lot of demand for the equipment, so you won't take long to sell it before buying the other.

As mentioned on the other thread, you probably won't go wrong with either option, but choose the one that you think you'll stick with the longest. And then you can buy the other one later .

Dave

Thanks everyone for input. Will continue to noodle and let you know what I decide...

PorterCooper wrote: ↑

May 19th, 2021, 10:50 pm

Will continue to noodle

How about this: What do you think is the single most important factor for you in making this decision?
(assuming there is one key issue)

Let us know and we'll reply as honestly as possible on that one point.

Space and time are at a premium for me unfortunately, so I need to make sure that the one I'm getting is what will get me what I need. What I need is
- relatively quick (ie max 30 mins) workouts that will help w cardio training as well as just simply get my legs to stop being antsy after a long day of sitting behind a desk
- something that will last me for a number of years / decades - fully appreciate the comment that I'd be able to sell second hand and while that's helpful to know, that's really not what I'm hoping for

What I like about the bike is that
- I kinda know what I'm getting myself into - I grew up on bikes
- easier to get a workout in while multitasking

What I'm afraid of is
- getting bored, and getting bored of being on a bike indoor (as people mentioned earlier, I do have a frame of reference for being on a bike outdoors, don't have that issue with rowing)
- back pain from having to take too aggressive of a posture

What I like about the rower
- It's been around forever and it's the gold standard (although I also realize that that in itself doesn't make me use it more or less)
- it's a different workout, and full body so more engaging

What I dislike about the rower
- I haven't spent a large amount of time on a rower so it's potentially something that looks cool but may in the end turn out to not be for me
- more technique required - so 1) more of a learning curve and 2) during that learning curve more prone to injuries then bike.

I thought I was leaning towards the bike earlier and then after having read a couple comments in favor of the rower, I'm not so sure anymore. As you see, it's still a lot of rambling rather than being able to boil it down to one key / specific issue I'm afraid...

Space - When in the "about to be used" the rower is most certainly longer than a stationary bike, but as long as you don't have super-low ceilings, it can be stored in the vertical position without taking it apart, at which point it takes up much less floor space.

Time - I can assure you that you can get a very good workout on the rower in 30 minutes, or even 15-20 if you're super pressed for time. Probably on a bike too, but in general (maybe because of my outdoor cycling background) I think of bikes as something that one rides for a much longer period of time.

Reliability over time - I can't speak to the bikeErg, but the rowErg is super-reliable.

Familiarity - I understand your comfort with bikes, and it makes sense.

Boredom - As I said above, I find a bike indoors to be way, way worse than rowing indoors, but others may disagree, and plenty of folks have no problems watching TV while riding indoors.

Back-pain / Technique - Yes, the rower requires more attention to technique when you're learning, but it isn't a huge issue. And you have resources that can help. For example, the Force Curve on the rower PM will show you real-time for each stroke how well you're sequencing the various parts of the stroke. You also have the option of posting a video and having folks here provide feedback. Regarding back pain, it is a potential issue on the rower, but honestly in my experience I've had more low-back and knee pain due to cycling and very little of each due to rowing. On the rower I have had issues with my elbows, but nothing that bad, and I got some suggestions here (to put my thumbs over, not under the bar) that eliminated 98% of the problem.

Bottom line, as others have said, get the one you think you're more likely to use. If you think getting a bit more muscle definition in your upper body will be a motivating factor, then that will certainly encourage you to row. If you want to zone out and just spin, then the bike's probably a better choice. (In my experience when I'm pushing hard or somewhat hard on the rower I have to focus on the PM, because otherwise I slack off. Others here don't have that issue, but I need the PM if I want to maintain a good pace.)

As you know, for your situation I'm biased toward the rower primarily because it truly is a better, more complete workout compared to a bike, but the decision is yours.

Good Luck

True, the erg is not an intuitive activity, like the bike. There is a learning curve & practice is needed to perfect the stroke. However, I find the erg much more mentally stimulating than a stationary bike. Talk about boring....I'd rather have a sharp stick in the eye, than spend an hour on a bike. That being said, they are both indoor exercise machines and naturally, mind-numbingly boring. If the weather's nice, I'd rather be doing something else outside.