Effect of Shock Cord from the slides on the stroke

[PhaedrusZen]

I'm looking at slides and have been curious about the effects of the shock cord used to help keep a rower centered in the tracks. How many pounds of resistance does the shock cord provide? (Is it similar to an exercise resistance band?

Does anyone have ideas about how this affects the effort made while rowing? And would increasing resistance (or reducing it) give any benefits for training? I can't quite wrap my head around whether the fact that the resistance appears to be equal going both directions means it cancels itself out, or if by increasing resistance you would end up just making a rowing pogo stick with no benefits aside from the novelty.

Any insight is appreciated!

[Ombrax]

I can't quite wrap my head around whether the fact that the resistance appears to be equal going both directions means it cancels itself out,

I've never used slides, but I'm pretty sure that the purpose of the bungee cord that's part of the slides (as opposed to the one inside the erg) is to keep the erg somewhat centered without exerting too much force. If the bungee were infinitely stiff you'd have the same situation as having a grounded erg. If the bungee had zero stiffness you'd end up banging on the end of the slide when you've inevitably moved far enough. In fact, even with the bungees, it takes some getting used to and improved technique to not overwhelm the bungees and smack the ends.

Several folks here have posted about their experiences using the slides. Do a bit of searching and you'll find then - they should help explain how things work.

[c2jonw]

The cords on the slide are meant to just keep the slides centered and therefore provide very light resistance. An individual with very good technique and on level ground might not need the cords at all but most of us are not perfect. They take some getting used to but most figure it out pretty quickly.

[jackarabit]

I'm looking at slides and have been curious about the effects of the shock cord used to help keep a rower centered in the tracks. How many pounds of resistance does the shock cord provide? (Is it similar to an exercise resistance band?

Does anyone have ideas about how this affects the effort made while rowing? And would increasing resistance (or reducing it) give any benefits for training? I can't quite wrap my head around whether the fact that the resistance appears to be equal going both directions means it cancels itself out, or if by increasing resistance you would end up just making a rowing pogo stick with no benefits aside from the novelty.

Any insight is appreciated!

Saw your diy gate roller and pipe rig on Instagram. I got the impression that heavy exercise bungies were doing ALL the work of recentering the mech and working payload on the rails. The delicate stretch cords on the C2 slides are also limiters on inertial momentum but their influence is easily overcome by a high velocity recovery to catch or a concurrent legs and back drive. The decentering on slides is the equivalent of either stalling or pitching the boat forward on water.

Your design overpowers the effects of stroke timing and mechanics thus minimizing or eliminating the primary educational function of a dynamic OTW simulator. Your reference to the pogo stick zero sum energy battery sez you know this already. You do get the benefits to both calorie expenditure and stroke rate of static body position. Impressive minimum outlay/minimum fuss engineering project without physically modding/altering the static erg (as are slides)!

[ampire]

As an owner of slides, I never feel like the shock cord changes my stroke form, though it assists a bit on the return. Its a very thin bungee cord and doesn't offer much resistance.
I can perceive some energy wasted on the shock cords, the mass of the carriage and rower, and the friction of the roller bearings when I move the machine back and forth on the slides, but when I am actually rowing I don't notice much loss. They require some calibration in the form of the knot position to have a good operation, otherwise it seems to bias towards one end or the other.
Slides were one of the better fitness products I have purchased, and since putting my rowing machine on slides about a year and a half ago, I have rarely taken it off. I now have about 3.5 million meters on the slides. The overall stroke movement feels much more natural. It is more enjoyable to watch television because my head remains in one place. I can place a cooling fan directly next to me and remain in the air stream for the entire row. I suffer less back and neck pain. I believe that it has improved my form substantially.

[mict450]

The overall stroke movement feels much more natural. It is more enjoyable to watch television because my head remains in one place. I can place a cooling fan directly next to me and remain in the air stream for the entire row. I suffer less back and neck pain. I believe that it has improved my form substantially.

I find the same benefits with a dynamic erg. Now that I have switched out the stock seat for a Mod B, it's no problem for me to row 1-1/2 hrs straight without an arse timeout. Both allow me to row without the negative physical impacts that some of us suffer from using a straight static erg.

[StevenWayne]

I agree with the posts of others. I’m a new slides owner and never feel resistance from the slide bungees, although they are there.

The bungees are super lightly “tuned”, with almost no resistance. They are thin and have a great degree of stretch to allow the erg to move on the slides freely from end to end. With the erg at rest, I can place one finger under the bungee and pull it up an inch or two with barely any effort, and pull it up ten inches with modest effort (5 pounds of pull, perhaps). Do they add any resistance to the workout? I doubt it. In fact, as mentioned by prior commentor, if one had ideal form they’d likely be able to row without the bungees as long as the slides were on a flat surface.

Since several of us own C2 slides, PhaedrusZen, if you need us to test something out for you, let us know.