RowPro Version 6??

[JaapvanE]

Upgraded my Rowpro 5.1 to 5.8 yesterday, not worked since! No reply to email either!

Don't they have other communication channels? Most companies have Facebook, Twitter and Discord servers for communication as well.

[nick rockliff]

Upgraded my Rowpro 5.1 to 5.8 yesterday, not worked since! No reply to email either!

You might need to make sure your PM5 firmware is updated. 5.8 is working for me and they did respond to my emails, it just took a day. Maybe because of the holiday no one's working and you might not hear until Jan 2.

This what I thought too but alas no! Maybe the 3rd

[nick rockliff]

Upgraded my Rowpro 5.1 to 5.8 yesterday, not worked since! No reply to email either!

You might need to make sure your PM5 firmware is updated. 5.8 is working for me and they did respond to my emails, it just took a day. Maybe because of the holiday no one's working and you might not hear until Jan 2.

This what I thought too but alas no! Maybe the 3rd

Maybe the 4th

[Carl Watts]

8th or 9th January more like it, we get decent holidays over here like 4 weeks plus the stats.

Hopefully RowPro moves to a "Platform" like Zwift, you just don't have the issues logging on and updates get done in the background automatically.

[nick rockliff]

8th or 9th January more like it, we get decent holidays over here like 4 weeks plus the stats.

Hopefully RowPro moves to a "Platform" like Zwift, you just don't have the issues logging on and updates get done in the background automatically.

Are they still based in NZ? Support has an address in Boston

[Carl Watts]

8th or 9th January more like it, we get decent holidays over here like 4 weeks plus the stats.

Hopefully RowPro moves to a "Platform" like Zwift, you just don't have the issues logging on and updates get done in the background automatically.

Are they still based in NZ? Support has an address in Boston

Possibly no longer in New Zealand at all, RowPro was sold a year or two ago now. They always had a US address because that's where the race server is but maybe its all US now.

[nick rockliff]

Came back to me this morning, all working now.

[Colin_]

I have been searching the forum for suggestions on row-racing software for the Mac (eg RowPro). I find a lot of older information, but as yet haven't found a recent comparison of the products available now.

Would anyone be able to either point me to a recent and relevant discussion, or share their thoughts on what I should get and why?

I want to be able to set up races by specifying distance and my competitors paces and then race against them with half-decent graphics showing me and them on the screen.

Thanks.

[JaapvanE]

RowPro 6 has been in the works for years now, but no real progress there as far as I can see. It clearly needs a refresh, but many have waited or switched.

Biggest player now is EXR. It features a 3D world, and they have two types of racing functionality. You have the standard world cup event format with 6 lanes, where (ghosts of) your competitors are selected on previous race results. Racing distances are 500m, 1000m and 2000m. You can race whenever you want.

We have the organized races, typically 5K or 10K, around two to three a month (see here for the schedule). Here you race people live. Please realize these races include reigning world champions, Olympians, etc.. So you will not win this. But it is fun to do regardless.

Another option is to race against a shark. The shark maintains your FTP. Graphics were too convincing, so it is scaled back a bit. But you'll get eaten if you're not fast enough.

A future option is a pace partner (among others). It is in the 2025 roadmap and EXR has an extremely good track record on realizing its roadmap.

[Colin_]

RowPro 6 has been in the works for years now, but no real progress there as far as I can see. It clearly needs a refresh, but many have waited or switched.

Biggest player now is EXR. [...]

Thanks that's all useful info. I will investigate EXR.

[Aquaman]

Aviron also jumped into the arena with a phone app version of their rowing machine's software. Like EXR it has virtual scenery and some competitive games. Also like EXR it runs on a game engine (I believe they use Unity).

Depends on what you are looking for in an erg experience. EXR has led with the virtual experience but that's not for everyone. JaapvanE might be pushing it since he works there, and I'll concede that among the connected virtual/scenic erg apps similar to Zwift it's probably the most visible and aggressively promoted on the forums by their team. May even be the most used virtual scenic app too!

RowPro was a fan favorite for the live connection with others, the scenery was a nice-to-have element. It was also early to market so didn't have an analog or much competition. It may not return though.

The majority of C2 rowers use ErgData and most likely for its simplicity of use. Nothing fancy there, but that's a bit more the ethos of the core Concept2 user. Potaytoes, potahtos.

[gvcormac]

I care way more about community than immersive graphics. RowPro had a bit of a community, but it is on life support.

If somebody put together a "parkrun" for ergs, I'd be all in.

[JaapvanE]

JaapvanE might be pushing it since he works there,

EXCUSE ME! I DO NOT FOR EXR!

Please refrain from this kind of wild and totally unfounded assumptions!

I actually collaborate with most game/app developers to get their app/game working on OpenRowingMonitor. There probably isn't an app of significance I haven't got an account for and tested extensively for ORM compatibility. I happen to like EXR and their community most.

I care way more about community than immersive graphics. RowPro had a bit of a community, but it is on life support.

Looking at rhe old C2 RowPro affiliation, several moved to EXR, especially the long distance rowers. Community is pretty decent, especially on the Facebook page and the Discord server.

If somebody put together a "parkrun" for ergs, I'd be all in.

What type of experience are you looking at? A lot of casual rows? I only see EXR do that (see https://exrgame.com/events).

[gvcormac]

Parkrun is a worldwide phenomenon. They do 5k runs at thousands of locations every Saturday. It is entirely volunteer run and there is no entry fee. You register once with Parkrun, and then you can just show up to any race with your barcode.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkrun

Whether you're at home or traveling, there's a parkrun near you, run by volunteers. You can run or volunteer. After the run, there's lots of opportunity for mingling.

During COVID they launched "Not-Parkrun" where people self-reported their solo runs. That persists.

Maybe there's an opportunity to organize something like this. Maybe Parkrun would embrace it, like they did Not-Parkrun.

Now that nearly everybody's on Zoom one could use that with the C2 racing software I guess. I tried this exactly once with RowPro during COVID but RowPro was already dying and I didn't try very hard.

Just a thought ...

[gvcormac]

Hmmm. ErgRace requires a PM5. RowPro requires a laptop and a printer cable and costs $$$. Neither is as inclusive as one would like.

Do any of the online apps support setting up your own events? Preferably free, but let's see what's available.