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Spartan Sports Magnetic Rower
Product Details Binding: Misc. Brand: Spartan EAN: 0875694008560 Label: Spartan Sports Dimension: 0.3 x 48 x 0.3 inches Manufacturer: Spartan Sports Publisher: Spartan Sports Studio: Spartan Sports Features and Descriptions
Product Reviews (Overall:  )
 - Well designed and effectiveI really enjoy using this machine. It has a simple but thoughtful design and is quite effective at providing a great workout. The resistance levels offer a wide range of difficulty from very low to very high. Also, cost-wise, this is a very good deal, especially when considering all of the other rowing machines that cost much more but do not have the same quality. - Durable piece for dirt cheap price...I can not understand the complaints of the 1 star reviewer. First, the item is worth what it is worth. At less than $150 (with Xmas discount), I got a 2 year "replacement" warranty and it is still cheaper than $170. I am sure I will break it before the warranty is up. But I am not ready to sink $900 into a Concept2. The frame is durable. And as the company warned, should easily handle folks under 220 lbs. It is a little too large for short people, but you can accomodate by changing your stroke and knee flexion. But I would say, 5 ft or taller is best. One can screw wood spacer on the foot rest to accomodate shorter people, and I imagine this is the same problem short people will have in any gym equipment. Most are made for folks 5'6 and taller. Tips: If you keep on hitting the front bumper, you'll need to change your strokes. Try to hyperflex your abdomen like doing a situp on the retraction stroke, so that way you are exercising your back more. This will minimize the hip and knee flexion, thus preventing the seat from hitting the bumper. Rowing really involve little knee or hip flexion, but more back extension and abdomen flexion. If your foot keep on coming out of the foot rest, you are using your legs too much. You really do not need to strap it tight, nor to move your foot very much to get a good workout. Too tight on the tension knob (4 or more) might actually be counterproductive for a good work out. This is really is an aerobic exercise, and not a static weight lifting device. Resistance is more than adequate for an aerobic workout. I believe setting the machine on a lower setting will allow for greater range of movement, and thus more rapid strokes and aerobic conditioning. At higher resistance, one is limitted by speed, and thus aerobic speed is not achieved. Compared to the Concept2, I think it is not as smooth, but acceptable. There is a center hinger, which require the removal of 1 pin and unscrewing of a large knob to fold it up. It would likely take about 4 minutes to do, to save space. Like what another user said, raising the back of the unit a few inches can improve the work out. I've not tried it, but gravity would make sense. The seat is comfortable, but my butt is a little sore after 30 minutes on the machine. I realize that by varying the position of the bar, you can get a variety of workout, aside from the usual rowing motion. We live on a lake, and I do row in the summer. You can get a better workout on this machine than a row boat. I think it will be great for my back, and will be a good alternate day workout from running on the treadmill. It works my back, and arms well. And not as tough on my knees and back. My guess is, this machine will please 90% of the folks. Like any other inexpensive rower, I doubt that it will last more than 1 or 2 years of heavy use. Since it has magnetic resistance, it should not be leaking oil like the comparable hydraulic rowers of equal or higher prices. But it is light enough and easy enough to assemble, that buying one every one or two year is not a bad investment. I'll give more feedback with time. Oh, the digital display is easy to read. The letters are at least 1 inch in height. It is hard to understand the options. The heart rate monitor is not available (duh, there is no sensor!!!), but has a notch for it. Basically, you just set it on stroke or time. And calorie count. I left it on stroke and calorie (joule), and it works fine for me with my poor vision. The monitor is securely snapped in, and uses 2 AAA batteries. It is not "glued" on as the other rater noted. As far as I am concerned, it is a well built piece of equipment. The weak point is the rewind mechanism on the rowing bar. My guess is, it will give out after about 300,000 strokes. I am sure it is engineered to quit before I hit one year. Hey, that's what extended "replacement warranties" are for. Most folks will use it for about 3000 strokes, and never touch it again.... 10000 stroke report: The "computer" does not accurately register calorie count. You can do little "baby" 1/2 inch strokes burning near zero calorie, and it will give you the same calorie count as a full stroke. I believe that the resistance knob might change your calorie count, but I would not doubt if it doesn't. So, if you are a small person with small troke, you will be over credited for your work out, and if you a large person using full strokes, you will likely be undercredited for your work out. The machine has a "sweet spot" where there is minimal noise. However, this all depends on your stroke, and body size. It likely will last longer if your stroke or body matches this sweet spot. This is not a problem with the chain driven Concept2. As for the rater who said this machine is for the weak and feeble, try setting your machine on 4 or 5 and doing full strokes at a rate of 1000 strokes per 15 minutes. I think you will soon realize that this machine can push the limit on upperbody endurance (I swim regularly 1 hour at a time). It is simply not as smooth and well laid out as the more expensive Concept2 ($900). 20000 stroke report: I am noting a little fray and wavy edge on the left side of the ribbon. It is what happen when your body lean to either the left or the right when pulling on the "oars". I have been trying to keep my stroke straight to minimize this, as it would destroy the ribbon in a hurry. The rower is still relatively quiet, so I can use it early in the morning without waking up my wife. I can not use the treadmill in the morning for the noise reason. The machine quit registering stroke count after only 2 weeks of use. We changed the factory provided batteries, and it is working fine now. My wife is very short, and she has problem doing comfortable strokes with this machine. It is not like other rowing machine, in that the seat is stopped about 12 inches before the recoil mechanism. Unless you have long arms and good flexibility, it can be difficult to have full strokes with this machine if you are short. 30000 stroke report: After 3 weeks of use, it is still functioning fine. The tape is more frayed on the edges. If I were to reengineer this product, I would make it possible to move the foot pedals forward to the hinge of the frame so you don't have to be tall to use the product. I would elevate the point of exit of the tape higher so the rowing handle can clear your knees better. This machine works better when you don't use the foot straps. To prevent wrist and forearm fatigue, I switch the position of my hands every 50 strokes (fingers up for one set, and fingers down for the other set). The alternation between pronation of the hand and supination of the hand minimize the fatigue in the forearm and wrist muscles. 40000 stroke completed.... No problems. 60000 plus strokes and 5 months later - No problems. I might be wrong, it might last longer than 100000 strokes. 80000 strokes and 7 months later. Do not let the handle twist upon itself, then the kink gets sucked into the machine, and I have no idea what happens to the twist afterward. Runs fine despite having the kinks in it. Summer is here and I am not using it as much, and my abs are not as toned with other excercises. - great machine for the priceI have owned this rowing machine for about 1 month and have been using it steadily about every other day. I have rowed competitively on a college crewing club and have used state of the art rowing machines. I find this one to be an effective machine and certainly worth the price. I bought it after reading the reviews here and elsewhere and I noticed several points 1) assembly was very easy; 2) it is very quiet - which is not true of many much more expensive machines; 3) Some people complain about the display - I find it very easy to read; 4) I have it set to the hardest setting and probably will never lower it so I would say that could be better (one reason for 4 instead of 5 stars). I am about 6ft tall and weight about 187 lbs - for me the machine feels very sturdy, and the dimensions are just fine. It is not a machine that slips under your bed, I have a walkin closet where I keep mine when I am not using it - I figure carrying it in and out is part of my workout. The bottom line is that you can spend more 10x more money and not get that much more machine. As others wrote, for the price, this is a good deal. As a one-time rower I like the feel of the mechanism and I am certainly getting a great workout. My goals for using this machine are to lose weight and to give my body a workout and this machine is doing that, I can track time-rowed, number of strokes and that is enough. If you want something that gives you a lot of digital feedback, this may not be the machine for you. For me the $178, with free shipping was money well spent.  - What was I thinking? Oh - yes - the reviews... Thanks!This is the most pathetic piece of junk I have ever seen... good probably for little kids or the feeble... You can get bored to death rowing hours on this machine... I bought it after my $600 Kettle Kadett failed me after 2 months, thinking that the magnetic brake would last longer... Well, even if it would - so what? On maximum level feels like it is nothing there... way too weak. The build also indicates amateur level - especially the... well - it is too much to call that "computer"... The battery holder is glued to the back of a PCB with a glue gun... Come on... I agree: it is cheap... so what? If it serves for nothing, it is still too expensive... Coming back to the "excited" customers that rated this item 5 stars... it is YOUR fault guys that people get to buy junk... Or is it that you work for Spartan sports and you had to write good reviews for your product? Piece of junk... Avoid... - Value for MoneyAfter three weeks of using this machine, I feel qualified to say that it is a decent buy. No, that's not a glowing endorsement, but for the price I'd say it's a pretty good deal. I did my research and found that there are plenty of other machines on the market (some for more than 5-times the price of this one) that do a much better job and are far better quality. But I wanted to see if I would actually use the machine faithfully once I got it before plunking down that kind of money. This machine is comfortable, reliable and gives a good workout. My only gripe so far is the display, which is a bit hard to read. The seat could be more sturdy too, but I also exeed the weight limit by 30 pounds! (not for long...) Other than that, I would recommend it.
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