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BodyCraft VR100 Rowing Machine
Product Details Binding: Sports Brand: Bodycraft Label: BodyCraft Dimension: 0.3 x 68 x 0.26 inches Manufacturer: BodyCraft Model: VR100 Publisher: BodyCraft Release Date: March 06, 2008 Studio: BodyCraft Features and Descriptions
Product Reviews (Overall:  )
 - Consider spending an extra $200Get a concept 2 rowing ergometer instead; it's worth the extra money.Concept2 Model D Indoor Rowing Machine  - Apallingly badThere are high-quality rowing ergometers, such as those made by Concept2, WaterRower, and Rowperfect. Then there are junk "rowing machines" like the VR-100, sold by office-park fitness equipment companies that outsource their entire production process to East Asian countries. The instruction manual that came with my VR-100 contained crude pictographs and hilariously inaccurate information. (Have you ever tried rowing at 60+ strokes per minute? The VR-100 manual recommends that you do this!) It is blatantly obvious that the manual was written by people (most likely the Chinese contractors) who had no idea what they were building. If a SINGLE PERSON with rowing experience was involved in the production process, such errors would have been would have been corrected. The design of the VR-100 further demonstrates BodyCraft's ineptitude. Instead of measuring the power produced by the rower and deriving a speed measurement, the VR-100's monitor spits out junk numbers. Do you want to know fit you are? Do you want to know how your fitness is improving over time? With this machine, YOU WILL HAVE NO CLUE! My monitor couldn't even display a simple stroke rate; the reading raced wildly up and down. It is clear that the designers cobbled together a fancy-looking electronic thing to make the ignorant feel like they were buying a $700 product. The VR-100's mechanics are hilariously messed up, making it impossible to row correctly. The foot braces swivel around. I'll repeat that again: THEY SWIVEL! Strong leg pressure on a FIXED foot board is the very essence of the rowing stroke: that's very the first thing you learn in a ergometer or on-the-water rowing class. That Bodycraft can't get right something so basic shows their ignorance and the utter junkiness of their product. More gripes: The "resistance" is about 10 times too hard and, being magnetic, feels nothing like the resistance on a boat. The bottom of the foot braces are virtually on the floor, ensuring that you direct much of your power into the floor. All these flaws add up. On the VR-100, I hardly felt like I was getting a workout at all. With a Concept2, I've improved my fitness tremendously. You have to be utterly insane to not buy a Concept2 for $200 more. ($200 sounds like a lot, but it's the difference between a piece of junk and a machine used by Olympians and elite college rowers.) For the noise sensitive, the WaterRower is a good buy, and the RowPerfect is for those who seek to replicate an on-the-water experience. Both are a bit pricey. Someone else in my household sold our VR-100 when I was out of town. I'd have been ashamed to even give this away, and would have taken a sledgehammer to it instead. Bodycraft has no shame; they sell it for $700.  - Smooth, precision unit.My wife and I have used our VR100 for three years now. I love the precision construction and we have had no problems with it at all. It folds up and gets out of the way in our guest bedroom fairly easily. The monitor isn't that great, and the clock doesn't keep correct time. For an alternative workout that is easy on the joints we really like it. - Looks great for the target market.......which is the average moron that has no clue how to row. Probably the only thing they got right on this rower is the huge seat for the fat butts that are going to use it. You want to row? Get a concept 2, learn how to row (catch, drive, release), and GIVE ME SOME FRIGGEN POWER 30's! God I miss the 1 hour erg workouts in the freezing shellhouse... miss my 1:16 500m too rofl. - BodyCraft VR100 ReviewI've had the VR100 for a little over a week now. I've used it for thirty minutes every day. I'm very satisfied with it. I had used a Concept II Model D owned by a friend on several occassions and had originally thought that I would buy one of those. However, the Concept II is more than two feet longer than the VR100 and that was an issue for me. The VR100 is a solid machine. The only reservations I have is the pull mechanizim. Whereas the Concept II uses a chain, the VR100 uses a nylon strap about an inch or so wide. I just wonder if it is as durable in this application as a chain. I know that a chain can wear out too especially if it is not lubricated periodically. Time will tell. The only weakness in the VR100 is the computer. It's very basic, but it does the job for me. I find that if I just monitor the "strokes per minute", I can use that to control my effort while watching my heart rate. The VR100 computer can monitor the heart rate if you buy the optional chest strap. I didn't because it is suppose to be compatible with the "Polar" straps. It is compatible, but if you get too far away from the computer, it can't pick it up. I called BodyCraft customer service. They told me the Polar unit I have (T-31) is only good up to three feet. While you are rowing, you tend to get further than three feet from the computer so it doesn't work well. That's not a big issue for me because I'm still wearing my watch and it picks up the heart rate just fine. (It has many more features related to monitoring the heart rate.) Bottom line, I'm glad I bought it instead of the Concept II. It's much more compact and it gives me the kind of work out that I wanted.
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