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First Degree Fitness WR-N Neptune Rower

List price: $698.00
Amazon price: $781.06
Prices subject to change.

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Product Details

Binding: Sports
Brand: First Degree Fitness
Label: First Degree Fitness
Dimension: 0.3 x 38 x 0.3 inches
Manufacturer: First Degree Fitness
Model: WR-N
Publisher: First Degree Fitness
Studio: First Degree Fitness

Features and Descriptions

Performance Monitor System
Fluid UltraSmooth Resistance
Comfortable Seat/Easy Storage

Ratings & Comments(Average: 3.5

)

- Never buy From First Degree Fitness!
Be warned! Here is my story...

I bought the s-350 for $1800. It has a 2 year warranty. The warranty is useless, though, if you can't get parts from the manufacturer! After 8 months of casual use (1 or 2 times a week) the metal blades began rubbing. I had to wait 3 months to get it fixed. First Degree required the local company I bought it from to take pictures of the defective part, then I had to wait while they "evaluated" the sincerity of the broken part "in question". That's 3 months of not using it, 3 months less on the warranty! They fix this, then the clutch broke a month later. I sat on it, pulled back, and almost went flying off the seat!

First Degree did NOT return phone calls. Try calling their support here in the US. 877-455-3029. I never got a call back. Neither did the local distributor, who was supposed to fix it. 6 months later, still no part. Eventually, I made a deal with the local people to sell it on consignment. I ended up getting $350 for it, meaning they will sell it for $700? Yeah, right. Once they eventually get the part, they will sell it for $100 less then a new one, or at least $1200. I could not wait to get out from under this garbage rower, took what I could get for it, and want to warn as many people out there as I can.

Doesn't matter what I got, I was the sucker. What matters is YOU are considering buying one of these hunks of junk. DON'T DO IT. You will get more satisfaction taking your money and lighting it on fire, at least that way you can roast marshmallows. Buy a Concept 2 instead...like I should have done. I thought if the Concept 2 cost $900, paying $1800 for a rower would give me twice the peace of mind, twice the longevity of the product. How wrong I was! The computer resets after 10 seconds of inactivity, yet will stay on for 5 minutes. Why? Stupid stupid stupid. Want to use a heart rate monitor with this rower? Good luck. Mine was off by 50 beats per minute compared to my watch. And then it would lock up the computer if you used both watch and the rower heart rate monitor at the same time! The feet straps need constant tightening, meaning you have to scramble if you don't want the computer to reset itself.

Stay FAR FAR away from this one. Next stop, BBB :)

- Disappointing in so many ways...
Having read 3 glowing reviews and being the happy owner of another First Degree Fitness rower, I eagerly ordered the Neptune for an apartment which I use during the week. Although the instructions are miserable, the manufacturing tolerances way out of whack and the "computer" cheesy, the Neptune's worst aspect is that its maximum resistance might challenge an 8-year-old. Yup, with tank filled to the limit, the machine offers so little resistance that even this middle-aged office worker in average condition can't get much of a work out. Then there's the little problem of parts that don't fit together. Another reviewer suggested using a rubber mallet to force the pieces together. I tried that but the tolerances were so wrong on mine that I ended up taking it to a friend with machine tools to enlarge an opening. The frustration of the lousy instructions and need to fix parts is now in the past but the fact that I can't get a good workout from this nearly $700 investment is my future with this unfortunate purchase. Too much hassle to drain, disassemble, repack and return it. But readers of this review can avoid similar disappointment...

- Great rower for the price
Had the rower for about a month now and it performs without flaw. One can see the design evolution from both the First Degree and Water Rower lines converging with the Neptune and Water Rower A1 Home models having almost identical basic schematics except the Neptune water tank supported by a metallic frame vs Water Rowers traditional wood frame.

At the time I write this, the Neptune is the lowest cost of the decent water-based rowers by a few hundred dollars. That translates primarily into a more limited computer function and force controlled by the water level rather than a knob adjust...neither of which is worth hundreds of dollars for me. FYI, those I know who are competitive rowers generally purchase the Concept2 which is an advanced flywheel design with (most importantly to them) an advanced computer monitor and online community. Given that the Neptune is a 2009 release, I expect some of the other companies will be working to meet the price point in the next year or two.

Regarding construction, I found it useful to have a rubber mallet as the piece connecting the foot pedals through the center beam is by design a tight fit. The first few days I used the rower, there was also a faint rubber-on-rubber squeak from the tank but that disappeared completely and now one only hears the gentle water swirl characteristic of the good fluid machines.

I've used the rower every day for a month now and am really enjoying it.

- Great rower
I bought this one over the other water rower because of the adjustable resistance. Note that you adjust the resistance by adding more/less water to the tank - not using a knob or similar mechanical mechanism. This is easy to do using the hand-pump that comes with the rower.

The rower is of extremely high quality, and I'm not disappointed. It gives a great workout. This is my second rower - I previously had one of the cheaper piston ones, which I've outgrown.

This water rower is in a different league. Real smooth operation, with natural feeling resistance.

It's been manufactured to pretty tight tolerances - so it the frame feels solid and sturdy. The flipside of this is that some pieces are a bit difficult to fit together - just use a bit of patience, and maybe a tap or two with a rubber mallet. Other than that the assembly is straight forward.

- good product though requires tweaking
Rower works great, though the assembly requires correction that is not documented in the manual. The magnet under the seat (to work with electronic monitor) was placed on the wrong side, and to correct this requires reassembling the seat and rollers with the spacers on the other side. The magnet was glued on the wrong side, and required some force to loosen. The water resistance works great. Quiet (only hear water swooshing noise) and smooth resistance.

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