Indoor rowing is on the rise. Reports show that the number of people who’ve honed in on this trend have increased by almost 20 percent over the last few years.?And the folks at Peloton are definitely looking to capitalize on this increased interest with their latest piece of connected equipment, the Peloton Row, which launched a year ago.
There’s a reason folks are gravitating towards indoor rowing machines. It’s low-impact and comes with plenty of good-for-you benefits (think reducing fat mass, total body fat percentage and cholesterol). Plus it helps perk up your posture, too. Not to mention it’s also an extremely efficient way to work your entire body as it engages 86 percent of your body’s muscles with each stroke.
I was first introduced to Peloton Row during a private show-and-tell at the brand’s showroom in midtown nine months before the piece of equipment landed in my apartment. The session, which was led by Peloton instructor Adrian Williams, was long enough for me to say “oh this looks cool,” but not nearly enough time to dissect it and come up with an informed opinion. That’s why I was excited when this opportunity to extensively test and review the Peloton Row came my way. (Plus, I kind of love Peloton products — I have a Bike +, a Thread and use the app regularly.)
When my rower arrived, it was in a couple of different boxes and one of two technicians was carrying the 23.8- inch 1080p HD touchscreen. The monitor was set inside my apartment, while the technicians unboxed everything else in the hallway outside my apartment, and then each piece was brought inside for assembly. The website says this process should take 30 minutes. From the moment the technicians rang my buzzer to the time the rower was assembled, my Wi-Fi connected and the latest hardware installed, it was more like 20 minutes.
As I bid adieu to the technicians and settled into the rower’s saddle, one thought came to mind: Is the Peloton Row really “the one piece of hardware to rule them all,” as Williams told me at that fall briefing last year? Here’s everything I learned and everything you need to know to see if the Peloton Row is for you.
This great-looking, streamlined rower from the fitness giant not only offers access to all Peloton's beloved video content and live classes — but also lets you learn the perfect rowing form with its live Form Assist feature. It's pricey, sure, but if you're going to use it regularly, we think it's worth the splurge.
What we liked about it
There are plenty of workouts
You’ll find the same caliber of workouts (and instructors!) on the Row than you would any of Peloton’s other interactive exercise machines. The library is extensive with more than 700 on-demand workouts, ranging from five minutes to an hour, as well as a myriad of live classes that appear on the schedule throughout the week. Additionally there are “Scenic Rows” that can transport you from Hilton Head Island, SC to Okinawa, Japan and a “Just Row” function that allows you to row by time, distance or pace.
I took a variety of classes — endurance, intervals, skills + form, boot camps as well as all five rowing instructors: Adrian, Alex, Ash, Katie and Matt. My absolute favorite classes were the 30-minute Row Bootcamps — which offered a mix of rowing intervals and strength training circuits. They were killer and the fact that I repeatedly got up to take the 6:00am class with Adrian speaks volumes. The 10-to-15 minute endurance and interval classes, which I usually gravitated toward Ash and Matt, also gave me a lot of bang for my buck, allowing me to get in a quality workout without having to allocate a huge chunk of time all at once. Bonus: Research shows that if adults over 40 engaged in just 10 minutes of moderate activity roughly 110,000 deaths could be prevented. Distance rows (think 500 meters) were also a staple throughout my testing period because they were a way to set a baseline for which to track my progress against.
As amazing as the classes were, there was one downfall with the rowing category: It wasn’t as robust as the cycling or treadmill verticals. For example, one day I looked at the tab for the live rowing classes and there were only three available: a morning, an afternoon and an evening class, yet there were seven live cycling classes on tap. I just wanted the option to take more live classes throughout the day. But, you also have access to a bunch of other classes via the rower — running, walking, hiking, cycling, yoga, meditation,? strength and more — so in the end, not having tons of live rowing classes is not a deal breaker.
A recently added feature (or at least a feature currently being beta tested) is that Peloton has finally allowed those ginormous touchscreens to be used for something other than Pelton-centric content. Now there is an entertainment tab where you can stream content from places such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney + to name a few while rowing and still seeing your metrics in real time.
There are a ton of metrics
For those who want to be plugged into every stat available, the Peloton Row has you covered. On your screen during each class, you’ll see a timer that tells you where you are in the workout (warmup, workout, cooldown) as well as your distance, pace, output, stroke rate, calories. There is also a leaderboard so you can engage with the other members of the community through high fives as well as the form assist, which we’ll get into a bit later. If you’d rather not be as in tune with every nugget of information because sometimes, let’s face it, too much information can be overwhelming, you can customize what you want to see. I would regularly toggle the leaderboard, form assist and class time on and off, depending on my mood.
The seat felt great
Surprisingly, the seat was super comfortable. I have been on a lot of rowers in my day, from the Concept 2 to the Hydrow, and typically the seats are just OK — nothing to write home about. But the Peloton Row, which is ergonomic, felt kind of plush. In fact, it was comfy from the first moment I sat down until I got up, whether that was a five minute warm up class before I did other workouts or a 30 minute class.?
The foot strap doesn’t budge
Rest assured that once the Velcro closure, which is a thick nylon black and red woven strap, is in place across the middle of your foot, your feet aren’t going anywhere. Seriously, they don’t loosen at all, not even during longer, more intense rows. I always felt? secure when strapped in and the fit was snug on my 8.5 size feet, not overly tight. Also handy: the foot pad can accommodate a women’s size 5 to a men’s size 13.5.
It’s super quiet
Typically when I say a piece of equipment is quiet, I mean it’s not offensively loud. It’s more background noise, like a white noise machine or a TV on a low volume. But the Peloton Row literally emits no sound — which is in part thanks to the electronically controlled resistance. As a dweller of a small apartment with thin walls, this feature was very much appreciated because I didn’t have to worry that my neighbors might be disturbed during my rowing workouts.
Form assist
I consider myself a pretty adept rower, but even the best of us can use a little help. Although I have been rowing for several years, it’s been a year or two since I had consistent rowing practice. Needless to say, on the first few rows, I got A LOT of feedback from the real time form assist feature, which the folks at Peloton say is a first on any rowing machine.
It works by using sensors in the seat and handle to determine where you are in your rowing cycle. Upon initial setup of your rower, you go through a few minutes of calibration (into, rowing technique and form assist calibration ). During this time the machine essentially gets a snapshot of your specific form, which is tied to your user profile, and then uses this to help guide you during classes and provide individualized, real-time form tracking and form feedback on the screen. During this orientation video, they do encourage you to recalibrate your rowing form periodically because it may change slightly with more experience and as you get fitter.
When your form isn’t on point, your little on-screen avatar not only flashes red on any areas that didn’t hit the correct form, but you also get text cues (think: “lean slightly forward at the catch” or “DRIVE: Opening up too early”). When your form is perfect, the avatar stays grayed-out. Additionally, after the class, with all your other data you’ll get a summary of how well your form was during class, seeing a percentage of how close you were to optimal form, both for the whole class and for each of the four parts of the stroke. You’ll also get a form rating for each 500 meter segment, so you can see if your form changes throughout certain sections of the class. Virtual badges are also handed out post class if you successfully demonstrate “good form”, “great form”, “excellent form” or “perfect form.”
The form assist definitely sets this rower apart. I’ll admit at times it got annoying (more so when I was tired and I was being constantly reminded that my form was failing), but in the end it helped me up my rusty rowing game. Also, when talking with a friend who had never rowed before but had purchased the rower because he is a Peloton fan and already had both the tread and the Bike+, I was told: “I didn’t realize how technique driven [rowing] was…without the form assist feature, I probably would have given up because I was so exhausted at the beginning and basically doing it wrong.”
What we didn’t like about it
The price
There is no way around it: The Peloton Row is an investment. You will shell out almost $3000 to get this piece of connected tech into your home. More if you want to include any of the accessory packs (think an extra $75- $375 for a combination of things like an exercise mat, water bottle, heart rate band, dumbbells, yoga blocks and/or yoga strap.) Plus you still have to pay $44/month for the subscription plan which grants you access to all of the live and on-demand classes. A silver lining: You can do a 30-day in-home free trial of the Peloton Row. This way, you can be sure you are ready to plunk down that cash.
It’s big and heavy
At 8 Feet x 2 feet, you need to dedicate a good amount of space. The folks over at Peloton also suggest you allow for a clearance of?about two feet on the back and sides of the rower. Essentially, that’s a footprint of 10 feet by 6 feet. Again, as someone living in a tiny NYC apartment, there was only one place that the Peloton row could fit, and that was my living room. Initially it was sitting in the middle of the room, which wasn’t practical, so I pushed it as close to one of the walls as possible. Note: This was a chore because the Peloton Row, which sports a frame that’s made mostly out of powder-coated cast aluminum, weighs in at 156 pounds. Even with the Row pushed to one side, it still co-opted a chunk of my living room. And while I loved using it, I often became tired of looking at it.
There is an option to store it upright — you will need high ceilings — and it comes with an upright wall anchor to secure it, which the technicians handed me before they left. I never installed the anchor because I live in an apartment and wasn’t too keen on putting holes in the wall for something that I would return in a few months. It’s an uncomplicated process and does make a difference, but if you aren’t using the wall anchor, Peloton advises against storing the Row upright.
The handlebar lacks grip
When I sweat, I sweat buckets, and that includes my hands. The problem: sweaty palms can make it tricky to maintain a good grip on the handlebars. Routinely though, during intense rowing sessions, I’d have to break momentum and form to take one of my hands off of the handlebar to wipe it on my pants, followed by the other one. This was especially bothersome when I was in the zone, really feeling my workout and killing it on the leaderboard. I think some sort of reinforced rubber or a strip of tacky material on the handlebars would go a long way to help solve this issue.
You have to plug it into an actual socket
The Peloton rower must be plugged directly into an outlet, no extension cords or power strips. A spokesperson for the brand says that this is because it “requires a nominal 120-volt circuit and a grounded outlet.” While the cord is long, almost 8 feet in length, you do want to make sure you are placing your device somewhere nobody will trip on it.
How it compares
There are plenty of rowers on the market. While a majority come in under the Peloton Row price wise, there are some that outprice it, and not just by a little bit. Either way, each of them has great features and might be worth considering.
For example, the Hydrow, which is our Best Overall pick for rowers, sits at $2495 — and it is less expensive than the Peloton Row while still offering a sleek package with tons of classes and various scenic locations for your rows. Though it features a slightly smaller screen than the Peloton Row, it still provides great video and plenty of stats.
Next there is the Concept 2 RowErg, which you typically will see at your gym or in CrossFit classes. It may be considered more of a bare bones rower — no fancy, sleek frame or?HD tablet-like screen — but don’t be fooled, this is still a quality machine that lots of pros flock to and it’s less than $1000. Plus you’ll be clued into your distance, speed, pace, calories burned and watts as well. Also, it can accommodate up to 500 pounds unlike the 300-pound weight limit of the Peloton Row.
If you want more of an on-the-water-feel, the Water Rower Oak Rowing Machine With S4 Monitor should be your go-to. At almost one-third of the price of the Peloton Row ($1099), you’ll get a handcrafted solid oak wood machine that if nothing else looks pretty darn cool. Plus it only weighs about 104 pounds (that’s when it’s filled with water!) yet is built to hold 700 pounds. The monitor, though small, still shows you all the stats you crave: stroke rate, speed, time and distance. A bonus: There are wheels on the frame which make it easy to move out of the way. It can also be stored upright, too.
The NordicTrack RW 900 has a large touchscreen like the Peloton Row that swivels on its base, as well as a pretty sizable library of live and on-demand workouts that aren’t just rowing specifically.
If the price tag of the Peloton Row doesn’t scare you, then you likely won’t bat an eye at the Technogym Skill Row, which comes in at nearly $4000. Unlike other rowers, this one lets you toggle between a rowing mode for a cardiovascular workout or power mode for a resistance workout — all with the simple turn of its center dial. This rower, which is much larger than the Peloton Row, can accommodate 353 pounds, has a 7” LCD display with backlight, a place to attach your cell phone and a companion app. Like the Peloton it also has Bluetooth? Smart, ANT+ connectivity for a heart rate monitor.
Bottom line
I love rowing and I enjoyed every workout I took on the Peloton Row. Plus there is so much more to love about this rower: The streamlined machine offers a smooth and quiet ride; has a robust catalog of classes with motivational teachers; has a monitor that swivels to the side, making it’s easy to take classes off the rower; accommodates those 4’11 to 6’5 — and the whole thing can be stored upright. You can also pair a heart rate monitor, your Apple watch to sync your health, as well as wireless headphones to video chat with friends during class via the 8 megapixel front-facing camera. And probably most importantly, the form assist is key, making it as good for newbies as it is for someone brushing up on their rowing skills.
But are all of these amazing attributes, as well as your motivation to use a rower, enough to outweigh the price tag? That’s the $3,000 question. If you have some discretionary income and plan to regularly use the Peloton Row, it’s an excellent investment for a mixture of strength, cardio and conditioning. But if there is any chance it may become a place to hang your clothes on, you may want to pass.
