Concept2 RowErg Review: $1,045 Delivered for the Numbers a Gym Keeps

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In this guide

THE SHORT VERSION

The RowErg sells at $990.00 with standard legs on Concept2's US store, Add to Cart live, and at the same $990.00 on Amazon, where Concept2, Inc. is the seller and the item is in stock. Ground shipping is $55 either way in the lower 48, so the delivered figure is $1,045. The two channels differ on returns: the Amazon listing, which Concept2 ships itself, is returnable for a refund or a swap within 30 days, though the listing warns that a return shipping fee may apply, while the factory's guarantee lasts 30 days from shipment, refunds the machine's cost, leaves every shipping charge with the buyer, and covers factory-direct sales in the US and Canada.

Concept2's own case for the $990 is a monitor whose readings match the Concept2s in gyms and at races, on a machine it still publishes repair sheets for. The decision therefore hinges on two measurements rather than a feature list: how much clear floor the house can give up, and whether the standard monorail fits the owner's legs.

Our verdict

At $990 plus $55 shipping the RowErg is the rower the shared numbers are built on, with a printed maintenance schedule and repair sheets behind it. Buy it when the floor and the inseam check out.

A good fit for: A home with a clear 6-by-11-foot run of floor, a rower who wants the same numbers a gym program or a league table uses, and an inseam of 38 inches or less.
We would skip it if: An inseam longer than 38 inches, a room that cannot give the manual its 6-by-11-foot free area, or a need for a published decibel number before ordering.

Reasons to consider it

The PM5's readings are the ones a gym program, a league table, and the next Concept2 in the room share, which is what the price is really buying
A five-year frame warranty and a printed maintenance schedule, with repair sheets and schematics published for the chain, seat rollers, shock cord, flywheel, and the monitor itself
Splits into two pieces without tools and rolls on casters, from 8 ft x 2 ft assembled down to 25 x 33 x 54 in stored

The compromises

The manual's free area of 6 ft x 11 ft is the widest space Concept2 prints for the machine, and a room that cannot spare it stays short
An inseam longer than 38 inches may need an extra-long monorail arranged through Concept2, priced nowhere on the pages checked
Standard legs sit at 14 inches; the tall version adds $165 to the price, $30 to the shipping, and a second box, and nothing between the two seat heights exists in the line

What we have not verified: No decibel number appears in the maker's documents — spec sheet, warranty page or owner's manual — so the machine's noise cannot be compared from anything Concept2 prints. The tall-leg version has no separate space, clearance, or free-area figures anywhere; only the standard-leg dimensions are tabulated. The spec table carries two maximum-user weights, 500 lb (227 kg) as tested by Concept2 and 300 lb (135 kg) under EN 20957-7, with no explanation of the difference, and the manuals page lists repair sheets without part prices, so the cost of replacing a chain or a seat roller cannot be added up from it.

The things in this guide

A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.

The indoor rower the shared numbers are kept on, at $1,045 delivered

RowErg

$990.00 plus $55 ground shipping in the lower 48, the same $990.00 on Amazon with Concept2, Inc. as the seller, buys the PM5 and its comparability, a 500 lb frame test, two years of coverage on moving parts and the monitor with five on the frame, a printed maintenance schedule, published repair sheets for the chain, seat rollers, shock cord, and monitor, and a two-piece breakdown to 25 x 33 x 54 in.

Before you buy: An inseam longer than 38 inches may need the extra-long monorail from Concept2, the manual's 6 ft x 11 ft free area is the real floor requirement, tall legs add $165 and $30 more shipping, and no noise figure exists in the maker's documents.

$990 at Concept2

Price checked October 1, 2026. Retailer prices can change.

The $990 buys the sport's reference numbers, not a longer feature list

Concept2's case for the machine is comparability, and the product copy states it outright: the monitor's output can be tracked in an online ranking holding over a million results and used in races that run on the RowErg. The mechanism behind that is the air flywheel, which leaves intensity to the rower — a harder pull meets more drag, and the PM5 reads the effort back as pace and distance. The figure a PM5 prints is the one a gym program, a league table, and the next Concept2 in the room share.

The rest of the price is documentation. The maker's manuals page carries repair sheets and schematics for the chain, seat rollers, shock cord, flywheel, monorail track, casters, and the monitor, plus a reboxing guide, and the support section dates the line to April 2021, when the Model D took the RowErg name.

Standard legs or tall legs: a seat-height choice with a $165 step

Standard legs place the seat 14 in (36 cm) from the floor and ship in one box. Tall legs make it 20 in (51 cm), add $165 at $1155, and arrive in two. The frame materials move with the choice — aluminum front legs and steel rear legs on the standard version, steel at both ends on the tall — and the machine's weight rises from 57 lb (26 kg) to 68 lb (31 kg), while ground shipping goes from $55 to $85.

The height of the owner is not the dividing line. Concept2's own text describes the higher frame as easier on and off for tired knees or mobility, prints it as not required for taller users, and gives both leg options the same inseam ceiling of 38 inches (96.5 cm). What does change is storage: the two-piece breakdown measures 25 x 33 x 54 in with standard legs and 27 x 47 x 54 in with the tall version, so the taller frame takes more room when it is parked.

Room to row: the manual asks for more floor than the product page does

At rest the machine measures 96 in by 24 in (244 x 61 cm), or 8 ft x 2 ft. The product page asks for 9 ft x 4 ft (274 x 122 cm) with clearance to use it. The owner's manual prints two more numbers: a training area of 4 ft x 9 ft (122 x 274 cm) and a free area of 6 ft x 11 ft (183 x 336 cm). The free area is the widest clear-space figure Concept2 prints, and it is the one a room should be measured against.

Length is where long legs meet the first hard limit. The monorail runs 54 in (137 cm), and Concept2 states that both leg heights fit inseams up to 38 inches (96.5 cm) and that rowers with a longer inseam may need an extra-long monorail and should contact the company. That option is arranged through the company rather than listed with a price, so the tallest buyers carry an unpriced line into the order while everyone else can treat length as settled.

The delivered price, the small add-ons, and what each seller does on a return

In the lower 48, the machine plus ground shipping is $1,045 on either channel: $990.00 for the RowErg and $55 for UPS or FedEx Ground. Outside the 48 the rate changes sharply — $175 to Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, $100 to Canada — and the tall-leg version runs $85 at home against the standard version's $55. Those two rates are what a single-household order can buy at; the maker's lower per-machine prices begin at orders of five.

The add-on list is short. Concept2 prices the Deluxe Seat Pad at $12.00, and the monitor takes two D cells, drawing power from the spinning flywheel during a workout to extend their life. Returns are where the two sellers diverge. The Amazon listing takes the machine back within 30 days for a refund or a swap, with drop-off through Amazon, but says a return shipping fee may apply and the machine is not eligible for a free return. The factory's guarantee lasts 30 days from shipment, refunds the cost of the machine, makes all shipping costs the buyer's, covers factory-direct sales in the US and Canada, and suggests keeping the original box.

Wear parts, the printed schedule behind the warranty, and where the purchase stops

The warranty covers two years on moving parts and the monitor and five years on frame parts, counted from the day a machine is bought from Concept2. The owner's manual supplies the schedule those terms rest on: wipe the monorail top after every session, oil the chain with a teaspoon of mineral oil every 50 hours of use, and at 250 hours inspect the chain for stiff links, check the shock cord's return, tighten the screws, and clear dust from the flywheel. A worn chain, sprocket, or handle U-bolt should be replaced with genuine Concept2 parts.

Three conditions end the order. An inseam longer than 38 inches, which turns the order into a call about the extra-long monorail. A room that cannot hold the manual's 6 ft x 11 ft free area. And a need for a published noise figure: none is printed in any of the maker's documents, so whoever wants a decibel number before ordering has nothing to weigh.

How we put this together

Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.

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