The Final Stretch

Now we come to the final stretch, that is, if you have decided to buy a rowing machine. Who to buy it from? Well, manufacturing rowing machines is not a rocket science. So you can buy it from quite many companies. But since there are so many manufacturers of fitness equipment that are selling pretty much the same thing, why not take an advantage of it and buy the one that is offered at the best price? And just because a lot of people manufacture it, that doesn’t mean that all of them are the same. There is always some difference in quality. So make sure that you are buying the right thing.

Here are a few manufacturers and dealers of rowing machines: KEENE Co. Ltd. of China is a 15 year old company that sells exercise equipment; Dachang Hui Autonomous County Xiadian Jiamei Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. is also another Chinese name in fitness equipment and Wuyi Patern Imp. &Exp. Co., Ltd., located in Wuyi County, next to Yiwu – the worldwide known “commodity center” in China. Wuyi Patern Imp. & Exp. Co. claims that they specialize in exporting fitness equipment, daily necessities and building materials. Shanghai Sunbanker Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. specializes in the production of fitness equipment in Taiwan. Guangquan Industrial & Development Co., Ltd. was established in 1997. Its main products include fitness equipment. Yang Fit Co., Ltd. is yet another company that specializes in fitness equipment like Shanghai Hankang Fitness Equipment Co., Ltd. and many, many others all over the world.

There are intermediaries like Made In China, Ebay, Ali Baba and others that make comparing prices a piece of cake.

Before buying, you must make sure that the information is from a reliable source and complete because online stores tend to hide faults and if you are buying a rowing machine in person, make sure that the product is not faulty.

Don’t Be So Sure!

There are also downsides to rowing machines. The biggest downside is that it is no substitute to actual rowing. The fresh air, the sun shining overhead and those splashes of water - you cannot get that experience on a rowing machine. You cannot get bored while rowing in real life, but in the case of rowing machines, people get really bored, really quickly. The reason is that rowing entertains the whole body and mind. While rowing in a lake you can enjoy the beautiful surrounding, but when on a rowing machine you are stuck inside and you can’t even read.

Apart from that, all the types individually have downsides. The piston resistance models though cheap and portable shouldn’t even be referred to as rowing machines as rowing requires a sort of elliptical path for the hands to move, which they don’t provide. Also, piston resistance models of rowing machines are mostly fixed. So your legs don’t really do anything, another reason these contraptions should not be called rowing machines. Let’s talk about the brake fly wheel resistance models of rowing machines. They have earned the right to be called rowing machines. But they cost a lot. In the brake flywheel resistance rowing machines, the individual braking types have unique problems. The Air Resistance models of rowing machines are first of all very noisy. I personally do not like noise during my workout. It’s hard enough setting the hell out of me. These require a lot of space. After those there are Water Resistance models of rowing machines that make less noise, but they use water for brakes. As you might imagine, they would need a whole lot of space for the tank, but they do a good job simulating the rowing experience, too bad they require a little lake of their own. The final rowing machine models that use Magnetic Resistance ones have electromagnet in brakes. They are quiet but they are still very expensive and as compared to Water resistance models, they aren’t that good.

So every type has its own problems. Consider yourself warned.