EchelonRow Series – Foldable Rowing Machine for Full-Body, Low-Impact Workouts with 22” Rotating HD Screen, Built-In Soundbar, Bluetooth Resistance & 30-Day Membership with Live Classes

I love my Echelon Row-S machine. Well built and sturdy. They keep improving the software quality with each update. Tension scale is 1-32, which is more than adequate for the different workouts I need to execute. Great value for the money. Building out my Echelon ecosystem, either start off my circuit on the Echelon Connect bike then hop on the Row machine or vice versa.

This is a very high quality machine and it looks like it's going to work great. I'm not using the app so I can't comment on that. One thing though and that's the reason for four stars instead of five stars is a packaging. Whoever package this thing loves loves loves clear tape. It could have been taped a lot less and made unboxing a lot more simple. I know it's a simple thing but simple things add up. I think the packaging is ridiculous.

First I'll start with you do NOT need the app OR the echelon fitness subscription to use this rower. In fact I never use the app and never subscribed to the fitness classes. The only functionality you lose is the ability to see what resistance you're at (instead just know it always starts at 1 and it's easy to just count the beeps as you increase so you know where you're at) and what your pace and stroke rate is. If you don't need that, don't worry about their app. If you are interested in pace, stroke rate, and resistance, the app itself with NO subscription WILL suffice.Now that said, I really like this rower. It's almost silent, air resistance rowers are probably more realistic but I was worried about lots of noise spreading in my old building. This rower is silent on the flywheel, the only noise is from the movement of the seat and the foot holders squeaking a bit. It's very possible for someone to be rowing and someone else to be watching TV in the same room. It's very solid, not a lot of plastic, and feels great. Assembly was relatively straightforward and not difficult, though I would recommend having two people, it's definitely possible to assemble solo.Circling back to the app, it's a little janky and overall I would rate it as poor. If you don't pay for the subscription the only thing you can do is a "free row" where it tracks your time and pace and the like. If you pay the $40/month you get some classes and the ability to row to a video of someone out on a river. The river rows are a nice background but really I'd rather just watch Netflix or something while I'm rowing instead. I found the classes to be alright, the music was not to my taste and overall production value was mid range at best. I didn't subscribe past the free trial. Now I use Apple Fitness for $8/month which I find much better or just watch Netflix on my iPad mounted to the rower.I did a lot of research and for a beginning rower looking for a good home workout, high quality and not too expensive, I think this is the top pick. The ability to just mount a phone or tablet and put whatever you want on while you row is a step above most with built in screens only accessing their own app. Some will brick without internet or an app, this one works fine without either.Overall highly recommend, all but the most serious rowers looking for a quiet machine won't be disappointed.Update 1 year later:Still love the rower. Would not buy the more expensive Rower S with built in screen. Original review was for their simpler Rower with no screen, just a phone/iPad mount. The machine is slightly louder now as the band moves in and out of what would be the flywheel on an air resistance rower. It's still much quieter than an air resistance rower, but louder than first purchase. This is after over a year of pretty heavy use so not terribly unexpected. If you can find it (looks like Amazon only selling the Rower S now) I'd still have to recommend this machine.

Please do yourself a favor and buy a brand named row machine. The packaging and delivery were perfect. However, once assembled, this brand new machine did not work properly as the computer system was not updated to the newest version. I figured this out months after purchasing when I could not (and still cannot) access any of the fitness programs even though I was paying a subscription fee. I only figured it after contacting the company and them notifying me that my machine’s system was not updated. This has been so frustrating as the steps they provided to fix this issue did not fully solve my access problem. Still cannot access any fitness programs. The computer software is not easy to use, glitchy, and just seem cheap and outdated.. I wish I had bought a brand name machine. They cost a little more but are better quality. This software update issue should have been fixed or be easily resolved by any customer….instead of being a giant headache. Please, please do your research and do not buy an echelon row.

Love the rower. Remarkably easy to install if you watch the installation video at the same time -- even the screws are numbered to make it easy. Rower is very solidly built. Very easy it is to adjust the tension on the fly. Feels like an excellent workout.I'm not as enthusiastic about the Echelon app, and decided not to use it after a brief period. I didn't think that the instructors were nearly as good as the instructors on the two other devices where I have subscriptions (Peloton and The Mirror) -- in terms of quality, quantity, variety, or anything else I can think of. I ended up subscribing to Apple Fitness +, which has rowing as one of many programs, and costs roughly 1/4th as much as an Echelon subscription and, at the same time, seemed like much higher quality instruction to me. You don't get the same stats, but you basically row at the same pace as the instructor, adjust the tension as appropriate for you, and monitor your heartbeat and calories to see how you're doing. Even if the costs were the same, I'd prefer the Apple Fitness + instructors, but at 1/4 the cost, I thought changing was a no-brainer. Overall, my view is it's an outstanding machine but there are better alternatives than the Echelon app.

Since I haven't tried cheaper models (I paid $699), it's hard to say if the build quality would be much different spending $200-$300 less, but it feels substantial and well-designed.I'm rowing 30 minutes 6x a week. Around three weeks in, the rower is performing well. The tension adjustment buttons were working sporadically, until I pushed in the battery in the handle more firmly, and it's been fine since. I like the folding design, it's not hard to move the rower around the room.Everything was packaged securely, no blemished or damaged components. Assembly wasn't too difficult, a longer wrench with a good handle would have been easier. The device holder works well holding my nude 12.9" iPad Pro (not quite wide enough to fit with the case).No review of the app or membership program, not interested in the subscription!