Peloton rower?

[matt1984]

Curious that this did not hit these forums. Anyone have anything to share? In other words, is anyone on these boards privy to the development?
Seems like a licensing deal with Concept2 would be a quick way to the market and gain access to thousands of existing machines/rowers/clubs/teams worldwide with a retrofit kit.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/13/peloton ... dmill.html

[lt.wolf]

Maybe Hydrow? Already have instructors etc in place

[KitD]

I struggle to see the mass appeal of "peloton" rowing.

Non-rowers I see in public gyms (by far the biggest market) avoid the rowing machine, or use it as little as possible, preferring bikes or ellipticals. Persuading them of the benefit of doing it in groups when they don't want to do it in the first place seems like a waste of time. Edit: eg, my local gym started running "erg spinning" classes, but had to drop it after a couple of months because everyone found it "too hard" ::rolls_eyes::

For rowers, the erg is a means to an end, and the real end is rowing in a crew in boats, for which rowing as an online "peloton" is a pretty meagre substitute.

There may be a market for frustrated rowers who can't get onto the water during the week maybe.

Or maybe they'll prove me wrong and come up with some magic formula.

[sandor]

I struggle to see the mass appeal of "peloton" rowing.

Non-rowers I see in public gyms (by far the biggest market) avoid the rowing machine, or use it as little as possible, preferring bikes or ellipticals. Persuading them of the benefit of doing it in groups when they don't want to do it in the first place seems like a waste of time. Edit: eg, my local gym started running "erg spinning" classes, but had to drop it after a couple of months because everyone found it "too hard" ::rolls_eyes::

For rowers, the erg is a means to an end, and the real end is rowing in a crew in boats, for which rowing as an online "peloton" is a pretty meagre substitute.

There may be a market for frustrated rowers who can't get onto the water during the week maybe.

Or maybe they'll prove me wrong and come up with some magic formula.

Company "grew" to US$226 million in losses for 2019
They have a US$4200 treadmill with $100 million worth of them in the product line & slow sales.

Yet for their IPO in September they figure they have a market of 92 million households in the US. Huh?
For their money grab, they claim their upper crust 4k treadmill and 2k bicycle is aimed at 72% of Americans

I think they are grasping at straws a bit.

[matt1984]

I struggle to see the mass appeal of "peloton" rowing.

Non-rowers I see in public gyms (by far the biggest market) avoid the rowing machine, or use it as little as possible, preferring bikes or ellipticals. Persuading them of the benefit of doing it in groups when they don't want to do it in the first place seems like a waste of time. Edit: eg, my local gym started running "erg spinning" classes, but had to drop it after a couple of months because everyone found it "too hard" ::rolls_eyes::

For rowers, the erg is a means to an end, and the real end is rowing in a crew in boats, for which rowing as an online "peloton" is a pretty meagre substitute.

There may be a market for frustrated rowers who can't get onto the water during the week maybe.

Or maybe they'll prove me wrong and come up with some magic formula.

Company "grew" to US$226 million in losses for 2019
They have a US$4200 treadmill with $100 million worth of them in the product line & slow sales.

Yet for their IPO in September they figure they have a market of 92 million households in the US. Huh?
For their money grab, they claim their upper crust 4k treadmill and 2k bicycle is aimed at 72% of Americans

I think they are grasping at straws a bit.

Hence my question of why they are trying to recreate the wheel (see what I did there? when instead of building an all-new, super special $5k ergometer they (Peloton) could tap into a portion of a huge existing population of ergometer users or potential rowers. Yeah, yeah, maybe those reading this forum are contented with the solitary drudgery and pragmatic 'means to an end' we have all come to know and love, but would it be better to have something more interesting to look at while confined to the machine? Power curve, pacing, stroke rate and heart rate in black against a gray background seems very 1985. Doesn't have to be the glammed up images seen in the ads or huge classes of peloton riders. Maybe it could be a series of recorded technique or work pieces with Eric Murray or Mahe taking you down the course at Henley or the Charles on an updated screen add-on. Subscription to classes could be an option. Maybe make a Roku kind of thing that connects your erg (and the data) to your flat screen TV or iPad. Ok, ok, maybe too much. Back to black & white TV. Tips for the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RypmFsPobcY

[Mango]

I struggle to see the mass appeal of "peloton" rowing.

Non-rowers I see in public gyms (by far the biggest market) avoid the rowing machine, or use it as little as possible, preferring bikes or ellipticals. Persuading them of the benefit of doing it in groups when they don't want to do it in the first place seems like a waste of time. Edit: eg, my local gym started running "erg spinning" classes, but had to drop it after a couple of months because everyone found it "too hard" ::rolls_eyes::

For rowers, the erg is a means to an end, and the real end is rowing in a crew in boats, for which rowing as an online "peloton" is a pretty meagre substitute.

There may be a market for frustrated rowers who can't get onto the water during the week maybe.

Or maybe they'll prove me wrong and come up with some magic formula.

Company "grew" to US$226 million in losses for 2019
They have a US$4200 treadmill with $100 million worth of them in the product line & slow sales.

Yet for their IPO in September they figure they have a market of 92 million households in the US. Huh?
For their money grab, they claim their upper crust 4k treadmill and 2k bicycle is aimed at 72% of Americans

I think they are grasping at straws a bit.

Hence my question of why they are trying to recreate the wheel (see what I did there? when instead of building an all-new, super special $5k ergometer they (Peloton) could tap into a portion of a huge existing population of ergometer users or potential rowers. Yeah, yeah, maybe those reading this forum are contented with the solitary drudgery and pragmatic 'means to an end' we have all come to know and love, but would it be better to have something more interesting to look at while confined to the machine? Power curve, pacing, stroke rate and heart rate in black against a gray background seems very 1985. Doesn't have to be the glammed up images seen in the ads or huge classes of peloton riders. Maybe it could be a series of recorded technique or work pieces with Eric Murray or Mahe taking you down the course at Henley or the Charles on an updated screen add-on. Subscription to classes could be an option. Maybe make a Roku kind of thing that connects your erg (and the data) to your flat screen TV or iPad. Ok, ok, maybe too much. Back to black & white TV. Tips for the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RypmFsPobcY

I sort of thought what you did about Hydrow. Why not retrofit. But after seeing their machine I get it. The C2 is clunky and loud comparatively. For your Orangetheory crowd, this doesn't work or at least ins't appealing. Water Rower found a market here for the same reasons. The cost of building out an instructor team, production staff, and coach is really high. This is what a guy like Bruce Smith is really good at, raising money. Why would C2 spread themselves so thin for a market we are unsure exists, and really does not take away any of their marketshare? They will still own every actual rowing club, cross fit, and former rowers basement. What you are describing sounds a lot like Hydrow, but you don't like that it is a different machine than C2. Which is fine, because the product isn't geared at you or I.

[sandor]

Hey! and you can save $500 on the Hydrow right now, making it less than 2x the price of a Model D.


The $40 a month subscription is kicker to the expensive hardware ("should not be considered an optional part of purchasing", "internet connection and power are always required")

Maybe i would think different if i approached working out as a group activity...
or if i wanted to have an IT check list be part of my workout...
or if i lived farther than a stone's throw from the river...
or if i liked people...



Hydrow, at least, makes it seem like they are considering memberships for non-hardware owners.

https://support.hydrow.com/hc/en-us/art ... -a-Hydrow-
https://support.hydrow.com/hc/en-us/art ... -Coaching-

[lt.wolf]

Hydrow has Howard Stern as a spokesman now. Heard it just this morning on his morning show and almost crashed my truck

[beagle]

intentionally?

[lt.wolf]

Of course, he has been pushing Peloton up till the holidays and now added in Hydrow.....

[sandor]

Of course, he has been pushing Peloton up till the holidays and now added in Hydrow.....

...Rush Limbaugh gave Uggs their big celebrity endorsement in the US back in the day...

I didn't realize Stern was still on the air somewhere.

[lt.wolf]

He is and more popular than ever, SiriusXM. A much more milder Stern than the 90s

Limbaugh, what a d-bag as a person. Glad Uggs went with Tom Brady as a spokesman

[Stelph]

Seems the industry is really trying to get into rowing in a big way at the moment

https://www.engadget.com/2020/01/08/ech ... art-rower/

[sandor]

Seems the industry is really trying to get into rowing in a big way at the moment

https://www.engadget.com/2020/01/08/ech ... art-rower/

Remember, though, where rowing sits in order of market importance...

Echelon already has two models of fitness mirrors in their portfolio - one US$1600 one US$1000.


It is also interesting that the same Engadget writer that complained 4 months ago about the high "totally out of my price range" $900 price of a C2 seems fine with a "quite affordable" $1600 Echelon rower with a $40 monthly subscription...

I'm sure a cast iron Olympic plate doesn't have enough tech wizardry for some people as well

[Rocket-Sauce]

Hydrow is not the only "Peloton-esque" rower
https://www.proform.com/rowing-machines/750r-rower