Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The good: this rower replicates an actual rowing experience pretty well, which I like because I rowed in my college days. It has a minimal foot print and works well even after 10 years (I didn't row for some of those years). Neutral: I use it at a medium setting, I use it more as a heart pumping exerciser than a strength building exerciser. Given it has only one piston, and the pivoting mechanisms are a bit fragile, I don't think it's meant for really strong people or people who enjoy working with high resistance. I read one review where the person broke the main pivoting bolt, and some reviews where plastic bushing shavings appeared after work-outs. The bad: There are two problems with this machine, both of which you can work-around. The lesser problem is the foot straps, only one pair of shoes I own works well with the straps such that my feet stay in the foot rests. The company that makes this machine apparently has another different pair of foot rests/straps, which probably allow you to exercise with another pair of shoes that work. The biggest problem is the pivoting mechanism under the machine which has PLASTIC bushings. Those bushings WILL wear out, either fast when you're strong and work with high resistance, or over time. The company should have used metal bushings, but that would have increased the price by a few dollars and would make the product last too long. You can order new bushings, and when they arrive you'll find out they are the wrong ones and they don't fit and you can't put the machine back together. This is the end of the machine for the average person. If you have access to a grinder, you can grind down the bushing 1/32 of an inch and then you can put the pivoting mechanism back together. The company refuses to acknowledge they sent me the wrong bushings, twice, and refuses to admit the new bushings don't work. The picture, if you can see it, has the old bushing on the right, the new bushing on the left, obviously not the same bushings. Conclusion: great machine for people in reasonable shape WHEN it works. Foot rests require you to find shoes that work. Pivoting bushings wear out and you need a grinder to make new bushings work. Not a good machine for strong people. Product support is helpful at first but bails at the first sign of trouble.