Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RW5515 Magnetic Rowing Machine Rower w/LCD Monitor

The most important thing I can think of to say is that if, like me, you are unfamiliar with rowing machines, you may think after 5 or 10 minutes, even on the highest resistance setting, that it's not much of a workout. That is deceptive. Since I'm willing to hike 2 or 3 hours on a nice weather day, I should be willing to row for at least one hour - I have to say that the last 5 minutes is very much different than the first 5. You are using a lot more muscles than you think, and you will tingle all over when you finally stop after even half an hour. Other ratings are pretty standard - arrived in very good time, assembles easily if you take your time and don't make foolish mistakes in excitement to use it. It's very quiet so no neighbor complaints even at 4am if you rise early. I suspect some of the screeching noises other reviewers mention might be coming from the strap rubbing on the plastic guide if you don't pull in and out in a narrow (proper rowing?) range of angles. The electronic screen gadget got such poor reviews I honestly never even put the batteries in - I have a kitchen timer, I don't need LCDs to watch while rowing. If they wanted to do something really clever, they would incorporate a small generator so you could charge your cellphone while you rowed - that would be more fun. Longevity of the hardware will be a mystery for a while, but I think the manufacturer has come a long way in responding to defects and failures and if I'm unlucky with some component I think they will make it good. Compared to a $900 rowing machine I think it's a very safe investment for my health, and I should be proud if I wear one out every few years.UPDATE: After months of experience my opinion hasn't changed, well worth the price (even tho it has gone up!) Only 2 complaints - the handlebar is too narrow for me (bangs my knuckles on my knees) so I extended it with PVC pipe and bicycle handlebar foam - perfect! Second - the infamous spring clicking noise - this developed over weeks and became MUCH more noticeable as the machine warmed up (>400 pulls) each day. Contrary to the incorrect assumptions of some reviews here, the spring does NOT provide the workout resistance, it just winds the strap back up as you pull yourself forward with your feet. I opened things up - grease was dripping out of the spring box. Disassembly is tricky, but if you clean the poor grade of grease out and replace it with some good, high temp, tacky grease, the noise (and possible damage leading to spring failure?) goes away immediately. See the tip below to really make this fix work well.UPDATE 10-24 one more important trick to make this really work perfectly - when you tighten the 4 nuts that hold the front shaft to the frame - first tighten the inner one so it rests LIGHTLY against the spring box cover, not against the frame. This provides a necessary seal to keep the spring action from pumping the lube out and eventually running dry and causing the whole problem. Then tighten the outer nut on that side. You can tell if you made the inner one too tight by giving the strap a test pull, it should retract the strap completely or you have to back the inner nut off until it does. Tighten the other inner nut lightly against the FRAME, and then tighten the last outer nut. This probably is (or should be) the proper assembly process where they build them and this (and thicker grease) would keep the noise and premature spring failures from happening. Enjoy!! It's a good product and an excellent maintenance workout!

I love this machine, and wish I had bought one years ago. I get a fantastic workout exercising most muscle groups. I bought this 3 months ago but have been waiting to review until I have some real experience with it. Setup was extremely easy and it is extremely well packaged. I think it took longer to remove from the packaging than it did to assemble. The rower is extremely quiet and exceptionally smooth. I watch the morning news as I row and I don't have to turn up the volume at all. The timer function is great, it senses when you're actually rowing so it's only timing your actual exercise. I would definitely buy this again. I'm 73 inches, 220 pounds; if you're much taller I'd look for something else. When I'm all the way forward the rowing handle is in full contact with the machine, I wish I had like 2 more inches, but I'm just looking for an aerobic workout and this fills that purpose excellently. The rowing handle is about an inch too short for me, but that's not an issue for me. Now for my two tiny gripes. First, the holes for the quick-release pin aren't lined up so I can't get the pin to go through the entire rail; this doesn't affect operation. Second, the rollers under the seat are impossible to access without disassembling the seat from the rail. This is an issue because if a speck of something (like sawdust) is on the rail, it'll get embedded on the roller, causing a bothersome rhythmic thump as you go forward and back. To clean off the rollers, you have to fully disassemble the seat, and it's not really designed for that so reassembly is a bit of a PITA. Again, it doesn't affect operation, the rhythmic thumping it's just an annoyance. To avoid, be sure to wipe down the rail with a microfiber cloth before you start rowing. If you do have to disassemble the seat, take close up pictures of the bolt that you'll be removing so you can reassemble correctly.Overall this is a fantastic exercise machine. If all you're looking for is exercise, it's great. If you want a machine to practice and prepare for real rowing/crew, you'll probably want to upgrade to a more professional model. But for me, I love this thing.