Rowers in an apartment: Noise

Fozz · Post by **Fozz** » November 3rd, 2008, 11:41 am

Hi,

I'm trying to talk my son into getting a Model D. He lives in an apartment and I'm worried about the noise that would get transmitted to the lower apartment.

To get an idea of noise levels I recorded my Model B which resides in our bedroom on the second floor. I placed a microphone in the living room below the bedroom. The first recording was with the rower just sitting on the carpet in the bedroom. For the second recording I folded up blankets about 3" to 4" thick and placed them under the feet. The last recording had 5" thick foam instead of the blankets.

I rowed at 200 watts and then 140. I could hear the difference between the two. The foam was the quietest and not too bad. Though listening to a recording may not the same as actually sitting there because they mic may pick up more noise than what the unaided ear can actually hear.

Question:
Does anyone row in an apartment with a model D or E and are not annoying their downstairs neighbors with the noise?

Question:
Has anyone built a sound isolation platform for the legs?

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » November 3rd, 2008, 11:47 am

Probably rubber mats would be better, and a house.

Sheepster · Post by **Sheepster** » November 3rd, 2008, 4:38 pm

One reason I sprang for a new model D instead of used model B is that the model D is a lot better for apartment living both in terms of noise and ease of storage. It's a lot quieter. I live in an apartment on the top floor, have rowed at all times of the day and night and have not had any complaints in my first 6 weeks of ownership. My apartment living room has hard wood floors and I bought some interlocking foam floor matting which I placed beneath the rower. (I used softtiles.com and got the 5/8th inch thick variety - it's possible to get 1inch thick matting as well but it's more expensive.) It has worked well for me. My biggest concern is usually whether the video I'm watching when I row is too loud not whether the rower is too loud. (I have to turn the volume up to understand conversations over the sound of the rower.)

I'm not a super intense rower, though, and I have noticed more noise at higher intensities which I've only recently been able to achieve (as my technique has improved) for relatively short periods of time. So it's possible my experience is not generalizable to someone who consistently rows more intensely.

tdekoekkoek · Post by **tdekoekkoek** » November 3rd, 2008, 6:14 pm

If you are really concerned about noise, consider getting a water rower. They are quieter than ergs and look very cool. The downside is that they are not calibrated the same as ergs and so it is difficult to compare workouts based on rating and spm, etc.

P.S. I have one for sale!

But regardless of my obvious bias since I have one for sale, they are a nice alternative for someone wanting a quieter experience.

rowland · Post by **rowland** » November 3rd, 2008, 10:08 pm

I would never get a water rower. I belong to a gym that has a concept 2 ,model C. Instead of buying a new D or E, they thought they would get someting different. I heard they were getting a water rower and I tried to talk them out of it.
They bought it any way. I have tried it and hated it, It was a complete waste of money. The monitor is a cheap toy[junk] compared to the C2.
The model D is very quite compared to a B, check one out and also put a pad under it like john suggested. It is a very quite machine, you will love it.

tdekoekkoek · Post by **tdekoekkoek** » November 3rd, 2008, 10:34 pm

rowland wrote:I would never get a water rower. I belong to a gym that has a concept 2 ,model C. Instead of buying a new D or E, they thought they would get someting different. I heard they were getting a water rower and I tried to talk them out of it.
They bought it any way. I have tried it and hated it, It was a complete waste of money. The monitor is a cheap toy[junk] compared to the C2.
The model D is very quite compared to a B, check one out and also put a pad under it like john suggested. It is a very quite machine, you will love it.

To each his own. While I agree that the monitor is not as good as the PM3, a water rower is a great machine. And in many ways better simulates on the water rowing than does a C2 erg. Don't take my word for it, try an Olympic gold medalist:

http://www.waterrower.com/en/endorsements_xeno.htm

Still I understand your preference for an erg. I use an erg because it is a standard and I can measure myself against others. But for pure training, the water rower is at least equal.

zen cohen · Post by **zen cohen** » November 4th, 2008, 6:58 pm

tdekoekkoek wrote:
rowland wrote:I....To each his own. While I agree that the monitor is not as good as the PM3, a water rower is a great machine. And in many ways better simulates on the water rowing than does a C2 erg. Don't take my word for it, try an Olympic gold medalist:

http://www.waterrower.com/en/endorsements_xeno.htm

I'm on Xeno's email list and just got one saying that he's stocking water rowers in his rowing facility in Costa Mesa and will only have a few C2s. He says that both are the same technique-wise. I'm going to try it out but I suspect that even if they're better they'll have a tough slog making inroads on C2 and its following. (Perhaps water rowers will be the Mac of ergs?)

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » November 4th, 2008, 8:45 pm

You could wash your clothes in that thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPRBNys6kas

rowland · Post by **rowland** » November 5th, 2008, 7:50 pm

I went xeno web site, he has a web page selling water rowers,he evens throws in his dvd. He must have made a deal with the company that sells them. His high profile endorsment and the right to sell them gives him some added income.
I bet he got a very good deal from water rower to replace all his concept 2 rowers. I would like to know the details before I except his opinion of the water rower as being better than the concept 2.

So his endorsement is very suspicious to me,

ps the water rower that I tried at my gym was a different brand than the one he recommends.

Montanaandy · Post by **Montanaandy** » November 7th, 2008, 11:57 am

I too saw that Xeno now endorses/uses the Water Rower in his gym. I guess that I will reserve judgement on the Water Rower until I have actually used one but I don't know... It does somewhat resemble a washing machine of sorts. I also would worry about possible leaks but that probably is not a big problem. The track for the seat is interesting - 2 tracks rather than the C2 monorail. I saw an aluminum version of the Water Rower that was quite striking in appearance. Not all that crazy about the wood versions.

I don't find the noise from my C2 to be that bad although I row in the basement and have my ipod playing through the ihome so I can't relate to an apartment dweller who would need a quite machine/environment.