The Echelon Smart Rower is a great way to get a full-body workout without leaving the house. Its foldable design makes it convenient to store between sessions, and the Echelon app has thousands of on-demand classes.
However, unlike many of the best rowing machines, the Echelon rower doesn’t come with a display. Instead, you need to install the Echelon app on your smartphone or tablet and place it in the machine’s device holder.
The rail can fold up to save on floor space, though it retains a big footprint. While there are wheels up front to make it easier to move, at 49kg it’s still on the heavy side. If you have room to keep it permanently unfolded, that’s the best scenario. It is easy to unfold, though, and if you forget to wait for the click to signify it’s securely locked in place – as I did a couple of times – it’s quickly obvious so you can rectify the issue before doing yourself a mischief.
The rower connects to the app using Bluetooth and works well. I had no issues pairing with several Android phones and there were no connection drop-outs during classes.
The app is split into Featured, OnDemand and Live sections with a Progress tab to keep track of the classes you’ve completed. You can also connect to Strava and fitbit accounts to send your data to those platforms and I found it synced with my Strava profile swiftly after I completed a session.
I tried a range of on-demand and live classes working on strength, endurance and sometimes a bit of both in fusion sessions. The workouts were testing even though they don’t go beyond the 45-minute mark. While many do require jumping off the rower for short periods you can continue rowing if you prefer and you’ll still manage to get a good workout. For most people, a few 30-minute workouts a week that mix resistance work with rowing will have a positive impact on their fitness.
The rower offers 32 levels of magnetic resistance, brought to life through magnets and a 3.5kg flywheel that combine to offer a wide range of resistance and a smooth, quiet operation. That resistance level can be changed using two buttons in the centre of the handles. It’s a smart place to put them because if you row with a narrow grip, you can reach them with your thumbs and not interrupt your stroke rhythm. Even with a wide grip, it’s not too much effort to stretch over and reach them.
I found the resistance levels pretty light until you get into the high 20s and 30s. I’m a regular runner and swimmer so I keep relatively fit and didn’t find it too challenging to move up to the tougher resistance levels. That does mean it’s going to be more suitable to someone who’s new to indoor rowing, offering the potential to progress to tougher resistance levels.
Many people first experience air-based rowing machines at the gym or fitness center. These are effective but can also be noisy, so they are not great for at-home exercise(opens in new tab). However, the Echelon’s magnetic system is almost silent.
But once you’ve got all that out of the way, I’ve enjoyed the Echelon workouts. The instructors were energetic, clear, and motivational, while the routines were challenging but achievable.
The foot pads are wide enough to accommodate big, bulky trainers and use Velcro straps to make it easier to get off the rower quickly. This is useful when following some of the app’s strength classes, which break up the rowing with dumbbells and bodyweight sections. (You’ll need to supply your own dumbbells.)
There are also scenic classes which let you virtually row on a river in places like Thailand and Dubai. Echelon also offers FitPass classes, which are performed off the rower and cover the likes of yoga, meditation, barre and HIIT.
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