Nordictrack RW500 vs Echelon Review | 5 Main Differences

Nowadays, choosing a product to purchase is a tough task in itself. The reason being tons of options that are available. Each product of a particular category has its own set of features and making a decision as to which one to go for considering the fact that different products offer different features is a time consuming process. If you’re planning to purchase a good rowing machine, then don’t worry we’ll make it easy for you. In this article, we’ll talk about two rowing machines, NordicTrack RW 500 and Echelon Smart Rower that are highly in demand. Read to know about them in detail and pick the one that suits you the best.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

PARAMETER	NORDICTRACK RW 500	ECHELON SMART ROWER
Dimensions of the product(H x W x L)	42.8” x 22.0” x 86.5”	41.7” x 20.5” x 83.5”
Weight	115 pounds	123 pounds
Colour	Black	Black / red
Resistance type	Air and magnetic	Magnetic
Number of magnetic resistance levels	26	32
Number of air resistance levels	10	–
Tablet provided	Yes	No
Tablet holder	Yes	Yes
Screen	5 inches	21.5” HD touchscreen
Pre-programmed programs	30	1600
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
Foldable	Yes	Yes
Transport wheels	Yes	Yes
Maximum user weight capacity	250 pounds	300 pounds
Membership program	iFit	Echelon Fit
Subscription	1 year free	Optional and is paid
Speakers	Yes	Yes
Labour warranty	1 year	1 year
Parts warranty	3 years	1 year

FEATURES

• WEIGHT: Both NordicTrack RW 500 and Echelon smart rower weigh almost the same and their dimensions (height, length and width) are also pretty much similar.

• RESISTANCE: The NordicTrack RW 500 rower uses a combination of air and magnetic resistance which enables the user to experience both – high end as well as low end resistance. It has 26 magnetic resistance levels and 10 air resistance levels. On the other hand, Echelon smart rower has only magnetic resistance mechanism and has 32 resistance levels to choose from. Both these machines allow the resistance to be adjusted as per the requirement of the user.

• DISPLAY: Needless to say, the attraction that a large display draws is not measurable. This is exactly what Echelon smart rower is known for. It comes with a 21.5” HD touchscreen that you can use to access a number of workouts and live classes from world class instructors. The large screen ensures a better visual experience, undoubtedly. You get information about Calories burned, Distance, Heart rate, RPM, Resistance, Time, etc. displayed. However, NordicTrack RW 500 rower has a smaller screen (5” monitor) that displays information about calories, speed, distance, heart rate, time, strokes per minute, total strokes, etc.

• DEVICE HOLDER: Both these rowing machines are equipped with a device holder with the help of which you can safely secure your smartphone / tablet, rotate and adjust to get the best viewing angle and go ahead with the training aspect.

• TABLET: One of the most remarkable features of NordicTrack RW 500 rower is that it comes with a free tablet. On the contrary, Echelon smart rower doesn’t provide a free tablet for its users.

• SPEAKERS: Both these rowing machines possess this feature of built-in speakers.

• MEMBERSHIP: NordicTrack RW 500 rower comes with 1 year free iFit membership. With this membership, you are entitled to get trained from world-class personal trainers. In addition to this, you also have an advantage to choose from over 12,000 workouts. Though most of them are rowing specific, but you also get access to yoga, kick-boxing, weight lifting and a lot more. After one year of free subscription, you’ll have to pay a certain amount to avail the services. On the other hand, the Echelon smart rower has a membership plan as well but unlike the former, this is a paid membership. Also, the number of workouts that the users can access in this case are less (over 1500) when compared to NordicTrack RW 500 rower.
• USER CAPACITY: NordicTrack RW 500 rower supports a maximum user capacity of 250 pounds whereas Echelon smart rower supports a maximum of 300 pounds of user weight.

• STORAGE: Space has always been a concern especially when planning to buy fitness related machines and appliances. But, if you are planning on buying any of these rowing machines (NordicTrack RW 500 rower or Echelon smart rower), you need not worry about space at all for these are foldable. Fold and store, when not in use. It is that simple!

• USER COMFORT: Despite the product being loaded with features, unless it is user friendly and assures of utmost comfort, it is just worthless. On the same lines, NordicTrack RW 500 rower boasts of exceptional user comfort with features like adjustable pivoting pedals to keep your feet in place, nylon straps that you can adjust as per your resistance and speed, an oversized steel seat rail that gives you the right support, soft touch handles that protect your hands from uncomfortable pinching and an ergonomic seat that you can adjust according to the height desired. Echelon smart rower too assures user comfort as it boasts of being equipped with a comfortable seat with 6” lever-style adjustment that ensures a comfortable rowing posture, foot platform to adjust the foot size (adjustable foot straps), non-slip surfaces and a lot more.

• Bluetooth / app: Both these rowing machines support Bluetooth connectivity and using their respective applications, the user can avail a number of services.

NORDICTRACK RW 500 PROS & CONS

ECHELON SMART ROWER PROS & CONS

 

CONCLUSION

If you are looking for a good number of features like a free tablet, a free membership, etc. in addition to an exceptional rowing experience, then NordicTrack RW 500 rower could be the best option. On the other hand, if you are not much interested about additional features and all that matters to you is a good rowing experience and user comfort, then think no more and get your hands on Echelon smart rower.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• How to clean the rowing machine?
  To clean, make use of a cloth and a mild detergent.

• Why does my seat stick to the monorail?
  There could be two possible reasons. Firstly, the monorail might not be clean. If that’s the case, then quickly clean the monorail. Secondly, if the bottom rollers are too tight, then also the seat might get stuck to the monorail.

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