JLL Fitness Ventus Air Rower, Commercial Level Home Rowing Machine with LCD Monitor, Suitable for Home Use, Multiple Levels of Air Resistance, Heavy Duty Rower

I've had this for a couple of months now and am very happy with it. It's very similar to the type I used to use down the gym, so feels very familiar.The display is very simple to use and you can either log your distance and time, or use race mode. Race mode has 15 levels and I've rapidly got up to level 12. Level 13 is just out of reach at the moment - all in good time. I started doing 1000 metres on resistance level 1, which was an effort at the time. In two months I've progressed to 2000 metres on resistance level 3. So the machine is going to last me a good long time as I get fitter and stronger. I wasn't bothered about Bluetooth or integrating with apps and smartphones, so the simple setup of the display is fine for my purposes. It shows stroke rate and watts being generated as well. I'd say the display is a bit on the cheap plasticy side, but it does what it's supposed to...The overall build is solid, but be prepared to assemble everything. It's very easy to follow the instructions, but the bigger parts take a bit of wrangling if you're on your own. The only minor quibble is that the bolts which hold the foot rests keep loosening with use. But they're very easy to tighten with the supplied spanners, so I just keep that handy and give it a tweak as necessary. Tons of packaging and polystyrene too, so be prepared for a full wheelie bin or a trip to the tip. They could probably do more to reduce this, especially the polystyrene.It's very easy to fold up and move around out of the way. You just unscrew the locking bolt, tip up the rail and push through the locking bolt. Then you can tip the whole thing up and wheel it along.Overall it's comfortable, easy to use, sufficiently challenging to keep someone who is unfit to moderately fit occupied, and decent build quality. Better than the cheap ones, better because of the air resistance, but maybe not as good as the expensive ones. But just right at this price point.

Pleasantly surprised by the quality and sturdiness of all the parts, everything was well packaged and the assembly was reasonably straightforward (aside from the two mystery metal bushes that weren't listed anywhere on the parts list or instructions - still don't know what they're for).Smooth and reasonably quiet when in use, the seat is as comfortable as you'll get on an erg, and the handle provides good grip.I'm 176cm tall, and the catch position is definitely short - you can't achieve a nice reach forward before the handle is already hard back against its housing - the footplates really need to be about 6-8cm further back, as the rail has plenty of length.It's a big unit, even folded, but easy to manoeuvre with the front wheels if locked flat, or the centre wheels when folded.Wish list would have been ant+ or Bluetooth connectivity, but it's a really robust and effective erg for the money. Just don't rely on the Amazon indicated delivery estimates - they bear no resemblance to reality. The courier company being used by JLL seem to have very few 2 man vans, so mine sat in their depot for almost two weeks.

This is my first rowing machine, so it was a bit of a stab in the dark, the Ventus 2 felt like a good starting point for someone like me: physically fit with a well established exercise regimine - looking to branch out and incorporate rowing into the mix.My expectations were met and exceeded - particularly by way of customer support (from helpful assembly videos to help when I accidentally bent a crucial component of the machine!). The machine itself is sturdy, well built but practical. The footprint was important to me, with limited space. The process of folding up and moving the machine is very, very simple and its size, once folded, suprisingly small.As made clear in the description - the display / software here isn't going to connect to fitness watches or anything like that - being a simple LCD display. However, the programming and readouts are extremely intuitive with all key metrics clearly tracked and the whole display does a great job of telling you everything you need to know - at a glance. The holder for a tablet is a great addition.The build quality is top notch, as is absolutely necessary for a machine designed to take an adult's full weight during rigorous exercise. The belt resistance feels good too and all points of contact sturdy, reliable and comfortable.Aside from a few hiccups with assembly (which were easily rectified by finding the build walkthrough on Youtube) - I cannot find fault in this great, strudy and compact machine.

If you don't want to pay mega bucks for a home rower I can recommend this piece of kit. A good mid range rower, delivered on time, which is saying something during the Covid-19 crisis. The rower is self assembly and is well packaged, watch out for the weight as it's about 40kgs. The rower comes with its own tool pack but would recommend you use your own sockets or spanners. The assembly instructions were ok but 4 small parts attaching the railway to the fan assemble were not mentioned, took me a few minutes to find out where these went. It took about 50 minutes to assemble, some parts are a bit fiddly and you may want another pair of hands to help. Once assembled the rower is sturdy and feels like the real deal when you get on it. The ride is smooth and the resistance levels are ok. Obviously this is not up there with the 'Concept 2' or commercial kit you get at your local gym but for home use it is about the best you can get without paying over the odds. My family and I have been using it every day since we took delivery and it has held up well. No problems thus far. A good aerobic workout. Worth the money.