Sunny Health & Fitness Compact Rowing Machine With Smooth Motion

Got this for temp living in a dorm and looking for a bargain in case it had to be left behind later. Turned out the build quality and fit-n-finish is FAR better than expected. For example the metal parts are good thickness steel and nicely painted. THE best assembly instructions have ever seen for anything, and included all the tools needed. Mag drive is silent and works great. A definite keeper and very pleasant surprise. Worth every penny!

For a magnetic one this appears, so far, to be quite a catch. It’s not an easy task picking out a good “affordable” rower. However, a decision had to be made as we prepare the break area here at the office for when people start coming back to work in the building. It’s going to be a break-time wonderland when everyone sees what has changed and this is just one of the many improvements. Mostly because it works really well.

At first (right now), we have built it at one of our homes alongside some other equipment. To break it in and make sure it works ;0) — This is also because the break area at work is getting a new floor. So might as well get some use out of it somewhere until it is ready to be slid onto the back of a small truck and taken there. With that being said, it is easy enough to move around that it won’t be difficult at all come time. It doesn’t take up much space outside of the length (like most small to mid-size rowers), and two people can easily carry it around without breaking much of a sweat.

It went together within 20 mins with one person putting it together as the other one hung out for emotional support but didn’t touch anything. There wasn’t a difficult step in the procedure and they give you everything you need. Outside of a knife to open the box and materials with, no tools were needed.

When it comes to performance, it isn’t a Concept 2, but it wouldn’t be fair to associate the two since the Concept 2 is so much more expensive than an affordable one like this. So if you are hoping for Concept 2, get a Concept 2 (we’ve noticed a lot of people recommend it in the comments here on Amazon). However, not everyone is looking to spend that kind of money. So if you are looking to keep it reasonable in price, this is a top option for sure. It seems to perform quite well and quietly at that. The only downside is the LCD display is as simple as it comes. You get your normal stats and that’s it. No games or anything special. It does, however, handle a good amount of weight and function well for what a rower is supposed to do (row).

So it functions well and does it quietly, and goes together quickly. One person can do all the work and the price is right (especially when it is on sale).

Is it perfect? No. Nothing is, but the only thing we could find was that the middle support foot doesn’t’ touch the ground unless you have someone heavy enough on the machine. So worst-case scenario, if this bothers you, stick a thin-ish piece of wood or a book under it to help add some support. It hasn’t been noticeable to us thus far, but it could change when it moves to the hard surface at the office.

Beyond that, we haven’t run into anything to complain about. Of course, we will update if anything has a meltdown. We will also try to come back and add images once Amazon ever gives us consumers the option to do that again.

**If you have found our review helpful, please vote it as helpful below so we know. This helps us to provide quality feedback in the future.

I bought this in early January and have since put thousands of reps on it. It’s been working great, no issues, and I’m happy with the workout it gives me. Here are a few things I was uncertain/unclear about when I bought it, so hopefully this will help someone else.

I’m 6’1, so one concern I had was whether the sliding rail would be long enough for me when my legs are fully extended. I was happy to find that it’s long enough, with even a few inches to spare. There’s no knocking of the seat against the back during my workout.

There are 16 levels of resistance on this machine, and I’d say there is a noticeable difference between each one. My wife usually uses it on 12 and I usually range between 14-16. Don’t worry about the resistance being enough. Level 16 will be more than adequate for most people, and definitely on par with the rower I used to use at my gym on the highest setting. Besides, consider this: a certain level of resistance may not seem like much doing if you’re just doing a few reps, but when you do a few hundred in a session it adds up to be a different thing. Plus your pace and technique have a huge effect on the quality of workout you get as well. So, I’ve no complaints about the resistance.

I’m really glad we bought this, especially for the sale price of $200 CAN at the time. You can tell it’s not a professional rower, but it doesn’t feel overly cheap or at all rickety to me. So far, it’s been a solid budget machine and a great value overall.

I really love this machine. It is whisper quiet and solidly built while still being light and easy to move out of the way. I moved to this from a WaterRower (developed a leak after 20 years), and really thought I’d miss the whoosh of the water and the beauty of the wood, but I am really loving the absolute quiet and smoothness of this machine and how light and small it is. It was easy to connect to the app, which connects to Apple Health and tracks my activities. The tension settings cover the range I want to row in, and the motion feels smooth and natural. The seat is comfy and works well, but could use a bit more “shape” to hold you more securely rather than just being flat. I might get a bike seat cushion cover to add a bit more grip and form.

My only real complaint with this is that I used to use my WaterRower just in socks. The foot pads on the Sunny machine aren’t soft, and the straps aren’t short enough to allow this, so I’ll have to wear shoes. This is probably better anyway, but I liked the option of not wearing shoes.

If you can assemble a simple IKEA table (not even a bookshelf), you can assemble this – you bolt on the legs, slide on the seat, bolt the two halves of the main slide bar together, and connect the computer. The only thing you need are scissors to cut the tape and open the box – all other tools and hardware are provided. The instructions are very detailed, and the hardware is very clearly labelled to match each step and part number. I’m a small person with limited mobility and it took me about 30 minutes to assemble.

I have been rowing intermittently for several decades mostly using C2 machines and the reviews that suggest that the resistance is too weak are either broken machines or people unfamiliar with rowing. The resistance was completely normal. This was my biggest concern prior to purchase and totally unfounded.

It was very straightforward to assemble, but took some time (about 30-45 min) without help. The price point was excellent especially as most in the similar range had a catch that was too close or over top of your feet and are essentially worthless as 1/3 of your workout comes with starting at the catch.

It feels solid and stable. The flywheel resistance is consistent and the damper is easily adjusted even mid workout. The storage upright is ok but tough to maneuver. The app is boring and only good to make the display larger.

There is only one concern I have for this and that is why the SunnyFit team did not make the Bluetooth FTMS capable. This would allow it to interact with any other app and ensure quality and comparable work out to all other devices. They could have a retrofit if they needed to and are unable to achieve this through device upgrade, but is the true thing that limits this from being a “cheap rower” and a “inexpensive quality rower.” If they can perform an upgrade and change this functionality it would be a 5 star for inexpensive or starting rower.