Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 256 posts

Re: Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

#91

Post by FullNameAndy »

Rooster61 wrote: post #87

C2 owner here, and an ADHD sufferer as well. I've always utterly hated working out throughout my life as sitting on a machine or out running without a goal other than "work out to maintain health" bores me out of my mind. I keep it bearable right now by catching up on TV (the little bit of time I have to actually watch anything these days), but gamification I think would get me even more into it. I'd probably be inte…

Thanks for the feedback and good points. The good thing is the hardware is done and we're focused exclusively on the content. We try to pump out 10-20 new workout options every 4-6 weeks.

Re: Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

#93

Post by FullNameAndy »

useful wrote: post #65

I have a C2 and a Wahoo Kickr. I think you are targeting the wrong market if you intend to build a machine. As a cyclist, the market sweet spot to me is the ability to set a wattage on a rower and have the machine automatically adjust the resistance so that I can hit the correct wattage/hour. On the bike, holding a steady cadence and having the machine adjust the resistance so I can hit whatever % of FTP I'm wanting…

Thanks for the feedback, that's actually a great idea and something I think we would consider implementing in a future release.

Re: Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

#94

Post by FullNameAndy »

Alex3917 wrote: post #29
AWildC182 wrote: post #13

Long time high level rower here. Why make a new rowing machine when Concept 2 is the calibration standard all athletes use and has a relatively open USB interface? For those not in the know, rowing machines all have different calibrations. C2 is the standard because they're very consistent across machines and are by far the best made allowing for many thousands of hours of use without failures. Most experienced rower…

> C2 is the standard because they're very consistent across machines and are by far the best made allowig for many thousands of hours of use without failures. Most experienced rowers won't touch anything other than a C2. Most colleges also have a few Gamuts around. I actually think it would be really fun to do quarter mile sprints against real people on a Gamut-type erg with these kind of screens.

Hey Alex, you are right, most experienced rowers won't touch anything other than a C2. But there are a ton of people who see the benefits of rowing but aren't interested in the C2 for various reasons. We feel we have a great alternative for those people.

Re: Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

#95

Post by FullNameAndy »

rloomba wrote: post #49
ADominic wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

also a former rower - I don't think we're the target market. If you've never touched an erg, it might not really matter whether you start on a C2 or not. And I'd guess controlling the hardware also gives them more control over the entire user experience + their own costs.

fwiw i'm actually not a former rower and I just purchased a C2 after some very light research. It's the industry standard, it's relatively cheap, and ALL of the apps are specifically designed or have have seamless integration with the C2.

It is a great machine - I have one too :)

Re: Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

#97

Post by monadic3 »

AWildC182 wrote: post #13

Long time high level rower here. Why make a new rowing machine when Concept 2 is the calibration standard all athletes use and has a relatively open USB interface? For those not in the know, rowing machines all have different calibrations. C2 is the standard because they're very consistent across machines and are by far the best made allowing for many thousands of hours of use without failures. Most experienced rower…

> Why make a new rowing machine when Concept 2 is the calibration standard all athletes use and has a relatively open USB interface?

Locking people into the real revenue machine, the content, is critical.

This is not intended to be an affordable alternative to the Concept 2, it's a different market entirely.

If you're worried about interoperability and cost, they probably don't anticipate getting your business.

Re: Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

#98

Post by AWildC182 »

cycomanic wrote: post #74
AWildC182 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is going to come down to experience but I'd say the majority of those I trained with had dealt with an injury at one point or another. Most women, particularly the lightweight class experienced broken ribs from strain across the core and most of the guys had lower back issues at one point or another. I'm not saying these things are death machines or anything, but the concept of adding essentially seated row to a…

Interesting I rowed more than 13 years on national level up to u21 and never had any back problems until I hit a car cycling and fracturing my t6. I also don't know of any of my former friends who developed back pain. I actually always put this done to having very good core strength from rowing. In contrast or my cycling friends (which I took up after) have back problems, in particular the ones who started when young…

That makes sense, the issues I saw were mostly at the post collegiate/open level. There were some issues in U23s but that was somewhat rare, at least compared to alcohol inflicted injuries :)

Re: Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

#99

Post by kitd »

cycomanic wrote: post #63

Great idea! I used to be a competitive rower. When I was working at a gym during my studies I was actually talking with the managers of running some rowing classes (similar to spinning). I think the main challenge with rowing machines (and the reason why we didn't do rowing classes), is that for beginners there is essentially only hard or off, i.e. it is difficult to adjust to different exhaustion levels. That leads…

The other challenge I is related to hardware. The reason why everyone is talking about the C2s is that pretty much every other machine is crap. The forces pulling on these machines are substantive and concept managed to make a machine that held up over time, unlike the others. So I hope you guys made those things sturdy enough.

Robustness isn't the only reason C2s are considered the best. Unlike all the cheap brands, Concept2 have very accurately measured the moment of inertia of their flywheel and have an exacting manufacturing process that ensures it stays true.

As a result, the power data you see on the screen is an accurate measure of the work you're doing.

Most (not all) machines guesstimate it in comparison. You can just go with HR if you want, but don't pretend you can compare any other figures sensibly with a C2.

Point of note: the "distance" figure on a C2 is based on what a coxless four would have covered under the same power.

Re: Launch HN: Aviron (YC W21) – High-Intensity Peloton for Rowing

#100

Post by bigfish24 »

As former competitive rower, can’t see switching to anything but C2, but I like the idea to expand the market to more. My biggest concern is that it tends to take 4-6 weeks to get comfortable with posture and just sitting on the machine for extended periods (the unfortunate challenge of the machine engaging so many muscles). For novices, this valley of death is where so many give up. For example, coming back in the fall always started with awkwardly slow pieces to get the “feel” again. Figure out how to make this fun, and I am a believer you can spread the sport!
Post reply on HN