Concept2 RowErg vs BikeErg vs SkiErg: Which Erg to Buy?

One company, three machines

Type "Concept2" into a search bar and you are usually asking one of two questions: which Concept2 machine should I buy, or how do I stack up on one. This page answers both. Concept2 makes three home ergs — the RowErg, the BikeErg, and the SkiErg — built around the same air flywheel and the same PM5 performance monitor. The resistance feel, the data, and the legendary durability are identical across all three. What changes is the movement, the muscles, and the footprint.

The short version: the RowErg is the default answer. It trains the most muscle per stroke, it is the machine the entire indoor-rowing world standardizes on, and at $990 it is the cheapest full-body cardio machine that will plausibly outlive your mortgage. The BikeErg and SkiErg are not lesser products — they are the right answers to more specific questions.

What all three share

Before splitting them apart, it is worth being clear about what does not differ, because it is the reason people buy Concept2 in the first place:

• The PM5 monitor. Every erg ships with the same self-calibrating performance monitor measuring time, pace, watts, and Calories. A 2:00/500m split means the same thing on every PM5 on earth, which is why the numbers are comparable worldwide.
• The air flywheel with damper. Resistance comes from spinning air, so it scales with your effort — pull (or pedal) harder and it pushes back harder. The damper (1-10) changes how the resistance feels, not how hard the workout is.
• The Online Logbook and world rankings. All three feed the same free Concept2 Online Logbook, which is what the "Concept2 rankings" you may have heard about actually are (more below).
• Build quality and parts support. Concept2 has manufactured in Vermont since 1976, publishes spare parts for decades-old machines, and its ergs are standard equipment in commercial gyms and CrossFit boxes precisely because they take abuse.

Worth knowing: the damper number is not a difficulty setting. Turning it to 10 does not make the workout harder — it changes the stroke feel, and your wattage is still whatever you put in.

Concept2 RowErg — the default pick

~$990 · full body · 8 ft x 2 ft in use, stores upright in ~6 sq ft

The RowErg (the machine long known as the Model D) is the best-known indoor rower ever made and the top-ranked machine in our rowing machine rankings. Rowing is the most complete movement of the three — roughly legs, back, core, and arms in every stroke — and the RowErg is the machine every competitive rowing program tests on.

Practical notes from the spec sheet:

• 96 inches long and 24 inches wide in use
• 57 lb, on casters
• Separates into two pieces with no tools, standing upright in about 6 square feet
• Max user weight is a Concept2-tested 500 lb

If the length worries you, our RowErg dimensions guide walks through exactly what fits where.

Buy it if: you want one cardio machine for everything, you care about comparable data, or you ever intend to test a 2K. Skip it if: rowing aggravates your lower back, or you specifically want cardio you can do while reading or watching something — rowing demands attention.

Concept2 BikeErg — the small-footprint, low-skill pick

~$1,100 direct · lower body · roughly 4 ft x 2 ft standing footprint

No learning curve, and the quietest way in

The BikeErg brings the same flywheel and PM5 to a machine with no learning curve at all. Rowing and skiing are technical movements; pedaling is not. It is also the smallest standing footprint of the three floor machines — about 48 by 24 inches, 68 lb — and the quietest way into the Concept2 ecosystem for shared spaces, since you can spin at conversational effort. Saddle heights fit riders from about 30.75 to 41 inches of inseam-height range, the seat post and bars accept standard bike parts, and max user weight is 350 lb.

Two honest caveats

• It freewheels like a real road bike. Unlike a studio bike, you can stop pedaling and coast — which cyclists love and Peloton converts sometimes find spartan. No screen, no classes, just the PM5. Our exercise bike rankings cover the content-driven alternatives.
• Buy direct, not on Amazon. Amazon stocks the BikeErg mostly as a bundle (currently ~$1,450 with a cover); direct from Concept2 at $1,100 is the better deal if you do not need the extras.

Buy it if: you are a cyclist training indoors, you need near-silent cardio, or knee/back issues rule out rowing. Skip it if: you want full-body work from one machine — that is the RowErg's job.

Concept2 SkiErg — the zero-floor-space pick

~$850 direct (wall-mounted) · upper body + core · flat against a wall

The SkiErg flips the formula: instead of sitting, you stand and drive two handles downward in a Nordic-ski pull that hammers lats, triceps, and core. Wall-mounted, it occupies essentially zero floor space — the machine itself weighs 41 lb — which makes it the only serious cardio machine that fits a gym that has run out of floor.

The floor stand is the renter's workaround

Renters and anyone who cannot drill studs can add the floor stand (about $220 direct; the Amazon listing below includes it), which brings the footprint to roughly 24 by 50 inches and 85 inches tall — check your ceiling. It is also the sleeper pick for injuries: because the work is upper-body, athletes with lower-leg injuries can train seated or kneeling at full intensity, something neither the rower nor the bike allows.

Buy it if: it is your second erg, your floor space is gone, or you want conditioning that doubles as pulling-muscle work. Skip it if: it is your only machine and you have room for a RowErg — full-body beats upper-body for a primary cardio piece.

What the "Concept2 rankings" actually are

If you searched "Concept2 rankings," you likely mean the Online Logbook world rankings — Concept2's free, official leaderboard. Every workout logged from a PM5 (automatically via the ErgData app, or entered manually) can be submitted to season rankings by event and distance — 500m, 2K, 5K, and more — filtered by age group, weight class, and machine. The season runs May 1 to April 30.

Why it matters: because every PM5 measures identically, a 7:10 2K in your garage counts exactly like one at an official indoor race. It works the same on RowErg, BikeErg, and SkiErg.

Which erg should you buy?

Reasons to take the RowErg:

• It is your first machine and you want general fitness or rowing specifically
• You want the most muscle worked per minute
• Resale matters — it holds value remarkably well

Reasons to take something else:

• You are a cyclist, or you need silence and simplicity — the BikeErg
• Your floor space is gone, you want upper-body focus, or this is machine #2 — the SkiErg
• You are building a whole room around one: the free GymScored home gym planner places any of the three, including the RowErg's upright storage spot, into your actual floor plan

One last steer: if you are cross-shopping the RowErg against screen-first rowers, our Concept2 vs Hydrow comparison covers that decision head-to-head.

Sources

• Concept2 — RowErg product page and specifications — $990 ($1,155 tall legs), 96 x 24 in, 57 lb, 500 lb max user, two-piece tool-free storage.
• Concept2 — BikeErg product page and specifications — $1,100, 68 lb, 350 lb max user, saddle height range, standard bike-part compatibility.
• Concept2 — SkiErg product page and specifications — $850, 41 lb, wall-mount or floor stand ($220–250), floor-stand dimensions 23.5 x 50 x 85 in, seated/kneeling use for adaptive athletes.
• Concept2 — Online Logbook world rankings — official season rankings by event, age group, and weight class.