Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower

Last year we reviewed one of the best budget alternatives to the Concept 2 Rower, the MERACH NovaRow R50. We liked a lot of it, but hated the monitor. Enough that we got rid of the entire thing. The team contacted me about a month ago, letting me know they were sending me an updated model. The Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower arrived, and it has a few new features, but the most obvious one is a completely redesigned monitor. Lets see if they nailed it, or if this is destined for Marketplace.

The Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower is now on the Review Pipeline.

Transparency Note

Merach sent me their original NovaRow R50 for review, and we enjoyed most of it, except for the monitor. They decided to send over the R50 Pro which has a new and improved monitor. This was sent for free, for sake of review, along with an affiliate link.

Using this link gives me a small kick-back and costs you nothing. The funds help manage this website, my YouTube, and the various things I do in the home gym community. I appreciate your support.

Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower Overview

The team at MERACH is VERY focused on their comparisons to the Concept2. So much so, that I would be shocked if they didn’t have one in their factory at the same time as they were putting this together. Spec by spec, the Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower matches up almost exactly to the Concept2. But there are a LOT of rowers on the market that match up pretty well. That is, until you get to the monitor (we’ll come back to that).

The Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower has a Professional-Grade Air Resistance System that includes 32 fan blades and 10 adjustable resistance levels. The adjustments are just flipping the switch up and down, which essentially makes the air more difficult to move. The more difficult it is to move, the more “resistance” you have with each rep. The other benefit to air rowers, much like air bikes, is that they are increasingly more difficult the harder you work. This is awesome for a number of reasons.

First, it means they are automatically scalable. If my daughter hops on, or I do, and we simply “work hard”, the rower is going to accommodate that.

Second, because I tend to max out “normal people” home gym equipment, the rower can fight back against me much harder, making my life more and more miserable.

And last, is that it adjusts as you get tired. If you crank it out the gate it’ll fight back a little more than when you get tired. So you aren’t getting entirely destroyed the whole way. The downside here is that it can be difficult to manage a consistent workout, which is where a quality monitor comes into play.

If you have ever used a Concept2 Rower before, you are well accustom to this concept because… Ding Ding Ding… it is the exact same thing.

Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower Specs

• Brand: MERACH
• Made In USA: No
• Power Required: Battery powered, no plug in
• Dimensions In Storage Mode: 32.7″D x 28.7″W x 54.3″H
• Dimensions In Use: 94″D x 24″W x 40″H
• Recommended Weight Capacity: 350 Pounds
• Weight: 73 lbs
• Warranty: 2 Years
• Return Window: 30 Days
• Frame Materials: Alloy Steel
• Chain: Nickel-plated steel
• Resistance: 10 Adjustable Settings w/ maximum of 110 pounds of tension
• Resistance Mechanism: Air w/ 32 fan blades
• Assembly: Less than 10 minutes

Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower Features

If you’ve seen a rower before, this is going to line up pretty closely. There are some small quality of life features that differ between the Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower and the rest of the competition, but we got a lot of the same concepts.

Seat & Handles

The majority of gym equipment that enters my gym, needs to be capable of working with me at 6ft and 240lbs, my wife at 5ft 6in and 150lbs, and my daughter at her current 9 years of age. The feet pedals have two adjustments to accommodate different sized athletes. First is the length of the shoe. You adjust this with the tabs seen in the picture. Second are the straps, which lock you onto the foot plates. The footplate also moves at the bottom so you can get more power from your feet.

The Ergonomic Handles have a vented design which keeps them light and efficient. They have a rubber handle, which isn’t typically a go-to on my end, but for a rower, it makes sense.

The Seat

Getting a seat to fit different backsides correctly is a tough game. It is like finding the right pillow or mattress, everyone wants a different firmness, shape, and support. The team at Merach opted for a bit softer of a seat compared to the Concept2. When we compared the original R50 and C2 seats, we liked the R50 better. It wasn’t drastic, and you can purchase a different option on Amazon, but it did get a slight edge in feel.

The Pro seat seems to be very similar. We’ll do some side by side comparisons as we get closer.

The Monitor

Read just about any review of a Concept2 product and you’ll see that their monitor is the BEST IN CLASS. We got rid of the original R50 because the monitor was frustrating. As soon as I opened up the new Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower, it was obvious that the monitor had been completely redone.

The previous buttons were confusing. These seem to be very straight forward. The previous monitor had a lot of screen changes, this has a lot more static information. The previous monitor had a lot of “features” that I think were wasted in every way possible, this seems to be much easier to get to work regardless if you want to hop on and hit it and quit it, or run through a program.

We’ll need some time to explore the features in depth, but we are a very basic monitor family. Show me my time and basic metrics on an easy to read screen, and we are happy. We might have a winner.

Vertical Storage & Mobility

We’ve got two features here for storage. First, are the wheels. It makes moving this thing around fairly easy. Second, is being able to store in two different ways. We store our vertically most of the time on the back patio, but it can completely break down for storage like seen above.

I’m glad we have multiple options, as no gym is going to have the same requirements. And including storage in home gym equipment is an absolute requirement.

What I’m Looking For In The Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower

I’m looking for a few basic things. First, the cheaper air cardio devices often run into problems with their quality over time. Parts start to break, and it can be difficult to get quality customer service. I’ll need to see that they have addressed this.

Second, I want this to again, work for everyone in our space. We’ve got me, my wife, my daughter, multiple adult athletes, and multiple kid athletes every week. This better check all the boxes for everyone.

Third, and this is likely the only piece that even matters, is the monitor. If the Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower does exactly what the original did, but with a better monitor, then we have a winner. There is a good chance that this becomes a mainstay at our gym, and we never look back for another cardio piece.

Comparing To Concept2

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Concept2 is awesome. But I believe their patents on their equipment all expired, hence why we are seeing knock offs pop up all over. You can get a ski machine from Wal Mart for $250, everybody got a rower now, the only thing that isn’t being copied so far is their StrengthERG. Before we wrap this up, I want to point out a few things that might not be obvious.

The Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower and all the others listed below, are going to probably match up REALLY close, and be quite a bit less than the Concept2 is brand new. So you might as, why would I ever buy a Concept2?

For awhile, it was the monitor. That might be a checked box.

So we are left with a couple items. First is customer service and the Concept2 name. They have been making rowers for decades, that have been battle tested by the best athletes on the planet, in every CrossFit gym across the globe, and they keep coming back for more. If anything goes wrong, even with older models, they still support them with parts and service. The chance that any other company does this, is very small. On top of that, they are a small, family run and locally operated business. They pay their employees well, donate to non-profits, and are active members of the strength and conditioning community. They are everything you’d want in a company.

Keep those things in mind as you make your decision and look at alternatives.

Other Options On The Market

Obviously this isn’t the only Rower on the market. Ther are Water Rowers, Air Rowers, and other options. Lets take a look at a few of the air rowers available.

MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower

The original offering in this lineup from Merach. It comes in at $529 as of writing this, which is $70 cheaper than the Pro. The key consideration is going to be the monitor. If you don’t care, save some money. If you do, wait for the review. Check out the R50 review.

Concept2 RowerErg

The most well known option, so much so that MERACH calls it out in their marketing materials. If you are a CrossFit athlete or simply want THE BEST, this might still be the gold standard. Check out the Concept2.

Rogue Echo Rower

Rogue sold the Concept2 and nothing else for over a decade. Then this last year dropped the Rogue Echo Rower. This thing has overbuilt wheels, and a ton of features that make it a BEAST of a rower. Clocking in at a little cheaper than the Concept2, assuming you don’t NEED the Concept2, this might be the most premium alternative available. Check out the Rogue Echo Rower.

Blitz Air Rower from Bells of Steel

Bells of Steel has started getting into the cardio and conditioning realms in recent years. Their Blitz Air Rower is a good example. You can see from the pictures that it has a VERY similar design, with the same handles, seat, monitor arm, and more. On sale it comes in around $200 cheaper than the Rogue, but is quite a bit more expensive than the NovaRow R50 when we include discount codes. Check out the Blitz Air Rower.

AssaultRower

Makers of the Assault Bike, the AssaultRower comes in Pro and Elite options. Aesthetically, this is the most unique rower included in this list. From the lack of angle in the front body, to the curved edges, and even the placement of the monitor. It clocks in right around the Rogue price. Check out the AssaultRower.

Amazon Offerings

There are a TON more offerings out there. So I can’t list them all, but even Amazon has over 100 listed. They range in price GREATLY, so as always, YMMV.

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✅ I’ll have a full review on the Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower here and over on my YouTube channel. If you have something specific you’d like answered, let me know.

Want to snag the Merach NovaRow R50 Pro Air Rower? Check it out here.