MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower – The BUDGET Concept2 or a Bad Copy?

“That looks JUST like my Concept2 Rower” my neighbor says as he looks into my garage at my new MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower. I’ve owned multiple rowers in the past, all of them from Concept 2. Which makes sense, they are the CrossFit gold standard and most highly touted rowers on the market for the typical gym folk. The problem? They are just shy of $1,000. That is how much I spent on my first home gym set-up. MERACH decided that they could come in, make a comparable rower, but at nearly half the price. The question is, will it hold up? Is it half the rower? Or are you getting a huge bargain?

The MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower is now on the Review Pipeline.

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Transparency Note

MERACH reached out at the end of 2024 and asked if I was interested in taking their rower for a spin. If they had contacted me even a few months earlier I might have said no due to space, but the timing worked out well. They sent the rower over in the middle of January 2025, free of charge, for sake of review. They are also setting me up with access to their app and any paid features for the same reason.

They have also provided an affiliate link and discount code. Using this link gives me a small kick-back and costs you nothing (actually you save money with the code). 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 Rower Overview

In the past decade I’ve owned several rowers. The reason we eventually got rid of them was because of space. They all had to be stored awkwardly. And after moving a rower 1000 times in a weird manner, I get frustrated and move on. The Concept2 always had a fantastic monitor, worked effortlessly, and looked good to boot. And when I had my rower, I used it religiously on the weekends. And my wife enjoyed it too. So letting go of them was never a decision we enjoyed, it was simply something we felt like we had to do in the name of space.

Our gym is a little different today than it was even last year, and with more people using my gym regularly as well, it made sense to snag a dedicated cardio piece.

So when the team at MERACH offered their newest option, and it broke down for storage, I was pretty excited. My daughter has been doing a workout every week lately, and we just started inviting one of her soccer/basketball friends over as well. The plan is to include more as we go, and a rower is a fantastic piece of cardio that can easily scale for kids.

Bikes struggle because you typically can’t get the seat low enough and there is a lot of adjustment between taller and shorter kids. A rower is also fairly friendly in terms of safety. I can watch a kid use it for a few pulls, and know whether they got it or not. I could even set a random parent to watch as the supervisor without eating up my time.

My wife is also entering a diet phase, and cardio is one of those “if I have to go out of my way I’m gonna skip it” things for her. So having a regular piece of cardio available is going to be a big win there.

MERACH NovaRow R50 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: 95″D x 24″W x 40″H
• Recommended Weight Capacity: 350 Pounds
• Weight: 72 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 Rower FAQ

I’ll build this out as questions come in.

Shipping & Assembly

The MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower was shipped well with no damage and very tightly packed in Styrofoam. Only issue I had was getting it out. They appeared to put the rower in one side of the Styrofoam, then the other, then tape it together, then assemble the box around it. This worked exceptionally well for shipping, but probably would have been helpful to have a small informational piece that told me how to dissemble the packaging as I couldn’t immediately figure it out.

I ended up simply cutting the box apart, pulling the Styrofoam out, destroying it all, and vacuuming up a bunch of stuff afterwards.

Assembly took a couple minutes, just attaching the front and rear support beams. I believe it was a total of 8 nuts and bolts. Then I was up and running… or rowing.

MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower Features

The team at MERACH claims “The R50 matches the quality of the Concept2, offering comparable performance in all key aspects of air resistance rowing machines—at only half the price of the Concept2.” That is a big claim, a wildly crazy claim if I might say. But I’m hoping it holds true.

The MERACH NovaRow R50 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 around. 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.

Monitor

Read just about any review of a Concept2 product and you’ll see that their monitor is the BEST IN CLASS. It is not only feature rich, it is intuitive and easy to use. If you simply want to hop on and row without thinking about it, it works. If you want to get creative, it does that too. It tracks all metrics you’d ever want, and probably quite a bit more. It is friendly for beginners and legit professionals.

The MERACH monitor is on an adjustable height arm that also has rotation options. This is helpful for storage, as it folds down so you don’t damage it. And also helpful as you can get it in the right position for all sized athletes to monitor their workouts.

It measures Calories Burned, Distance, Heart Rate, Speed, Stroke Count, and Time.

I’ve never liked calories burnt, as this is a horribly inaccurate calculation. I know it is a standard measurement for CrossFit workouts, but my calories burnt at 250lbs is way different than my wife’s for the same workout.

I’m not positive it can accurately measure Heart Rate, as there is no heart rate monitor.

Speed should likely be based on how hard you pull the handle. Distance should be a measure of speed times reps of some kind. And stroke count and time should be fairly obvious.

The ones I care about the most would be Distance, Stroke Count, and Time. These are the three that I would use to measure a workout for progression. I might set a goal of a certain amount of time per workout, and aim to get more distance covered each week than the previous week. Or I might set a distance goal aiming for less time to achieve it each week, or even looking to reduce my stroke count as a way of showing I am being more aggressive or efficient.

Ergonomics

The majority of gym equipment that enters my gym, needs to be capable of working with me at 6ft and 250lbs, my wife at 5ft 6in and 150lbs, and my daughter at her current 7 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 as the bottom so you can get more power from your feet.

The Ergonomic Handles have a vented design which keeps them light and efficient. The grips will be interesting to see if they hold up in the garage environment, especially over the summer months.

The team claims that the “The seat size, shape, and material of both the Concept2 and the MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower are the same, but the firmness differs. The R50 seat is softer than the C2, ensuring long-lasting comfort even during extended workout sessions.”

We shall see if that softness turns into a deformed pad, or if it holds up over time.

Vertical Storage & Mobility

As mentioned, the reason I sold my earlier versions of the Concept2 Rower, were because of storage. The newer versions break in half and can storage much easier, and the MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower can as well. I am REALLY excited about this, as the rower can tuck away right now near our side door and not be in the way. I don’t have a fear of it toppling over. And with the wheels it moves fairly easily.

The MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower App

The rower comes compatible with a few apps. The MERACH App offers a wide variety of options, including workouts, 2D and 3D map rowing, gaming modes, scenic rows, challenges, and classes. It also supports Zwift and Kinomap for an enhanced rowing experience.

This likely won’t be a big factor in my review, but the team has offered to give me access for testing purposes. So I’ll make sure I dig in and at least give it a whirl.

What I’m Looking For In The MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower

I’m not a professional rower, I’m not a marathon runner, nor am I a CrossFit athlete. My needs in a rower are fairly simple. I want it to work, and I want the monitor to be straightforward and simple.

Basically, I want the MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower to be able to hold up to workouts from my daughter, my wife, and myself, as well as a bunch of younger girls from the teams I coach. I want it to be challenging for me while being scalable for the tiniest yet mightiest athlete on my soccer team.

I want the rower to function smoothly, the chain to be a nice consistent pull with that “rower” feel. I want the seat to roll effortlessly. And I want it to hold together with minimal maintenance over time.

I want the MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower to store away easy, and be set up quickly. If I need to move it, it should do so without much effort.

And the monitor doesn’t need to be crazy. I don’t need games, competitions with friends, or any super detailed metrics. I want the monitor to start and stop when I do, I want it to accurately measure my time, strokes, distance, and basic measurements so I can mix up my workouts. And I want all of that on an interface that works without needing to press 7 buttons, open an app, or do anything too crazy.

MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower vs Concept2 RowerErg

My neighbor owns the Concept2. I’m going to borrow it for awhile and compare the two side by side. Look and feel. Ergonomics. Performance. And yes, the monitor.

Other Rowers 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.

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.

Sign Up For More

✅ I’ll have a full review on The MERACH NovaRow R50 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 Rower? Make sure to check their official website and use Code: Gray25 to save 25% as well as compare to the Amazon price.