JLL Fitness Ventus Air Rower, Commercial Level Home Rowing Machine with LCD Monitor, Suitable for Home Use, Multiple Levels of Air Resistance, Heavy Duty Rower

I've had this for a couple of months now and am very happy with it. It's very similar to the type I used to use down the gym, so feels very familiar. The display is very simple to use and you can either log your distance and time, or use race mode. Race mode has 15 levels and I've rapidly got up to level 12. Level 13 is just out of reach at the moment - all in good time. I started doing 1000 metres on resistance level 1, which was an effort at the time. In two months I've progressed to 2000 metres on resistance level 3. So the machine is going to last me a good long time as I get fitter and stronger. I wasn't bothered about Bluetooth or integrating with apps and smartphones, so the simple setup of the display is fine for my purposes. It shows stroke rate and watts being generated as well. I'd say the display is a bit on the cheap plasticy side, but it does what it's supposed to... The overall build is solid, but be prepared to assemble everything. It's very easy to follow the instructions, but the bigger parts take a bit of wrangling if you're on your own. The only minor quibble is that the bolts which hold the foot rests keep loosening with use. But they're very easy to tighten with the supplied spanners, so I just keep that handy and give it a tweak as necessary. Tons of packaging and polystyrene too, so be prepared for a full wheelie bin or a trip to the tip. They could probably do more to reduce this, especially the polystyrene. It's very easy to fold up and move around out of the way. You just unscrew the locking bolt, tip up the rail and push through the locking bolt. Then you can tip the whole thing up and wheel it along. Overall it's comfortable, easy to use, sufficiently challenging to keep someone who is unfit to moderately fit occupied, and decent build quality. Better than the cheap ones, better because of the air resistance, but maybe not as good as the expensive ones. But just right at this price point.

Firstly, constructing. Just go to youtube and you`ll find a video there to easily put it together. 20 minutes if you take your time. Secondly, I checked out a few youtube pro rowers and what not to go for on budget rowing machines. Rocking footplates......no, footplates to close together, no again. Seat the same height as pedals, no to that also. On that basis this machine checked out good. UK company, so spares should be available. Very good construction, seat comfortable and good monitor that isn`t one of those Chinese rubbish ones (we`ve all had a few of them) Suppled heart rate band you can put around your chest. All those little attention to detail parts make this a good machine. The machine looks and feels like the company made an effort to produce a good rowing machine at a reasonable price. And yes I have been using it for about a month. You have magnetic and fan belt resistance pre-programmed workouts or you can do your own custom resistance program.

This rower sits nicely between entry level 'budget' rowers and (very expensive) professional ones and you definitely feel you have got good value for your money. The JLL staff are extremely helpful and they have a showroom where you can actually see each of their models together which emphasises how close this model is to their top of the range unit. Assembly was straightforward with good written instructions and also an online video showing the major steps (the only thing missing from the video is actually getting the parts out of the box which does take some time as they are extremely well packed and secured with tape). One piece of information not in the manual is the weight of the main unit which is preassembled and is just under 22kg. There were some minor errors in the printed manual that was included in the box but most of these have already been corrected in the downloadable version. There was only one minor manufacturing defect with the unit on the mounting points for the left hand footplate which was easily resolved with the addition of a couple of washers to ensure the mounting bolts tightened fully. In operation, the rowing action is very smooth with the belt system much better than the chain system of my previous rower. The seat is also comfortable with 2 rollers on top of the rail and one below giving a stable motion. The addition of an air vent directing the fan output towards you and helping to keep you cool is very welcome and the tablet mount is also a useful feature. Folding the rail is simple and bprovides a secure arrangement to minimise the footprint when not in use. Positive points - A very sturdy and well designed rower with several features that differentiate it from similarly priced units - Extremely well packaged to ensure safe transportation - Simple and secure folding to reduce space - Fan airflow vent to provide cooling air - Smooth action with easily adjusted magnetic resistance - All necessary assembly tools included - Full A4 printed manual including an exploded diagram of the rower and detailed assembly and operating instructions Negative points - There were some minor errors in the manual included in the box (e.g. only one hex allen key is provided and required but two are listed in the contents) however many of these have already been corrected in the online version of the manual. - There was one minor manufacturing defect on the left hand footplate mounts that needed the addition of a couple of washers. - Changing the batteries on the monitor requires it to be removed from the bracket.