Aviron Strong Series vs StrongGo

These two are, underneath, the same rowing machine. Both are Aviron’s dual air-and-magnetic design with up to 100 lb of combined resistance, both are 84 by 27 by 48 inches, both plug into the wall, and both run on the same Aviron membership. The only real difference is the screen: the Strong Series has a 22-inch HD touchscreen built in, and the StrongGo has no screen at all — you bring your own iPad, and in exchange it publishes a 507 lb weight capacity, the highest on our site.

So this is an unusually clean comparison. You are not weighing two machines against each other; you are deciding whether the built-in screen is worth roughly $500 and the tablet you would otherwise supply yourself.

It is worth dwelling on that shared resistance for a moment, because it is the best thing about either machine. Dual air-and-magnetic resistance combines a fan, which self-regulates and rewards a fast, connected drive, with a magnetic brake you can set for a floor of resistance underneath it. Up to 100 lb combined is well beyond what a budget magnetic flywheel reaches, which is what makes an Aviron genuinely suited to hard interval work rather than just steady cardio. Both machines give you exactly that, in exactly the same measure — the screen decision does not touch it.

The same rower, drawn two ways

Everything that makes an Aviron an Aviron is shared. Both give you dual air-and-magnetic resistance up to 100 lb, which reaches far higher than a budget magnetic flywheel and suits hard interval work. Both need mains power and carry a one-year warranty. And both run on the Aviron membership at $29 a month, or about $24 on an annual plan — the lowest of the screen rowers, and one membership covers unlimited household profiles, so a whole family rows on a single subscription.

Because the membership and the resistance are identical, none of the usual connected-rower arguments separate these two. The decision is entirely about the screen.

The five-year cost

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The membership is the same on both, so over sixty months each adds the same roughly $1,740 in Aviron fees — it cancels out of the comparison entirely. What is left is the hardware: the Strong Series is about $1,999 (down from $2,549, roughly 22% off) and the StrongGo is about $1,499, a gap of around $500.

But that $500 is not the whole story, because the StrongGo needs a tablet you supply. If you already own an iPad, you pocket most of the difference and the StrongGo is clearly the cheaper way in. If you would have to buy a tablet specifically for it, the real gap narrows — run your own iPad price against the $500 and see where you land.

Aviron’s $29 a month, or about $24 on an annual plan, is the lowest membership among the screen rowers, and one subscription covers unlimited household profiles — so a couple or a family rows on a single fee rather than one each. Over sixty months that is roughly $1,740 at the monthly rate, or about $1,440 annually, on either machine. Because it is identical on both, it does not tilt the choice between them; but it is worth knowing the ongoing cost is the same modest figure whichever screen arrangement you pick.

Built-in screen versus bring-your-own iPad

The Strong Series’ 22-inch HD touchscreen is genuinely more convenient: there is nothing to mount, nothing to pair, nothing to charge separately, and it is always there and correctly positioned. For a buyer who does not want to own, mount or fuss with a tablet, that is worth paying for, and it is a completely legitimate reason to choose the more expensive machine.

The StrongGo’s bring-your-own-iPad approach wins on cost and on something subtler: replaceability. A tablet you own can be upgraded when it ages or swapped if it fails, where an integrated screen is tied to the machine’s lifespan — if the panel dates or dies, it is part of the rower. The StrongGo lets the most quickly obsolete component be the one you already replace on your own schedule.

Capacity and footprint

Here the StrongGo pulls ahead on a spec that has nothing to do with the screen: it publishes a 507 lb user weight capacity, the highest figure on our whole site. Aviron does not publish a capacity for the Strong Series, so if a stated weight limit matters to you, the StrongGo is the one that gives you one.

On size the two are identical — 84 by 27 by 48 inches, around 105 to 114 lb — and that 27-inch width is worth noting: it is the wide end of the category. Measure your doorway and the room before you commit to either, because both take the same generous footprint.

Weights are close but not identical — the Strong Series is about 114 lb and the StrongGo about 105 lb, the built-in screen accounting for most of the difference — and both need mains power, so plan for a socket within reach of wherever the machine lives. Neither is a fold-flat rower you tuck behind a door; at 84 inches long and 27 wide, both want a dedicated spot, which is one more reason to measure before you order either.

Who should pay for the screen

For most buyers, the StrongGo is the value pick — especially if you already own an iPad. You get exactly the same rowing, a published 507 lb capacity the Strong Series does not state, and you keep roughly $500. But this is not a case where the cheaper machine wins outright: if you do not want to own or mount a tablet, and you would rather the screen just be there, correctly placed and maintenance-free, the Strong Series is the right machine for you and the convenience is real. Our full Aviron review covers both, and the subscription comparisonshows where Aviron’s $29 sits against every rival.

Put simply: the machines row the same, cost the same to run, and differ only in how the screen gets there. That makes this one of the few connected-rower decisions that is genuinely about your own preferences rather than the specifications — do you want the panel built in and handled for you, or would you rather bring a tablet you already own and keep the $500?