Concept2 RowErg vs Model D

If you are shopping for a “Concept2 Model D,” here is the short version before anything else: it is not a different machine from the RowErg. In 2021 Concept2 renamed the Model D to the RowErg, kept the frame, the flywheel, the monitor mount, the 500 lb published capacity and the no-subscription position exactly as they were, and changed only the name on the box. A shopper searching “Model D” today is looking at the machine sold new as the RowErg. So this is not really a versus. It is an explanation, followed by the one decision that does matter: buy a new RowErg or a used Model D.

The rename that confused a lot of shoppers

For years Concept2 named its rowers by letter. The Model D was the standard machine on 14-inch legs. The Model E was the same machine on taller legs with a 20-inch seat. In 2021 the company dropped the letters. The Model D became the RowErg. The Model E became the RowErg with Tall Legs. Concept2 was explicit that the machines themselves were not redesigned — the naming was simplified so that the word “RowErg” could sit alongside the BikeErg and the SkiErg as a family. Nothing about how the machine rows, stores or reports your numbers changed on the day the name did.

That single fact clears up most of the confusion online. Every “best rowing machine” article that still calls it a Model D, every gym that lists a row of “Model Ds,” and every secondhand ad that says “Concept2 Model D for sale” is pointing at the exact machine you can order new today under the name RowErg. The name lag is just how long it takes a well-known product to shed a decade of muscle memory.

What actually differs (almost nothing)

The only line in that table that moves is the monitor, and it moves for a reason that has nothing to do with the frame. We come back to it below.

Why the specs are unchanged

Concept2 has one great advantage over almost every competitor on this site: it changes the machine slowly and on purpose. The RowErg you buy today uses the same flywheel and the same adjustable spiral damper the Model D used, the same chain-and-handle drive, the same 96-inch rail and 14-inch seat, and the same nickel-plated hardware philosophy that lets the company keep servicing machines built in the 1990s. The published user capacity is 500 lb, the same figure Concept2 prints for the machine under either name, and it remains the highest published capacity of any rower we cover.

Just as importantly, neither name carries a subscription. The PM5 records every stroke on its own, ErgData is a free app, and there is no monthly fee gating the resistance, the workouts or the data. That was true of the Model D and it is true of the RowErg. If you have read that a “newer” Concept2 locks features behind a membership, that is a different brand’s machine, not this one.

The one thing that is not identical: the monitor

Today the RowErg ships with the PM5, Concept2’s current performance monitor with Bluetooth and ANT+. But Concept2 has shipped several monitor generations on the same frame over the years — the PM3 and PM4 preceded the PM5 — and a machine sold secondhand as a “Model D” may carry whichever monitor it left the factory with. This is the single practical difference between a new RowErg and an older used Model D, and it is worth understanding because the monitor is a bolt-on part. It is not welded into the frame. That means an older monitor can be upgraded later without replacing the machine, which is exactly why a well-kept used Model D can be such good value.

Why used listings still say “Model D”

Two reasons. First, most secondhand Concept2 rowers on the market were built and sold before 2021, so their boxes, manuals and serial-era paperwork all say Model D — the seller is describing the machine accurately as it was labeled. Second, “Model D” is simply what people still type into a search bar. Sellers name their listings the way buyers search, so the old name persists in the used market long after the new name took over in stores. None of that signals a problem. A Model D listing is a RowErg listing with an older sticker.

Buying a used Model D: what to actually check

Because the frame barely changes, a used Concept2 is one of the safer used buys in home fitness. Still, check these before you hand over cash:

• Which monitor is fitted.Ask whether it is a PM3, PM4 or PM5. All of them count strokes and show a 500m split, but only the PM5 has the current Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity for apps and heart-rate straps. If you want app pairing and the seller has an older monitor, factor in the cost of a monitor upgrade — and price the machine accordingly.
• The chain and flywheel. Spin the flywheel and pull the handle a few times. The chain should run smoothly and be lightly oiled, not rusty or dry. A neglected chain is cheap to service; deep rust is a bargaining point.
• The seat rollers and rail. Sit and slide the full length of the rail. It should glide without grinding or catching. Worn rollers are a known, replaceable wear part.
• The damper and cage. Move the damper lever through its range and look for cracks in the flywheel housing. Check that the air vents are not packed with dust, which is normal and cleanable but tells you how it was kept.
• Completeness. Confirm both frame sections, the two feet, the handle and the monitor arm are present. The machine breaks into two pieces by design, so make sure both pieces are there.

The published capacity, the rail length, the seat height and the no-subscription position are all the same whether the sticker says Model D or RowErg, so you never need to “check” those — they do not change. Focus your inspection on wear items and the monitor.

New RowErg or used Model D?

A new RowErg gives you the current PM5, a full five-year frame and two-year parts warranty, and a machine nobody has sweated on. A used Model D gives you the same frame for less money, often with plenty of life left, but with a warranty that has usually lapsed and a monitor that might be a generation or two behind. Because Concept2 parts are still made and sold for decades-old machines, the used route is genuinely low-risk — more so than almost any other rower — provided you inspect it in person and the price reflects the monitor it actually has.

What each costs today

Live pricing is more than 48 hours old, so this table is not rendering. We would rather show you nothing than show you last week’s arithmetic. Why prices expire here.

Neither the RowErg nor the RowErg with Tall Legs has a subscription, so the five-year figures are just the machine prices. The taller-legs version is the former Model E, covered in its own comparison, and it costs a little more for the higher seat.

How to decide

If the ad says Model D, treat it as a RowErg and judge it on condition and price, not on the name. Buy a new RowErg if you want the current PM5, the full warranty and zero unknowns. Buy a used Model Dif you find a clean one at a real discount, you have inspected the chain, rail and monitor, and you are comfortable that Concept2 will keep selling parts for it for years. Either way you are getting the same benchmark machine — the one every other rower on this site is measured against.