Hydrow launches Wave, a New less-expensive rowing machine

Hydrow stays ahead of Peloton by introducing the new Wave Rower with a price tag of $1,895, which is $600 less than the Classic Hydrow rower ($2,495). The Wave delivers an excellent rowing experience, is 40 lbs. lighter, and six inches shorter and six inches narrower, yet still offers the same live Hydrow trainer-led workouts on the water and on-demand workout options. The Hydrow Wave indoor rower is also available now on Amazon.

Hydrow Wave saves Money & Space

The Wave can be stood-up when not in use and allows more room to roll out your mat for other exercise options if your workout space is on the smaller size. The Hydrow Wave has a 16-inch Full-HD touchscreen for streaming live and on-demand rowing workouts from its app ($44 per month subscription), but the display has a fixed position and cannot swivel or tilt when compared to the original Hydrow rowing machine. Read the Comparison Review with Hydrow

Hydrow Customers’ Response

Initial response from potential customers seems to be still leaning toward the original Hydrow with comments like “maybe the original is a better option.” While the new Wave rower is smaller overall and has a smaller touchscreen by 6-inches, this new rower still takes up considerable space. To stand up the Wave (or the classic Hydrow), you are required to buy a wall anchor for an additional $190 to which some reactions of new buyers was they thought this item was a little pricey.

Peloton released its Rower as competition heats

Two months ago, Peloton announced it is expecting to release a rowing machine later this year. In September 2022, they announced the Peloton Row, now available started at $3,195 but now is $2,995. The connected-fitness rowing machine market is certainly competitive, with NordicTrack RW900 and Hydrow rowers already dominating the indoor rowing scene but is a lot more costly. Read our Full Peloton Row Review.

NordicTrack has the RW900 with its sharp 22-inch, Full-HD touchscreen and hundreds of trainer-led workouts from a wide variety of stunning waterways across the globe. Example workouts include iFit Trainer Kevin Scott’s series in Tahiti, Olympian Gold medalist Alex Gregory on the Thames River, and Alex Silver-Fagen of CITYROW fame in the studio. Hydrow vs. RW900 has been a close match, with both rower models becoming super popular during the last two pandemic years. As people exercise more at home, rowing has become more familiar to fitness enthusiasts as a great low-impact, total-body workout, as well as a form of exercise that offers diversity and a compliment for cycling on a bike. Read more about why Rowing is Good for You.

The Wave Rower Competitors

The Hydrow Wave currently competes directly with the RW700 from NordicTrack with a 10-inch HD touchscreen and iFit subscription for $39 per month. The difference is that iFit offers a wider variety of training all-round with thousands of workouts off-the-rower such as, boxing, yoga, and strength training. Even though the HD display is a little smaller, you have the ability to rotate and pivot NordicTrack rower screens for a good viewing angle without straining your neck, while the Wave provides only a Fixed position display. For $300 more you can upgrade to get a 22-inch touchscreen with the NordicTrack RW900.

Cost of ownership is another big difference. Nordictrack’s’ Family iFit membership offers workouts across their entire range of bikes, treadmills, elliptical and strength/cardio line, without additional monthly charges. Whereas with Hydrow and Peloton, a second fee for additional equipment is charged – basically, you pay another monthly subscription fee of $44 per month.

Regardless the Hydrow Wave is sure to be a popular option for rowers looking to cross train with its aggressive price, especially for those looking to try out rowing as a beginner or for cross training. The Wave is less solid than the Classic Hydrow but has the same approach for resistance and same solid workouts on the water.

Direct Shipping A BIG Plus for the Hydrow Wave

The Wave’s smaller size means it can be shipped directly to customers with UPS, eliminating the need for a scheduled delivery as with the Classic Hydrow. As of late, scheduling deliveries is a bit of a nightmare, but Hydrow now has a product that allows UPS to drop off the Wave Rower like any other package. The classic Hydrow requires White-glove delivery by truck, which is a great service option, but adds time to delivery as well as inconvenience as you must be home and wait for the delivery.

Will Hydrow remain a Leader in Connected Fitness?

Hydrow is well funded, but after the pandemic it is hard to predict what is next for the connected fitness boom. Many start-ups with their own approach are going to face significant challenges surviving, let alone continual growth. Hydrow has a niche offering as rowing is only about 7% of the fitness category, so it will have to dominate this category to be power player or expand into other areas. Another option to consider is that Hydrow may decide to acquire a fitness brand to expand it line-up, time will tell.

We think that Apple Fitness+ is potentially the strongest company in the space. And yes, they have rowing workouts that seamlessly connect with your Apple Watch, iPhone and Apple Health app. It also offers a multitude of professionally produced work outs on equipment and off – although all are in the studio (however, we believe Apple will add outdoor and travel destination workouts to the on-demand library as some point).

Today, Hydrow and Peloton are still offering some live classes, but this trend seems to be proving to be too costly to maintain, as other companies have dropped their live class options. The indoor rowing space is crowded and a single focused product like Hydrow may find it challenging to find sustained long-term profits.

Frequently Asked Question

Q. Is an additional monthly subscription Membership required for Hydrow Wave if you already have a classic Hydrow?

YES, A Hydrow membership is only valid for one (1) Hydrow or Hydrow Wave at a time. If you own multiple rowers that you use frequently, you might want to purchase a membership for each otherwise you have to transfer the membership to each rower that you want to use.

NordicTrack and Proform rowers powered by iFit only require a single membership subscription no matter how many items of fitness equipment you add. iFit offers better value over Hydrow and Peloton apps as you can add a rower, a bike, elliptical and treadmill to the same family account, and iFit will work across all your equipment with the one subscription for all profiles added.

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