Nordictrack Grand Tour vs concept 2 skierg

This is a comparison between the Nordictrack Grand Tour and the Concept 2 skierg including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Concept 2 skiErg

The Concept 2 SkiErg comes in at $770. In this article you will learn more about the product itself, its Pros and cons and alternatives you might want to consider. This article has originally been published in the overview "Which conditioning equipment to buy from Rogue".

Overview of the concept 2 skiErg

The concept 2 skierg is a machine which simulates cross country skiing. The concept 2 rower flywheel has been adapted to keep the athlete in an upright position. This way of going about solves several challenges.

The design of the skierg uses a lot less space than bikes, treadmills, and rowers. Mounted to a wall it takes almost no floor space which makes it a great option for home gyms with limited space. Based on the nature of the movement it can also be used by athletes who have disabilities or rehab from injuries. You can still get a great workout in while seated with the skierg. The skierg has the following specifications:

Assembled in the us
Color black
Weight 46 LB
Length 52”
Width 24”
Height 85”

The concept 2 Skierg is great value for money, especially if you want to mainly focus on your upper body.

Pros of the Cncept 2 skiErg

The pros of the concept 2 ski erg are:

size
Can be used by people with disabilities
Price

The size of the concept 2 skierg is one of its main benefits. Mounted to a wall it takes up no floor space in your gym whatsoever. This is especially good if you want to fit a big rack into a small space and still be able to do cardio.

The concept 2 skierg is one of the few options for endurance training on the market which I know that suits people who can not stand or walk because of their wheels. The only other option I would know is the hand driven ellipticals which are bigger and provide less bang for the buck.

The price is also very attractive to many other cardio options. From the rogue website, it is one of the lowest priced options available.

Cons of the concept 2 skiErg

The cons of the concept 2 skierg are

Specificity
Not a real full body workout

Not many people compete in skiing, at least compared to running which is applicable to almost any team sports. Therefore the skierg will not provide a specific movement relevant to the sport your athletes and clients do, except you live in Norway or Switzerland. This means you will also have to provide another machine apart from the skierg.

Even though the marketing claims it is a full body workout I would doubt that you get the same amount of a response from the skierg than a rower or a fan bike. The legs are just too stationary and passive for that. Still a hard workout.

Alternatives to the Concept 2 skiErg

Alternatives to the Skierg are

Rogue Echo bike
TrueForm runner
Concept 2 rower

The Rogue echo bike will probably give you the better full body workout at roughly the same price. You will need minimally more floor space. This is a great option if you want to burn maximum calories per minute per square foot.

The TrueForm runner would be the best option in the market today to simulate real conditions on a treadmill as close as possible. This also comes at a hefty price tag. Based on the reviews I have seen it is worth every penny.

The concept two rower would be the solid option for a full body workout for every age group. I think this one of the best options for home use if you have the space for the entire family. The only downside is that you would have to free up quite some space to fit it into most homes.

Summary for the Concept 2 SkiErg

The concept 2 skierg is a great machine which fits in any corner. With this, you can train hard and burn your calories. The only downside is that you will mainly focus on your upper body while the legs stay stationary.

Overview and review of the Nordictrack Grand tour 1299 (US)

This article discusses the pros, cons, and alternatives for the Nordictrack Grand Tour.This review was originally posted in “Which Nordictrack bike to get”. Follow the links for more details.

The Grand Tour from Nordictrack addresses the spinning classes market for NordicTrack in the US. The other model is the Grand Tour Pro. The main features of this model are a 7-inch smart touch screen, a freewheel clutch, and a 10% incline. This makes it a good model to buy in bulk for spinning classes. The full list of features includes:

7” Smart HD Touchscreen
Integrated Tablet Holder
Includes 1-Year NordicTrack iFit® membership**
Auxiliary Music Port
Two 2” Digitally Amplified Speakers

CoolAire™ Workout Fan
Oversized Cushion Seat
Horizontal and Vertical Seat Adjustment
Extra-Wide Ergonomic Pedals with Adjustable Straps

Upright Articulating Cycle
3 Piece Crank
Freewheel Clutch
SMR™ Silent Magnetic Resistance
24 Digital Resistance Levels
-10° to 10° Incline and Decline
OneTouch™ Controls
Oversized Levelers
350 Lb. User Capacity

Included 3 Lb. Dumbbells
Integrated Handle Controls for Incline and Resistance
Front-mounted Transport Wheels
Water Bottle Holder
59.2" L x 23.3" W x 56.2" H Footprint
10-Year Frame Warranty
2-Year Parts Warranty
1-Year Labor Warranty

The Grand Tour is a great option when you want to take your spinning classes to the home. A commercial buyer might want to get spinning bikes with fewer multimedia and casing options to save some money to buy in bulk.

Pros of the Nordic track Grand tour

The pros of the Grand tour bike are:

10% incline
Freewheel clutch
7-inch touchscreen

For a bike including a touch screen and incline option the Grand tour is reasonably priced for a Nordictrack bike. The Grand Tour is great value for money as long as you like the way it works for biking. Some might prefer the inertia of a flywheel for use of use. The 7-inch touch screen is the cherry on the top to round up the picture.

Cons of the Nordictrack Grand Tour

Cons of the Nordictrack Grand tour:

Small screen
Freewheel clutch
No Bluetooth

The grand tour has a relatively small touchscreen compared to the wider Nordictrack portfolio which reaches up to 32-inch. If you want a bigger screen with the experience of a spinning class you can go for the Grand Tour pro. This bike has a 10-inch instead of a 7-inch touchscreen.

The freewheel clutch might not be liked by every user. If you are used to spinning classes this will be the preferable bike option for you. If you usually use flywheel bikes on the general gym floor, go for the VU19 or GX line instead.

As with most Nordictrack bikes you do not have the option to use your Bluetooth headphones to follow the instructions of the Ifit classes. This is a little irritating when you spend more than 1000 bucks on a piece of equipment you can not hook up to your wireless headphones.

Alternatives to the Nordictrack Grand tour

Alternatives to the Nordictrack Grand tour are:

The Grand tour Pro is the big sister of the Grand tour bike. For an additional $200 you get a bigger touchscreen than with the Grand Tour. If you are shortsighted or use the Ifit classes a lot, get the Grand Tour pro instead of the Grand tour. If you think that 7-inches are more than enough, spare yourself the extra expense.

The Nordictrack 6.5 Si treadmill is one of the smaller Nordictrack treadmills which are available in the US. If you want a solid low budget option from Nordictrack this is the one. The T series has been recently released in the US and is more likely to be continued than the C series of treadmills that has seen its best days. If you want to run and put some miles on the treadmill without going overly fast, this is a solid option.

The Nordictrack SE7i is an elliptical in the same price range as the Grand tour bike. An elliptical can be a better compromise for all members of a gym or family to get their cardio in than a bike. Not everybody likes sitting on a saddle for 30 or more minutes to burn their calories. Just make sure that you have enough clearance to the ceiling when getting an elliptical as this can be an issue. An elliptical will also take up more floor space than a bike.

The concept 2 model D rower is a worldwide standard and you can not go wrong with it if you are interested in an indoor rower. This bread butter machine from concept 2 does its job and will also save you some money compared to the Grand Tour. Commercial buyers will also appreciate that package deals are easier to obtain from concept 2 then from NordicTrack when the unit count climbs.

The Rogue echo bike is my personal preference for use at home. I like to go hard and blast my ears with music from my bose earphones when I work out. The Rogue echo bike is just perfect for that, it does not cost a leg and an arm and can take my 105kg muscle with layer fat.

Summary for the Nordictrack Grand tour

If you like spinning classes and want to do them from home this is a good way to go. I would still go for the Grand tour Pro if I was in the market for one. If I do spin classes at home I want the instructor to be as big as possible. A 10-inch screen will be better for that than 7-inch and the two models are only $200 apart. That is not really a lot of money in terms of cardio machines. Of course, $200 can buy you a lot of jump ropes made from plastic, but that is a different debate to be had.