@raven said in Indoor Rowing Complex Data:
@Artus-Diver No watch can give accurate distance and pace compared to the ERG itself.
At any given cadence, say 24spm, I can put out a variety of effort by changing the force on the drive. This C2 video explains it: https://www.concept2.com/training/rowing-with-greater-intensity
For example, I might do 100w (about 2:32/500m), 150 (2:13/500m), or 200w (2:00m). On a Concept2, and other systems like SmartRow that follow that standard, watts directly converts to pace.
https://www.concept2.com/training/watts-calculator
An accelerometer on a watch might give correct cadence (strokes per minute), but cannot deduce force on the drive to determine watts, just like if you strapped a watch to your leg it might deduce cadence (rpm) in cycling but can’t work as a power meter.
As it cannot deduce watts, it cannot give accurate pace. You’d need a connection to the rowing erg, either ANT+ FE-C or bluetooth FTMS.
It’s actually disappointing to learn that Suunto tries to figure out pace/distance by the accelerometer as that’s always going to be bad data. On the Apple Watch, it doesn’t even try to determine cadence and only giving heart rate data but it’s not actively giving wrong metrics.
Thank you very much for the detailed explanations.