@borgelkranz said in Suunto and Concept 2 indoor rowing:
@off242 what I can add: as of late, SmartRow does directly connect to EXR. What I learned in that context: there are different versions of the SmartRow pulley. The old, silver one and the new, black one. They seem to differ slightly with respect to connection. I own the silver one and EXR had to provide a bug fix for it to connect.
The ability of EXR to connect to the SmartRow pulley directly is a fairly new development, and happened due to collaboration between the two companies. For those new to this, previously the only way to work was by a “broadcast” method, where the SmartRow pulley connected to the SmartRow app on one device (like an iPhone) then the SR app “broadcast” to EXR on a second device (e.g. iPad or Apple TV). You’re correct that the original silver metal pulley behaves a bit different from later black plastic pulleys. Both transmit in SmartRow’s own format as I understand with subtle differences. The “broadcast” method is either FTMS or very close to it.
Some people disliked this method due to requiring two devices; additionally, the broadcast method adds a slight delay, so EXR is about a half-stroke “behind” the SR app.
The new “direct connection” improves things in most regards, but has the negative consequence that sessions are no longer written to the SmartRow online logbook. EXR can write session data to the Concept2 logbook for those people, but not yet to the SR one.
Additionally, SmartRow also has a “power handle” meant for air-resistance rowers like the Concept2. People who happened to get a cheaper air-resistance machine with poor metrics can get this handle to get more accurate data. However, I suspect the cost of a cheaper rower and the SmartRow handle would be close enough to the Concept2 one might just get that anyway.
The SmartRow handle also works with the Concept2, and while C2 people don’t necessarily need better data (given C2 is the standard) the handle also has four buttons, each with two top/bottom selections which can be used to do things like control a music player and perhaps eventually may have game effects in EXR (like the Zwift Play buttons in the cycling world).
SmartRow is working on a “handle version” for WaterRower to give those media controls over there as well, and that version of the handle has dual bluetooth support, which allows one to have that direct EXR connection as well as a second connection to SmartRow app for those who want consistent logbook records. I believe the handle versions qualify as FTMS based on SmartRow’s web site.
