Ride Cave Now Rows
Rowing is now a first-class sport in Ride Cave. Connect a Concept2 PM5 or Bluetooth rowing machine and train by split, watts, and stroke rate, with structured pieces, rowing zones, a 2k test, and sync to the apps you already use.
Ride Cave now rows. Connect your Concept2 PM5 or Bluetooth rowing machine, pick a piece, and train the way rowers actually train: by split, watts, and stroke rate. This is not a bike screen with the labels swapped. Rowing has its own workouts, its own zones, its own live screen, and its own builder, and every row lands in the same training picture as your rides. And like riding in Ride Cave, it is free.
Connect your erg
The Concept2 PM5 and other standard Bluetooth smart rowers connect directly, the same way your trainer does. Pair yours from the Rowing Machine card in Settings, under Devices. On the Ride Cave desktop app, a PM5 also connects over ANT+.
Which rowers work today
We want to be straight with you about this. Rowing machines speak several different Bluetooth languages, and we only call a rower supported when we have checked it against real data. Tested means we have rowed on it ourselves. Supported means Ride Cave reads it correctly in recordings from real machines of that kind, but no owner has confirmed it live yet. Experimental means we built it from published details with no recording to check against.
| Rower | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Concept2 RowErg (PM5) | Tested | Over Bluetooth, plus ANT+ on the desktop app. |
| Standard Bluetooth smart rowers (most Merach, Sunny Health & Fitness, Kingsmith, Domyos Row 900, Life Fitness, WaterRower with the S4 ComModule, and others) | Supported | Checked against recordings from Merach, FitShow and Life Fitness rowers. Some report fewer numbers: if a rower sends no split or power, Ride Cave works them out from its distance. |
| iConsole+ rowers (Fytter, Baltic, and others) | Supported | Checked against a recording of the official iConsole+ app. Heart rate comes through when the console reads it. |
| WaterRower with SmartRow | Supported | Checked against a recording of the official SmartRow app. The pulley does not report calories or heart rate, so pair a heart rate strap. |
| FitShow consoles, including the Merach R28 | Supported | Checked against a recording of the same console protocol on a Merach bike. |
| Echelon Row | Supported, before its 2026 update | Power is estimated from your speed, because Echelon does not send it. A 2026 Echelon firmware update locks the rower, and updated machines no longer share their data with other apps, Ride Cave included. |
| Sportstech rowers | Experimental | Built from published details, not yet checked against a real machine. |
| Older Domyos rowers (before the Row 900) | Experimental | Built from published details, not yet checked against a real machine. |
| Hydrow, Ergatta, NordicTrack and ProForm, Xterra | Not supported | These keep their data inside their own apps, or use connections we cannot read yet. |
| CARE and SportsPlus rowers | Not supported | Their only way to ask for data also changes the resistance, so reading them would fight your setting. |
| WaterRower S4 without a ComModule or SmartRow | Not yet | The S4 monitor on its own connects only over USB, which Ride Cave does not read yet. |
Have a rower you would like Ride Cave to support? Contact us with the brand and model.
A live screen built for rowing
Split /500m, power, stroke rate, average split, strokes, calories, and what is left in the piece, all live. The Rowing Balance panel shows your split, power, and rate against the target pocket: it turns green when you are on it, and coaching cues point you back when you drift. Test pieces switch to an all-out view, rests get their own screen, and a beep and 3-2-1 countdown call the start of every interval.
Need it a touch harder or easier today? Nudge the intensity up or down mid-workout, and stroke rate too if you switch that on. Settings is also where you choose how tight the target pocket is. Rowing also works with the custom views, voice control, and alerts riders already use.
Pieces, the way rowers write them
Start from more than 50 rowing workouts: test pieces from 500m to 6k, steady state, rate ladders, sprint sets, calorie pieces, and technique drills. Or build your own in the rowing builder with time, distance, or calorie pieces, targets as a split, watts, or a rowing zone, stroke rate targets and caps, timed rests or rest as needed, and ramps. In a hurry? Instant workouts like Steady State, Threshold, 500m Repeats, Pyramid, and 2k Prep build a session in a tap.
You can also type a workout out line by line in Turbo Builder, our new text-based builder, and Cave Crew members can have Atlas write the set for them.
Zones and load that understand rowing
Rowing gets its own Rowing FTP, separate from your cycling FTP, and five rowing zones built on it: UT2, UT1, AT, TR, and AN. Not sure of your number? Row the 2k Test and Ride Cave suggests a new Rowing FTP, ready to apply in one tap. Every row is scored for training load, and the Data Lab shows your split trends, best efforts, time in zone, and stroke rate and pacing.
Your rows go where your rides go
Finished rows upload to Strava, Wahoo, and Intervals.icu, or download as FIT and TCX to add anywhere else, Garmin Connect included. Turn on Multi-sport in Settings and rows you log somewhere else import into Ride Cave too, so your whole history lives in one place.
Get rowing
Connect your rower, pick a piece, and pull. Everything you need is on the rowing page, and as always, we want to hear what you think. Rowing is the first sport after cycling that you can train live in Ride Cave, and it will not be the last.
What rowing includes today
Rowing in Ride Cave is a full experience, but it does not do everything cycling does yet. Here is exactly where it stands.
| Feature | What you get |
|---|---|
| Live rowing screen | Three built in rowing views, plus your own Views, with split, power, stroke rate, SPI, drag factor and more. |
| Widgets | Build custom widgets from rowing fields like split, stroke rate, SPI and drag factor, and browse community widgets by sport. |
| Workouts | More than 50 rowing workouts in the library, the Workout Builder, Turbo Builder, and 9 Instant Row workouts. |
| Calendar | Schedule rows with Quick Create or Search Library, and edit a scheduled row in place. |
| Auto pause | Stop rowing in a piece and the workout pauses; your next stroke resumes it. Rests never pause. |
| Atlas | Atlas writes and talks through rowing workouts for Cave Crew members. |
| Zones and testing | Your own Rowing FTP, five rowing zones, and 2k, 5k and 6k tests that suggest a new value. |
| Training load | Every row is scored and counts in your fitness chart alongside your rides. |
| Data Lab | Rowing Performance, Rowing Distribution, Rowing Intervals and Rowing Efficiency, charts for every row, reports from uploaded rowing files, and rowing in Compare. |
| Sharing your rows | Upload to Strava, Wahoo and Intervals.icu, export FIT or TCX, send rowing workouts to Intervals.icu, and make your workouts public. |
| Multi-sport import | Rows you log in other apps import into Ride Cave. |
| In the workout | Voice Control, Custom Alerts, interval beeps, and your own heart rate strap. |
| Devices | Bluetooth rowers on web, desktop and phone, plus ANT+ on the desktop app. |
Not yet for rowing
| Feature | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Auto Train and Training Plans | They do not plan rows yet. Your rows still count toward the fitness and fatigue they plan around, and you can schedule rows on the calendar yourself. |
| Infinite World | Rowing in the 3D world is coming later. |
| Quests and Skills | Cycling only for now. |
| Group rides and races | Cycling only for now. |
| eRoutes, Ride Anywhere and Tracks | Cycling only for now. |
| Leaderboards | Cycling only for now. Your rowing best efforts show in the Data Lab. |
| Sending workouts to Garmin | Use Intervals.icu, or export a FIT file. |
| Resistance control | Ride Cave reads your rower but does not change its resistance. |