Sunny Health & Fitness SPM Magnetic Rowing Machine SF-RW5941 Review

Sunny Health & Fitness has been building cardio gear for our homes for over twenty years. These guys specialize in low-cost equipment, and their rowing machines are some of the best on the market. I’ve reviewed a ton of their gear over the years, and they usually impress both on price and quality.

Includes Comparison With Best Seller: The Fitness Reality 1000 Rower.

Today I want to take a close look at everything this foldable rower from Sunny Health offers, including its drawbacks because there are a few. At the end of the review, I’ll compare the Sunny to the Fitness Reality 1000, one of the best sellers in the price bracket.

First, a quick look at the Sunny SF-RW5941 product specs!

Why Do We Like The Sunny Health & Fitness SPM Magnetic Rowing Machine?

Gone are the days when the only home rower choice was a noisy air rowing machine. Now with magnetic rowers like the Sunny Health SPM rowing machine, we can reap the benefits of rowing at home without being disturbed by the sound of the machine.

The frictionless resistance system doesnt make any sound because the magnets of the resistance system never have to contact the flywheel resulting in a near-silent rowing experience. And because it’s frictionless, it’s maintenance-free, which is always a good thing.

Constant Resistance

Magnetic resistance is constant, and by that, I mean it doesnt get stronger the faster you row like an air rower. Instead, we have resistance levels that can be selected via a tension knob.

And as the resistance is constant, you can, if you wish, row at a slow pace on a high reistnace setting ‘great for legs’ and something we cant do with air rowers as their resistnace systems are dynamic.

16 Levels of Resistance

Sixteen resistance levels is impressive to see on a budget magnetic rower. It’s twice as many as most budget rowers.

But just because there are 16 levels of resistance, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the upper levels of resistance will be any stronger than that of a well-built budget rower with eight levels of resistance.

All it really means when a budget rowing machine has more reistnace levels is more choice for the user, which is great for beginners who don’t want large jumps in resistance strength.

We need to remember this is a low-cost magnetic rowing machine. It’s not designed for seasoned rowers. It’s best suited to beginners or intermediates, and the resistance strength will reflect that. However, you can burn a ton of calories on this thing, but if you’re an athlete in training, your need a pro rower, not a budget one.

Click here to check price of Sunny SPM Magnetic Rowing Machine on Amazon

How Stable is The Sunny?

This is a reasonably light rowing machine at 52lb, surprising considering it costs more than some heavier Sunny Rowers.

Weight usually is the determining factor when keeping any cardio machine planted to the floor, and while 52lb doesn’t scream super cheap, it’s lighter than most in this price bracket.

Still, we have nice wide stablizees which are great at preventing wobbles and so too are the adjustbale levelers. I was happy to see adjustable levelers featured on the Sunny SPM, as a few budget rowers lack this handy feature. Adjustbale levelers can be independently adjusted to keep your rower stable on uneven floors.

The Seat

While I like the seat’s padding, it’s made from high-density foam. It isnt ergonomically designed which is disappointing. There’s no support for your butt to stop it from slipping in the push phase of the rowing stroke. Not good.

Basic Easy To Use Monitor

It’s no surprise to find a fairly basic monitor featured on the Sunny Health & Fitness SPM Rowing Machine, as nearly all rowers in this price bracket are equipped with basic monitors. However, they are nice and easy to set up, and easy to use.

The Sunny monitor does include one advanced feature, and thats goal setting, where you can set goals based on stroke or time, etc. A useful feature and something that will keep you coming back to the machine. But thats about it. There’s no Bluetooth, no way to monitor pulse, and sadly the monitor doesnt track distance either.

It tracks just your time, total count, count, and calories.

Any Other Features Worth Mentioning?

One of the best features of this rowing machine is that it folds for storage, almost halving its overall footprint, and it’s easy to fold too, thanks to its pull pin folding system takes just a few seconds to fold.

Also, we have transport wheels built into the front stabilizers, making it easy to move, just tilt and roll.

Floor Plates

The Sunny SPM comes with a pair of floor plates, a little unusual for a rowing machine but can come in handy if you want to perform upright exercises with the growing handle. You can stand on the floor plates and perform exercises such as bicep curls and standing rows and increase resistance as you get stronger.

Belt Drive System

Rowing machines either come with a chain drive system or a belt drive system, personally for home use I prefer a belt drive system because they are not as noisy, and they really keep vibrations down to a minimum, plus they dont need regular lubrication like a chain drive. Chain drives are great; they last a lifetime. It’s just the noise they create isnt ideal for a home rower.

Long Rail

It’s unusual to find a long rail on a budget rower. Most rowers around this price can only accommodate users up to 6’3,” but the Sunny SPM rower has a surprisingly long rail allowing user up to 6’5″ to achieve full leg extension.

Easy To Assemble – 30 Minutes

Thankfully most of the complicated stuff like the drive and resistance systems come pre-assembled. You’ll need to connect the rail to the front part of the rower, attach the seat to the rail, attach the footrests, connect the front and rear stabilizer bars, and monitor. Average build time is around 30 minutes.

Clear assembly instructions with illustrations are provided, and the basic tolls for the job are also provided.

Alternative

Fitness Reality 1000 Plus Magnetic Rower

Like Sunny,  Fitness Reality has been around a long time and are known for building high-quality, affordable gym gear.

Their low-cost rower, the Fitness Reality Plus 1000, is an impressive machine and one of my favorites in this price range as it boasts more features than any other machine and is well built for an affordable rower.

The Fitness Reality 1000 weighs 66lb which is a good weight for a low-cost rower, we know it will be sturdy, and that extra weight tells us it’s built from quality materials.

The 1000 shares many features with the Sunny SPM Rower; both rowers boast a smooth, quiet magnetic reistnace system, both include a good number of resistnace levels, the Sunny -16 the Fitness Reality – 14, both rowers use belt drives, both have long rails, both can be folded for storage, and both include an extra pair of footplates for standing exercises.

The main difference between these two rowers are the monitors. The Fitness Reality Monitor is more advanced as it includes Bluetooth and access to a free app, and thankfully it has a distance function.

The Fitness Reality is so popular for a reason – it provides everything that a mid-level magnetic rower does but without the higher price tag. This machine shines both on build qulaity and features, with users praising how strong the resistnace is in the upper levels, which is great to hear.

It’s an impressive machine for the price point that deserves serious consideration.

To Sum Up

If you’re after a fuss-free, affordable magnetic rower? The Sunny SF-RW5941 SPM Rowing Machine is a good choice. It has some impressive features, such as the long rail, the 16 levels of resistance, and a smooth rowing stroke. Still, it is light at 52lb, which can affect stability; it’s a sign that the rowing machine isnt quite up to the standards of their other rowers, and the low 250lb max capacity reflects this.