Concept2 Model A Return to Glory - 40 Years Later

Authored by Darcy Haggith. Darcy is a Concept2 Community member, avid rower, cyclist, ultra-endurance athlete, and recent proud owner of a Concept2 Model A rower. Darcy is also the CEO of Gruppo Nutrition, a Canadian based nutrition brand dedicated to fueling some of the world's most elite athletes with the highest grade, ultra-premium sports nutrition. This includes team Canada sports such as rowing and volleyball. We hope you enjoy this article as Darcy shares his experience with refurbishing a Concept2 Model A rower and learning about Concept2 as a company.

I’ve admired rowers for years but never committed to getting on the water—until recently. Since 2008, I’ve led Gruppo Nutrition and fueled Rowing Canada athletes, giving me a bird’s-eye view of a sport I’ve always loved. In early 2023, a visit to the Lasalle Rowing Club Boathouse made me want to join immediately, but the Learn to Row weekends conflicted with major rides on my cycling calendar. The same thing happened in 2024. 

This year, though, I finally made it to the club’s Open House and then a Learn to Row weekend in June. As someone who’s completed multiple Ironman's, logged 15,000 km cycling years, and thrives on endurance challenges, I assumed I’d have the engine for rowing—and maybe I do. But most of the real work since June has been mental. I had rowed casually before, but rowing on the water forced me to unlearn everything and appreciate how technical and precise the stroke truly is. It’s been humbling, inspiring, and made even better by the community. I’m hooked, and excited for whatever comes next. 

Those that know me, know I can become consumed by interests and begin down rabbit holes if left to my own devices. A few weeks ago, I was out in Victoria, British Columbia, helping my son and his partner find a new place to live. While browsing on Facebook Marketplace, I saw a Model A Concept2 Rower for sale for $150. I started doing research and found that it was manufactured sometime between 1981 to 1985. It looked like an antique, but at the same time looked super cool to me as a good conversation piece, and I envisioned having it in my office at Gruppo.

I was struck by the simplicity of the machine and had to know the history of it. Down the rabbit hole I went. I discovered that brothers Dick and Peter Dreissigacker, after creating the gold standard for oars, set out to create an indoor rowing machine out of simple bike parts. In 1981 they launched an indoor rowing machine that sold for $600 versus the others at the time that were $3,000. I found a 2016 video that details the history of the Concept2 rower and the then 40-year-old company. I love that the video was narrated by Judy Geer, Dick’s spouse. Judy was an Olympic Rower for the United States in 1976, as was Dick in 1972, and both are engineers. 2026 marks 50 years for Concept2.

And down the rabbit hole I continued... If the Model A I found on Facebook was good enough for the world’s best in the 1980s, it would more than meet my needs. I love data, so naturally I wondered whether I could retrofit it with a Performance Monitor 5 (PM5) and get the functionality of the most recent RowErg. To my delight, my sleuthing brought me to a Facebook post on the Concept2 Community page from a Jen in Colorado showing that it was possible to retrofit a PM5 to a Model A. Needless to say, I purchased the Model A from a Brett in Ontario on my way home from Victoria and I couldn’t have been happier. 

My next step was to purchase a PM5 for my new to me Model A. I gave Concept2 a call and learned that for just $180 USD I could turn this antique into a near-modern machine, comparable to the Ergs I use at Movati and the Lasalle Rowing Club. Kerrie at Concept2 was super helpful, and in minutes my order was placed, and my parts were on the way. What I loved even more than their incredible customer service were their values. Every rower they have ever produced can still be upgraded to use the current PM5. During our call, Kerrie mentioned, “We do that to help keep the rowers out of the landfill and allow folks to upgrade equipment with the newest functions." While most companies would force folks to purchase new rowers, Concept2 allows customers to purchase spare parts or monitors - enabling customers to fix worn out parts, collect data, sync to Bluetooth, and upgrade parts to the latest and greatest without breaking the bank.  

Lastly, I wanted to clean up the wheel, cassette, and repack the bearings. After being inspired by Jen's story on her Model A rebuild on the Concept2 Community Facebook page, I really wanted to do everything. I started investigating these parts and realized that the hub (Maillard) and cassette (Shimano) were different brands. Maillard was a French manufacturer of hubs, sprockets, and freewheels in the 19th century and into the 1980’s. After pulling my bike tools out, I realized I did not have a hub tool with the correct teeth configuration to disassemble the hub and ultimately repack the bearings. I reached out to my local bike shop, Windsor Bike Kitchen, and Ron was able to help me in two days and for less than $30. It was good as new again and spun effortlessly. What was even better is Ron thanked me for allowing them the privilege to work on such a cool wheel and the story behind it.  

In less than a week, I now had everything I needed to bring my Model A back to its original glory and then some. I was eager to try it out and in less than an hour I had the machine reassembled, and I rowed my first 1000m. I was surprised with how close the Model A felt to the RowErg I would use daily at Movati, the Lasalle Boathouse or wherever I was rowing. I have had it assembled now for two weeks, and I have covered about 100,000m on it. I have planned to have it in my office, but the convenience of having it at home is hard to beat. If I am tight on time, it is really easy to hop on and cover 5000 – 10,000m. With the original open design, it is quite loud compared to the current models, but AirPods take care of that though. I absolutely love my Model A and quite frankly the story behind it. There is no question that the new models are smoother, quieter and more comfortable to row on, but I would say that 30% of my total rowing will be on this unit, the rest will be at the gym and the boathouse where I can participate in groups or when I am doing longer efforts. The new to me Model A was a valuable part of my training for the 100,000m row I completed to raise funds and awareness for cancer care in our community through the event Grow On.. Row On.., which I am proud of completing the 100,000m in 7 hours 45 minutes, with an overall pace of 2:19.5.

All in, I spent less than $500 and now have a functional conversational piece that will eventually find its way into my office. I have rowed four 5000m rows and a bunch of 10,000m efforts and it is amazing. I am so grateful for Concept2, Brett and Jen from the Concept2 Facebook Community, and the Bike Kitchen for bringing the Model A back to life. I wasn't willing to part with $1500 right now, but for $500 I couldn't pass up this project and reap all the benefits it will provide. Happy rowing! 

P.S. If you haven’t heard of Shane Farmer of Dark Horse Rowing, I highly suggest him. His videos have helped me immensely with form and technique, and I highly recommend them. I was recently browsing his videos and was surprised to see a non-training video from Shane. It spoke of something that happened earlier in the year, Dick, Peter, Bari, and Judy (the founders and their spouses of Concept2) had transferred 100% of their ownership to the Concept2 Perpetual Purpose Trust. Watch the video to learn more. What this means is as the founders step away from day-to-day operations, all the things that we have come to know and love about Concept2 will remain in the future.