The experience of paddling is affected by all mechanical parts that come into contact with the rope threaded through the machine. The two ends of the rope are attached to an adjustable length carbon paddle shaft. The material and length of the shaft are also very important. The light weight of the carbon shaft also helps to reduce unwanted load, but its flexibility is even more important to dampen the sudden impact of force when catching water. The length of the shaft basically affects the feeling of paddling, because the ratio of the distance between the lower and upper hands and the rope determines the proportion of the arms that can participate in the pull. When paddling on water, the pressure of the water on the feather of the paddle can be replaced as a point-like force by the force acting at the center of gravity of the surface. The location of this point must coincide with the location of the rope, this determines the length of the appropriate paddle shaft.

When paddling, the position of the rollers that guide the rope is very important, because it affects the angle between the rope and the shaft, together with the direction in which the athlete moves the shaft. These two rollers are near the center plane of the machine on the Old Danube ergometer to help give feedback to the kayaker to guide the end of the paddle away from the body after catching water. The height of the rollers can be adjusted, because the higher rollers help to make the load that occurs when catching water more realistic, and the lower setting makes the core muscles work better in the second half of the pull. The different settings cater to kayakers with different techniques, according to which phase of the pull they exert the greatest pulling force.

The air-brake flywheel provides the determining part of the resistance exerted on the athlete by the exercise machine. The mass of the flywheel and its resistance depending on the speed of rotation must also meet the parameters of the athlete. For heavier kayakers, a flywheel with greater inertia gives a true-to-life paddling experience, which is why every Old Danube ergometer is made with a replaceable flywheel, as well as a driveshaft attachment and cover that facilitate quick replacement in a few minutes. The air resistance flywheel cover helps regulate the amount of air flowing through. Depending on the increase in speed, the air resistance must increase to the same extent as when rowing on water, this is helped by uniquely designed rotor blades in the shape of a wing profile.

Rope retraction is tensioned with a steel spiral spring, so the set retraction force does not decrease even months later, in contrast to ergometers that work with a rubber rope. The rope’s own properties are also important for the operation of the machine. We chose a rope that has little stretch, a wear-resistant surface and is not rigid, it can be easily bent so that it does not slow down the machine’s movement when pulled through the pulleys. When disassembling the kayak ergometer into two pieces for transport, the rope stays in place because the retracting mechanism is entirely in the front part of the machine.

The sound of your training equipment is partially defining how you feel during your workout. A machine that has low noise level and pleasant sound gives a premium feel. A kayak ergometer can make all kind of noises. There are some noises we can eliminate in our design and there are some we can manage by using physics principles and good engineering design. One of the most noticable sound of an ergometer with a air-brake flywheel is the sound of the airflow. There are two components of that: the flywheel with fan blades that generates the airflow and the housing of the flywheel that limits the airflow according your setting. The fan blades on the flywheel has a cross section like a airplane’s wing. This fan design generates way less noise because the airflow is less turbulent. The pich of the sound is defined by the number of fan blades and the rotation speed, so our ergometer makes a deeper noise. This lower frequency wind noise is nicer to listen to.

There are also mechanical noises coming from the bearings of the ergometer. There are two types of bearing being used: ball bearings and roller bearing. The ball bearings doesn’t make much noise, but the roller type bearing are prone to making more noise. The most important parts of the ergometer are these needle roller one-way cluch bearings, because these allows for play free catch of the paddling stroke. The rollers of the bearing are running on the surface of the flywheel shaft. The quality of the bearing and the material and surface finish of the flywheel shaft are the defining factors of the noise and longevity of these parts. We are using stainless steel shaft with hardened surface and top quality cluch bearing, so our machines are producing much less unpleasant metallic noise and stays silent after years of use, unlike some of the other ergometers of the market. Please come and give our ergometers a try, so you can make sure of the quality of our products!