CrewNerd for Rowing & Paddling App Reviews

Finally a good rowing application that nearly works as well as the running applications. Next best thing to having a real speedcoach onboard. Some needed improvements are to allow free rather than paid uploads over 3G network rather than just wifi, allow upload to a standalone program that can be shared with rowers who are not on facebook, use something other than flash and make exploitable on iphone, show map view and check and bounce stats in uploads, allow synchronization with the concept 2 software that records kilometers logged on the ergometer for a complete individual and team training view with stats, allow automatic upload to facebook and twitter like run aps do, and finally, have the application cut off phone and text message alerts that block view of the program, and make a decent waterproof, mountable and durable case to protect and read the iPhone while rowing.

Great app. Works wonderful on the boat. Enjoy the fact that I can email data to myself to keep track of workouts

A great tool! Love it!

While the app functions very well, the most impressive aspect of the program is Tonys attentive support of his product. Whenever there are hitches, he has always replied promptly to emails, and has always found a way to troubleshoot issues. He is also continually expanding the apps functionality. The app itself does work wonderfully. So long as it is firmly attached, the accelerometer takes accurate stroke rates, and the workout-building and countdown features are great. The GPS has occasional trouble with speed and split data, but this is due to the inherent limitations of GPS speed-recording. Overall, a great app.

I am giddy about a lot of the goodies you can download to your iPhone, but SpeedCoach Mobile takes the cake for me. I have spent a lot of hours in the single with my iPhone in a waterproof container running this excellent application. I have also spent many hours using a classic NK Speedcoach, and this thing does real justice to the product line. One of the greatest features...you cut all the cords! No more impellers getting bent, no more wires flopping around the boat, no more short battery life (you are likely to keep charging your phone on a daily basis). The display is fantastic and well organized. I row all winter in the dark, and the graphics are crystal clear. You have a lot of flexibility with what you display. You can position your phone in either landscape or portrait orientation(auto-adjust with the accelerometer). Audibles are useful and easy to hear. I have done several comparisons to GPS performance versus Garmin 201s, and the speed of feedback and accuracy are improved. Operations are intuitive rather than cryptic, standard workouts useful rather than useless, and functionality reliable rather than dubious. Perhaps one of the most satisfying features is getting back to the dock, tapping the upload button, and immediately uploading your workouts to your Facebook page for easy viewing and sharing. You cannot beat this setup for sharing your workouts with boatmates and coaches. I dont get too excited about much, but I am truly excited about this excellent application. If you are a rower, and you own an iPhone, this is an inexpensive must-have. If you dont have an iPhone, get one...if for nothing else than to own this app. Catch you later!!

This app is the most beneficial, user friendly, and accurate data collector for rowing that i have worked with yet! The SpeedCoach Mobile is at the top of its category in gathering quantitative feedback and it is incredibly beneficial to use this information to enhance training, make technical changes, and offer instantaneous personal feedback. The key feature for me? The cordless mobility! SpeedCoach Mobile has all the capabilities of a regular speed coach without having to deal with the rusted, fraying wires and bent, unaccurate empellers. The display is very user friendly and adjustable. You can choose what type of data you would like to see whether it be time and meters, rate and splits/500, strokes taken and time, all of the above, etc! What has been especially beneficial to me and my team is the easy, instant on the water feedback the SpeedCoach allows. If we are doing three 2000meter pieces, after each piece we check our time and splits immediately and discuss how we can improve speed off of that information. These pieces were used to analyze a switch of our two seat to determine the varsity lineup. It is incredibly interesting to see the change in avg/500 right after a piece on the water!!! This is the more effective and incredible training app!

This app turns your iPhone into the ultimate rowing computer. Its easy to use and works great. Very accurate and records all of your workouts. Its also easy to setup your own workouts and execute them on the water with visual and audible prompts. Looks great as well. Additionally, the ability to upload your workouts to the facebook application is an excellent feature. The graphs of your workout data allow you to get a good sense of how your workout went. Also being able to view your course on google maps is a unique feature!

This is the best training tool I have come across in 20 years of racing kayaks. It is easy to use and gives you plenty of data. Being able to see my stroke rate, speed and distance at once makes it easy to work on efficiency and technique. I just wish this was available 10 years ago.

So I paid the ransom. Lets face it, 65 for an app is more than we are used to paying. Im not sure who wrote those other reviews, but it would seem they work for NK. Lets start with the pros. Its accurate. If you want to measure a 2000 meter course, this will be pretty much right on, or at least as close as you will ever need to be. So for total distance and time, and thus ave/500 it is great. So to run your interval workouts it will work too. A major plus is the check and bounce meter. 20 years of rowing, and I have never seen that. Go ahead and back those blades in, too much and you actually start increasing check. It takes just the right amount... Neat. (BTW, NK why didnt you think of that in your old school coaches?) As for the cons, number one and the only point in my review that matters. IT IS NOT ACCURATE FOR YOUR CURRENT SPLIT/500. The reason for this isnt NKs fault. GPS is accurate +/- 6 feet or so. ( Intentionally scrambled per the US military to give our troops the edge) Other running and biking programs have the same current spedometer problems. Good enough to measure a 2k course. But not so for these 3 strokes compared with the last 3. Example: With a green gps lock, on a wide open reservoir, Im rowing at a constant speed, my old school speed coach is staying right at 2:30 and my iphone might say 2:13 then 2:39. At the end of the row, the averages are the same as then the iphone is using total distance and time, but what you really need a speed coach for is what you are rowing NOW! Its like being on the erg with no splits! So basically useless in the way most of us use a speed coach. This limitation is not NKs fault, but CHARGING $65 FOR A USELESS SPEED COACH IS! My advice, get a free running or biking app and calibrate your impeller driven speed coach. This app isnt worth the $.

This SpeedCoach Mobile is the coolest thing! The ability to take your speedcoach with you wherever you row, and use it in whatever you row (or paddle) without having to worry about whether the boat is wired and has a functional impeller is an amazing freedom. The cost is completely worth it, especially considering that the alternative device (the conventional wired Speedcoach) costs 3 times as much and doesnt even include the wiring. The data is impressively accurate. As a tip for other users who may not have read the User Guide, and want a more accurate real time split, there is a speed smoothing window that can be adjusted to compensate for GPS errors. The larger the window (up to 130meters) the less fluctuation in speeds. Default is 80meters. Id also like to point out the display is so much better than the old NK speedcoaches, especially when you row in the dark at 5am like I do! One more thing: I love being able to see my workouts graphed, mapped and analyzed on Facebook, and I like the fact that I have all my practices in one place to compare.

Im a novice sculler who cannot afford the high-end, dedicated NK Speed Coachs. Not a problem: this application absolutely rocks!! It certainly exceeds my expectations and Tony does an incredible job of being responsive to his buyers both by his continuing develpment of the application, e.g., it now will record "check and bounce," but also by his rapid written responses to questions asked of him on how better to use the application. Support and development are superb. (I am just a very satisfied user and Im not on his payroll :) anthony semone

Well done. Very useful

US Rowings 2011 Rules of Rowing now allow your iPhone with this app to be used in registered regattas. Just make sure you have a good waterproof case, and you securely mount it in your shell (duct tape is a wonderful thing). Yes, its not cheap -- until you look at the alternatives. Works in any shell your club has, accurate rates and distances even when youre not on a Class A fully-buoyed course, and it tracks everything you do. A serious app for serious towers...

I did a sculling camp and needed a speedcoach so this seemed to make the most sense. After mounting it on the boat (be sure to think about this part prior to buying it) and enclosing it in a plastic bag it was perfect. It gave out splits when I needed it but rate jumped a little in rough water as it thought that my oars hitting waves was a stroke. Id definitely recommend it for others so long as they think about mounting and waterproofing first.

Very easy, precise and indispensable. I really cant go to the water without my iPhone speed-coach!!! Worth the money I paid for it!

Absolutely love it. So many features. Love the upload capability - can really study my performance. The satellite mapping feature is also amazing. The custom workout interface is a little tricky, but with practice you can program almost any workout. And incredibly reasonable compared to a dedicated stroke coach device.

I applaud Nielsen & Kellerman for offering the SpeedCoach app for the iPhone. Combined with the water tight pouch this app works better than the old conventional SpeedCoaches before. It is great that I can use my iPhone with the SpeedCoach in any boat. No need for wiring or the impeller. It is clearly visible in the dark. It makes more data available than previous instruments, such as the check and the bounce factors. One draw back: I wish it were possible to temporarily disable the phone or text messaging while rowing with the SpeedCoach. Its kind of distracting to get a message or phone call in the middle of the workout. Maybe its actually possible to do that except that I havent figured it out yet.

Expensive, but admittedly specialized. I love the ability to map my rowing route in addition to tracking stroke rate, etc.

Use it for sculling, coxing, and sculling. Very helpful

Ive now logged 1000s of km with the SpeedCoach mobile in singles, doubles and quads. Ive had it installed on iPhone 3G and currently iPhone 4. It has never let me down! The file export options are many, and the ability to choose between a range of workouts - or program your own - works very well. The speed and stroke rate is bang on, although the latter tend to go a bit funky at very low ratings below 12-14 spm. I could probably fix it in the settings but I dont spend that much time at 12 spm that I bother. I use the app and phone with the NK case, which gets a bit hot on sunny days but it hasnt been an issue yet. I really love this app - its helped my rowing a lot!