Drag Factor Calculator
Damper 5 on the shed's oldest erg and damper 5 on a new one are two different workouts, because the lever is not the drag factor. Put in your weight, experience and goal and this tool gives you a drag number to set properly through the PM5 menu.
What drag factor should I use on a Concept2 erg?
Openweight adults in New Zealand mostly test 2k around drag 130-140, which feels closest to a heavyweight shell. Lightweights and women generally row best at 110-120, and school or novice rowers at 100-115 while the stroke develops. Drag 200 is a heavier load, not a better one - it changes muscle recruitment and raises injury risk. Never trust the lever: the true drag factor lives in the PM5 menu, so check it before testing.
Tell us about you
Recommended drag factor
Why this number
Drag factor primer
| Profile | Drag range | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Lightweight / women openweight | 110-120 | The lighter shell load. Lightweight 2k tests at national level sit at 110-120. |
| Heavyweight openweight | 130-140 | Heavyweight shell territory. Rowing NZ senior men test 2k around 130-140. |
| Distance / endurance | 110-130 | Winter metres: 5k, 6k, 10k. Keep drag down so the rating and the back both last. |
| Sprint / max power | 130-140 | Short maximal efforts: 500m, 10 strokes, one minute. A touch more drag for peak watts. |
| Juniors / beginners | 100-115 | Stroke first, load later. Catch, posture and leg connection are the priority at low drag. |
Drag factor myths
Myth: Higher drag = harder training = better results
No. Turning the drag up turns the erg into more of a strength exercise - heavier strokes at a lower rating - without adding aerobic value. Rowing NZ squad members sit at 130-140 because it mirrors their shell, not to prove anything. A programme lived at drag 200 mostly delivers a tired lower back.
Myth: Damper level 10 = drag 200
Not on most machines. The lever only opens or shuts the vents; dust in the cage, the machine's age, altitude and humidity all feed into the real figure. Damper 10 can mean drag 175 on the tidy erg at a Karapiro shed and 220 on the club relic. Read Display Drag Factor on the PM5 and set the lever off that.
Myth: Drag factor changes your watts at a given split
It does not touch them. The formula watts = 2.80 / (split/500)^3 ties watts to split at any drag: a 1:50 split is about 263 watts at drag 110 and at 140. Drag shifts the feel of the stroke, your natural rating and the order your muscles fatigue in - nothing else.
Myth: Boat-class drag factor matches the shell feel exactly
Only as a rough guide. Concept2's mappings (a single 1x near drag 100-110, an eight 8+ near 130-140) are handy anchors, yet a flywheel cannot mimic run and set the way water does. Start from the boat-class figure, then adjust by feel and results.
How drag factor works
What drag factor measures
Between drives the flywheel bleeds speed, and drag factor is simply how fast that happens, recalculated every stroke by the PM5 and averaged in its menu. High drag means the wheel dies quickly and the next catch works harder to bring it back. The Concept2 ergometer measures it off the wheel itself, so the lever position is irrelevant to the reading.
How to set drag factor
Find Display Drag Factor under Menu and More Options on the PM5, then row a few strokes until a number appears. Nudge the damper lever either way to steer the reading onto your target and give it a minute of warm-up before trusting it. Dust shifts the lever-to-drag relationship over time, so re-check on test days.
Boat-class equivalents
As a starting map from Concept2: singles and lightweight shells near drag 100-110, pairs and fours about 115-125, eights 130-140. Nothing there is binding. Once your number is locked in, put your goal pace through the training pace calculator for zone targets, and let the erg pace calculator translate splits into watts and a predicted 2k.
Pick a drag with your stroke rate in mind, since the two trade off directly. The watts to split converter tells you what a split costs in power at any setting, and the erg workout library has pieces suited to trialling a change.
Frequently asked questions
Is drag factor 130 the same on every Concept2 erg?
It is, everywhere. Drag factor is an absolute physical measurement of how the flywheel slows, so drag 130 means the same load on any Concept2 - the new machine at a Cambridge club or the veteran Model D in an Invercargill shed. Only the lever position needed to produce 130 differs, with older and dustier wheels needing more damper.
Should beginners train at drag 200?
They should not. Drag 100-115 is the right neighbourhood until catch timing, posture and leg drive are automatic. Big drag over an unformed stroke is how young backs get hurt and how arm-pulling becomes a habit that takes seasons to strip out. Earn the drag with technique first.
What drag factor do Rowing NZ and national-squad athletes use?
The senior men test 2k in the drag 130-140 window; the women and the lightweights use 110-120. Those bands recur through national-team programmes and Concept2 athlete profiles, and the reason is boat feel for the class they race - not a magic elite setting.
Does drag factor affect calorie burn?
Only through behaviour. The PM5's calorie figure comes straight from watts, and watts are pinned to the split by formula, so identical splits show identical calories whatever the drag. But drag changes the rating and stroke length you drift toward, which moves your average watts over a session and with it the calorie count.
How often should I check drag factor?
Every time you test, and after any layoff. The flywheel gathers dust, the lever-to-drag relationship slides, and last month's setting quietly becomes a different load. A vacuum through the cage every couple of months keeps things stable. For routine steady state, checking once at the start is enough.
What is the difference between damper lever and drag factor?
Lever in, drag out. The damper (1-10) is just an air valve on the cage; drag factor is the measured deceleration that results, filtered through dust, altitude and humidity. Two ergs on the same lever rarely match. Anchor your training loads to drag factor and let the lever fall where it needs to.
More rowing tools
Watts to Split Converter
Convert any wattage to a 500m split, or split to watts.
Erg Pace Calculator
Convert split to watts, calories and predicted 2k, 5k, 6k, 10k times.
Stroke Rate Calculator
Distance per stroke from rate and split, or vice versa.
Training Pace Calculator
UT2/UT1/AT/TR/AN paces, stroke rates and coach-ready intervals.
Know the drag. Know the load. Coach from facts.
When your athletes log ergs in Row HQ, each piece keeps its drag factor, split, rating and watts - so Kiwi coaches see straight away whether training matches the plan.