By Paul Kendrick, Cardio & Endurance Editor · Updated 19 September 2026
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Self-powered monitors are still rare on budget rowers. The TOUSAINS ER7 puts one on a £190 machine, alongside 32 magnetic resistance levels and a double rail that folds upright. That's a lot of kit for the money, and a brand with around 11 Amazon ratings, so the question is what the listing leaves out.
Our view: it's a decent buy for rowers of average height who don't care about apps. Two claims on the listing don't add up, though, and we'll explain both.
How we review
This review comes from the TOUSAINS Amazon UK listing and product images, the dimensions Amazon records for the item, and our knowledge of how self-powered magnetic rowers work. We haven't used the ER7 ourselves. With around 11 ratings it has no track record to speak of, so we can't comment on how it holds up after a year of use.
It fits someone who wants a quiet rower they can fold away after each session, who is happy reading numbers off a small screen and has no interest in Kinomap-style video rows. The 180kg rating also makes it one of the more generous machines at this price for heavier users.
It's the wrong pick if you want app workouts, or if you're tall. The DMASUN self-powered rower costs about £20 more and publishes a 500m split, which the ER7's listing never mentions. Tall rowers should go straight to the Sunny Health & Fitness extended-rail rower.
| Resistance | Magnetic, 32 levels |
|---|---|
| Monitor | Self-powered LCD (metrics not listed) |
| App | None listed |
| Rail | Double rail, folding |
| User height | Up to 210cm (manufacturer claim) |
| User weight | 180kg |
| Dimensions | About 161.5 x 41.5 x 81cm |
| Storage | Folds upright, built-in wheels |
| Colour | Purple |
Every stroke spins the flywheel, and on the ER7 that flywheel also drives a small generator feeding the LCD. There's no battery compartment to open and no socket to find, which matters more than it sounds if you want the machine in a spare room or garage. TOUSAINS pitches it as an eco feature. We'd call it a convenience one.
There's a quirk to live with. Because the screen only runs on the power you make, it goes dark shortly after you stop, and it won't show anything until you've taken a few strokes. That's normal for this type of monitor, and the DMASUN works the same way.
What we can't tell you is what the screen displays. The listing never lists its metrics. Time, distance, strokes and calories are near-certain on any rowing monitor, but a 500m split and stroke rate are not, and they're the numbers most training plans use. Ask the seller before buying if you plan to follow our rowing machine HIIT workouts by split.
Doubling the usual 16 steps means each change is smaller, so you can make an interval slightly harder instead of lurching up a whole level. That's genuinely useful. What it can't change is how magnetic resistance behaves: the drag is set by the dial, not by how hard you drive. Air and water rowers push back harder when you pull harder, which feels more like a boat. Our guide to rowing machine resistance levels explains why most people should sit in the lower-middle of the range anyway, whatever the machine.
TOUSAINS says the long double rail suits users up to 210cm. Amazon records the machine at about 161.5cm long, and the seat travel has to fit inside that length with the flywheel housing and footplates. For comparison, a Concept2 RowErg is about 244cm long. A person of 210cm has legs roughly 100cm long, and we don't see how the seat on a 161cm machine travels far enough to let them reach full extension.
If you're over about 185cm, the short-rail risk is real. A cramped catch pushes you into a rounded lower back, and low back pain is already the most common rowing complaint (International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy scoping review, 2023). Average-height users won't notice.
The rail folds up and the machine stands on its end, then rolls on the front wheels. Folded, it takes up a small patch of floor next to a wall. For a flat without a spare room, that's the feature that decides whether a rower gets used or becomes a clothes horse, and the ER7 handles it well. Our foldable rowing machines guide covers alternatives if you want to compare.
Rowing trains the legs, back and arms together in a low-impact movement. An EMG study on an indoor rower found all eight lower-limb muscles it measured were active during the stroke (Sensors, 2020). Stroke rate also changes how you move through each phase, more than small set-up tweaks do (PLOS One, 2023), so keep an eye on your rate as well as the resistance. See our rowing machine technique guide for the basics.
Check the TOUSAINS price on Amazonaround £190On paper it's good value at around £190. It has 32 magnetic resistance levels, a self-powered monitor that needs no batteries or plug, a double rail that folds upright on wheels and a 180kg user rating. It has only around 11 ratings on Amazon UK, no app support and very little detail on what the monitor shows.
The flywheel drives a small generator as you row, and that powers the monitor. You never change batteries or run a cable to the machine. The trade-off is that the screen only wakes once you start pulling, so you can't browse your last session before you sit down.
The listing doesn't mention Bluetooth or any app, so assume it doesn't. You'll be working from the built-in LCD. If app workouts matter to you, the Flesar or Superun rowers at a similar price both pair with one.
TOUSAINS says up to 210cm. We'd treat that as optimistic, because the whole machine is about 161cm long and the rail sits inside that length. Rowers over roughly 185cm should look at a machine with a published long rail, such as the Sunny Health & Fitness extended-rail model.
Yes. The rail folds up so the machine stands upright, and built-in wheels let you roll it into a corner or cupboard. A self-powered monitor and a folding frame is an unusual combination at this price.
An honest Flesar rowing machine review: 16 magnetic levels, Kinomap and FitShow support, dual rails, a 160kg limit and the short 101cm rail that tall rowers need to know about.
An honest YOSUDA magnetic rowing machine review: 16 levels up to a claimed 323N, a 5.4kg flywheel, Bluetooth, a 159kg limit, a 135cm to 188cm height range and a one-year warranty.
Our Jupgod rowing machine review covers the £60 hydraulic lever rower: how the 12-level cylinder feels, why the listing contradicts itself on levels and weight limit, and who should buy it.
An honest MERACH rowing machine review of the 16-level magnetic rower: its quiet resistance, dual rails, app, folding frame, weight limit and who this home rower suits.
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