Concept2 PM5 Monitor Accessories to Protect Workout Data

At a glance

The strongest overall choice is a spare pair of D-cell batteries: they support PM5 readiness with minimal complexity. Add a USB flash drive only when your individual PM5 has a USB-A port and you specifically want removable storage; it redirects saves rather than creating a confirmed duplicate backup.

• Best overall: Keep two D-cell batteries available and use the PM5’s built-in memory, which stores over 1,000 workouts. View on Amazon
• Best for a distinct use case: Choose a USB flash drive for removable workout storage, but verify the port first.
• What decides it: Choose based on the failure mode: batteries address monitor readiness; USB changes the save destination. For Just Row, confirm the workout qualifies for automatic saving and check the date and time beforehand.

Important: USB storage is not documented as simultaneous backup: workouts save to the drive instead of PM memory.

For rowing machine monitor accessories, the most useful purchases are often the least glamorous: a spare pair of D-cell batteries and, for a compatible monitor, a USB flash drive. If you own a Concept2 PM5, these Concept2 PM5 accessories address two different risks (interrupted monitor uptime, and where completed workouts are stored). The Concept2 RowErg is the relevant platform here because the PM5 is standard on current RowErgs; the priority is protecting the continuity and quality of your training record rather than filling your workout space with accessories that do not solve a specific problem.

The Concept2 RowErg Indoor Rowing Machine includes a PM5 monitor, but the rower itself is not a monitor-protection accessory. Think of it as the data source: every session begins and ends at the PM5.

Concept2 RowErg Indoor Rowing Machine

Accurate, full-body workout with open app compatibility and easy storage.

4.94

User Capacity500 lbs

Buy on Amazon

User Capacity500 lbs

Pros

Precise data with PM5, compatible with 40+ apps

Low-impact, full-body workout with smooth, quiet flywheel

Divides for easy storage, fits most users comfortably

Cons

Requires 9x4 feet of space during use

Customers praise its superior build quality, smooth operation, and effectiveness as a low-impact exercise, especially for joint pain.

Customers praise its superior build quality, smooth operation, and effectiveness as a low-impact exercise, especially for joint pain.

Buy on Amazon

A caveat before buying anything: "backup" has a precise meaning. A USB drive used with the PM5 is an alternate save location, not a confirmed duplicate copy made simultaneously in the PM5's internal memory. That distinction changes the right buying decision. Cost per session beats MSRP when an accessory prevents a lost record or an avoidable interruption, but only when you understand what it actually does.

1. Start With the Built-In Protection: PM5 Memory

Before purchasing a PM5 USB flash drive or replacement batteries, understand the storage you already have. The PM5 can store more than 1,000 workouts in its internal memory. That is substantial local capacity for a home rower, especially if your immediate goal is simply to keep a usable session history on the monitor.

It does not mean every pull is automatically retained. The PM5 automatically saves preset workouts and qualifying Just Row workouts. For Just Row, the session must be longer than one minute or longer than 100 meters; Concept2 also specifies additional Menu-button steps after the last stroke. If you stop short of those conditions, do not assume the workout became part of your durable record.

The retained record includes the final total result and splits, giving you the core rowing metrics needed to compare sessions and track progress. For an analytical athlete, that makes the PM5 memory a practical first line of continuity: it preserves the numbers that let you compare today's interval, distance, or pace pattern with a prior session.

The record-quality step people miss

Set the PM5 date and time correctly from the outset. Past workout dates and times cannot be edited. If you care about a clean history (whether you row before work, fit a session between meetings, or alternate use with a partner), an incorrect clock turns an otherwise valid result into a poorly labeled one.

This is the zero-dollar part of rowing workout data backup: ensure a qualifying workout is actually saved, then ensure it is assigned to the right date.

2. Buy Two D-Cell Batteries First if Uptime Is Your Risk

The first accessory to keep on hand is simple: two D-cell batteries. The PM5 requires two D cells. During use, the RowErg supplies power to the monitor, which helps support operation while you row. But the batteries remain the practical reserve that allows the monitor to wake and function as intended outside that active rowing moment.

This is not a call to stockpile batteries or chase a premium label. The available information does not establish which battery brand, chemistry, capacity, rechargeable option, or service-life claim is best for a PM5. Buy the required size from a source you trust, keep the pair together, and replace them when your monitor indicates it is time.

How to check before a session becomes a missed session

On PM5 software that presents the current menu path, battery status is available at:

More Options → Utilities → Battery

The monitor displays the battery level as a percentage. Menu options can vary on older firmware, so treat that path as a current guide rather than a promise that every screen will look identical. Keeping the monitor software current can also help address connectivity and performance issues; see this guide to rowing machine firmware updates before troubleshooting persistent problems.

The PM5 also turns on when you pull the RowErg handle, press a monitor button, connect a computer, or insert batteries. It turns off after a couple of minutes of inactivity; a spinning flywheel counts as activity. Those behaviors are useful context, but they are not a substitute for checking the battery indicator periodically.

Why this is the best value accessory for most owners

1. Check the PM5 battery percentage periodically.
2. Keep two replacement D cells where you store your rowing essentials.
3. Replace the pair when needed.
4. Confirm the monitor powers on and your date/time remain correct before a key test or training block.

This is basic TCO math. The acquisition cost is small, the failure-rate exposure is easy to monitor, and the downside of not having replacements is disproportionately annoying when your training window is only 20 minutes. If data is part of the reason you row, monitor uptime is not an optional detail.

Pay once, maintain smartly, and your rower pays you back.

My first rower was a scuffed secondhand find, and logging the unromantic costs (small wear items, fixes, and completed sessions) made the useful metric obvious. The same logic applies here: the accessory that quietly keeps a session record available can have more value than a flashy add-on that does nothing for your training history.

3. Add a USB Flash Drive Only After Confirming the Port

A USB flash drive is the second monitor-focused option, but it is conditional. Concept2's USB-flash-drive instructions apply only to PM5 units with a USB-A port. Inspect your specific PM5 before buying a drive for this purpose. A generic assumption that every PM5 accepts a flash drive is the wrong purchasing model.

When a compatible USB flash drive is in use, workouts save to the drive instead of PM memory. That can suit an owner who wants workout files directed to removable storage. It does not establish a two-location, redundant backup system. If you are comparing monitor capabilities more broadly, our PM5 versus iFIT monitor comparison explains how different systems handle accuracy, display information, and training integrations.

The USB comparison: useful alternate destination, not duplicate insurance

This is where language matters. Calling a USB drive "backup" can lead you to believe that each workout exists in two places. The documented behavior says otherwise: USB use redirects the save destination. If your goal is simply to put completed sessions on removable storage, it may be appropriate. If your goal is redundancy, do not treat the drive alone as proven redundant protection.

No useful buying guidance is available here on USB-drive capacity, file system, speed rating, durability class, formatting, or compatibility with a particular third-party model. Avoid paying for specifications that have not been shown to matter for this specific use. Confirm the USB-A port first; then follow the PM5's applicable instructions for use.

4. Choose Between Batteries and USB With a Failure-Mode Test

These two erg monitor accessories do not compete directly. One supports monitor readiness; the other changes the destination for saved workouts. Use the failure mode, not marketing language, to choose.

Choose spare D cells when your concern is:

• The PM5 not being ready when you have a narrow workout window.
• Avoiding a preventable monitor-power interruption.
• Keeping a low-clutter, low-complexity setup.
• Relying primarily on the PM5's built-in workout memory.

Consider a USB flash drive when your concern is:

• Directing completed workout records to removable storage.
• Handling stored workouts outside the monitor after confirming that your individual PM5 has USB-A.
• Using an alternate save location rather than PM memory for those sessions.

Buy both when the roles are distinct

For an owner with a USB-A-equipped PM5, owning both is rational because their roles do not overlap: D cells support power readiness, while the drive is a storage destination. Just do not let the presence of both create a false sense of duplicate recording. The evidence supports two functions, not a synchronized backup architecture.

5. Use a Short Pre-Row Data-Preservation Routine

You do not need a complicated system to protect the sessions that matter. Use this checklist before a benchmark, a structured interval day, or the first row of a new training block.

1. Wake the PM5. Pull the handle or press a monitor button.
2. Check battery status periodically. Use the Battery utility when available on your monitor's menu layout.
3. Verify date and time. Correct them before training, because prior workout timestamps cannot be edited.
4. Decide the save destination. Use PM memory by default, or insert a flash drive only if your PM5 has the required USB-A port and you deliberately want the session saved there instead.
5. Make the workout qualify. For Just Row, exceed one minute or 100 meters if you expect it to be automatically saved, and complete the relevant post-row steps.
6. Review the result. Confirm the final total and splits are present after the session.

This routine is intentionally modest. It minimizes friction for apartment and small-home users who want a quick, purposeful session, not another app workflow to administer. It also makes service path clarity visible: you know where your workout should be, what needs replacing, and which assumption to test if a record is missing.

6. Skip These Purchases Until You Have Evidence They Solve Your Problem

Monitor accessories can drift into speculative spending quickly. The available information does not support a recommendation for a particular battery brand or chemistry, any named USB-drive model, a drive-capacity target, cloud backup services, automated synchronization workflows, replacement monitor cases, or claims that a specific app can recover or retrospectively import PM5 records for this purpose.

That is not an argument against those products in every circumstance. It is a discipline against buying on a promise you cannot verify. A clean setup with replacement D cells and, only when the physical port supports it, a USB drive is better than an expensive, ambiguous data plan. Regular upkeep matters too, so use a complete rowing machine maintenance guide to keep the equipment and monitor environment reliable over time.

Also avoid treating a USB drive as a universal solution for every PM5. The USB-A check is non-negotiable. If the port is absent, the drive is not the appropriate path under the documented instructions.

7. Final Verdict: The Lean PM5 Accessory Kit

• Essential: Keep two D-cell batteries available for the PM5.
• Optional and conditional: Use a USB flash drive only after verifying that your PM5 has a USB-A port.
• Already built in: Use the PM5's internal memory, which stores over 1,000 workouts, and set the correct date and time before records accumulate.

For most RowErg owners, spare batteries are the better first purchase because they address the most immediate operational risk with almost no complexity. A USB drive earns its place when removable storage is specifically useful to you and your monitor has the right port, but it should be understood as an alternate save location, not duplicate protection.

The final TCO math is refreshingly plain: buy the accessory that removes a real failure point, maintain it on a simple cadence, and avoid paying for unproven features. Cost per session beats MSRP, especially when every completed session is recorded where you expected it to be.

FAQ

Can an older Concept2 monitor be upgraded to a PM5?

Concept2 states that the PM5 is retrofittable to older Concept2 Indoor Rowers and SkiErgs. This does not establish installation requirements, cost, or compatibility details for any particular legacy machine, so confirm those specifics before purchasing an upgrade.

When did the PM5 come out?

The available information does not establish an exact launch date. Concept2 identifies the PM5 as standard on current RowErgs, but that does not by itself document when the monitor was first released.

Does a USB drive back up PM5 workouts while keeping a copy in the monitor?

Do not assume that it does. On PM5 units with a USB-A port, Concept2 says workouts save to the USB flash drive instead of PM memory. That is alternate storage, not documented simultaneous duplication.