Concept 2 Rowing Oars

Concept 2 founders Pete and Dick Dreissigacker (brothers) began designing oars for Concept2 in 1976. Concept 2 oars have been used in every Olympic Games since 1976. There have been many new innovations to the design of the Concept 2 oar since the inception in the effort to find more speed. Concept 2 oars can be identified by their lime green sleeve where the oar fits into the oar lock.
The Blade
The blade of the Concept 2 oar has evolved in order to convert the power of the rower into boat speed more effectively. Each type of designed blade has characteristics that affect the movement of the blade through the water, how the power is applied, and the feel of the drive for the athlete. The effects of each blade innovation will be different for every rower due to variations in technique, power, body size, and boat rigging.
Skinny
The skinny shaft is available for sweeping and sculling oars. This shaft has a smaller diameter than the ultralight that creates a feeling of a softer oar. The skinny shaft is made of high modulus carbon fiber in order to achieve the necessary stiffness of the oar with the smaller diameter. This smaller diameter reduces the wind resistance by 25% on the sculling oar shaft and 50% on the sweeping oar shaft in comparison to the ultralight shaft. Although the skinny shaft weighs the same as the ultralight shaft, athletes report that the Skinny feels lighter. The skinny feels lighter in the hands because there is a different balance point from the Ultralights due to the distribution of carbon along the shaft. The Skinny shaft helps the oar respond quickly and is well suited for high stroke rates.
The oar represents a lever with the fulcrum situated at the collar (where the oar connects to the boat through the oar lock). The load of the water is applied to the blade which causes deflection or a “bend” in the oar. The stiffness of the oar is measured by how much the oar deflects from equilibrium position when a 10 kg weight is hung from the neck (where the blade meets the oar shaft). The higher the deflection of the oar, the softer the shaft.
A bent oar stores energy like a spring. This storage is not perfect, however. Much of this energy is released as heat and cannot be recovered. This is one of the inefficiencies of the softer shafts. When the rower applies force to the relaxed handle at the beginning of the stroke, the shaft of the oar flexes and stores the energy as elastic potential energy. At this point in the drive, the power delivered at the blade is less than that applied at the handle of the oar. When the force on the handle decreases, the shaft returns the stored energy to the system. The power of the blade becomes higher than the power of the handle by the end of the drive. The total amount of energy stored in the shaft is estimated to be 2.5% (for the stiffer shafts) and 3.3% (for the softer shafts) of the total work per stroke.
The ratio of handle and blade force is known as the “gearing ratio.” Because the outboard length is so much longer than the inboard length, the blade forces are much smaller than the handle forces. A stiffer oar shaft requires a more powerful handle force at the beginning of the drive. The oars with the stiffer shafts often result in the blade velocity falling below the velocity of the boat. As the boat accelerates through the drive, the force on the handle decreases naturally once the leg drive is complete. The velocity of the blade must be greater than the velocity of the shell as to not slow down the boat. A flexible or softer shaft that remains flexed helps maintain a positive blade force near the end of the drive.
The length of the oar is measured from the end of the handle to the end of the blade. For the hatchet-shaped blades (Fat2, Smoothie2 Vortex Edge, Smoothie2 Plain Edge, or Big Blade), the measurement is continued through the blade.
The boat rigging depends on the length of the oar and variables like the spread (distance from the center of the boat to the oarlock), blade size, blade type, inboard length (distance from end of handle to collar), and catch angle. If the rigging of the boat is consistent, a longer oar gives a heavier load compared to a shorter oar.
Handles
There are two types of handles available for the Concept 2 oars.
Composite Handles
The composite handle is the lightest handle offered. This handle can either be fixed or include the Length Adjustment System.
* The Length Adjustment System uses a composite handle with an outside grip that has a 5 centimeter range of length adjustment. The grip is keyed to the handle of the oar to prevent rotation. The grip can be adjusted 0.25 cm with each turn of the screw over the entire 5 centimeter range. The handle has a stable connection to the shaft which prevents wiggling and reduces stress on the oar.
* The Fixed Length composite handles are available for sweeps, but not for skinny shafts. It is available in narrow or medium for sculls.
Wood Handles
The traditional basswood handle is available only for the fixed length oars. The wood handle comes in three sizes for the sweep oars: small (39 mm), medium (42 mm), and large (45 mm).
Grips
Concept 2 offers these grips for their sweeping oars:
* Smooth Green Rubber Grip
* Microfiber Suede Grip
* Wood Veneer Grip
* Blue Cellular Foam Grip
* Contoured Orange Rubber Grip
* Ice Blue and Azure Blue Rubber Grip
* Black Rubber Grip
The grips offered for sculling oars:
* Smooth Green Rubber Grip
* Microfiber Suede Grip
* Blue Cellular Foam Grip
* Contoured Orange Rubber Grip
* Ice Blue and Azure Blue Rubber Grip
* Black Rubber Grip
Assembly of the oar
The shafts and blades of the oar are molded at the Concept 2 factory in Morrisville, Vermont. The carbon material is constructed into patterns using a computer controlled cutting table. The blade is then cut into its desired shape then tested for structural defects.
The blade is bonded to the shaft of the oar followed by the installation of the sleeve, handle, and grip using adhesive glue. Final measurements of the pitch, length, inboard, and blade orientation are taken and confirmed for quality.
Port and starboard markings are added to each oar as well as identification markings that include the oar specifications and the unique serial number.

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