Bergstrom is one of my favorites of early rowingbikes.
It already has a cable drive on a Snek or fusee and it even has an energy storage in a spring that bursts out during the freewheeling stroke.
It will not have worked properly in this design; but the idea is great ; certainly that early in 1898!!!!!

For anyone interested in the energy storage idea; Harm den Hollander made a very clever one that works!

This is almost a rowingbike

In the collection of Velorama, Nijmegen, NL

An impressive and very functional toy.

Watch the great movie on:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdlpJqHxLxk
After 5 minutes of very impressive different bikes the last 50 seconds of this movie shows an extremely good working rowingbike.
In technical way the american rowbike is very similar to this rowingbike.