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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from Monroe,NY on 4/8/2008
To start with,I have read all the reviews before I purchased and cannot figure out why people had a hard time assembling the product.Other than the possibility that they did NOT follow the instructions to the letter and tighten the hardware when instructed which will allow all holes to line up perfectly.This thing assembled super easily for me.I love the space saving feature.I would have liked a lat station added to this gym,though.
I gave up my previous olympic sized bench because of lack of space in the house. My wife is happy that I bought a folding bench that only occupies a small space in the corner of the garage. I did not find any difficulty assembling the equipment. The only problem that I encountered was one of the screw nut at the backrest was defective. No matter how much you turn the screw, it did not tighten to secure the backrest to its frames. This resulted to a little bit of instability (in the long-run). I e-mailed customer service and hopefully I will get a favorable attention. Otherwise, this is a great set to have.
I have read the previous 8 reviews and putting this bench together is easy and not time consuming. People who spoke of holes not lining up did not read the directions clearly. Follow the directions to the letter and this thing will be perfectly built within the hour. I do not like that the screw that holds the bench to the frame is the same screw used to hold the bench upright in the space saver mode. It is a royal pain to undo the screw and redo the screw every time you want to go from space saver to workout mode. A pin that held the bench section up would have been a better design. Beyond that it is super sturdy, well padded, and well worth the price and I expect many years of service from this unit. It is also pleasing ergonomically.
from Miami, FL on 9/28/2007
You wont find anything better for the money...it does take a few hours to assemble though, but everything lined up fine for me. Very versatile and very sturdy. The only drawback is that the bar rest should be about 2-3 inches wider in order to get the grip I like without pinching my hands. Great buy though...
from New York, NY on 7/29/2007
This gym is an excellent piece of equipment for such a low price. I was expecting a lengthy assembly period after reading some of the previous reviews, but I was able to assemble this by myself in a little under three (3) hours...and with minimal trouble. Only a few of the holes were slightly off, but were able to be matched with their corresponding screws with a little extra effort. Once assembled, this home gym was sturdier than any other bench I've used, and the fact that it can be folded up to be stored in a corner of the room is a HUGE plus...especially if you can't afford to give up permanent floor space to a home gym. You can't get a better value anywhere for the same price.
from Tampa, FL on 7/21/2007
I read the other reviews and expected a tough time assembling the thing... but it was still worse than I imagined. NOTHING was aligned properly. [...] You will be lucky if anything is on straight.I stripped a screw but luckily the local store tore open another box and handed me a new screw... still didnt fit right. Even something as simple as the leg bar didn't fit into the hole. I had to jam it in there and there are shards of paint and metal allover the floor.The biggest disappointment for me is the way it folds. I was hoping to save space with it by putting it against a wall, then folding it when it was not being used. Problem is, when it folds, it takes up extra space BEHIND the uprights, so you would have to pull the whole thing away from the wall, which ends up being a lot of wasted space.Overall, the thing is solid once it's together, but you can probably find something better. [...]
I'd agree with the other posters. For the money, I think it's a good piece of equipment. It feels a lot more sturdy than some of the other lower-priced benches I've used. It was tough to put together though. Around 3 hours of work I'd say. It would be hard to disassemble to move, but luckily it folds up so you could move it that way.
Easy setup with great instructions. Only took 2 hrs to assemble. Some parts were off by a few mm but once you put a little strength behind it the parts went together well.
I like this product because it is so easy to use. I think the greatest part of the product is the way it will fold up when you are done with your workout. The only problem that I had was the pegs on the bottom because they did not fit in properly and when they finally did they cracked and I had to get a new peg. I think the product is good for the money.
It is a mess to assemble. Great to use, but not for the timid to build. I actually had to take back the first one I bought because holes were drilled in the wrong places making the machine lopsided. The second one I bought took my buddy and I, who is an engineer by the way, 4 hours to assemble. Several pieces did not fit together, and the round poles had to be hammered to fit into the pegs. And we had to make some other on-the-spot modifications. However, this is an awesome product that fits easily into a small space with its spacesaver feature. You can do a lot with this machine, and the wide bench-press tower makes doing that exercise safe and easy. I recommend this product.
After using this for about a month, I have found it to be versatile. There are many different excercises you can do with this bench. The only drawback is that you cannot do incline/decline benching facing forward. These need to be completed with an additional bench in the rear cut out area. Overall, it is a good bench for the money and I would recommend this to any with limited space.