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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
Takes up no space, and anybody could set it up in 10 minutes.
LOL ZOMFG BUY THESE GOGOGO ---->
True what people say, the weights do stick a little bit. However after using them for about three weeks everything moves a little smoother. I really like these weights for my apartment they take up very little room. Two Tips:1. Rearrange the plates in the tray so they are all spaced evenly, this really helped them from sticking.2. Give the dumbbell a little shake as you pick it up, if the weight does stick it will usually drop right off into the slot.I do feel that [$] is a little steep for these weights, however I'm sure you can find them for a better deal. I was lucky enough to get them for [...] because they were the floor model and had no price on them. I would say the most I would spend on these weights would have been $225, anything under $200 I feel would be a good deal.People have to realize there are some strong disadvantages to these weights as opposed to individual dumbbells but if you don't have the space for a huge weight rack where you live these type of weights are the ticket.
I am a member of a gym and workout 4-5 times a week. Recently I suffered a torn patellar tendon, and have been stuck at the house for 6 weeks. Not wanting to lose everything I've gained, I purchased these and had my roommate pick them up. They were very simple to put together, even while I was in a straight-legged brace. I read these reviews and was expecting a mediocre product. Having said that, when I first used the weights I was prepared for sticking weights and such. Seeing that these are durable, I just added a little force pulling them from the stand, and putting them back on. I'm also careful to pull them out and put them back on parallel with the stand, which is at an angle. I haven't had any problems yet, and I've had them for two weeks. My workout requires a minute rest between sets, so I have plenty of time to switch the weight. I think this is an outstanding product thus far, especially for the price. That may change if they don't hold up, but so far they seem VERY durable. I've been able to at least continue my upperbody program while I recover from my injury.
When i first got this home and opened up everything went together smooth and set it all up and placed the weight onto the rack that was provided. The right side was working great and nothing sticking like every other review was saying then i went to the left dumbbell. This was the part that i thought "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING" nothing seemed to want to work right i had to take the weight down to the min 10lbs and remove the bar, second i had to take every single weight off and then carefully place it back onto the dumbbell. Once i did this i placed it back onto the rack and juck slowly slid the weight back down and begin to remove the weight up going from 10-50 and pulled each weight out just to make sure it was going to work. After this everything seemed to go smooth but the first was a scare i thought i just spend [$]plus the 2 year warranty and i'm going to have to take it back but now its great. Yes, it does get stuck from time to time but everything is awesome now, working great occassionaly does stick but nothing bad and yes watch your feet cause if your not pulling perfectly out i mean straight out then theres a chance some of the weight will get caught and then well needless to say your foot will be sore. Overall i love them def worth the price seeing if you tried to peace together regular sets from 10-50 add all that up and see how much you pay. I would recommend the dumbbells to anyone needing to save space and has some patience.
As most of these comments reflect and on other websites these dumbbells are NOT user friendly out of the box. Based on many comments and my own experience they will need to be adjusted for best performance. OOB the plates will stick and may fall out when you pick them up. They will need to be aligned as well as lubricated as stated below. After a few days of working out they WILL WORK GREAT! This product demands patience. If you don't want to hastle with this then you can spend an addition $150 for a bowflex that doesn't even come with a stand. I recommend putting a little work into these and I guarantee you'll be happy with them in the end.
from Fresno, CA on 1/26/2008
The concept behind this product is spot on. Allow someone access to 9 pairs of dumbbells all in one pair. I do believe a company will get this product made correctly in the future, or for more money(maybe someone already has). However, this product is frustrating and increases workout time. If you buy this product, read the long review in this review column that has suggestions around switching the plates around so the product actually works. Myself, when I spend [$] I expect the product to work immediately and efficiently. The new DB's are difficult to change between the desired weight. There is plastic on top of the stand where you set the DB's...which will eventually break and then you really will not be able to keep the plates separated in order to change the weight. I do not believe that these DB's could serve as an efficient resource for strength training. Too many ways for the product to break down or wear out. This product is a classic case of "Too good to be true." Probably need to spend more money for better quality or individual DB sets.
Problems from the start. The plates get stuck on stand, the adjuster weight pin constantly gets stuck, and the plates themselves don't come off as designed and end up falling (watch out for your feet!). I've wasted way too much time trying to get these dumbbells to work right. They've extended my workouts to ridiculous amounts of time because of wrestling with them to get them to work right. Don't waste your hard earned money!
adjusting pin gets hung up sometimes. weights don't always release in base. otherwise it gets the job done!
first time i used them one of the plates fell on my foot. it stung but no injuries. so make sure weights stay in base.
from Memphis TN on 12/15/2007
I have been using this product daily. It is great being able to adjust the weights on the fly. It saves a lot of time and is very compact. Just looking at it makes you want to squeeze in a set of curls.
The weights are well designed. I would say the bowflex has better engineering but theses are a heck of a lot sturdier. They work by a bar sliding in and out of the middle of the weights. It selects the weights according to how far you slide this fatter inner bar back and forth. You have to see the product in person to know first hand what im talking about but it is simple and very functional.
The design of the product is where people either love it or hate it. Before I did anything, I put some wd40 on the moving parts (mainly the weight selection tab and the inner fatter bar that slides in and out to that catches the weights). At first, my weights did stick and it was hard for me to slight the bar back and forth to select the proper weights I wanted. This is so because if you were to select the lowest settings (where you are basically lifting the bar with no weights) you will notice that the weights are not perfectly parallel with each other due the the weights on a slight incline. This is where the problem of sticking and the weight selection tab not freely sliding back and fort stem from. Some of the weights touch each other. They should look like this ?l l l l l l l l? while the weights are in the base but you may notice some of the weights lean into each other where it looks like ?l l / / \ l l l? This is so because not every weight is perfectly like each other. What you need to do is rearrange the individual weights so that they are as parallel to each other as possible so that it does look like ?l l l l l l l l?
After you have arranged the weights in their base so that they are as parallel to each other as possible (and I may take some time to rearrange them) put the bar back in to the weights and slide the tab back and forth. It should be a lot better because the weights are more centered then before. Also select some a weight setting and you should notice that it does not stick. The sticking was due to the weight being at an angle and leaning on the bar so that there is enough friction to pull the weight.
Im not saying that it will never stick again but that does reduce the problem and after a week of breaking in, I have not had the weights stick yet. Also you may have some sticking because you are simply not strong enough to pull the weights off the base parallel to the weights but that should get better as you get stronger, which is the reason why you buy theses weights in the first place.
One final tip is to mark your taps left and right. I put a L on the top left tap and a R on the top right tab. If I put the bar in wrong, the letters will be up-side-down and if you take the bar out (by putting it on your lowest setting) the weights will not be parallel with each other because now they are leaning the opposite way.
It looks as if i can add pictures to show what im talking about. I may do it to show you what im talking about.
In all, they are great weights when you work out the kinks
from Tucson, Arizona on 12/11/2007
I love these. The first week I had the same problems listed in the other reviews however thay work GREAT now. They needed Breaking in...The plates do stick at first and I did drop one on my toe (god that hurt!) Now they are fast and accurate. The stand is a free bonus.[...] MUCH less expensive than bowflex and build 10 times better. Bowflex ones are pplastic and have uneven weight settings. Love these bar bells. [...]
from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on 12/3/2007
Bought these about two months ago and so far they perform as well as I could have expected. They seemed to be a good deal (@$299) when compared to similar items on the market.
The dumbbells are easy to use and selecting the weights has not been any trouble (if you are using the stand). The only tricky part is when you are putting the dumbbells back after having used all 50lbs (even that?s not too hard.)
However, the dumbbells are wide, which can impact motion during some exercises (seated curls for example.)
The grips are smooth, so you need to have a towel handy (or wrap them with tape, like I did.)
from downers grove, illinois on 11/25/2007
Great idea but poor quality. The weight plates are not machined to any kind of sensible tolerances which cause multiple problems. First, in the set I purchased and returned, two of the plates had holes too small for the selection cylinder to pass through so they could never be used. Second, when picking up the dumbell, the last plates closest to the floor frequently fell out and nearly landed on my foot. This happened frequently and thay have sharp edges. Made in china.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from West Hollywood on 11/24/2007
I bought these with high hopes. I wanted a compact system that would easily tuck away in my one bedroom apartment and come in handy when I just don't have time to make it to the gym.
What I got was extraordinarily disappointing. The problems started the very first time I adjusted the weight. The pin on one of the dumbbells was so difficult to pull up and maneuver, I thought there was a hidden catch or release button that came especially on my unit. Of course, the floor model at the store worked fine. It was a bit stiff, but nothing like mine.
After adjusting the weights 4 or 5 times for a quick workout, I lost the ability to replace the unit back in it's seat altogether. It was ridiculous. I honestly spent more time trying to change the weight and trying to get the thing to fit properly than I did doing my sets. What a colossal waste of time and money!
Eventually I had to put one of the dumbbells upside down on the floor to replace the plates one by one. The experience was incredibly frustrating.
Good luck to all the others that bought this thing. I was told mine was the last unit the store had in stock. I am definitely not looking forward to disassembling the stand and trying to fit it all back in the three boxes it came in to return it. What a pain...
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
I was pretty disappointed with this purchase. I wanted to save some money so i didnt get the bowflex but wow i regret it now. Unfortunately I began seeing the flaws after 30 days [...]. The grip is very bad even with gloves. After 1 month the weights began loosening up and they were making loud clanking sounds when I took them off the rack. Honestly save your money and stick to a bowflex. I checked out the bowflex at a friends house and its incredible.