New York Barbell

Bulldog

Bulldog

Active Member
Does anyone have an opinion on the quality of New York Barbell's products?  I was considering purchasing one of these.

http://www.newyorkbarbells.com/4360.html

I'll probably get something like this as well since it looks like it would take up less space than most other plate holders I have seen.

http://www.newyorkbarbells.com/8360.html

If anyone has any better suggestions in the same price range I would love to know what else to look at.

I'm also curious if anyone could tell me how much square footage I would need to use this comfortably.  The size of the equipment is obvious but I'm not sure how much space I will need around it to be comfortable loading plates and stuff like that.  The area in my basement where I'm thinking of putting this is 10' x 12' with walls on the two 10' sides and one of the 12' sides and the other 12' side is open to the rest of the basement.
 
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(Bulldog @ Oct. 13 2006,19:53)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Does anyone have an opinion on the quality of New York Barbell's products?  I was considering purchasing one of these.

http://www.newyorkbarbells.com/4360.html

I'll probably get something like this as well since it looks like it would take up less space than most other plate holders I have seen.

http://www.newyorkbarbells.com/8360.html

If anyone has any better suggestions in the same price range I would love to know what else to look at.

I'm also curious if anyone could tell me how much square footage I would need to use this comfortably.  The size of the equipment is obvious but I'm not sure how much space I will need around it to be comfortable loading plates and stuff like that.  The area in my basement where I'm thinking of putting this is 10' x 12' with walls on the two 10' sides and one of the 12' sides and the other 12' side is open to the rest of the basement.</div>
I think it will work just fine as long as you have plenty of room (5' or more) on the 12' side that is open to the rest of the basement. I have bought equipment from new york barbell in the past and haven't any problems with it.
 
Thanks for the reply.  Are there any other manufacturers that I should look into?

Also,  in your experience is it cheaper to buy on-line and pay the high shipping costs than to buy local?  for instance, a 45lb olympic plate costs $20.25 at New York Barbell but it costs $58.00 to ship it!  Maybe it's cheaper to buy cage, bench and that kind of stuff on-line but cheaper to buy the weights local?  Although there aren't many places to buy from around me other than a MC Sports, Dunhams or Play it Again Sports.  I guess I'll have to look around and see what I can find.
 
I have gotten great equipment from the local Play It Again Sports. They have both new and used equipment, and you can get some great deals. So far I have bought new- a whole slew of hexagonal dumbells and dumbell rack, dip belt, lifting belt, lifting gloves. I have bought used and quite cheap- an awesome Weider power rack with safety bars for squatting and benching, a nice fully adjustable incline/decline bench from Body-solid, a full olympic barbell set and extra 20 kg plates, those little magnetic platemates for incrementing dumbell loads. I got a pretty good deal and didn't have to pay any shipping. The shipping costs on most weight-lifting equipment is ridiculous!
 
I went and looked at the local MC Sports and the only power rack they had was a Weider piece of junk. They did have what looked to be an ok 300 lb olympic weight set for $149. I don't remember what brand it was though.

I also went to Play It Again Sports and they didn't have any power racks.
 
<div>
(Bulldog @ Oct. 14 2006,20:27)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I went and looked at the local MC Sports and the only power rack they had was a Weider piece of junk.  They did have what looked to be an ok 300 lb olympic weight set for $149.  I don't remember what brand it was though.

I also went to Play It Again Sports and they didn't have any power racks.</div>
Most of the stuff I have came from Gymcor.com

Never hurts to check ebay either.
 
I understand that the quality of products from NYB is very good.

I'm just using stuff from &quot;Wal-Mart Barbell&quot;
biggrin.gif
 and &quot;Play It Again Sports&quot;.  I'm cheap.





And poor.

I'd rather spend my money on good quality food than expensive equipment.  That's whay I own an olympic bar, some olympic plates, an adjustable olympic bench with a lat and leg attachments, and some plate loaded dumbells.  That's all I've got and they have served me well.  I'd like to get a better bench though.
 
once you buy it, you will have it for a long long time. weights don't tend to go bad too quickly!

I'd recommend something nicer from a company like &quot;Parabody&quot;. I have a full home gym from a variety of quality, but i love my parabody equipment the most!
 
I used to have a lot of garage sale junk (like benches that bend) and just generally poor-feeling equipment. That kept me at the gym.
Since I bought my Bodysolid Freeweight lever machine, I've worked out happily at home. You just won't want to use junk. Oh, and I wouldn't trust weider equipment for a ten year old.
 
I have been looking at the Bodysolid lever machines but I just don't know if I want to go that route rather than pure freeweights.  If you don't mind as I'm a bit curious, what model of Bodysolid lever machine do you have?  What exercises can you do with it?  And what exercises of those that you can do, do you like doing on it and which exercises do you not like doing on it and would prefer pure freeweights?


I was also looking at these Powertec products.

http://bodybuilding.com/store/ptec/sps.html
http://bodybuilding.com/store/ptec/sub.html
http://bodybuilding.com/store/ptec/swr.html

These would cost me about the same as the NYB setup I posted above because there are no extra shipping charges on the Powertec stuff.  Any opinions on them?
 
Actually, after looking around a little more it looks like this is the only Body-Solid lever machine?

http://www.ifitnessdirect.com/product-611.html

That actually looks like a pretty good price too.  It looks like the only thing you can't really do with it is pullups and dips.

Another reason I was considering a lever freeweight machine is that my wife would be able to use it too.  Because I know that she wouldn't touch the freeweights.
 
That's my machine, only Play it Again Sports was asking 1400+ for it...I got their floor demo model for 1100, so that's a great price there.

Cons:
Bench press starts at the bottom off of the safety stops.
The squat you have to get almost halfway down to get under it. I welded a longer post on the stop rig and that took care of that.
I pulled the D rings out of one of the pull straps doing rows. Bad stitching. I use some small chains with S hooks now, from Home Depot; and the straps for lighter stuff.
The bench has all adjustments except for slight decline. It does have about a 30 degree decline tilt though.
Sorry customer support and part drawings done by a 5 yr. old when drunk.

Pros:
The best pads anywhere, anytime, on anything, ever. Total ergonomics and compression.
Machine squat mimics a real squat, but is easier on the back and shoulders. Pads are like a good hack unit. You lean slightly back, which keeps the abs tight.
They don't recommend it, but you can sit backwards in the pulldown rig and do cable rows.
You can do chest dips by raising the bench cradle all the way up and put a 2x4 piece over the stop cage to raise it a little more. Excellent position, facing the machine.
Safety stops on all positions. No way to get hurt.
Indestructible. Bearing pivots. Full welding. 3&quot; Tubing. Good tough paint. Padded handles.
You can do heavy pulldowns straight down with legs under the restraints or turn around and pull back and down. (I put a plate on my lap for ballast) With the pulldown cradle in the lock position, you can do pullups, if a bit wide.
 
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(quadancer @ Oct. 15 2006,14:43)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I used to have a lot of garage sale junk (like benches that bend) and just generally poor-feeling equipment. That kept me at the gym.
Since I bought my Bodysolid Freeweight lever machine, I've worked out happily at home. You just won't want to use junk. Oh, and I wouldn't trust weider equipment for a ten year old.</div>
I agree that Bodysolid is a better choice than Weider. The weider power-rack I have though is a decent peice of equipment. It came with a piece of junk weider bench, but I talked the salesman into letting me buy the rack without the bench, because I already had bought a really nice Bodysolid bench. I love working out at home, and the power-rack is a must. With it I can squat or bench really heavy without a spotter, just by using the safety bars. I don't train to failure, so I have never had to actually drop the weights on the safety bars, but it is nice knowing they are there, to save me from getting crushed!
ghostface.gif
 
<div>
(quadancer @ Oct. 15 2006,18:54)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">That's my machine, only Play it Again Sports was asking 1400+ for it...I got their floor demo model for 1100, so that's a great price there.

Cons:
   Bench press starts at the bottom off of the safety stops.    
The squat you have to get almost halfway down to get under it. I welded a longer post on the stop rig and that took care of that.
   I pulled the D rings out of  one of the pull straps doing rows. Bad stitching. I use some small chains with S hooks now, from Home Depot; and the straps for lighter stuff.
   The bench has all adjustments except for slight decline. It does have about a 30 degree decline tilt though.
  Sorry customer support and part drawings done by a 5 yr. old when drunk.

Pros:
  The best pads anywhere, anytime, on anything, ever. Total ergonomics and compression.
  Machine squat mimics a real squat, but is easier on the back and shoulders. Pads are like a good hack unit. You lean slightly back, which keeps the abs tight.
  They don't recommend it, but you can sit backwards in the pulldown rig and do cable rows.
   You can do chest dips by raising the bench cradle all the way up and put a 2x4 piece over the stop cage to raise it a little more. Excellent position, facing the machine.
   Safety stops on all positions. No way to get hurt.
Indestructible. Bearing pivots. Full welding. 3&quot; Tubing. Good tough paint. Padded handles.
   You can do heavy pulldowns straight down with legs under the restraints or turn around and pull back and down. (I put a plate on my lap for ballast) With the pulldown cradle in the lock position, you can do pullups, if a bit wide.</div>
Thanks for the info. How much space would I need for this unit? Would my 10'x12' area be adequate?
 
10x12 is an absolute minimum for it. I didn't put it out on my 10'4&quot; sunroom (30' long)
because I would have had to step over the bench cradle to get to the other end, that being next to the wall and the preacher curl on the other wall. So it lives in the &quot;L&quot; part of my living room...but that's where my huge stereo is anyway!
 
I actually have more room, probably about 12'x20' that I could use. But I don't think my wife would be very happy if I were to use more than the 10'x12' area I'm taking up now.

I have also been looking at the Powertec leverage systems.

http://powertecfitness.com/workbench_lev_gym.htm
http://powertecfitness.com/workbench_multi_sysn.htm

Does anyone know anything about these? Which is better, the Body-Solid or Powertec leverage equipment? As far as ergonomics goes it looks like the Body-Solid system allows more free movement on their press setup than the Powertec system.



quadancer,

Do you exclusivly use your Body-Solid system or do you have some other equipment you use for certain things? I'm just trying to get an idea if I would need anything else or if the Body-Solid leverage system would pretty much take care of everything.

Thanks.
 
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(Bulldog @ Oct. 16 2006,11:24)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I have also been looking at the Powertec leverage systems.


Does anyone know anything about these?  Which is better, the Body-Solid or Powertec leverage equipment?</div>
I don't actually own either of the setups you have been looking at, but I do have some experience with both.  I think the Powertec is probably a little better designed.  I think Quad will tell you that he had to alter his BodySolid a bit to get it to perform the way he wanted and disliked some of the original design features.  The Powertec is pretty smooth.  The more expensive Powertec is the direct comparison to the BodySolid unit, I think.  I found good deals on both at dumbbellbuddy.com, but that newyorkbarbells.com has some nice stuff.  Good luck!
 
I built  a high cable pull for doing tri pressdowns just for variety and bought a dip station, and welded on some pipes down the backside of it for hanging plates. I have a cambered bar, spin on db's and bar, an extra bench to set weights on (to save my back picking them up off the floor), and a 2' chain with spring clips to hang weights off my belt and use with the pressdown = but you can do pressdowns on the bodysolid unit too. (with the pulldown station and the straps   I've looked at the powertech and can only say it looks like a nice unit. I wouldn't get it for one reason: the bench isn't free to relocate for skulls and stuff, but the bodysolid one is.
 
That does seem kind of stupid that they made it so that it swings to the side rather than just being detachable.

Thanks for all the input. It has been very helpful.
 
I took some pics for ya, so you can get an idea of the mods I did. Here's the squat extension to raise the cradle higher.
 
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