currently in the process of converting my garage into a home gym. i've been set on the Body Solid leverage system for some time and today i found a guy selling his setup. i figure it might be a nice addition to the leverage press. he's also giving me his weights 255# (Standard-brand) with chrome o-bar (China-brand i'm guessing = crap?). what do you guys think? i guess the weight alone is almost worth $250?

my impulses took over and decided to pick it up... first impressions of powertec are not as high as i hoped for. unlike Body-Solid, they do not do all-4-side welded construction everywhere - which shouldn't be that much of a problem unless i try to actually break something. the bench portion is not as sturdy as i had hoped for... wobbles side to side too easily. powder coating obivously not as good as i've read about as this thing scratches and chips rather easily if you accidently nick any of the coating with some weight (as i did last night). foam pads are thin and feel cheap, i expected this though (i prefer fabric-wrapped pads). chrome end-caps are actually cheap plastic - which totally sucks! the spring load and lock popper pins work but have a cheap feel to them... must be the plastic again? the leg lift apparatus just sucks in every aspect. if you have any size to your legs, forget about it. i wasn't expecting much in this end, but the design just seems totally flawed. leg curls are possible, but uncomfortable. extensions are doable, but again uncomfortable. not a huge loss as legs were not my intention with this machine though. one other complaint is the bench does not sit parallel with the floor; there is a slight decline from foot to head... very minor though.

some good things... easy as pie to assemple without any instruction. will give me the ability to perform a nice free-weight chest press exercise. the added built-in weight trees are a plus. seating/bench pad IS fabric-wrapped (leather?) and appears durable. the o-bar arms lower and raise enough for both my short girlfriend and myself to use. but that's about it.

overall, i'm glad i made the purchase. the weight alone is worth about $100 (all CAP standard-brand... not great!) but is in near-new condition. this purchase also let me experience the Powertec machine and build-quality... i'm going to stick with Body-Solid from this point on.

The Powertec olympic bench is discontinued

was thinking of getting this workbench from powertec. is it the same one that you bought?

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/product_info_new.asp?prdID=5351&usrID=A94E8D75-3FBA-470C-96E3-459F8771FE33

I think he was talking about that bench :


http://www.powertecfitness.com/gallery/powertec-fitness_p_ob.htm

I think he was talking about that bench :


http://www.powertecfitness.com/gallery/powertec-fitness_p_ob.htm
yes, this is the bench i got.