I bought this unit (with weight and stand upgrades) and I love it! I am 46 years old and have worked out my whole life in a gym. At my age, I don't see myself lifting heavy, or going to the gym anymore. What I like about it... compact, easy to use, and effective. What I don't like about it... I prefer a barbell setup, however, I do not have the space. The unit does get offset, but with some adjustments, it runs flawlessly. Would I recommend it? Yes!
I like the idea of it. I think my wife would love not handling dirty Olympic plates. Only concern I had was the do not drop which makes me wonder how fragile it is. A drop has many variables hahaha. Good job Coop and Bowflex
@@DimerNL Yeah, I had the 552 dumbells for a while and had to replace 3 of the discs inside that hold the plates. And you can't find OEM parts so had to find someone who 3D printed them...stronger than the originals. Ended up selling them during the pandemic lockdown and buying a full rack of CAP DBs. Odd that I'm seeing this review today as I literally just pulled the trigger on a Rogue EZCurl bar yesterday.
@@brandonhoover2120 They never get that clean where you don’t get a little oil or surface rust from plates made in the 70s. The convenience of the bowflex is not having to throw plates on a bar. I’ve got 2000 lbs of plates to maintain and a bit of oil or rust doesn’t mean squat to me. It’s called an old school gym you must have missed out on those bro
@@The_Obvious_Solution The Rogue curl bar is really nice. Amazing quality and feel, plus it has a decent heft without any weight on it so you can really load it up and it feels very balanced. My bars and 6-shooter iron plates are Rogue and I love the brand. I had the Bowflex 1080 dumbbells, but yeah they did fall apart after a while (but they held up well for many many years of use, so i'm not complaining). I replaced them with the 80 pound Nuobells recently, which I really like.
So over time it will fit even worse, besides it's not the tolerances that prevents it from fitting correctly. It's the fact that the remaining weight plates in the rack slant once you remove the barbell.
@@DimerNL If the person setting it up takes the time to get it dialed you don’t have issues. It takes ten minutes of fussing with it. Long term no one can say but it’s pretty sturdy.
Is it still good and does it have any issues that you are aware of? as I've seen other have issues with it. Also, how is the imbalance of the weights doing e.g. curls, overhead presses & french-press (skull-crushers)
@@Somtric I had the dumbells for 5 years never had an issue. The barbell however I had an issue with the one side of locking mechanism. Called bowflex and they sent me a replacement I installed it. And works fine now also got additional plates for barbell. I mostly go to gym now. But sometimes I workout at home. Still worth every penny ❤️ 💪
I have em and use em. I also have to 1090 dumbbells. Your reviews on both are spot on. You are right about the balance of these bars. But I find it an add on feature due to when it comes into play by adding more resistance at times. I've found too that the replacing and picking up of the bars get easier the more you use them. Just because the movement of how to pick em up and put em back into the rack get memorized over time. Keep up these reviews. Awesome work young man!!!
If you have limited space, selectech is amazing. So of course there are gonna be trade offs. But the whole idea of bowflexes is to have a compact home gym and these really hit the nail on the jead
Well, so far I really like using mine. I like that they are compact. I have an Olympic bar and just didn’t want plates all over the house….I liked their kettlebell too. Neither are perfect but they are great for the serious home fitness exercisers.
For $600, you could instead get a Rogue Boneyard Power Bar with a few set of Echo bumper plates and not worry about dropping them or the internal plastic components wearing away. I know it’s apples to oranges, but at that price-point you can start getting gear that’ll last for ages.
Yeah I don't see the point to this,here in Argentina I just bought 150 kilos of weights for 150 dollars, I would still have 450$ left so with that I can easily buy a 2,2 meter barbellan EZ bar and still have money left for more,and the difference is that the barbell can carry as much weight as I want and the weights can be used on the screw on dumbbells I have, hell with the money I have left I could buy a sturdy rack and still have money for elastic bands, the price is not good this is something a newbie would buy, I just don't see the reason for this when barbell already have adjustable weights, it like buying bowflex dumbbells when screw on dumbbells already exist and are better.
I would never buy this but for some reason it is appealing to me. I cant quite articulate why, I guess I just think it would be nice for accessory movements.
Could see it, but I love using Rep's technique bar for that. $100, 15 lb bar that supports up to 200 lbs of weight plates I already own. I'd def go that route (again) than $600 for this, but could see the appeal if someone had no Olympic plates or plans to buy em
I'm a personal trainer and I love bowflex adjustable weights. They are perfect for when I have clients that can't leave home. I can just load them up and take a gym to them
Listening to Coop talk about bowflex gives me the same feeling as when I am listening to someone give a presentation about a timeshare. I will listen to your schpill because you are a nice individual but I am not touching the product with a 10 foot pole! And I want to leave but feel compelled to stay to the end. Lol
I think this would be a perfect replacement to the ez curl barbell sets because you can change the weights so quickly. This would be something to get after a barbell and adjustable dumbells for accessory movements imo.
This would great for me as I have extremely limited space (most people's master bathrooms are larger then my entire living space) and I love the fixed barbells at the gym, this is def on my list along with the nuobell bumbbell set
This is a great adjustable bar set that pairs perfectly with the powerblock adjustable dumbbells. This combo with the Ryan Humiston garage program = 💪🔥💯
👑 I was looking for a video on CZcams to show me how to put the plates for the 552 Select Tech,back in the correct slots since mines fell out when moving them. Came across your video. So the title,and I waa like Bowflex has barbells now? Watch your video and like what I saw with the 2080. I thought about it for 2 days. Then I mace the Purchased 30 minutes ago. You played a major role with me buying the Bowflex Barbells with stand. Thank you for your video and review.
I own bow flex select tech dumbbells and kettle bell. Space saving is great, changing weight is fast and effortless. I’m going to buy these today at Costco, comes with stand all in for 780CAD. Resale on this stuff is very good years later so no worries there. Only problem I could see is possible wear and tear down the road or dropping them might break something. For me, I like the product, good value. Also great review! Thank you
Legit just purchased this set and the 552's, and then immediately after found this channel. Glad I did. Good to see I'm getting some value out of these. I know it's not ideal, but I don't have a lot of room and it at least makes it so I can workout in my house.
Yeah, the adjustability of these makes them perfect when you have small space. I started my home gym with just a set of adjustable dumbbells.- Mike, GGR Community Manager
@@kylen6430 For storage it probably takes up more since it can't be stored vertically. However, you don't seem to be considering the space needed to actually use the product as. If your talking a 7 foot bar plus extra space on either side to add plates/not hit something. You need about a 8 to 9 foot area of open space. This looks like it could work in about a 5 foot area.
I have this and love it. the 40lb upgrade to 120lbs is a must, and like you said the stand is optional. I did buy the stand as I use for mostly upper body work + back issues so pulling from the ground is harder for me. I use a 2PC freestanding barbell rack with it for squat as getting over my head is tough, and even to bench press using the safety arms as a lift off point. Can do an excellent all round workout with these & takes up barely any room. Highly recommend
I could see the appeal, I’m sure they are convenient! What’s your opinion on the durability? I’ve never owned any bow flex equipment, I personally like having the flexibility of an empty bar and a set of plates
@@zarate1om Used them for about 3 months, zero complaints. As Cooper said in the video they get easier to rack over time too. The bars feel good, like an expensive fixed-weight bar, and the weights don't feel loose/rattle. I have the dumbbells too and they've held up amazing for over a year, so I expect the bars to last a long time too. If you like a full bar, def not a replacement; but I love it for curls, overhead press, RDL's etc it's perfect for stuff like that and for drop sets to quickly switch weights
@@shunoni2359 you can absolutely bench press with this, just not a very wide grip. My 'rack' is just two free standing holders for squat, nothing fancy haha
I still prefer the Powerblock barbell. You save space by using the same weights that you for your dumbbell handles; can also go heavier with weight additions
@@GarageGymReviews Do it, it's amazing. Only issue is the slight imbalance for some exercises, but once you get used to it, it really only improves your grip strength and the knurling is amazing etc. Look the old Powerblock videos of how to set it up easily. Put the bar down, then place the dumbbells infront/behind each end so you can easily fit it with the perfect distance between them with no issues.
@@Somtric having had both in my opinion the bowflex is way better from an overall movement experience and from a using experience, it is night and day. Powerblock you can of course use your existing weights but for me I prefer the experience of the bowflex and ease of use. I have powerblock dumbbells still and love them also.
I think this could be really great for older individuals 65+ that are looking to improve/maintain strength and mobility. I could imagine my parents using something like this, but I would never get a barbell in their hands.
@Jack Bean Sarcastic laugh followed by irrelevant fact... You got me good. You also totally missed the point of what I was saying, but a trolls gotta troll i guess.
@Jack Bean I would assume you. Because the fact that a barbell and plates would do the same thing is irrelevant since my post specifically references people who wouldn't be willing to try using a barbell. But perhaps your's is a reading comprehension and not a character issue. If so, my bad for assuming.
I love it! You mention, "most people" might be satisficed with just getting an Olympic barbell that can be upgraded over the life of your bar; however, I might humbly disagree. I think it's safe to say that there's a larger percentage of people either interested in starting their journey into fitness or those that fade in and out on the regular (like me) versus those who tackle their goal and maintain for years on end. That said, there's a lot of "newbie" gains out there kind of like me. I'll go strong for say 3-4 months and then out for maybe the same time or longer. Then back on for maybe 6 months strong followed by yet another hiatus for maybe 3 months. So for me, I'm in relatively decent shape but never quite get to that maximum lifting potential. So long story short, (haha) this would be absolutely perfect for me! In fact, I think it might just the catalyst to help me get to that PPL split TWICE per week which I rarely seem to get to. I could hit up the gym for the first PPL split and end the week with the second PPL right here in my garage and cut a significant amount of time off the whole pack a bag, get the intra supplement drink going and the drive to the gym. LOVE THE REVIEW! And the cost is absolutely worth it in my humble opinion. Oh, and love the fact that this comes with an easy bar as well. Only thing I got to find it a half way decent bench for a shorter guy like myself. Something not to high off the ground and I don't need something to support a million pounds. I'm 5'5" and about 145lbs. Any recommendations on a lower profile yet versatile bench??
Yeah, in my opinion this would be the target market for this product and it is an effective replacement that does take up much space.- Mike, GGR Community Manager
A bar like this at a commercial gym would break in about 3 days though. It would probably only be used a private/one-to-one personal training-style facilities, and home gyms obviously. I'd rather just get a real bar.
I agree Coop, not something I would use but definitely has its place in the home gym world. This feels more like an indoor home gym bar than a Garage Gym bar to me. Thanks for the review, keep them coming!
I feel like it is perfect for someone who has a small space and wants to have bar with small foot print or someone who really like the curl bars at commecial gym and uses this a replacement. -Mike, GGR Community Manager
I like the idea behind it. Swapping weights on my non-rackable ez-curl bar is just kind of a PIA.. I wish it went up higher in weight though. at only 80lbs-120lbs, it's hard to justify getting this over a set of 552s or 1090s.. The advantage of barbells is they can go heavier than dumbbells.. If you're someone that cares enough about the difference between barbells and dumbbells then you'd have an olympic set or lift heavier. If you're a casual user, you're most likely going to choose one or the other, and the dumbbells give more options.
This is a helpful insight. I'm just starting out but expect to be a casual user going forward. Your thoughts mirror my concerns about buying this in addition to some 552 adjustable dumbbells. The 2080 might not end up being that useful. Thanks.
All the people complaining about why buy this when you can get a boneyard olympic bar and plates for cheaper don't seem to understand who this product is being marketed towards. If you have the space and want to do some heavy lifting, then by all means get a full rack with barbell and plates, but if you are limited on space and just need something for casual training, this works fine.
I'm surprised in all your adjustable dumbbell and barbell reviews that you haven't mentioned that powerblock offers straight bars and ez curl bars that work with their dumbbell weights. I've had both bars for about a decade. Being able to use the straight bar and curl bar with my adjustable dumbbells along with the money saved from not buying extra weights and also to save space was one of the main reasons I chose Bowflex over select tech all those years ago.
My basement ceiling is too low to do OHP with my bumper plates. One of these would be ideal for that. Plus the EZ curl would be sweet to have. Great review, Coop!
For me this falls into the category of workout equipment like Tempo, Tonal, etc. I think it’s good for a general consumer who wants to be active and live healthier, but not someone who is into weightlifting for muscle and strength gain. I personally would always prefer a set of standard and Olympic plates so there is no limit on future growth. But truly, I’m sure they are convenient for general consumers!
Idk man, it seems better than those overpriced toys. Don't get me wrong, it's not as good as a gym or even a home gym with an actual squat rack, bars, and plates. However, I could see how I can get some progress with this in the limited space of my apartment. I've the 552 adjustable dumbbells for that same reason and this would be a great addition.
It’s amazing how many people in these comments just don’t get it. When half the comments are saying with the money you can get a straight bar and weights. Well of course, no one looking at this has literally no equipment. This isn’t a first piece of equipment type. This is the I have a completed gym, but since it’s a home gym, it’s a money pit that’s never actually done. Strictly for the curl bar portion of this, 110lbs is good enough for most people when you rep it out. Adjustable dumbbells and curl bars can be no fun to take for multiple sets with having to take off 2 sets of collars every time you switch weight.
Because if you’re in the market for this, you’re like the entire home gym community. You have a bar and plates, and you just like the never ending money pit that is the home gym. Plus taking 2 collars off every time you wanna make a jump is no fun
Let's say you want to do a drop set that has 5+ sets and you need to immediately lower the weights with less than 5 seconds downtime. On a standard Olympic bar, you have to remove the collars (or no collars and get annoyed with plates sliding) and then remove weights and add smaller weights to adjust to what weight you want next on BOTH sides, then put collars on both sides. This product literally let's you do a drop set within 5 seconds of each other. That would be the benefit of these products.
@@xmitsuakix Your example is great and all but I bought my bar and plates for $250 for a 300bl set. Which would mean I have $350 left to spend money on something else that could get the same results. All I'm saying is that $350 in this case EXTRA dollars is not worth your example.
@@BenjaminDavisMusic you also have a valid point. If $600 was your budget or you want to spend the least amount of money possible, then yes, definitely go with an actual barbell and weights. In my opinion this product is for extra stuff after you have a complete home gym set up with bars and weights. I've spent $30,000 USD (mostly high end eleiko equipment) on my home gym and adding a $600 bar is just a nice add on even for collection purposes.
i have a BodyMax Selectabell Barbell and its very similar to this. To me its a nice add on to have in your home gym and good space saver too. its really good for the lighter and accessory work you want to do. Good review coop :)
I've had this since release. To me, the stand and the 120 upgrade is mandatory. If you buy these used, note that they had a recall because the plates fell off. I had this happen (before the recall) and had to buy the replacement and wait 4 months for parts, and then they sent me another one after the recall. It's worked amazing since then, but beware that the weight selection gear is a tiny piece of plastic that looks like it came from K'Nex.
This seems good for someone who doesn’t need a lot of weight or has limited space. That being said, if you have the space you might as well just buy a regular bar and some weights rather than this.
I like is the compact size of it all. I am not in my 20s lifting heavy heavy weights. All I need is something to maintain my shape. I wanted to see more of the issues that arrive after constant use of a few months.
Great review and quality video. Clearly describes the pros and cons and the problem it solves along with who it is for. Even when I was at the gym when I hit up that triangle stand of curl bars I never went past 100lbs and used them for more than arms. I have a small area and the space saving functionality of these is perfect. My main question now is does it provide enough variation of exercises that my current 1090 dumbells don’t? What can I do with this setup that I can’t with dumb bells?
Disclaimer I am not a power lifter or body builder. I enjoy working out with weights and do it for general fitness and to improve my performance in cycling/MTB. I have an Inspire FT2 that has a smith bar. I use it bench/squat/deadlifts. I don’t have Olympic plates because of that. I did most my accessory work with power block adjustable dumbbells or kettlebells. I broke my elbow MTB’ing. After I was able to put in work again I found I couldn’t do much with dumbbells and started to look into fixed weight barbells/ez curl bars. This ended up costing much less than buying a full set of those and takes up a lot less space. (Not to mention I get both sets!) Being able to use my uninjured arm to help spot the weaker one was awesome and helped a lot the first couple weeks back. I also like having variety, it’s been fun having a new option to work in instead of just dumbbells. It’s really nice to be able to switch from curls to skull-crushers in seconds. Then pop on the bar and OHP or front raises. My wife also likes it and it’s a good amount of weight for her even for “bigger lifts”.
I kinda like it. I completely agree with your review though. It serves a purpose. I'm in a condo so space is a consideration and I'm of a certain age where heavy deadlifts and squats just isn't important to me anymore. I think I could get a pretty good workout with these combined with their dumbells. Sure, why not? The price is right.
Like, it only goes up to 80…120 with an additional upgrade that costs nearly $200. Why not just get nice adjustable dumbbells that go to 75lb or so and just use those. I don’t see a use case for having both adjustable dB and this
Coop is right. MOST people just want to get fit. They are not full blown athletes that compete or do extreme things. MOST people just want to save themselves some money from gym memberships, as well as to prevent gyms from digging into your bank account & yanking out money. Many people have been seriously screwed over by gyms, where gyms yank out hundreds if not thousands of dollars from ppls banks, do to problems members having with the gyms. So this is great for ppl who just want to build a simple gym in their apartments or home basements just to stay healthy without breaking the bank.
Having seen and used it, and assuming from the $$$ spent you have a fair amount of experience, how would this fit into your routine given the upper weight limit of 120lb? Could you see advantage of having this over just using dumbbells for workouts?
@@WARPedD-ij7mh it is a great piece of equipment. Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed the ease of changing weights. My neighbors set does not get caught up like the set coop has. Build quality 9/10 Ease of use 9/10 Convince 10/10 The main reasons I would not buy it have nothing to do with the equipment. I recently got a rogue EZ curl bar for $250 and have purchased weight plates for the last few years for my home gym. Adding a $600 adjustable curl bar is just hard for me to justify for those reasons. But if I was starting my home gym over I would for sure buy this. Thanks for asking.
@@scooobyj8714 Thanks for the reply and your impression of it. Coop's review is one of the first proper reviews (video or written) and open discussion about the 2080 I've been able to find. Very helpful. Shame the Bowflex sale on them ends today. If I buy the 2080 with the 552's I end up getting the complete 2080 package (+stand + additional weight) for $768. I'm trying to learn as much as I can to make a purchase decision. Your reply was very helpful.
@@WARPedD-ij7mh if you are starting you home gym with no other curl bar/light straight bar I say go for it. I have used it a few times and have no complaints. Look forward to hearing what you decide!
I didn't like the idea of this until you explained to me what the target audience is and now I think it's genius. I would prefer a EZ bar only version for say 200 bucks cheaper. Make it happen bowflex!
As someone new(ish) to fitness, this would probably be perfect for me now but its something I certainly would outgrow. Its only worth $600 in the short term, so I'm going to use that money for a barbell/curl bar and plates.
I think you're doing the right thing. As someone who is not new to fitness, I can tell you you have already outgrown it. It makes sense to me to get a bar and plates as your first and maybe only fitness tool. You can buy a bunch of things and end up with a bar or you can skip all that and go straight for the bar. I bought adjustable dumbells first thinking that I was going to do everything with just those. However I ended realizing that nothing can replace a bar. So I got the whole squat stand, bar, plates and bench. Had I known I would have bought the stand and the bar first because that's what floats my boat the most. But I would still have bought the adjustable dumbells after and I could absolutely not say that about the thing being shown in this video. One thing, if you're new-ish to fitness and planning on starting with a bar at home and no ones shown you how to squat or deadlift, you gotta film yourself and look at it.
There's no use case here. The point of adjustable dumbbells is that conventional ones take up space and are expensive if you want a bunch of weights. Not the case for barbell weights.
I wouldn't say there is no use case, it's just lower. This is meant to replace a fixed set of straight/curl bars that you see in commercial gyms. It's not really meant to compete against a loadable Olympic bar. For the person who wanted the continence of a set of fixed bars this is equally as practical as adjustable dumbbells. A set of fixed straight bars from Titan is over 1k, set of fixed easy curl bars also over 1K.. So over 2K for both and then you need to buy a stand (technically 2 stands) to hold them all. You're looking at nearly 3 grand after tax and that's buying them at their lowest price point from Titan not a commercial gym company which would likely double the price.
@@MHjort9 It’s the same principal as fixed dumbbells. Loading/unloading weight on to a curl bar is the same as loading/unloading on a load-able dumbbell bar. Having a full set to just grab and go is more convenient. Most people likely won’t sacrifice floor space in a home gym for that convenience factor like they might with dumbbells, but this provides those they want to a way to replicate that without spending thousands of dollars.
Coop, I value your reviews and find them insightful. But without watching the video I would buy this in a heartbeat, I've started jumping up and down, ohh man what a product. Reduce the time in loading plates and deloading plates means less total fatigue and more effiecient training session. YES. I'll watch the review now. : ) 👍 in advance.
Not 1000 lbs but 120 lbs? ohh well, I usually don't train below 1000 lbs but I'll have to make do with the 120 lbs, just so they make a heavier one. : )
@@AyoSoma I have watched the video now you relax, don't be rude and take care and liiiiiiiiiiifffftttttttt. 💪 (Don't mind me, just came back from my training, full of dopamine.)
Well - at this point I don't know if you've already done a review on it - there also is a powerblock barbell solution. You can go more heavy with it, which is nice. I did some snatches and stuff with it and no problem. With powerblock you won't get super high weights on, but I think my personal solution at home can go up to almost 100kg, which is pretty solid. There is an option to add a little more weight even so I think I could reach 120kg... but I don't need that much weight most of the time and is is pretty expensive. If you are looking for the most compact solution powerblock or bowflex with their dumbbell and barbell solutions are the best solution. Another big PLUS for powerblock is that their barbell solution takes the dumbbell weights. So you don't need an additional weight block, but only your dumbbells and the barbell - talking about most compact solution. I think you should do a comparisson. After seeing this video I'm pretty sure who my personal favorite would be ;-)
Just reading the comments here. Are people really this clueless? This isn't being sold as a replacement for free weights. It's for people who don't have hardly any room to spare and can't fit long bars and plates in their apt,condo, etc...
Might be cool for people with more of an MMA type gym? If you have just gymnastic rings/pull up bar, a bag, battle ropes/jump ropes one of those totes of gyms with no real weights I could see these being a perfect thing to have if you want to do some light weight work.
Excellent timing, Coop! Would really appreciate some advice. Bowflex sale ends today and I have the 2080 bundle and some 552's in my cart right now with a pretty steep discount for the lot (only $458 for the 2080, $162 for the stand, and $146 for the weight upgrade, adding this set also decreases the 552's, bench, and dumbbell stand combo by $50). I'm new to lifting and building a home gym in my apartment. I've been on the fence about the 2080 barbell, unsure if there is much of an advantage to having it given most lightweight barbell exercises appear to be replaceable with dumbbell ones and I will definitely be getting the 552's. I'd really appreciate some advice as most barbell discussions focus on Olympic bars and massive weights. I'm not looking to hulk out. Just to get fit, tone up, and build a reasonable amount of mass. Space is a concern, this will all be in my spare room/office (12' x 10'). I'll spend what I need to but am not flush with cash want to be mindful of not wasting money on duplicate equipment. I'm also open to having one or two Kettlebells. Anyone got any wisdom?
As someone with a home gym that sounds identical to yours (12x10 that also doubles as a home office) you'd be surprised what you can fit in a room that size. For a budget situation, I'd recommend a jump rope for cardio, spend the money 552s and pick up kettlebell adapter that you can put onto the 552 handles. Less money and less space than buying kettlebells and you can incrementally adjust it. Depending on your goals, a cheap barbell, used weight plates, and squat rack would help with mass but the 2080 could also work. That said, your legs will rapidly out pace the 2080 weight capacity tho. Good luck on the gains!
Depends if the lifting bug bites you. If it does you will never have enough hahaha. I started with a 310 lb oly set and curl bar which took me a long way. You might want to check fringe sports. For the money you showed you could get a rubber plate set with bar. If your not sure if you will enjoy lifting consider spending less and know resale values to curb your losses should you not enjoy it. Dont fall for gimmicks....spend wisely and make sure lifting is right for you. Its all about long term weightlifting. You can do a ton of stuff with a flat bench and dumbbells too for a much lesser amount. My 2 cents. Happy lifting
Hi, I own the 552's and would say that some exercises (skull crushers, overhead triceps extensions, shoulder press, even dumbbell bench) are a bit awkward with the 552's because they are so big. They are the same length no matter how much weight you have dialed in. Having the straight bar and ez bar would feel much better. Less plastic clacking together during the reps. thanks
@@sjalbrec1 Really appreciate your insight as someone who already has the 552s. The awkwardness of their fixed size was one of the reasons I considered supplementing them with the 2080. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
@@calcifires Thanks for the response. There are times my office/workout room will also be used as a spare room for guests so adding a rack starts to become problematic and the lack of one and being home alone has me asking if I'd want to put more that 120lb on a barbell anyway. I appreciate your insights.
I had the powerblock version and it was horrible. It is not balanced and it tries to correct it self within your grip . These need a balanced shape or needs to rotate freely. The bowflex version can't be any better. I love powerblocks but glad i sold off the bar. The old-school way still rules.
I had the power block bar also and I have this bowflex and there is no comparison, the bowflex is much, much better. Coop mentions an imbalance, I can’t even say I particularly notice it it is so small and it is not something I would even advise someone to be wary of. All in all for what it is I really like it.
@@HaIsKuL powerblocks were not designed for the bars, the bar most probably came after. The bowflex 2080 was designed specifically for its purpose so it does not have the same issue.
I think the main place for this is, as you said, general fitness stuff. Trainers with a small room for training that still want to incorporate some light barbell work. But...to be totally honest...I don't think it's worth it. Not price wise, but space wise. If you have floor space to spare for something like this, you might as well get one of those stands with bars on one side and plates on the other. that allows room for quite a few plates + bars + dumbells on top. Yeah, it won't be cheaper, but there is zero chance of it braking and you can expand it infinitely.
Looks like a solid proposition for certain use cases. I'm all for innovation and tech like this! The ease of adjustability is now high but adding weight balancing and robustness is the next frontier
ive seen these online a few times now. kind of over looked them..BUT in all honesty,its really good for a LOT of movements. IF all you do are olympic heavy strong man lifts,NO! Its not for you. BUT for most everyone else in the gym/homegym YES..This would be something great. NOW IF it went up to 150lb it would be a lil more versatile for more people getting them to max weight on more lifts. BUT over all,GREAT tool.
I'd like to see Nuobell come up with a version of this that changes both weights with a twist of the bar, like their dumbells, and with normal-shaped and oriented plates. I don't see this making much sense for most people unless they don't have space for a rack and olympic bar. For the price you can get a basic squat/bench stand, barbell and more weight than offered here. A rackable ez-bar isn't much more of a hassle to load and unload, even one where just the sleeves rest on the rack and you have to lift each side to load weight.
Would be interested to see if anybody using a bench press rack/ squat rack with these. I have a adjustable flat bench like the idea of wheeling over a small rack to rep bench press.
My sister just got one of these and I was looking at getting a tall rack for it to do squats and bench presses. Watching your review I'm kind of rethinking it. Im not necessarily worried about maxing out the weight any time soon as I'm a weakling, but is it dangerous?
If you're wealthy enough to spend that kind of money on this sort of stuff, more power to you. But I'm just gonna stick to my Olympic barbell and spinlock dumbells with much more weight at a fraction of the price. I just don't need to change the weight that fast.
Exactly. And I feel his he is contradicting his usual point about versatility. A "barbell" you can't do deadlifts with (and even if fragility was not an issue, these don't go heavy enough for junior high school lifters) is clearly not versatile enough for a home gym.
I like it too keep things like tricep and bicep workouts simple. Also used fixed barbells at the gym for lunges and these would be great. But how do they compare to the power block version? I feel like they might be easier to adjust but maybe the letter may be better balanced... I'm sitting out on these unless I find them on marketplace for cheap...
It's good for people that live in apartments and don't have room for Olympic barbells. Do like barbell CrossFit complexes with these and basic bodybuilding movements.
Sorry if it was mentioned. . . I returned to this video because something was bothering me. Wouldn't this thing feel different to do a clean with because the weights and collars do not spin?
In the UK this equates to around 440pounds. Would get you a basic power rack, standard barbell, ez bar, tricep bar and probably 100kg/220lbs worth of plates. Will last forever as well unlike this but each to their own. Like he says its a space saver not a money saver. But just how much more space would a barbell and some weights take. Bit gimmicky
I can see why adjustable products are useful, especially in a home gym environment where space is limited and the max weights etc are not needed. But I just hate the look and feel of any "adjustable" product I've used. They seem so fragile, and all these warnings like "don't drop me" just makes me feel like it's going to fall apart in my hands. Much prefer the barbell and plates that can take a beating for decades and still work.
I enjoyed using these and they worked pretty well. If you are wanting a curl bar setup like a commercial space with a small footprint these are great. -Mike, GGR Community Manager
I don’t really see the point for a barbell, since adjusting a barbell is way easier than it is for dumbbells , and you generally don’t need it to have very much hold horizontally (to keep the plates from sliding) but I guess someone out there will find this useful. You’d save a lot of money with adjustable dumbbells, but you don’t with barbells.
Any chance of comparison with the MX100 Select Barbell System? Its new and is very comparable in weight (100lb for MX vs 80-120lb with Bowflex) and same price of $900 currently (with stand and weight upgrade).
Especially at 120lbs this is great as a curl bar! If it went up to like 155 so I could use it for skull crushers I'd pick one up in a heartbeat - EZ curl bars are just such a hassle to change weights on!
I bought this unit (with weight and stand upgrades) and I love it! I am 46 years old and have worked out my whole life in a gym. At my age, I don't see myself lifting heavy, or going to the gym anymore. What I like about it... compact, easy to use, and effective. What I don't like about it... I prefer a barbell setup, however, I do not have the space. The unit does get offset, but with some adjustments, it runs flawlessly. Would I recommend it? Yes!
Damn 46 is too young to not go to gym anymore
@@scarface548 gyms are to full , and a little waste of time to go in n go home etc. a good home gym and is all good
I like the idea of it. I think my wife would love not handling dirty Olympic plates. Only concern I had was the do not drop which makes me wonder how fragile it is. A drop has many variables hahaha. Good job Coop and Bowflex
It's bowflex man, it'll break at the slightest drop. Plastic + weights = bad idea.
@@DimerNL Yeah, I had the 552 dumbells for a while and had to replace 3 of the discs inside that hold the plates. And you can't find OEM parts so had to find someone who 3D printed them...stronger than the originals. Ended up selling them during the pandemic lockdown and buying a full rack of CAP DBs. Odd that I'm seeing this review today as I literally just pulled the trigger on a Rogue EZCurl bar yesterday.
Just clean your plates bro
@@brandonhoover2120 They never get that clean where you don’t get a little oil or surface rust from plates made in the 70s. The convenience of the bowflex is not having to throw plates on a bar. I’ve got 2000 lbs of plates to maintain and a bit of oil or rust doesn’t mean squat to me. It’s called an old school gym you must have missed out on those bro
@@The_Obvious_Solution The Rogue curl bar is really nice. Amazing quality and feel, plus it has a decent heft without any weight on it so you can really load it up and it feels very balanced. My bars and 6-shooter iron plates are Rogue and I love the brand. I had the Bowflex 1080 dumbbells, but yeah they did fall apart after a while (but they held up well for many many years of use, so i'm not complaining). I replaced them with the 80 pound Nuobells recently, which I really like.
"over time it will wear and stretch. It will be easier to put in". Allright very intresting
That's what she said 🤣
Well wear and get more flexible at my age hahaha
So over time it will fit even worse, besides it's not the tolerances that prevents it from fitting correctly. It's the fact that the remaining weight plates in the rack slant once you remove the barbell.
@@DimerNL If the person setting it up takes the time to get it dialed you don’t have issues. It takes ten minutes of fussing with it. Long term no one can say but it’s pretty sturdy.
@@DimerNL it is sturdy dummy
This barbell and the dumbells kept me sane during the lockdown. Worth every penny!
Is it still good and does it have any issues that you are aware of? as I've seen other have issues with it.
Also, how is the imbalance of the weights doing e.g. curls, overhead presses & french-press (skull-crushers)
@@Somtric I had the dumbells for 5 years never had an issue. The barbell however I had an issue with the one side of locking mechanism. Called bowflex and they sent me a replacement I installed it. And works fine now also got additional plates for barbell. I mostly go to gym now. But sometimes I workout at home. Still worth every penny ❤️ 💪
I have em and use em. I also have to 1090 dumbbells. Your reviews on both are spot on. You are right about the balance of these bars. But I find it an add on feature due to when it comes into play by adding more resistance at times. I've found too that the replacing and picking up of the bars get easier the more you use them. Just because the movement of how to pick em up and put em back into the rack get memorized over time. Keep up these reviews. Awesome work young man!!!
If you have limited space, selectech is amazing. So of course there are gonna be trade offs. But the whole idea of bowflexes is to have a compact home gym and these really hit the nail on the jead
Well, so far I really like using mine. I like that they are compact. I have an Olympic bar and just didn’t want plates all over the house….I liked their kettlebell too. Neither are perfect but they are great for the serious home fitness exercisers.
For $600, you could instead get a Rogue Boneyard Power Bar with a few set of Echo bumper plates and not worry about dropping them or the internal plastic components wearing away. I know it’s apples to oranges, but at that price-point you can start getting gear that’ll last for ages.
for 600 you can get about 5 or 6 fixed weight barbells. Much sturdier
Yeah I don't see the point to this,here in Argentina I just bought 150 kilos of weights for 150 dollars, I would still have 450$ left so with that I can easily buy a 2,2 meter barbellan EZ bar and still have money left for more,and the difference is that the barbell can carry as much weight as I want and the weights can be used on the screw on dumbbells I have, hell with the money I have left I could buy a sturdy rack and still have money for elastic bands, the price is not good this is something a newbie would buy, I just don't see the reason for this when barbell already have adjustable weights, it like buying bowflex dumbbells when screw on dumbbells already exist and are better.
You can get a boneyard curl bar and boneyard power bar for less than 500
@@MikeBarbarossa The appeal of the system comes from the space saving side. 6 barbells take 6 times more space...
@@MikeBarbarossa space? Nice that you have the space.
I would never buy this but for some reason it is appealing to me. I cant quite articulate why, I guess I just think it would be nice for accessory movements.
Could see it, but I love using Rep's technique bar for that. $100, 15 lb bar that supports up to 200 lbs of weight plates I already own. I'd def go that route (again) than $600 for this, but could see the appeal if someone had no Olympic plates or plans to buy em
for a little over $100 you can get the hyperbell bar. You attach dumbells on the ends, instant barbell
I'm a personal trainer and I love bowflex adjustable weights. They are perfect for when I have clients that can't leave home. I can just load them up and take a gym to them
i actually saw this at academy sports for sale. I was pretty interested but I already had a stainless curl bar and Olympic bar.
When you are too deep in the game! 😂👌🏼
Is the curl bar from REP? How is it?
Listening to Coop talk about bowflex gives me the same feeling as when I am listening to someone give a presentation about a timeshare. I will listen to your schpill because you are a nice individual but I am not touching the product with a 10 foot pole! And I want to leave but feel compelled to stay to the end. Lol
I think this would be a perfect replacement to the ez curl barbell sets because you can change the weights so quickly. This would be something to get after a barbell and adjustable dumbells for accessory movements imo.
It is an exciting time for gym/fitness equipment development and innovation.
I agree 100%! I'm excited to see what 2022 has to offer. -Mike, GGR Community Manager
LOL, do you believe that expensive equipment builds muscles better than regular equipment that's been around for over a hundred years ?
I’m pushing 40 and this barbell is all that i need. Thanks coop 👍
This would great for me as I have extremely limited space (most people's master bathrooms are larger then my entire living space) and I love the fixed barbells at the gym, this is def on my list along with the nuobell bumbbell set
This would for sure be ideal for the small space. The small foot print and adjustability make it perfect. -Mike, GGR Community Manager
This is a great adjustable bar set that pairs perfectly with the powerblock adjustable dumbbells. This combo with the Ryan Humiston garage program = 💪🔥💯
Powerblock does a barbell with their EXP Pro series. And a kettlebell handle.
I live in a tiny apt, adjustable and compact is the reason im able to have a decent home setup. Deff adding this
👑 I was looking for a video on CZcams to show me how to put the plates for the 552 Select Tech,back in the correct slots since mines fell out when moving them.
Came across your video. So the title,and I waa like Bowflex has barbells now? Watch your video and like what I saw with the 2080. I thought about it for 2 days. Then I mace the Purchased 30 minutes ago.
You played a major role with me buying the Bowflex Barbells with stand. Thank you for your video and review.
I own bow flex select tech dumbbells and kettle bell. Space saving is great, changing weight is fast and effortless. I’m going to buy these today at Costco, comes with stand all in for 780CAD. Resale on this stuff is very good years later so no worries there. Only problem I could see is possible wear and tear down the road or dropping them might break something. For me, I like the product, good value.
Also great review! Thank you
I bought it at $374.00. I’m 70 years old. I’m using it to maintain tone. It’s in the den, out the way. Perfect 👍
Looking forward to picking up the stainless steel Titan/ Rep version. ;)
Legit just purchased this set and the 552's, and then immediately after found this channel. Glad I did. Good to see I'm getting some value out of these. I know it's not ideal, but I don't have a lot of room and it at least makes it so I can workout in my house.
Yeah, the adjustability of these makes them perfect when you have small space. I started my home gym with just a set of adjustable dumbbells.- Mike, GGR Community Manager
Does this really take that much less space than a barbell and a weight tree?
@@kylen6430 For storage it probably takes up more since it can't be stored vertically. However, you don't seem to be considering the space needed to actually use the product as. If your talking a 7 foot bar plus extra space on either side to add plates/not hit something. You need about a 8 to 9 foot area of open space. This looks like it could work in about a 5 foot area.
What's the balance like with these adjustable barbells? Do you feel it shift with movements other than straight up and down?
@@HaIsKuL If you were to compare it to a gyms fixed barbell you will feel a difference. It’s pretty minor though. At least it doesn’t bother me.
I have this and love it. the 40lb upgrade to 120lbs is a must, and like you said the stand is optional. I did buy the stand as I use for mostly upper body work + back issues so pulling from the ground is harder for me. I use a 2PC freestanding barbell rack with it for squat as getting over my head is tough, and even to bench press using the safety arms as a lift off point. Can do an excellent all round workout with these & takes up barely any room. Highly recommend
I could see the appeal, I’m sure they are convenient! What’s your opinion on the durability? I’ve never owned any bow flex equipment, I personally like having the flexibility of an empty bar and a set of plates
@@zarate1om Used them for about 3 months, zero complaints. As Cooper said in the video they get easier to rack over time too. The bars feel good, like an expensive fixed-weight bar, and the weights don't feel loose/rattle. I have the dumbbells too and they've held up amazing for over a year, so I expect the bars to last a long time too. If you like a full bar, def not a replacement; but I love it for curls, overhead press, RDL's etc it's perfect for stuff like that and for drop sets to quickly switch weights
which rack? curious if I can bench press with these, *safely*
@@shunoni2359 you can absolutely bench press with this, just not a very wide grip. My 'rack' is just two free standing holders for squat, nothing fancy haha
My wife would love this. I got some of the select tech dumbells and she uses them all the time. She hates the olympic bar and plates.
I wonder why so mane wives hate Olympic bars, i have read it a lot and it's kinda strange
I still prefer the Powerblock barbell. You save space by using the same weights that you for your dumbbell handles; can also go heavier with weight additions
Need to review that one. I have it and have used it a couple times, but never gave it much of a chance.
Powerblock dumbbells + the barbell & curl bar is amazing.
@@GarageGymReviews Do it, it's amazing. Only issue is the slight imbalance for some exercises, but once you get used to it, it really only improves your grip strength and the knurling is amazing etc.
Look the old Powerblock videos of how to set it up easily. Put the bar down, then place the dumbbells infront/behind each end so you can easily fit it with the perfect distance between them with no issues.
Genius, totally forgot about these! I’ll have to look into them for my home gym 🙌🏼
@@Somtric having had both in my opinion the bowflex is way better from an overall movement experience and from a using experience, it is night and day. Powerblock you can of course use your existing weights but for me I prefer the experience of the bowflex and ease of use. I have powerblock dumbbells still and love them also.
been waiting for you to review this product. thanks coop!!
I think this could be really great for older individuals 65+ that are looking to improve/maintain strength and mobility. I could imagine my parents using something like this, but I would never get a barbell in their hands.
Be careful now some of us 65ers are pretty damn strong 😁👍
@Jack Bean Sarcastic laugh followed by irrelevant fact... You got me good. You also totally missed the point of what I was saying, but a trolls gotta troll i guess.
@@HeCoversMe Fair didn't mean to over generalize. Hoping to be a pretty damn strong 65er myself one day.
@@Andytenholder I second that motion….keep that attitude 👍🤛🏼
@Jack Bean I would assume you. Because the fact that a barbell and plates would do the same thing is irrelevant since my post specifically references people who wouldn't be willing to try using a barbell. But perhaps your's is a reading comprehension and not a character issue. If so, my bad for assuming.
I love it! You mention, "most people" might be satisficed with just getting an Olympic barbell that can be upgraded over the life of your bar; however, I might humbly disagree. I think it's safe to say that there's a larger percentage of people either interested in starting their journey into fitness or those that fade in and out on the regular (like me) versus those who tackle their goal and maintain for years on end. That said, there's a lot of "newbie" gains out there kind of like me. I'll go strong for say 3-4 months and then out for maybe the same time or longer. Then back on for maybe 6 months strong followed by yet another hiatus for maybe 3 months. So for me, I'm in relatively decent shape but never quite get to that maximum lifting potential. So long story short, (haha) this would be absolutely perfect for me! In fact, I think it might just the catalyst to help me get to that PPL split TWICE per week which I rarely seem to get to. I could hit up the gym for the first PPL split and end the week with the second PPL right here in my garage and cut a significant amount of time off the whole pack a bag, get the intra supplement drink going and the drive to the gym. LOVE THE REVIEW! And the cost is absolutely worth it in my humble opinion. Oh, and love the fact that this comes with an easy bar as well. Only thing I got to find it a half way decent bench for a shorter guy like myself. Something not to high off the ground and I don't need something to support a million pounds. I'm 5'5" and about 145lbs. Any recommendations on a lower profile yet versatile bench??
The EZ curl option can be nice for someone who likes hypertrophy style training. You see full sets of those at gyms. This would replace that.
Yeah, in my opinion this would be the target market for this product and it is an effective replacement that does take up much space.- Mike, GGR Community Manager
Even at the gym, it's easily worth the tiny effort of loading a couple plates on the olympic curl bar to get the spin.
A bar like this at a commercial gym would break in about 3 days though. It would probably only be used a private/one-to-one personal training-style facilities, and home gyms obviously. I'd rather just get a real bar.
For $500, think I'd rather buy a bar and plates. Might be necessary in a super small closet gym.
I agree Coop, not something I would use but definitely has its place in the home gym world. This feels more like an indoor home gym bar than a Garage Gym bar to me. Thanks for the review, keep them coming!
I feel like it is perfect for someone who has a small space and wants to have bar with small foot print or someone who really like the curl bars at commecial gym and uses this a replacement. -Mike, GGR Community Manager
6:44 your kid goes by the window lol
I like the idea behind it. Swapping weights on my non-rackable ez-curl bar is just kind of a PIA.. I wish it went up higher in weight though. at only 80lbs-120lbs, it's hard to justify getting this over a set of 552s or 1090s.. The advantage of barbells is they can go heavier than dumbbells.. If you're someone that cares enough about the difference between barbells and dumbbells then you'd have an olympic set or lift heavier. If you're a casual user, you're most likely going to choose one or the other, and the dumbbells give more options.
This is a helpful insight. I'm just starting out but expect to be a casual user going forward. Your thoughts mirror my concerns about buying this in addition to some 552 adjustable dumbbells. The 2080 might not end up being that useful. Thanks.
All the people complaining about why buy this when you can get a boneyard olympic bar and plates for cheaper don't seem to understand who this product is being marketed towards. If you have the space and want to do some heavy lifting, then by all means get a full rack with barbell and plates, but if you are limited on space and just need something for casual training, this works fine.
I'm surprised in all your adjustable dumbbell and barbell reviews that you haven't mentioned that powerblock offers straight bars and ez curl bars that work with their dumbbell weights. I've had both bars for about a decade. Being able to use the straight bar and curl bar with my adjustable dumbbells along with the money saved from not buying extra weights and also to save space was one of the main reasons I chose Bowflex over select tech all those years ago.
My basement ceiling is too low to do OHP with my bumper plates. One of these would be ideal for that. Plus the EZ curl would be sweet to have. Great review, Coop!
My ceiling is also short and I’m tall. I have just enough clearance to do an overhead press.
Great review, thank you.
For me this falls into the category of workout equipment like Tempo, Tonal, etc. I think it’s good for a general consumer who wants to be active and live healthier, but not someone who is into weightlifting for muscle and strength gain. I personally would always prefer a set of standard and Olympic plates so there is no limit on future growth. But truly, I’m sure they are convenient for general consumers!
Idk man, it seems better than those overpriced toys. Don't get me wrong, it's not as good as a gym or even a home gym with an actual squat rack, bars, and plates. However, I could see how I can get some progress with this in the limited space of my apartment. I've the 552 adjustable dumbbells for that same reason and this would be a great addition.
If you don’t think you can’t gain strength or muscle…. You’re sadly mistaken.
It’s amazing how many people in these comments just don’t get it. When half the comments are saying with the money you can get a straight bar and weights. Well of course, no one looking at this has literally no equipment. This isn’t a first piece of equipment type. This is the I have a completed gym, but since it’s a home gym, it’s a money pit that’s never actually done.
Strictly for the curl bar portion of this, 110lbs is good enough for most people when you rep it out.
Adjustable dumbbells and curl bars can be no fun to take for multiple sets with having to take off 2 sets of collars every time you switch weight.
It's appealing to me because I have limited space in a small apartment.
what i would be interested in are high quality foldable weight trianing benches that can be fold together and take little space
Rogue folding utility bench seems the only player in the game.
$600 is exactly how much you would pay for an Olympic bar and some weight plates. I would rather just do that than this :/ good review tho 👍
Which is exactly why I question the need for this product to exist at all.
Because if you’re in the market for this, you’re like the entire home gym community. You have a bar and plates, and you just like the never ending money pit that is the home gym.
Plus taking 2 collars off every time you wanna make a jump is no fun
Let's say you want to do a drop set that has 5+ sets and you need to immediately lower the weights with less than 5 seconds downtime. On a standard Olympic bar, you have to remove the collars (or no collars and get annoyed with plates sliding) and then remove weights and add smaller weights to adjust to what weight you want next on BOTH sides, then put collars on both sides. This product literally let's you do a drop set within 5 seconds of each other. That would be the benefit of these products.
@@xmitsuakix Your example is great and all but I bought my bar and plates for $250 for a 300bl set. Which would mean I have $350 left to spend money on something else that could get the same results. All I'm saying is that $350 in this case EXTRA dollars is not worth your example.
@@BenjaminDavisMusic you also have a valid point. If $600 was your budget or you want to spend the least amount of money possible, then yes, definitely go with an actual barbell and weights. In my opinion this product is for extra stuff after you have a complete home gym set up with bars and weights. I've spent $30,000 USD (mostly high end eleiko equipment) on my home gym and adding a $600 bar is just a nice add on even for collection purposes.
I wish it was a little cheaper but I love the idea
i have a BodyMax Selectabell Barbell and its very similar to this. To me its a nice add on to have in your home gym and good space saver too. its really good for the lighter and accessory work you want to do. Good review coop :)
Looks like a weed wacker. Good job Coop. Love your work and appreciate all your material!
I've had this since release. To me, the stand and the 120 upgrade is mandatory. If you buy these used, note that they had a recall because the plates fell off. I had this happen (before the recall) and had to buy the replacement and wait 4 months for parts, and then they sent me another one after the recall. It's worked amazing since then, but beware that the weight selection gear is a tiny piece of plastic that looks like it came from K'Nex.
With the covid going around, a home exercise equipment is a great way to go!
That’s a great piece for a home gym. Love it.
saw this when i was travelling in pheonix i have the dumbbells and i love them
I just bought for $399 at costco with the stand, i'm looking forward to it
I prefer the ironmaster straight bar or powerblock straight/curl bar.
This seems good for someone who doesn’t need a lot of weight or has limited space. That being said, if you have the space you might as well just buy a regular bar and some weights rather than this.
I like is the compact size of it all. I am not in my 20s lifting heavy heavy weights. All I need is something to maintain my shape. I wanted to see more of the issues that arrive after constant use of a few months.
Great review and quality video. Clearly describes the pros and cons and the problem it solves along with who it is for.
Even when I was at the gym when I hit up that triangle stand of curl bars I never went past 100lbs and used them for more than arms. I have a small area and the space saving functionality of these is perfect.
My main question now is does it provide enough variation of exercises that my current 1090 dumbells don’t? What can I do with this setup that I can’t with dumb bells?
Adjust iy
Disclaimer I am not a power lifter or body builder. I enjoy working out with weights and do it for general fitness and to improve my performance in cycling/MTB. I have an Inspire FT2 that has a smith bar. I use it bench/squat/deadlifts. I don’t have Olympic plates because of that. I did most my accessory work with power block adjustable dumbbells or kettlebells.
I broke my elbow MTB’ing. After I was able to put in work again I found I couldn’t do much with dumbbells and started to look into fixed weight barbells/ez curl bars. This ended up costing much less than buying a full set of those and takes up a lot less space. (Not to mention I get both sets!) Being able to use my uninjured arm to help spot the weaker one was awesome and helped a lot the first couple weeks back.
I also like having variety, it’s been fun having a new option to work in instead of just dumbbells.
It’s really nice to be able to switch from curls to skull-crushers in seconds. Then pop on the bar and OHP or front raises.
My wife also likes it and it’s a good amount of weight for her even for “bigger lifts”.
I kinda like it. I completely agree with your review though. It serves a purpose. I'm in a condo so space is a consideration and I'm of a certain age where heavy deadlifts and squats just isn't important to me anymore. I think I could get a pretty good workout with these combined with their dumbells. Sure, why not? The price is right.
What would you do with the barbell, that you couldn’t do with adjustable dumbbells?
Like, it only goes up to 80…120 with an additional upgrade that costs nearly $200. Why not just get nice adjustable dumbbells that go to 75lb or so and just use those. I don’t see a use case for having both adjustable dB and this
Coop is right. MOST people just want to get fit. They are not full blown athletes that compete or do extreme things.
MOST people just want to save themselves some money from gym memberships, as well as to prevent gyms from digging into your bank account & yanking out money.
Many people have been seriously screwed over by gyms, where gyms yank out hundreds if not thousands of dollars from ppls banks, do to problems members having with the gyms.
So this is great for ppl who just want to build a simple gym in their apartments or home basements just to stay healthy without breaking the bank.
Very nice system. My neighbor has it and loves it. I like it. I have just spent to much $$$ on a curl bar and free weights to buy it.
Having seen and used it, and assuming from the $$$ spent you have a fair amount of experience, how would this fit into your routine given the upper weight limit of 120lb? Could you see advantage of having this over just using dumbbells for workouts?
@@WARPedD-ij7mh it is a great piece of equipment. Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed the ease of changing weights. My neighbors set does not get caught up like the set coop has.
Build quality 9/10
Ease of use 9/10
Convince 10/10
The main reasons I would not buy it have nothing to do with the equipment. I recently got a rogue EZ curl bar for $250 and have purchased weight plates for the last few years for my home gym. Adding a $600 adjustable curl bar is just hard for me to justify for those reasons.
But if I was starting my home gym over I would for sure buy this. Thanks for asking.
@@scooobyj8714 Thanks for the reply and your impression of it. Coop's review is one of the first proper reviews (video or written) and open discussion about the 2080 I've been able to find. Very helpful. Shame the Bowflex sale on them ends today. If I buy the 2080 with the 552's I end up getting the complete 2080 package (+stand + additional weight) for $768. I'm trying to learn as much as I can to make a purchase decision. Your reply was very helpful.
@@WARPedD-ij7mh if you are starting you home gym with no other curl bar/light straight bar I say go for it. I have used it a few times and have no complaints.
Look forward to hearing what you decide!
I didn't like the idea of this until you explained to me what the target audience is and now I think it's genius. I would prefer a EZ bar only version for say 200 bucks cheaper. Make it happen bowflex!
As someone new(ish) to fitness, this would probably be perfect for me now but its something I certainly would outgrow. Its only worth $600 in the short term, so I'm going to use that money for a barbell/curl bar and plates.
I think you're doing the right thing. As someone who is not new to fitness, I can tell you you have already outgrown it. It makes sense to me to get a bar and plates as your first and maybe only fitness tool. You can buy a bunch of things and end up with a bar or you can skip all that and go straight for the bar.
I bought adjustable dumbells first thinking that I was going to do everything with just those. However I ended realizing that nothing can replace a bar. So I got the whole squat stand, bar, plates and bench.
Had I known I would have bought the stand and the bar first because that's what floats my boat the most. But I would still have bought the adjustable dumbells after and I could absolutely not say that about the thing being shown in this video.
One thing, if you're new-ish to fitness and planning on starting with a bar at home and no ones shown you how to squat or deadlift, you gotta film yourself and look at it.
There's no use case here. The point of adjustable dumbbells is that conventional ones take up space and are expensive if you want a bunch of weights. Not the case for barbell weights.
I wouldn't say there is no use case, it's just lower. This is meant to replace a fixed set of straight/curl bars that you see in commercial gyms. It's not really meant to compete against a loadable Olympic bar. For the person who wanted the continence of a set of fixed bars this is equally as practical as adjustable dumbbells. A set of fixed straight bars from Titan is over 1k, set of fixed easy curl bars also over 1K.. So over 2K for both and then you need to buy a stand (technically 2 stands) to hold them all. You're looking at nearly 3 grand after tax and that's buying them at their lowest price point from Titan not a commercial gym company which would likely double the price.
@@airgordo4 I never understood fixed bars anyway
@@MHjort9 It’s the same principal as fixed dumbbells. Loading/unloading weight on to a curl bar is the same as loading/unloading on a load-able dumbbell bar. Having a full set to just grab and go is more convenient. Most people likely won’t sacrifice floor space in a home gym for that convenience factor like they might with dumbbells, but this provides those they want to a way to replicate that without spending thousands of dollars.
Rah jah dat, great for exsesories, and compact.
Coop, I value your reviews and find them insightful. But without watching the video I would buy this in a heartbeat, I've started jumping up and down, ohh man what a product. Reduce the time in loading plates and deloading plates means less total fatigue and more effiecient training session. YES. I'll watch the review now. : ) 👍 in advance.
Not 1000 lbs but 120 lbs? ohh well, I usually don't train below 1000 lbs but I'll have to make do with the 120 lbs, just so they make a heavier one.
: )
He's not gonna fuck you bro, just watch the video and relax
@@AyoSoma I have watched the video now you relax, don't be rude and take care and liiiiiiiiiiifffftttttttt. 💪
(Don't mind me, just came back from my training, full of dopamine.)
Well - at this point I don't know if you've already done a review on it - there also is a powerblock barbell solution. You can go more heavy with it, which is nice. I did some snatches and stuff with it and no problem. With powerblock you won't get super high weights on, but I think my personal solution at home can go up to almost 100kg, which is pretty solid. There is an option to add a little more weight even so I think I could reach 120kg... but I don't need that much weight most of the time and is is pretty expensive. If you are looking for the most compact solution powerblock or bowflex with their dumbbell and barbell solutions are the best solution. Another big PLUS for powerblock is that their barbell solution takes the dumbbell weights. So you don't need an additional weight block, but only your dumbbells and the barbell - talking about most compact solution.
I think you should do a comparisson. After seeing this video I'm pretty sure who my personal favorite would be ;-)
Just reading the comments here. Are people really this clueless? This isn't being sold as a replacement for free weights. It's for people who don't have hardly any room to spare and can't fit long bars and plates in their apt,condo, etc...
reinventing the wheel
Might be cool for people with more of an MMA type gym? If you have just gymnastic rings/pull up bar, a bag, battle ropes/jump ropes one of those totes of gyms with no real weights I could see these being a perfect thing to have if you want to do some light weight work.
Excellent timing, Coop! Would really appreciate some advice.
Bowflex sale ends today and I have the 2080 bundle and some 552's in my cart right now with a pretty steep discount for the lot (only $458 for the 2080, $162 for the stand, and $146 for the weight upgrade, adding this set also decreases the 552's, bench, and dumbbell stand combo by $50).
I'm new to lifting and building a home gym in my apartment. I've been on the fence about the 2080 barbell, unsure if there is much of an advantage to having it given most lightweight barbell exercises appear to be replaceable with dumbbell ones and I will definitely be getting the 552's. I'd really appreciate some advice as most barbell discussions focus on Olympic bars and massive weights. I'm not looking to hulk out. Just to get fit, tone up, and build a reasonable amount of mass.
Space is a concern, this will all be in my spare room/office (12' x 10'). I'll spend what I need to but am not flush with cash want to be mindful of not wasting money on duplicate equipment. I'm also open to having one or two Kettlebells. Anyone got any wisdom?
As someone with a home gym that sounds identical to yours (12x10 that also doubles as a home office) you'd be surprised what you can fit in a room that size. For a budget situation, I'd recommend a jump rope for cardio, spend the money 552s and pick up kettlebell adapter that you can put onto the 552 handles. Less money and less space than buying kettlebells and you can incrementally adjust it. Depending on your goals, a cheap barbell, used weight plates, and squat rack would help with mass but the 2080 could also work. That said, your legs will rapidly out pace the 2080 weight capacity tho. Good luck on the gains!
Depends if the lifting bug bites you. If it does you will never have enough hahaha. I started with a 310 lb oly set and curl bar which took me a long way. You might want to check fringe sports. For the money you showed you could get a rubber plate set with bar. If your not sure if you will enjoy lifting consider spending less and know resale values to curb your losses should you not enjoy it. Dont fall for gimmicks....spend wisely and make sure lifting is right for you. Its all about long term weightlifting. You can do a ton of stuff with a flat bench and dumbbells too for a much lesser amount. My 2 cents. Happy lifting
Hi, I own the 552's and would say that some exercises (skull crushers, overhead triceps extensions, shoulder press, even dumbbell bench) are a bit awkward with the 552's because they are so big. They are the same length no matter how much weight you have dialed in. Having the straight bar and ez bar would feel much better. Less plastic clacking together during the reps. thanks
@@sjalbrec1 Really appreciate your insight as someone who already has the 552s. The awkwardness of their fixed size was one of the reasons I considered supplementing them with the 2080. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
@@calcifires Thanks for the response. There are times my office/workout room will also be used as a spare room for guests so adding a rack starts to become problematic and the lack of one and being home alone has me asking if I'd want to put more that 120lb on a barbell anyway. I appreciate your insights.
I had the powerblock version and it was horrible. It is not balanced and it tries to correct it self within your grip . These need a balanced shape or needs to rotate freely. The bowflex version can't be any better. I love powerblocks but glad i sold off the bar. The old-school way still rules.
I had the power block bar also and I have this bowflex and there is no comparison, the bowflex is much, much better. Coop mentions an imbalance, I can’t even say I particularly notice it it is so small and it is not something I would even advise someone to be wary of. All in all for what it is I really like it.
Damn, I haven't considered that. Balance definitely is a factor with how people rate these systems.
@@HaIsKuL powerblocks were not designed for the bars, the bar most probably came after. The bowflex 2080 was designed specifically for its purpose so it does not have the same issue.
I can see how someone who used to workout in a commercial gym loving having these over a full commercial set. Nice review Coop!
I think the main place for this is, as you said, general fitness stuff. Trainers with a small room for training that still want to incorporate some light barbell work.
But...to be totally honest...I don't think it's worth it. Not price wise, but space wise.
If you have floor space to spare for something like this, you might as well get one of those stands with bars on one side and plates on the other. that allows room for quite a few plates + bars + dumbells on top. Yeah, it won't be cheaper, but there is zero chance of it braking and you can expand it infinitely.
Looks like a solid proposition for certain use cases. I'm all for innovation and tech like this! The ease of adjustability is now high but adding weight balancing and robustness is the next frontier
Great review! any chance you could review the MX Select version you showed in the video and then do a comparison?
ive seen these online a few times now. kind of over looked them..BUT in all honesty,its really good for a LOT of movements. IF all you do are olympic heavy strong man lifts,NO! Its not for you. BUT for most everyone else in the gym/homegym YES..This would be something great. NOW IF it went up to 150lb it would be a lil more versatile for more people getting them to max weight on more lifts. BUT over all,GREAT tool.
I'd like to see Nuobell come up with a version of this that changes both weights with a twist of the bar, like their dumbells, and with normal-shaped and oriented plates. I don't see this making much sense for most people unless they don't have space for a rack and olympic bar. For the price you can get a basic squat/bench stand, barbell and more weight than offered here. A rackable ez-bar isn't much more of a hassle to load and unload, even one where just the sleeves rest on the rack and you have to lift each side to load weight.
Wait, are you a Blues fan?! If so, hell yeah brother!
Would be interested to see if anybody using a bench press rack/ squat rack with these. I have a adjustable flat bench like the idea of wheeling over a small rack to rep bench press.
My sister just got one of these and I was looking at getting a tall rack for it to do squats and bench presses. Watching your review I'm kind of rethinking it.
Im not necessarily worried about maxing out the weight any time soon as I'm a weakling, but is it dangerous?
If you're wealthy enough to spend that kind of money on this sort of stuff, more power to you. But I'm just gonna stick to my Olympic barbell and spinlock dumbells with much more weight at a fraction of the price. I just don't need to change the weight that fast.
Exactly. And I feel his he is contradicting his usual point about versatility. A "barbell" you can't do deadlifts with (and even if fragility was not an issue, these don't go heavy enough for junior high school lifters) is clearly not versatile enough for a home gym.
I like it too keep things like tricep and bicep workouts simple. Also used fixed barbells at the gym for lunges and these would be great. But how do they compare to the power block version? I feel like they might be easier to adjust but maybe the letter may be better balanced... I'm sitting out on these unless I find them on marketplace for cheap...
It's good for people that live in apartments and don't have room for Olympic barbells. Do like barbell CrossFit complexes with these and basic bodybuilding movements.
I have this, its a great system. I highly recommend if you have the funds to purchase.
Sorry if it was mentioned. . . I returned to this video because something was bothering me. Wouldn't this thing feel different to do a clean with because the weights and collars do not spin?
In the UK this equates to around 440pounds. Would get you a basic power rack, standard barbell, ez bar, tricep bar and probably 100kg/220lbs worth of plates. Will last forever as well unlike this but each to their own. Like he says its a space saver not a money saver. But just how much more space would a barbell and some weights take. Bit gimmicky
If you guys wanna see how it’s set up I have it and I absolutely love it!!! Especially more with the stand for it!
Thats awesome! I know when it came in I was skeptical and then I used it for an arm routine. I really liked it. -Mike, GGR Community Manager
Are there any adjustable barbells for deadlifting?
Getting over putting weights on and off every time
How about a Coop review of the Powerblock bar and curl bar?
I can see why adjustable products are useful, especially in a home gym environment where space is limited and the max weights etc are not needed.
But I just hate the look and feel of any "adjustable" product I've used. They seem so fragile, and all these warnings like "don't drop me" just makes me feel like it's going to fall apart in my hands.
Much prefer the barbell and plates that can take a beating for decades and still work.
Just picked this up for my son for $299 @ Academy Sports
the review i have been waiting for
I enjoyed using these and they worked pretty well. If you are wanting a curl bar setup like a commercial space with a small footprint these are great. -Mike, GGR Community Manager
are you gonna review the NordicTrack 50 Lb. iSelect Adjustable Dumbbells w/Alexa?
I don’t really see the point for a barbell, since adjusting a barbell is way easier than it is for dumbbells , and you generally don’t need it to have very much hold horizontally (to keep the plates from sliding) but I guess someone out there will find this useful.
You’d save a lot of money with adjustable dumbbells, but you don’t with barbells.
It's more about the size/space saving. I've got the Powerblock barbell for my home gym and it's great for efficiency apartments
Bowflex has a $100 off sales right now. It's a steal now for $499.
Any chance of comparison with the MX100 Select Barbell System? Its new and is very comparable in weight (100lb for MX vs 80-120lb with Bowflex) and same price of $900 currently (with stand and weight upgrade).
que bendecidos que son los gringos tienen los mejores equipos para entrenar , pero bueno toca entrenar con lo que hay saludos mijitrin
Honestly I like it instead of the pyramid bars. That's its only use
Please review the NordicTrack Alexa enabled adjustable dumbbells!
Reinventing the wheel lol
A local reseller on offer up is asking $200 for this set idk if I should get I already have ivanko fix bars
Especially at 120lbs this is great as a curl bar! If it went up to like 155 so I could use it for skull crushers I'd pick one up in a heartbeat - EZ curl bars are just such a hassle to change weights on!
We all know you don't use 155lbs for skull crushers 😩
@@therealfastmart I have short arms so my triceps are disproportionally strong hahaha
How much is it? I see it for $450 for the full set, is this a good deal? If so I might get it soon