ProSource Heavy-Duty Easy Gym Doorway Chin-Up/Pull-Up Bar

I bought this to use with the P90X workout series, but I haven''t started the workouts yet. I have been using the pull-up bar though and it does feel sturdy. I am a 175lbs male and I workout fairly regularly. Although the bar seems very stable, the grips are cheap and after the first day of usage, one of the grips tore. I am thinking of simply removing them and wrapping the ends of the bars with white athletic tape to provide a non-slip grip.

I do have a couple gripes about the "instructions" (I use that word very loosely), that came with the bar. First, the front of the box says "No need for screws, bolts or fasteners." The first thing I pull out of the box: Screws, anchors, and door brackets. There wasn''t any instructions on when you would need to use these or when it would advise it to be safe to not use them. The instructions simply show you how to use the door brackets when mounting the bar. Secondly, there are 10 long screws in total, 8 which the instructions simply label as "D" and the remaining 2 which it labels as "E." The pictures in the instructions are horrendous so you can''t tell the difference between D and E. After staring at the screws way too long, I finally figured out the 2 "E" screws'' threading don''t go all the way to the head of the screw. Phew! Next issue is that there is only a picture to tell you how to put the various segments of the bar together. I finally just looked at the picture on the box, which seems to have had its copy written by a 3rd grader who couldn''t figure out which way they wanted to spell and capitalize the word chin-up, and determined the proper fitting. If the two U-shaped handles are facing you, piece #1 goes in front of the two pieces labelled #2, the #3s goes into the ends of the #2s, #5 goes on top of the joined #2/3 pieces, and the two #4 pieces go on top of the two #3 pieces.

If your door frame is made from a softer wood, I would still recommend putting something between the long bar that goes across the door opening and the frame to prevent it from making an impression (or a circular impression by the end of the U-shaped handle if that is resting on the door frame). I simply took a clean cut of the box, folded it in half, and put that between the frame and the unit. This seems to work well for me.

Overall, I think this is a great product that was just rushed into packaging to make a quick buck off the P90X craze, and if they put just a tad more effort into the instructions (how am I supposed to use this for push-ups and crunches?), then it would have given a much better first impression on its quality. I''m giving it three stars because once you get past the items you''re going to throw away after the first day, it''s a solid piece of equipment that I do actually like using, but they could have done a better job on the grips.

The bar itself is well made and does exactly what I expected. I weigh over 200 lbs and it feels solid when I use it in a doorway. It comes with J brackets to make it extra secure in the door frame. The only negative is that the directions are incomprehensible. I put it together by looking at the picture on the front of the box. The picture in the directions didn''t have enough contrast to tell if the part was above or below the other parts. Other than the directions, though, everything else was perfect. I''ve used it for a few days and there''s no marks on my woodwork, nor is it feeling any less solid than when I started using it.

18 months later, still solid as a rock. Me, not so solid, pullups are hard.

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I bought the Pull-up bar for use with p90x and it has performed exactly as advertised. It is very sturdy and does not move even with my weight of 210 lbs.

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I read so many good reviews about this product, I was interested.

I read so many bad reviews about this product, I was worried.

Sound familiar???

Let me tell you, the good reviews are spot on.

All the reviews saying things like "I couldn''t understand the directions, they were so bad!", or "the rounded screw heads are marring my woodwork!" and "no matter how much I tightened it, the thing is still loose and wobbly" are clearly missing something upstairs, if you know what I mean.

OK, I admit, that was probably a bit harsh.

But seriously, if you''ve ever assembled a piece of chinese-made particle-board furniture you get from a big box store, this is no different. Same type of instructions, same method of assembly. And yes, *THERE ARE ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS*. There''s a chart identifying each part with a letter and a set of written instructions explaining how to assemble the parts with the screws. Also, as any experienced particle-furniture assembler knows, you don''t tighten any screws until they are all in-place. Then tighten, and yes THEY WILL TIGHTEN COMPLETELY -and the product is ROCK-SOLID.

Assembly tip: the bars that lay on top of other bars, if you look closely, have a concave-bevel around the screws on one side of the bar. If you face that bevel towards the other bar, the 2 bars are going to fit a whole lot better together and help lock things together once you tighten the screws. Not in the instructions, so thought I''d mention it.

As for mounting. Yeah, sure, the first time that''s a bit tricky... but honestly, it''s not that hard.

This is one area the instructions could be more clear about.

All of the different grips are made of foam.

Except 4 of them. 4 of them are made from a fairly hard plastic. Those 4 aren''t meant for your hands, they are made for your door-jamb. The vertical ones go behind the door-jamb (relative to you) and rest on your woodwork. The horizontal ones go in front of the door-jamb and rest on your woodwork. If all 4 aren''t resting on your woodwork, you''ve got it positioned wrong... reposition until they do.

Tip: to make the bar easier to work on, place the thing as high on your door-jamb as you can while maintaining all 4 of the plastic grips in contact with your door-jamb. As other reviewers have mentioned, the thing will "slide" down just a bit the first time you use it -but then it will lock in place. Don''t just start doing pullups, do some static hanging off of it first to get that "locked-in" effect. Once it locks in, it''s pretty dang solid.

Note: the thing was designed for door ways up to 32" wide -my door is so close to 32" that it''s actually just a hair wider. This thing has enough tolerance in the design, though, that it still fits no problem -so if you''re butting right up against the 32"-measurement you should be just fine.

And no, my woodwork isn''t being damaged. That is to say, not by any screws -it is, just slightly, by the plastic grips but it''s so minimal that I''m not worried about it. If I had a top-end home with perfectly-smooth high-gloss woodwork... I *MIGHT* be concerned (but honestly, it''s so minimal I probably still wouldn''t)... but I''m a family man in an average priced home with typical family dings in my woodwork over the years. The little bit this thing is leaving is almost not even noticeable. One reviewer mentioned he put 2 layers of cardboard between his wood and the grips... if you go that route, I''m sure you wouldn''t have any problems at all.

In closing, if you can''t read, aren''t the least bit analytical, don''t have any assembly skills beyond unpacking a microwave and putting the turn-plate inside and calling it "assembled", have no patience, and can''t take more than 5 minutes to attempt this assembly job, this product isn''t for you. On the other hand, if you have all of those skills, buy it -you will be happy.

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Great price from these guys. The chin-up bar goes together fairly easily. It comes with mounting brackets that should be screwed into your wall after drilling eight quarter inch holes and installing wall anchors. However, I put it up without them and just used the door frame to support the bar. I''m sure it''s not as safe, but it stays up just fine, and if it come down, your feet are only a foot or so off the ground. I''d recommend it as a much cheaper alternative for those who don''t want to spend $70 or $80 on the P90 X bar.

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