Marcy Deluxe Smith Trainer

My previous weight bench was just a smith bench due to an old shoulder injury. Now that my shoulder is better I wanted to get back into benching free weights again. So when I saw this bench I could see that it had both options (free weights and smith). The other thinks I like about it are:

I like that the bench accommodates standard one inch plates.

The bench can be placed at a 90 degree angle for shoulder presses

Things I don''t like or would change:

The smith part of the bench is cheaply made. I normally squat ~200lbs. The first time I squatted with this bench I nearly gave myself a hernia! The guides that run along the smith bars are too short allowing too much play in the bar. So if by chance you do not lift the bar perfectly parallel to the floor it binds up completely! This sucks especially when you are mid squat with 200 lbs on you back!

I ordered new parts to hopefully alleviate this problem. But it''s been a month and I have still not received them yet. I called again and they say they are still on back order.

Also make sure you have space. This thing is huge. Takes up half a bedroom

The piece arrived fine enough, but there are LOTS of parts. I didn''t find it too difficult to assemble, but... if I were to do it again I would get a dozen Styrofoam cups and put the screws/bolts into them with the corresponding part number on the cup. There are WAY too many similar sized bolts. They are numbered in a shrink-wrapped container, but as soon as you open it they scatter. Trust me use the cup idea.

Also, I would give this four stars but the bottom right floor bracket was machined improperly. The bolt holes on that side are about 1 1/2 inch too far out from the back. I called the factory and they said they would ship a replacement. After two weeks I called and asked them the status and they advised they are waiting for the part and it could be another 8 weeks. Grrrr! Because of this the safety bracket does not fit on that side, which defeats 75% of the reason I bought this piece.

Also I wish that they had designed the resting brackets to be reversible. They only face out. So, (once I have the correct sized bracket) I will be starting my squats from the lower position instead of the upper position. Not a fan. Maybe I can fabricate something.... That is why I couldn''t give this 5 stars.

edit : A few years gone by. There is no way to easily fabricate a resting bracket for this device. The internal safety brackets are completely useless. Either get a better machine with a proper internal setup or get a cheaper one which doesn''t even try. Just don''t get this one.

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The shipping & packaging was ALL jacked up. The first 2 boxes that came were smashed. Could not refuse delivery bc it was left at my front door. I opened it & a lot of screws were scattered. This made a bad situation bc the screws are taped to a piece of #''d cardboard. When the 3rd box came the delivery man had me take a look at the package. He said, "If I were you I would refuse this & call the manufacturer for a new one." Glad I listened to him. It looked like it was used as a trampoline. I called Amazon & was told they already resent a new one & it should arrive on blah blah date. That date happened to be the day I called. Confused as hell I asked, "So the company knew they sent a jacked up package & the replacement should arrive today?" The rep said yes. I told him that the replacement arrived & it was unacceptable & I wanted another. I was given a $100 gift card for the inconvenience & was told they would replace the replacement. (LOL)! I ended up receiving 3 new boxes instead of one which ended up being a blessing in disguise. A LOT of pieces and screws were missing from the original so I rummaged through the new boxes & got all the parts I needed. Imagine the nightmare I would have endured if they didn''t screw up by sending me all 3 boxes. Needless to say I have to send them the extras...or whatever is left seeing I had to use them. As for the machine itself..it''s AWESOME. As far as putting it together, not so awesome. I would take the advice of a previous post about using plastic cups & #''ing them. I''m stubborn so I didn''t. Would have saved some time. It didn''t take as long as people said it would in previous reviews. One person said 13 hrs total & another 9 hrs. I am not mechanically inclined, I fix people, not machines...anyways it took me 5-6 hrs by myself. Could have been faster if I wasn''t BSing around. Putting the pulley system together took up the most time, but even that wasn''t as hard as I thought. And one person is correct about the glide posts. It needs to be greased. Not a big deal. I do recommend this machine to whoever is interested. It''s a great price for what it does and I go to the gym every weekday and actually know what I''m doing. I work in physical therapy. As far as buying this from Amazon or whoever this ships through...HELL NO! Hope this review helps.

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I ordered this smith machine in October. It is now March and I STILL do not have all the pieces. The original was delivered in November, but was damaged. The company told me they would replace the damaged pieces. Each time I call, I get a different story: they will come so and so time, someone will return my call and then never does etc.

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Bought for $630 eligible for Amazon Prime.

Let''s be honest, complete home gyms with Smith Machines and Crossover Cables don''t come cheap. They range from $600 (this one) up to $2500. If you''re looking at this one, you''re scraping the bottom of the barrel, you''re extremely price sensitive, and wondering if a Marcy is as good quality as a Body Solid.

Shipping:

I see a lot of other reviews complaining about shipping. It comes in 3 boxes. One of them was handled perfectly, delivery guy came in with a hand truck and put it in the house where I wanted it. The other two boxes were in very rough shape. One of them had burst open and the side of the box was flapping as I dragged it into the house. The contents were jostling about inside, and I wasn''t sure if I had all the pieces. Generally a less-than-ideal experience. I started to file a claim online, but they asked if any pieces were missing and I couldn''t inventory without opening them all up, so I went ahead and unboxed all of it. It turns out that I did have all the pieces, but some of the hardware were scattered in the boxes instead of cellophane wrapped (and numbered) to the cardboard.

Assembly:

Definitely definitely do the cups idea! I put all my hardware in solo cups and sharpied the number on them. It would have been a nightmare without doing that. Some people here have said 8 hours, others 13. I took my time and it was probably 12 hours all total including unboxing, separating, parts, laying them out, throwing away plastic and cardboard, labeling cups, etc. Directions are a bit skiddish and hard to read sometimes. After a few hours you get to understanding their philosophy behind bolted joints and it becomes easier.

A few issues came up. On one of the supports, a beam was supposed to fit inside another. The hole was warped, so I had to use a dremel grinding bit to modify the shape of the hole for it to fit. Not a big deal, took 10 minutes to fix, but just be aware. Another hole had metal sticking up from where the hole was drilled and the metal prevented a beam from inserting into another. I had to dremel that as well. Other than that, assembly went well. In some parts it says Two People Recommended. It''s possible to do with one person with a little care and dexterity, and I''m 5''0" 100 lbs, but I''m sure two people would be safer.

Performance/Features:

Smith Machine definitely grease the guide rods with WD40. After that I don''t see any reason why anyone would need linear bearings. The action is very smooth and I experience no binding when using it for squats or presses.

Crossover Cables there''s a little more friction in the system than what I imagined. I would have liked to have a stack of plates with a pin in the back for convenience but for $630 all total, I can''t complain at all.

It lacks a lat pull down, and the bench doesn''t have an attachment for a preacher curl. The pegs for the weights are plastic and a bit cheap feeling/looking. With everything else being pretty good quality (metal), these are the only things I have to gripe about and it''s a little petty.

Value:

Compare this to the Marcy Diamond Elite with Linear Bearings ($1050). Linear bearings sound nice, but once the guide rods are greased, you won''t know the difference. Most power racks by themselves are $400-$500. With this, you get a bench w/ leg station, crossover cables, a fly station, and a seated row station.

If this system came with a Lat Pulldown and a Preacher Curl attachment and was $100 more, I''d get it. If it were $200 more and also included a stack of plates for the cables, I''d get that, too. The Gold''s Gym System is actually close, but it isn''t Amazon Prime eligible... so good luck with that shipping. ;)

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