Comments on: The New Soloflex Machine Prototype.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:57:58 +0000

Gorgeous!
I had a Soloflex machine as a teenager, and ended up selling it when I went away to college. Eventually I got into free weight training but I never, ever, found a home gym that was as solid and comfortable as the old Soloflex. The thick, powder-coated steel, the sturdy bench, the firm rubber pad… I’ve really missed it. If you incorporate those qualities into this set-up, I think I’d do just about anything to get one.
It sounds like you’ve got the height just about right, too. Remember that a lot of us want to keep it in the basement and still be able to do pull-ups (my cielings are 7′, I think).
The other thing I loved about the original Soloflex was the ability to do inverted hanging situps. I haven’t seen any other machine that made it easy to do those. Does the prototype have that feature?

By: Terrance Trybus

Terrance Trybus — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:19:16 +0000

Looking forward to the new machine. Any idea what the price would be?

By: Trelrynem

Trelrynem — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:53:09 +0000

Nice website:D will visit once more

By: John

John — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:52:25 +0000

Back in the mid 1960s Joe Weider had a similar unit for sale. Tt was constructed of round pipe in an inverted u-shape attached to round plates for stability. On the left and right upright was an outside sleeve that was welded to a horizontal barbell that slid up and down. Along the length of each upright were holes and a clevis pin that was used to adjust the level at which you wanted to go down as in squatting and leg presses. You could also do inverted rows and with the barbell loaded with plates and resting on the floor for stability you could do chins, pull ups, leg raises, etc. And with a bench you could do presses for chest, shoulders. I have toyed with the idea of making one but never got around to doing so. Not enough time, after all it was made from black iron pipe used by plumbers, how difficult could it be. Every now and then I look at the catalog and think about doing it. Maybe Jerry can do it for me with his new machine.

By: tjhcom

tjhcom — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:48:21 +0000

Where are the pics of the prototype? Sorry if I am missing something….

By: Sage

Sage — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:33:40 +0000

When I say inverted situp, I mean the inverted hanging situp. I think that was a good feature on the original soloflex and would go nice with the concept of a free body exercises.

By: Sage

Sage — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:27:53 +0000

Is there anyway you can bring in the inverted situp as you did in the original muscle machine soloflex? I think it was a great feature to work the abdominals.

By: Molly Wilson

Molly Wilson — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:36:39 +0000

Sage

We do not make a bench with an option for incline or decline but the new machine would work well with another one of these benches if you choose to buy one.

We are looking into heavier plates, if we do offer those down the road, there are many high quality rubber coated plates on the market that you can buy.

By: Molly Wilson

Molly Wilson — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:32:24 +0000

Rob,

Thank you for the links. I had seen the pull up bar before but not the SoloStrength machine. They both have a similar looking frames but our machine will be more versatile and more easily accessorized. Our barbell will work with olympic plates, we are also looking into making a 25lb rubber coated plate. The frame and barbell dimensions are such that you should have no problem using the weight plates or bench you already own.

We are making some modifications to the machine this Saturday. I will post several pictures when it’s done.

Thank you so much for your interest!

By: Will Rennick

Will Rennick — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:59:57 +0000

Hi,Your new soloflex looks like a good product. I bought the classic soloflex so I could also do some of the body weight exercises. I have thought about building a special bar to replace the barbell arm when doing the body weight exercises. It might be nice if you offered such a bar so your loyal classic soloflex users could upgrade their equipment. I would be happy to send a sketch of my idea. Best wishes, Will Rennick