I am confused, why sell a lift product when the Soloflex is a lift product? It can hold 500lbs of free weights, I know I used it already with that much weight on it dead lifting. Just promote the free weight aspect of the Soloflex more and make the free weight adapters standard and olympic sleeve adapters optional.

The combination of free weights and band weights is the best type of resistance in the world. All the positives and none of the negatives.

Free weights have the most advantage on the pushing or pulling motion of the exercise better than anything else. Machines have not as good pulling or pushing motions but is better than free weights on the “negative’ aspect of the exercise.

The band weights provide even more force on the negative than cable machines. Combined with free weights you have a lift that is good on the pulling and pushing aspects in the positive and negative parts of the movement.

I would market that heavily. That is one of the most important aspects of the benefits of the Soloflex.

Their “lift’ product does not have this benefit as far as I could tell.

Quality sells itself. You just got to let people that your product has it, promote what it is. Mercedes Benz is known for their quality, and they let people know it. The first time I saw a Soloflex I was floored at the thick steel that was used. Even more floored when I bought one carrying each part into my house. This thing is heavy I thought to myself, this is a well made machine. In form and function. It is almost perfect. Fits in the corner of your home, works well and lasts forever, what more could a customer want?

They are so well made that they just don’t break. Ever. The bands may wear out, but the machine will last literally forever. My next door neighbor picked one up for free that was left outside in the snow for two months, sanded it down,replaced some parts , bolts,bench,logos,weight bands etc and painted it and still uses it. That was five years ago.

Name me one fitness machine commercial or otherwise that can do that? Can a bowflex do that, heck no. They are so well made that I think that they(used ones) started to cut into Soloflex’s business. This is just my opinion, maybe Molly can speak on this or Jerry.

There are not many people cross shopping a kia although a fine car and gets the job done with a Mercedes. The Soloflex is the Mercedes or Rolls Royce of the home fitness industry. They are made as well or most likely better than most Gym equipment found in most gyms today. I have been in and out of gyms for over 20 years, and I have yet to see a comercial machine made better than a Soloflex. As good maybe some, better no.

They don’t need a new or innovative new product. They already have a “old’ and innovative product. Did you see those ‘hybrid’ videos. When watching them, I said to myself what is so ‘hybrid’ about this soloflex? I can put up to 500lbs of free weights already, heck Soloflex sells the adapters. The Soloflex is and was a machine ahead of it’s time.

Add to the fact that Soloflex has the best people running the company and the best owners that actually care about this country and the people in it that use their products. A product is only as good as the people behind it, and the Soloflex is a testiment to that.

You are dead on the money, brother. This has been my point for years. Jerry was the first marketing visionary the home fitness industry ever saw, and as a consequence, the birth of the home equipment market segment was born through innovation meeting functionality. The innovators always take the arrows, but when they quit pushing the envelope of continued innovation due to whatever litany of reasons, the message gets compromised by others trying to cash in themselves. Bowflex fooled many people out of their hard earned money. The Soloflex concept is more relevant now than it was back in 1978. I believe it could make a resurgence a second time around if it was met with new energy, new passion, and a new vision for innovation. Capital is not necessarily the answer here, but it helps. Sustained and innovative marketing could conceivably launch a new product by itself, but the Lift was never the answer. It wasn’t innovative. I’ve been touting the “Solorow” for some time now — a rowing machine utilizing the weight straps and the Soloflex trademarked configurant of a curved metal mainframe. This innovation doesn’t exist yet in the open market, but would serve as the catalyst to relaunch the Soloflex brand back into the mainstream consensus. I’m surprised it hasn’t been thought of or designed before. The Rockit was innovation phase two. The Handweights were innovation phase three. The Solorow would be innovation phase four. And suddenly, Molly has the catalyst she needs to resurrect the Soloflex brand before the Lift died the death it did. Just my thoughts here; Solflex will always have a cult following. Innovation always does.

Why would anyone buy a Bowflex, marketing pure and simple. Also because the Soloflex isn’t sold anymore. Allot of people think that the Bowflex drove the Soloflex into extinction. Insufficient marketing did.

If you sold the original Soloflex again, the black one with all the attachments, not the retro. And marketed it to the new generation with all the points made in your blog post, it would sell like hot cakes. There was nothing wrong with the original soloflex, nothing. Why change it or come out with the lift?

The last Soloflex you sold on the market was a fine machine, just like all the Soloflexs sold before it were fine machines. It could handle 500lbs of free weights in addition to 400lbs or ‘band weight resistance’ that is 900lbs of weight.That is enough for anybody, but did it get marketed like that?

Did you tell people that they are still being used by their original owners for over 20 years? That the bowflex is not made as well? That the Bowflex cost twice as much? That they don’t support discontinued models? That it is made in China and not the USA?

The general public saw the bowflex as superior because of the marketing, thats it. We here know that it’s a piece of crap, but who else does?

It is nice to have the retro Soloflex for us that love it and know what it is, but how about the new generation? Why not bring it back all the way and not only sell refurbished? Is it any wonder why the refurbished are always sold out? Sell both side by side and market it heavily and put the Bowflex out of business for all our sakes.