Deltech Fitness Linear Bearing Smith Machine

I received my machine yesterday (11/11/17) and put it together the same day. It took me about 3 & 1/2 hours but I was watching a football game as I put it together. I built the machine faced down and used a couple of dumbbells to support it. The instructions state to but the top on last but it is pretty heavy so I put it all together at once then tipped it up on it's base. I did not tighten the bolts that held the top on so I could still maneuver it when I slid the rods in that the smith bar slides up and down on. The machine went together well and seems extremely sturdy but you will have to have olympic style weights to go on the bar. I though I could leave the ends off and use my standard weights but that does not work. From what I could tell the smith bat with the ends on it is around 47 lbs so a little heavier than the normal 45 lb bars in the fitness clubs. I will admit I am excited to use it for the first time tomorrow when I work on my chest and even more excited to do squats with it later in the week. The last bit of advice I can give is make sure the bars that have the pegs for the smith bar to hang on are to the front. You will notice they are off centered and need to be to the front of the machine. I found this out the hard way. Good luck and enjoy.

Okay, I'm one of those guys you would consider a very tough consumer. There are things I look for that the normal consumer would not even think it's a big deal. I had some problems with the equipment upon delivery, the left guide rod collar was damaged from shipment. The bearing came out and then the rod was not properly sized so the guide collar would get stuck when lifting the bar.I immediately contacted Deltech Fitness and worked with the most amazing and prompt customer service experience! Brian and Craig, are the two guys who quickly addressed my issues with little questions asked. I patiently waited for my parts and they arrived within two days. I have to give a huge "Thank You" to them for their excellent customer service and because of that, I would highly recommend their products. They stand by it and care about their customer satisfaction. They made this $700 purchase feel like a $1,000.So here's my review:Packaging: As mentioned earlier, there were some damaged to the item. It's probably not the best packaging as you would expect if you aren't shipping it on a pallet or freight. We received it through Fedex, and the driver was lazy so I had to basically bring more than half in myself. You can imagine what care it was under before it go to me. So when I opened up the boxes, yes, there were slight damages on the rubber pieces, and paint scratches.Quality of machine: The machine is pretty decent, much better than I'd imagine. The bearings make the bars go up smoothly and the bar is heavier than the typical smith machine bars so it's solid! The frame is also nice and solid, not too heavy though, but good enough for a home gym. It's about 200lbs-ish once it's all up.The machine does shake a little, but it's not enough where it would move the machine. If i did pull ups, it will shake and if I rapidly move the bars or intentionally try to shake it, it will wobble a little. But it doesn't feel unsafe, so I don't think it's a concern here. It is what you would expect if the machine isn't commercially built, it's made for home use. Perhaps adding the lat addition will help with it, I threw on 250lbs of plates and it helped a little.I would have to say the machine's paint which is powder coated isn't the best. It will scratch easily and flake off. However, it's a gym equipment, so if it's intended to be used frequently, this shouldn't matter as much. However, it would have been nicer if the catches didn't have any paint on since it would come off as the hooks continue to catch on them.Installation: It was a lot more painful than expected!!! The instructions were pretty decent except some of the wording on what is left and right might throw you off. Like the two leg pieces at the bottom, make sure you have the square pieces on the outside otherwise the rod will not line up straight. Then the bearing on the rod, make sure you pay attention to the graphic images to determine how it should be positioned. I had to disassemble it twice and it was not fun! There are lots of bolts/nuts/washer to put the machine together, I think that if some of the pieces were welded it would be a bit more sturdier, but again, it's not a commercial machine so I get it. The biggest challenge is putting the lifting bar on the rods. I'm not that tall, so I needed an extra person to help me align the bar so it slides down the rod. I tried to do it myself and holding up that bar with the bearings and it was a pain. The rod wouldn't stay straight, so I would recommend two people for installation. If you're taller than 5'8, then you might be able to get it done by yourself. :)Also, if the holes aren't aligning, make sure you are NOT tightening all the nuts until all the bolts are in the respective holes.Overall, it's a very solid purchase. For $730, I don't know if you can buy a machine that moves this smooth. I like the pull up bar addition. I can't say anymore how happy I am with the customer service I received. I am happy that I made this purchase and it's only been used once but so far it feels great and I was able to get my first work yesterday and I can't wait to work out again today! Hope this review helps when thinking about buying this machine.

I performed detailed calculations for the weight of the bar. They are as follows:The net downward force of the bar assembly is: 56 Lbs (25.5 KG).Detailed Breakdown of the Bar Assembly is as follows:Just the Bar with the hooks: 27.72 lbsSteel Cover: 9.2875 lbs X 2 = 18.575 lbsBlack Glider: 6.1125 lbs X 2 = 12.225 Lbs58.52 lbs of all three items.Upward Bearing Resistance (due to Friction): 2.52 lbs.Net Downward Force: 56.lbs (25.73 KG). Add your plate weights to 56 lbs to get the amount you are bench pressing.Hopefully this information is helpful.

Came in 4 packages, 2 by one fedex truck, 2 by another fedex truck about an hour later. Downloaded assembly instructions from the net and put the pdf file on my big screen. All parts were in the boxes, none were missing. You really need 2 people to assemble this. Not that any part is that heavy it's just that you have to hold 2 supports and slider rods upright while trying to put the bar, springs and safety catches on at the same time. Then you put on the top to connect it all together.The only part misleading about the instructions were... on one of the linear bearing collar assembly (the part that holds the bar and goes around the 2 rods) has a pin welded to it to be a stop for the latches so the latches don't go to far. So when you rotate the bar off of the catches on the frame to go up and down with it the bar doesn't rotate to far. In the instructions it says that bearing collar assembly with the pin goes on the left side. In actuality it goes on the frame side that is called the RH earlier in the instructions. I've never used a smith machine before buying this one. I found when using it that that pin is very beneficial. For me it makes the lifts more stable so all you have to worry about is pushing the weight. You can concentrate more on the muscle. Just be sure when you put it together that the pin is on the upper side of the linear bearing collar assembly so the bar will only rotate about 1/4 of a turn.Been using it a week and there are a lot of exercises I'm thinking of that I never realized I can do with this. An example of this is to lay on the ground and put your feet on the bar and use it for a leg press or calf raise. Glides very smooth up and down with the linear bearings so far.At this price I could not find another smith machine with linear bearings. Looked new to me, I know there were a couple of reviews that people got used equipment. I was not one of those people. When I got done putting it together it looked like it was on the show room floor.The only question I have is should I put oil or silicon lubricant on the bearings? I don't see anywhere that it says how to maintain the bearings