Free Spotter Arrived Today..

Bluerain · 02-19-2009, 10:58 PM

Hello

Well I placed my order on the 16th and it's the 19th so fast service for sure. All emails were responded to in a timely fashion..big plus !

I just opened it up and will test it in my rack and post back later.

First glance..well packed (With Newspaper) and tight and no movement in box and no holes in the box.

I have to say I'm surprised that it's so well made..really well made. Solid and not a mark on any of the parts. Workmanship is really good.

The rope is not cheap by any means and another quality product. Solid and no fraying at all anywhere.

For some reason I thought the 3 metal bars would be skinnier (Why I don't know ) than they are. My first thought was these bars are going to feel uncomfortable having to grip them with the barbell so the first thing I did was lay them on the barbell to test the feel. No problem at all and felt pretty good and I'm a female so you guys won't even notice them being you have bigger hands.

The 3 piece bars are solid and would need a great deal of force to bend them .They should last a very long time for the use they are intended for and shouldn't bend.

You also get 2 weights to attach to the rope ends..They are 4 3/4" long by 1" W - 3/4 " D

Instruction Booklet - 13 pages long and from taking a quick glance it's well laid out and seems simple enough. There's 3 picture's of the knot required ( Bowline Knot ) to use when attaching to rack . How cute

OK I'm off to attach this baby and will report back in a few hours..Later..

For those not familiar with the Free Spotter..
http://www.shermworks.com/

Bluerain · 02-19-2009, 10:59 PM

Well I put it together and attached it to my rack...

Pretty much easy to install but getting the U bolts in the correct position is a little annoying...everytime you tighten it it moves from it's position and it needs to be in the correct spot on the barbell.

My advice for anyone deciding to buy the FS is to tighten the U bolts as tight as you can and get it ( Not Too Tight ) where it doesn't move too easy this way you can tap it back into place and then tighten it really good. Once tightened it doesn't move so no worries there. Best way to do this is to have barbell resting on your sabers while installing U bolts.

Also..do not attach U bolt while rope clamp is attached ( Comes attached) . Remove Rope Clamp beforehand ( 4 screws and easy to remove ) it will make it alot easier.

The Bowline knot is a breeze and really secure and pulling rope thru the rope clamp is simple..just open clamp and pull rope thru .

I proceeded to load 600 lbs ( I only have 600 lbs ) while having the sabers about 1 " below just in case. As I was loading this weight I thought it was slipping some and when I got to the last few weights 10's and 5 's the Free Spotter was resting on the sabers completely.

I then remove the sabers which was very hard to do with 600lbs resting on them..whew !

It move about 1 " total when hanging on it's own but this is expected . It wasn't the Free spotter that caused it to move..it was the new rope stretching which is normal. I put a piece of tape on the rope to see if it move anymore and let it hang in that position for a good 25 minutes or so. It might have move maybe 1/16th or 1/8th of an inch more and that's it .

When the barbell with weight is hanging the rope clamp clamps down even harder so no worries at all ..it will stay for sure and I feel very safe with that .

The only thing that i can see that will need to be replaced over time is the 2 little springs that attach the skinny bar (That you squeeze to barbell ) to the rope clamp. This isn't a safety issue at all because if they get too springy and stretch out it will cause the system to lock up

Pulling on the bar against the barbell opens the rope clamp so you can move freely..if the springs don't stretch you can't pull on it to open clamps to move up and down.

Bottom line ..if the tiny springs get worn out ( Lose spring overtime ) you won't get hurt because it locks up. Plus you can buy these springs in Homedepot or hardware store for 25 cents I imagine.

The only other thing that might wear out overtime is the cable..kind of like airplane cable ( Thinner then a cable crossover cable ) without the sheath on it. It's attached to the rope clamp and the tiny springs on both ends of the skinny bar and each cable is only about 5 - 7 inches long if that. Again..if they did break it's not a safety issue because the rope clamp will just lock up.

Now the actual testing..

I removed all the weight but left 135 lbs on and did some bench pressing.......

It works

No problem at all..moves freely and no bunching up of rope and works as promised.

Tomorrow is leg day so I will go to town and test it doing deads and squats...

Listen..It works and it's safe and I know I would feel %100 safe using it without a rack which I intend to do.

The only real worry is when attaching it to joists...this is where you have to make sure you attached it correctly and be sure it can take whatever load you will be using. The free spotter isn't the part that will fail at all...it's how you attach it to your joist...if you do that correctly I say get rid of your rack and gain some space for other equipment which I intend on doing .

Well that's all I can think of for now

PS: One thing I don't like is the color of the rope ..Horrible....it's white with tiny blue dots all over it.... I thought the rope was Red like in all the video's . I seriously have to change this rope..it doesn't match anything in my home..plus I can see it getting dirty after awhile UGH !

Blue

dolson27 · 02-19-2009, 11:20 PM

Great initial review! Keep us posted on how well it goes for you with the free spotter.

MrLovrLovr · 02-20-2009, 09:31 AM

So like load 500 lbs and try to purposely make the spotter not catch by "dropping it " a foot or so .
see how it goes - not with your under it in any way of course Bluerain !

sherman · 02-20-2009, 09:39 AM

Bluerain, those are very good comments on the Free-Spotter. It helps to find out what's liked and not so liked.

The little springs are high quality stainless steel. They will hold their shape for a long time. If they ever need replacement, its free.

I change ropes from time to time based on price, availability etc. But the strength and quality stays the same. If you ever want to change ropes, look for 1/2" high quality "yacht braid" or 1/2" "Kernmantle III static rescue rope". The red rope was yacht braid and your ugly white rope is Kernmantle III (which is a little more rugged).

Great advice on the u-bolts. I'll add it in the User's Guide.

Happy lifting.
Sherm

Bluerain · 02-20-2009, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrLovrLovr

So like load 500 lbs and try to purposely make the spotter not catch by "dropping it " a foot or so .
see how it goes - not with your under it in any way of course Bluerain !

Yes I intend on doing this when my BF comes over this weekend..Reason is the bar has to be lifted slightly before engaging the skinny bar that attaches to the barbell and I can't lift that much. Meaning you have to pick up barbell slightly first then engage (Grip skinny bar onto barbell) and then let go of skinny bar from barbell for it to lock up.

I did try this with 135lbs yesterday and it engaged with no problems..I let it free fall about 6 " give or take and it held.

I will try this with deadlifts tonight using my max of 205 lbs on my own. This might be hard because I use straps when deadlifting and I can't use straps with this but I'll give it a real good try.

When my BF comes over I'll put it thru a few tests at different weights.

As I said in my previous posts I'm not worried about the Free Spotter failing after now having it and seeing how it works...

The most important thing is when attaching to joist you MUST BE SURE it
can take whatever load you will be using and then some. This is the only place where it might fail if not hooked up correctly.

sherman · 02-20-2009, 12:07 PM

About "free fall". The purpose of the Free-Spotter is to prevent the barbell from going into free fall. When a lifter reaches the point of failure or decides to terminate a lift, the control bar is released and the rope clamps grip the rope and holds the barbell in place. At this point the lifter still has his/her hands on the barbell.

You don't dump the Free-Spotter equipped bar like you would dump a plain bar on the floor or on the safety rails of a power rack. To do a one foot free fall drop test you would have to keep the control bar engaged (squeezed to the barbell) while the barbell is falling, then release the control bar after a foot of free fall.

When you let go of the barbell and the control bar at the same time it may drop a few inches.

If you could come up with some way of doing a one foot free fall with a 500 lb load, then I think the Free-Spotter will fail. It is not designed to take that kind of shock load. I hope Bluerain won't try it.

Lots of Free-Spotter users are power lifters pushing 500-600 lb loads, and there is no problem handling the weight.

eb02z06 · 02-20-2009, 12:26 PM

Awesome review, glad you like it so far. I'm starting to look into this for myself and I must say I'm interested.

Sherm - Just a suggestion - It would be cool if you could order some "custom" options like different color ropes or smaller activation/deactivation switches that attach to the bar.

Bluerain · 02-20-2009, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sherman

Bluerain, those are very good comments on the Free-Spotter. It helps to find out what's liked and not so liked.

The little springs are high quality stainless steel. They will hold their shape for a long time. If they ever need replacement, its free.

I change ropes from time to time based on price, availability etc. But the strength and quality stays the same. If you ever want to change ropes, look for 1/2" high quality "yacht braid" or 1/2" "Kernmantle III static rescue rope". The red rope was yacht braid and your ugly white rope is Kernmantle III (which is a little more rugged).

Great advice on the u-bolts. I'll add it in the User's Guide.

Happy lifting.
Sherm

Hi Sherman

Yes I'm very happy I decided to buy it and it's a keeper for sure.

It's funny you posted what type of rope is used because I was going
to email you and ask..now I don't have to.

It's good to hear that the springs are high quality and should hold for a long time .

One other thing..how much do all the parts weigh total ? ( I don't have a scale )

Thanks for posting

Blue

Bluerain · 02-20-2009, 12:50 PM

Everything you say is true and now that I think about it more clearly there's no reason to test it in free fall with such heavy weights.

Reason being if someone is lifting weights and gets stuck you shouldn't let it drop because the whole reason behind the Free Spotter is to just release the mini bar to stop the barbell from crashing on you which the Free Spotter clearly does .

I'll just have my BF test it with heavier weights and engage it the way it's suppose to without the free falling which isn't require for it to work properly.

Thanks again Sherman

Quote:

Originally Posted by sherman

About "free fall". The purpose of the Free-Spotter is to prevent the barbell from going into free fall. When a lifter reaches the point of failure or decides to terminate a lift, the control bar is released and the rope clamps grip the rope and holds the barbell in place. At this point the lifter still has his/her hands on the barbell.

You don't dump the Free-Spotter equipped bar like you would dump a plain bar on the floor or on the safety rails of a power rack. To do a one foot free fall drop test you would have to keep the control bar engaged (squeezed to the barbell) while the barbell is falling, then release the control bar after a foot of free fall.

When you let go of the barbell and the control bar at the same time it may drop a few inches.

If you could come up with some way of doing a one foot free fall with a 500 lb load, then I think the Free-Spotter will fail. It is not designed to take that kind of shock load. I hope Bluerain won't try it.

Lots of Free-Spotter users are power lifters pushing 500-600 lb loads, and there is no problem handling the weight.

FootBallBeast · 02-20-2009, 01:34 PM

Thanks for the review, I've been looking for a real review of it before buying it. Repped.

rdog3 · 02-20-2009, 08:28 PM

so its like a smith machine? but with bands going through a pulley? looks really nice and strong and very nice, please later inform us on how well it handles on your workouts. This could be a possible purchase for me because theres no room for a smith machine in my weight room.

MrLovrLovr · 02-21-2009, 04:32 AM

Someone squatting 500 who "cannot release" the bar in time might fall a good foot before he/she can engage the lock ..
is why I asked

sherman · 02-21-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrLovrLovr

Someone squatting 500 who "cannot release" the bar in time might fall a good foot before he/she can engage the lock ..
is why I asked

Good point. In the case of a failed squat the best thing to do is let go of the barbell and control bar immediately - in other words, DROP THE HANDS. This may take a little getting used to, so it should be practiced with lighter weight on the barbell.

Sherm

Bluerain · 02-21-2009, 11:59 AM

I asked my BF lastnight to do some tests with heavier weights
and he was kind of pissed..he said he worked all day and didn't come over to test my contraption

He said he came over to spend time with me

He was so sweet and sad
when he said it I just let it go.

It's out for the day and will be back tonight so maybe he will have a change of heart.. I hope so because I'm not going to ask him again.

Anyway I did squats and deads earlier in the day yesterday and I have no problems with the weight I use at all.

PullBig · 02-21-2009, 12:03 PM

Does it go up hi enough to use as a pull up bar?

Bluerain · 02-21-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PullBig

Does it go up hi enough to use as a pull up bar?

Sure as high as you install it...you just slide the bar up as high or low
as you want from floor to ceiling if installed on ceiling joists.

Right now i have it installed on my rack so I could do pull ups but I have a pull up bar on rack and one on my crossover already.

PullBig · 02-21-2009, 12:20 PM

Just a thought for guys who mount it to the ceiling or rafters.

Keeptryin · 02-21-2009, 12:46 PM

Im lovin the chrome plates.

Bluerain · 02-21-2009, 01:05 PM

Hey Sherm..is that you in the video's ?

sherman · 02-21-2009, 01:48 PM

I'm the guy in street clothes laying on the bench with "John Henry" playing. You don't want to see any more of me.

The guy in the good videos with the chrome plates is Wade Johnson. Wade is a well known competitve power lifter.

Sherm

Bluerain · 02-23-2009, 10:15 AM

Bumping for Wild Tim...

Wildtim · 02-23-2009, 10:21 AM

Thanks

Quote:

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Bluerain again.

When I got back I did make sure to look up this tread and see what you though of it after you got a chance to use it. I'm glad its working out well for you.

sounds like this is a good go to recommenation for all those guys who say; "but....I don't have room for a rack?"

Bluerain · 02-23-2009, 10:27 AM

I been meaning to rep you also but everytime I try I'm repped out LOL Have to get you first next time around

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildtim

Thanks

When I got back I did make sure to look up this tread and see what you though of it after you got a chance to use it. I'm glad its working out well for you.

sounds like this is a good go to recommenation for all those guys who say; "but....I don't have room for a rack?"

sherman · 02-23-2009, 11:36 AM

Since there is some interest in the Finished Ceiling Kit, here is a link to the installation instructions. To do it right you really have to get the lag bolts centered width wise in the ceiling joists. And the pilot holes are very important.

http:///www.shermworks.com/ceilinst.jpg

Sherm