Garage Gym Reviews on the Starting Strength Bench

[Mark Rippetoe]

YouTube

To be fair, he got one that they forgot to sand the bottom edges on. I've talked to Wes about this, and if yours is like this, hit the edges with some 80-grit sandpaper (takes about 30 seconds). His other complaint was the expense. At $240 it's cheaper than Rogue's top-line flat bench. I was amused by the errors, especially the one about the SS Rack being less sturdy and less versatile. But it was a generally favorable review. And he's right about not everyone wanting one of these -- that's true for all of our equipment, just as it is for our methods and programming: we are narrowcasting. As usual, the Youtube comments are by the bottom 10% of the species.

Our video about the bench: The Starting Strength Bench | Equipment

[Clyde Copeland]

I found it interesting that he mentioned the SS rack in the review. Has he purchased one or reviewed it elsewhere? Couldn’t see it from a little searching.

I love the design of this bench and would have purchased it if I could have afforded it, but it was a bench or a bar so I went with the SS bar and had my buddy weld a frame for the bench. Spent $85 for a 20 ft piece of 2” steel tubing, 12 bucks for a 2x12, and about 20 more for finishing materials.

One day, I’ll work up to getting the real thing.

Rip, is there an ETA on the plate trees?

[Mark Rippetoe]

They should be ready this week.

[Scaldrew]

I was going to send this video to Coach Reynolds and ask him to do a video response on the Barbell Logic channel or something. I decided against it because I expected this would be your response. Let me rephrase my conclusion in the form of a question, though:

Is the bench cheaper, that is less expensive and (maybe) a little less finished (in both senses of the word), because it is precisely a product for a go-getter type of person that will finish and maintain the bench himself?

His points on the details of the bench seemed to me to be very minor things that any blue collared person would manage on his own, to the point where it seemed to be by design, possibly in an effort to reduce the cost of manufacturing. Spend big on steel and wood quality, save on finishing touches: get a good product out there for half the cost it would be if it were manually treated and finished to perfection. If I'm wrong in this, don't hesitate to call me an idiot and a fucking asshole.

Btw, Coach Reynolds, might I still suggest you do a video in response to this review? Something to the tune of 4-600lb benches being performed on it to address the "it will never work for heavy benches" response.

[FatButWeak]

They should be ready this week.

I really like everything about these benches, although Ive never used one. I have benched on the fat pad and although I didnt hate it, i do prefer a more minimalistic surface to bench on.

I do not give a fuck about any of the aesthetic concerns, esp about the bare steel oxidizing, but also think the wood looks good.

I just wish I was in a position to buy one.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Is the bench cheaper, that is less expensive and (maybe) a little less finished (in both senses of the word), because it is precisely a product for a go-getter type of person that will finish and maintain the bench himself?

That was in the back of my mind. A guy should have some sandpaper in the garage.

[凤凰来仪]

The reviewer made some good points:

What if you want to store the bench submersed in salt water when not in use? Major problems with rust. You could get a iron oxide splinters stuck in your hand!

It is very expensive! Your margins should be negative if you want to compete. How dare you try to turn a profit! Not a good idea to use higher quality, more expensive woods. I could buy particle board down the street for less!

Who lifts without a squishy surface underneath them? So many health problems! I personally prefer to place down pillows on my bench for added support and better energy transfer.

[Karl Schudt]

I have one. My reactions:

1st time: ouch! It was digging into my shoulders.
2nd time: less ouch.
after that--I like it.

Apparently I was relaxing my shoulder adduction. I'm not doing that anymore. It was fine working up into the mid 400s last week. It didn't hurt at all, and I like very much how stable it is.

[Espen Lund]

I think the bench + rack is a pretty good deal, so I dont understand the comment about price. I bought R3 and bench from rogue right before you released the SS equipment which came in at 12 600 NOK (1480 USD) incl shipping and tax. The deal I got from Eric was 9450 NOK (1110 USD) incl shipping and tax which is a very good deal for home gym equipment. I would have to pay way more to get anything close in quality if I had to buy from a Norwegian vendor.

[Scaldrew]

That was in the back of my mind. A guy should have some sandpaper in the garage.

One of the bullshit points he brought up, however, was "well, if you want the wood because you want a firm base, why not use marble or concrete?" A concrete bench, yeah that should be much more manageable and not completely ridiculous at all. And marble is so cheap compared to wood, too. Maybe he was joking, but I couldn't tell if he was.