Safe Luxury

Iron Gym Pull-Up Bar - is it safe? doorway requirements?

i just spent the past two hours reading reviews on this thing, and yet i *still* can't figure out if this thing is a good idea or not! - so, i'm hoping some of you who have actually purchased one can give me your expert input.. here's the deal - my 16yr old son wants a chin-up bar (aka pull-up bar - whatever you call these things)...so anyway, the one he was originally going to order requires that you screw it into/onto/above (whatever) the door frame - of course, my husband had a fit and so he's not getting that one, lol... so then, i find the Iron Gym Total Body Workout Bar - which uses cantilever technology, so supposedly there's no screws necessary - and supposedly you won't die from using it because it won't accidentally fall down while using it...supposedly...oh, and he's 6ft, and 150 pounds at the most...soaking wet (yeah, so he's gonna totally "bulk up" by using this, right? of course not...oh well, it's his money...that i give him weekly for doing nothing). and then there are the doorway requirements - and all sorts of differing opinions on what will and won't work for an older home...we have an older home - but it's not super old, lol - so i have no idea exactly how thick or thin or tall or short the door frame moulding and the width inside the door frame has to be or not be in order to use it with no problem..i did find one review where someone was so kind as to list the measurement requirements, but they wrote it in that crazy metric stuff (and they had so many freaking dimensions listed, i worried that i'd mess up even if i used a calculator...besides which, maybe theirs had different dimensions because they're obviously not from the US, lol). oh, and then there were those who say the "original" version of the Iron Gym is better, and others who argue that the "Xtreme" version is better...who's right? he doesn't care about having a bunch of different grips - so long as the grips he can use are correct for a regular chin-up. but i care about having one that isn't going to fall apart after a few weeks (i've read all sorts of stories involving the bolts/screws/plastic pieces/metal pieces - some say one's better than the other. any advice from those who've actually owned one will be greatly appreciated. :)

Public Comments

1. I have one, and it's been great. It's quite sturdy and safe as long as you follow the simple assembly instructions (it takes about five minutes to assemble, and comes with a little wrench thing which is all you need) and won't fall apart. As for the door frame, there aren't exact specifications. Your door doesn't have to be a specific size. You just need to make sure the frame is attached securely to the wall, which most frames are. Just put your fingers around it and pull, and if you hear the seal cracking, I'd reccomend not using the bar, at least on that door. The bar comes with a metal piece that fits into the crack between the top of the door frame and the wall. Not that there should be a crack; you push it into the seal. The first time it tried it, the seal cracked along the top of the frame. I tried it on another door, and it worked fine. The piece is just for added security in case the bar is pushed up while doing pull-ups. Anyway, as long as the piece fits into the frame, the top of the bar rests snugly on top of the frame, and the sides of the bar rest on the sides of the door, you're good to go. I hope that helped:)