Do you already have a Hydra or Manticore? If you do, I think it’s definitely a great choice to look at. I haven’t seen one firsthand yet but for the money I think it looks pretty good, especially if you’re already looking to get into the Bells of Steel ecosystem. I might try to get one to test it out at some point. I think the Rep or Rogue rack mounted cable attachments are probably going to be a step up in quality, but they’re also a big jump in price!

@ the shipping delays on all this stuff is insane. I have been online for the past week and ended up going with the Get Rx’x RX3 system.

I’m not totally sure yet. There are a lot of companies making these all in one units, but none of them can be customized like the way BoS has done it by adding the Kraken and Smith attachment to any rack, so I think that’s pretty cool. I haven’t seen the Kraken up close so it’s hard to say what I think about the design, but the price seems like it will make a great option for a rack mounted cable system. I’d love to test the cables side by side with my Ares. The Smith machine, however, is something I would definitely like to get my hands on to test out! If I can get both, I’ll try to build a Kolosos on my current rack as a fun review experiment :)

@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym That would be awesome to see sir!

Hey, thank you!

I have their adjustable pull-up bar as well because I was hoping to use it for some lever arm movements, but they never released the Manticore adjustable lever arms. Yes, it has great UHMW inside the brackets and is super easy to put on and off. No padding for your legs if that matters, but you could just wrap something like a squat pad around it.

Thank you! 😊

I’ve thought about it a few times, but could never really get a good resistance curve. And I have a dedicated leg machine that I use instead.

I’m glad it helped!

@@chrisansari That’s a good question. I guess KZbin doesn’t have messaging so maybe hit me up on the Instagram account I created for this channel? @Canadian_Steve

Thank you 😁

I’m really glad I could help a fellow Steve 😊 And thanks for the video idea. I’ll put that one on the list.

That’s really excellent feedback, so thanks for that. I will definitely keep that in mind for future videos.

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym One could say you don't need it in EVERY video, but I say you do. You never know if your video library grows to 100s of videos and who randomly comes across which ones.

I would really like to. After I set up the Ares, I’m planning to keep the base Manticore rack and I wouldn’t mind getting hold of the Bells of Steel Smith machine and Kraken to test them out, if I can.

That’s awesome! I’m sure you’ll love it

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym Are you gonna be getting the BoS smith attachment?

@@HughLeFitness Yeah, I’m thinking about it. After I set up my Ares, I might move the base Manticore rack over to the corner without the cable tower and make it a dedicated smith machine.

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym That's awesome, would love a review of it. If ya not gonna use your BoS attachments later, hook me up LOL. Help out a fellow Canadian brother!

@ Lol I’ll see how it goes 😁

@@JR_Juice I really wanted something with a built-in functional trainer, and for what I like to do I think the Ares 2.0 does it best. But it’s definitely a lot more expensive!

​@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGymI just picked up a Manticore rack myself. Fellow Canadian as well, was looking forward to additional reviews as you are talented when making these videos. On a side note, hit me up incase you have attachments from BOS you may want to sell off once you got your Ares setup.

Well that’s super encouraging, so thank you! I am actually enjoying making these, so I think I’ll keep the base Manticore and keep making videos with it. Especially if people actually want to see them. But I will be getting rid of the cable tower and probably some attachments, so that could work.

Hey thanks! I get 53” of cable travel on the 90” tower with the weight stack, so I have a few short pieces of chain that I attach if I’m pulling from a position where I want to start a few feet out. I thought about doing the same thing between the joists of my ceiling when I wasn’t sure if this was going to fit! I would say definitely get the 90 if you can make it work, if nothing else then just for the extra cable length.

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym Thanks! I started looking into BoS and see they are about to release the Kolossos, too. That's an option I'll have to consider, but it adds more height and would definitely limit me to 84". The 2:1 ratio would give a lot more travel, though; plus it's less fiddly, albeit bulkier. Decisions!

Thank you! My GHD is an AmStaff that’s old and beat up. I got it really cheap secondhand last year when I was curious to see if I would like doing GHRs. Turns out I love them, and I just got a new Freak Athlete Hyper Pro, so I will probably get rid of this and use the hyper pro from now on. I’ll be making a video to see how it compares to this dedicated GHD.

Hey thanks so much for that 😊

@@acochet1 if you order the weight stack lat pulldown from Bells of Steel the weight horns are included. www.bellsofsteel.us/#a_aid=Steve42

That’s awesome! Those shackles look pretty cool and they would definitely do the job. The difference with the band pegs is that they are a lot cheaper and you can easily reposition them, where the shackle is somewhat permanent. But it should work really well if you don’t need to move it.

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym which spud inc belt are you using in this video?

@ I bought it used and could never find it listed anywhere, so I don’t think they make it anymore. I don’t love it but I needed something with the extra rings for a shorter option so I could get deeper in the belt squat. I had the Bells of Steel belt before but I’m 5’9” with a 30” waist and it was WAY too long for me. Right now I’m looking at either the Rogue Multi Belt or the Spud Inc adjustable belt, but they’re both pretty pricey just for a belt.

@@chrisansari That’s awesome! I’m glad I could help :)

@@guyson99 Hey thanks! I think Coop from garage gym reviews just did a review of that Body Solid rack. If you’re looking for a rack like this with a built-in cable system, keep an eye out for the soon to be released Kraken from Bells of Steel

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym yep, I just watched Coop's review of it. One of my limitations is ceiling height, and the rack has to be under 85". This means I'm currently debating between the Body-Solid (which I think I found for $2K, making it a contender), REP rack with dual Athena cables, and the MAXUM X2.

Oh yeah, the 84” Kraken will definitely be too tall for your space, and the 72” will probably be too short. I think an 80” Athena would be a fantastic fit. I’ve only seen those Maxum racks online but I’m intrigued by their creative design.

@@kuato2722 that’s really encouraging. Thank you!

Hey, thanks for that comment! It’s been a great rack for me and I love it!

I would say probably not really well. Depending on which exercise you’re talking about, it would end up trying to pull the cable into the opposite pulley. Maybe if you held the other handle in place, but I think that would feel pretty awkward.

Hey, thanks! The wall panelling is a Proslat hook kit that I got at Costco, and the barbell hanger is just a cheap rubber coated utility hook I picked up at Home Depot for a couple dollars.

I’m glad it helped! Interesting that you mention the lever arms. The main reason I upgraded my rack and started doing this was because BoS told me their Manticore adjustable lever arms were a few weeks away from release, but that hasn’t happened. I had a bunch of ideas I wanted to do with these cables and lever arms. One example is setting the cables up like I did with the Bayesian curls, connecting the arms with the adjustable pull-up bar and doing leg presses. I used to do similar stuff with my old rack and was really looking forward to it with this one. If they ever release the lever arms I’ll play around and make another one of these.

That would be a sick set up as well!

Thanks for that feedback! After doing it enough times these really don’t take me very long at all to set up, so it’s not too bad. I would say I don’t mind… for now :) I’ve been doing these for a while and I just really wanted to make a video to share them before changing things up. So now that I have, I might be eyeing up an Ares 2.0 next year. However, that will literally cost me more than twice as much as this set up, so I still think this is a good option if something like that is out of a person’s budget.

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym Trust me, home gym equipment purchases are addictive and never ends haha! It's a matter of time before you invest in a cable stack functional trainer which DOES look like you have the space, I got one recently identical to the BoS dual stack functional trainer and hope to put up a video soon!

@HughLeFitness Oh I’d love to see that when you get it up. And you’re 100% right. At this point I tell people it’s become a hobby that I love, and no longer about saving money with a home gym 😂 If I do get the Ares 2.0, I will spend more on the clear coat color choice alone than I did on my entire first home gym set up, right after the first Covid shut down.

Thanks for that! I’d highly recommend the Manticore. I’ve been really curious about the Kraken and waiting for it to be released. I think it looks like an amazing add on for some good cable options, but I haven’t seen pricing for it yet. I am going to be upgrading to something again soon, and I’m torn between the Kraken or spending a whole lot more for a REP Ares 2.0 just to try out something different. I guess it will depend on how badly I want to invest in doing a comparison video 😂

​@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym I was looking at the Rep Ares 2.0 too.. but with the accessories and shipping cost ($1100 to Montreal), the total came out to a bit over $7500 which is a bit overbudget for me.

@@voantwan That was pretty much my exact same thought last year when I went with my current set up over the Ares 1.0.

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym If you didn't have previous experience editing, you're doing phenomenal. Edits are clean, music is totally fine, jokes are funny and entertaining. This channel is going to be great, keep the content flowing. Side note, I see you have the BoS blitz bike, what do you think of it?

@@Str8outofLES that’s really nice to hear. Thank you! Yeah, I picked it up this summer and I like it so far. I really don’t do a lot of cardio. I play sports for that. But I just started jumping on the bike for a couple minutes as a brief warm-up before working out, and it’s a good way to really quickly get the heart pumping.

I rarely subscribe but you got me! Your clear and concise style is spot on and your sense of humor is great. Considering our Steve isn't nearly as funny perhaps you'd consider running two columns when doing cost breakdowns, CAD as well as USD. This way us Yanks can enjoy Canadian Steve without all of the math. Good luck!

@@Dissones4u Sounds like your Steve is really letting down the international council! I’ll definitely keep that in mind on the next one and be sure to throw in both prices :) Thanks for the support!

@@stevencavanagh4059 I’ve never seen any of their stuff in person, and all the pictures on third-party resellers like the treadmill factory are just renders and not actual pictures. So it’s hard for me to say without any personal experience with it. There was another comment about their stuff and the best I can tell you is that I’d guess it’s a rebranded generic import. I’m always a little sceptical about stuff like that, but it could be an OK budget option. As for how it compares to the Bells of Steel gear, I would say BoS would likely be a little better built, more versatile with all the rest of their accessories and compatibility with other mainstream companies, and you have a local Canadian company standing behind it.

Thanks!

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym welcome

Awesome, thank you!

@@eternal2631 I’ve seen people mention it before, so I just had a quick look. Definitely not an expert but here’s my initial impression. Those small holes at the top and bottom are a lot smaller than 5/8” and are just for the mounting hardware which also looks like pretty small bolts, as opposed to the solid 1” hardware on the Manticore and PR-5000. Doesn’t seem like a very good use of space having those mounting holes come so far down. The crossmembers seem to only be using 2x3” tubing. Not having seen it in person, it looks to me like a fairly cheap rebranded generic import rack. It would probably work just fine, but one thing to consider is there really isn’t a company standing behind it, and it’s just being sold by third party resellers. It wouldn’t be my choice, and as far as I can tell it doesn’t come with any of the accessories but it could be a decent cheap rack. Those safety straps look pretty useless though for how much they sag.

@@eternal2631 I’m also in Ontario, all the bolts are 5/8” to cut costs for that rack. I also hate the pull-up bar in front instead of the middle of the rack.

@@Scintillius same. I’d love a REP PR-5000 but shipping kills and BoS is the next best thing

@@Kingstur Hey, thanks! I was thinking I might do something like that after I get a little bit more content out there.

@@Str8outofLES that’s really nice to hear! I’m working on getting that next one out soon

The cable video is up!

​@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym 👍🏽 I have my Manticore setup! Within 10mins of using the Lat pull I noticed the cable scraping as well. 😅 not sure how much went into testing

@@Str8outofLES Yeah, I’m honestly pretty disappointed about that part of it.

@@vincentchang2763 I wish! It’s beautiful out there, but I’m from around the Edmonton Alberta area.

@@lukeedwards2402 Hey, thank you so much!

@@danielstevenson7951 Awesome! So you started with the same rack as me. These vids take way more work than I thought they would, but I’ll try to get that next one out ASAP!

I just posted the video with all the cable hacks I mentioned. Let me know what you think!

I saw that! Thanks! I'm definitely going to be using that hack but to add consistent resistance to my lever arm exercises. Only debate is to get the lat pulldown attachment or actually mount a cable tower behind my rack and use in a similar fashion

@@HughLeFitness Hey, thank you so much for that comment! I really appreciate it. Yes! I have the same bar and I was planning to address that in the video but just ran out of time, so I might cover it in a future video. It hasn’t really been a problem on my walk out as long as I’m careful, but I have tapped the plates on the rack a few times on a heavy squat when re-racking. Not enough where I’m hitting the plate straight into the rack and can’t get it on the cups, but just a little jarring tap as I step forward. If I were to do it again, I would potentially look at a different bar with a thicker sleeve collar. It’s not quite enough to make me change, and I feel like I could just probably improve my walk out and re-rack, but it definitely happens for me when combining the 49 inch rack with the Barenaked powerlifting bar. You could always get a cheap thin pair of collars off Amazon and put them on the bar before the plates to make up for the difference.

@@CanadianStevesUndergroundGym Thanks, but if I'm spending that kind of money on a rack then I expect things to be perfect or close and shouldn't have to DIY a solution just to accommodate the rack. Nonetheless, I agree with you, I might invest in another bar as I only have one barbell at the moment. Cheers mate!

@@HughLeFitness Definitely a fair point! I’ve been eyeing up the Rep double black diamond bar. I’d be curious to hear what you end up getting.

How much of a discount do they give out on black Fridays? Thinking of picking up the manticore with the new kraken

@@CanadianBacon6ix can’t remember last year but Black Friday is the best deal of the year. Is the Kraken ready?