Cable Crossover Machine Floor

I received my BD-61 from Valor Fitness in a couple of days. After reading the reviews I anticipated a challenge with the assembly. Here is my experience: The machine was very nicely packaged in three boxes. All parts and pieces were received in great condition. I wouldn't normally do this, but I laid everything out on the floor before starting assembly--this makes it MUCH easier and not too confusing. I assembled the frame first using the directions as a guide. It bolts together very well (all parts and pieces aligned perfectly). It took me 1.25 hours to assembly the frame. The cabling wasn't nearly as challenging as I anticipated. I completed it in another 1.25 hours. Do yourself a favor and start the longest cable, then go to the next longest and finally the cable with the bolt ends. You will have to undo a few pulleys, as you go, but it will help keep the cables in place and make it easier to see how they relate to the illustrations in the instructions. The most significant tip I can provide is to pay attention to where the illustrations say "START." Doing so will prevent having to redo anything as the ends of the cables will only pass through the openings in a certain manner. I think the engineering of this machine is excellent and its a very easy piece of equipment to integrate into a home gym. Just add weight plates. It functions very similarly to a machine you would encounter in a commercial gym and it will incorporate a great number of exercises in a very compact footprint. I love it. UPDATE: After months of use I find this machine to be even more satisfying. There are very few lifts/exercises that you cannot do and if you are like me you will find that 90% of your non-cardio workout will be with this machine. Add a good bench and dumbbells and you have a complete lifting solution in a nice compact footprint. I added D-handles; V-bar, ankle straps, rotating curl bar, and a triceps rope. I'm looking at adding a dual cable bar in the near future. It's stunningly versatile once you start using it. I'm so satisfied the hassle of assembly is LONG forgotten. Now, here is my only complaint and suggestion for Valor: please label all the pieces including the hardware. It's very difficult for a novice to identify the various bolts and the instructions are useless when they refer to a cables or hardware by number when none of the cables or items are marked. Yes, we can figure it out, but I probably could have assembled it in two hours or less if I didn't have to be so meticulous in presorting hardware and scratching my head trying to understand the instructions. This process could be vastly simplified and make a great piece of gear more accessible to those who might be mechanically challenged or intimidated about the assembly process.

This is a great machine at this price range. I've been looking at getting a cross cable machine for a while now but didn't want to spend thousands of dollars. Took a chance on this one and everything is great so far. Pros: - Smooth once assembled properly and with a little lubrication. - Feels well built for the price range. - Compact but sturdy Cons: Manual to assemble leaves alot to be desired. Parts aren't labeled so I essentially counted each part to figure out which part correspondenced with the labels in the manual. The pulley portion of the manual needs to be re-done. Don't bother with it and just look up the YouTube video. Getting the pulleys to run smoothly was a lot of trial and error. Tip: Tighten all pulleys and put weight onto the machine overnight. Remove next day and loosen pulleys to give some more slack. Also add some lubrication to complete the job. Bottom Line: Great machine at this price range. Couldn't be happier with it. Instruction manual needs an overhaul.

The machine is definitely not fun to put together. The frame isn't bad but the pulleys and cables were a headache. The directions are bad. We figured it out watching a YouTube video from Valor. I already had the weight plates so I got this one instead of the inspire cable machine that comes with weights but is double the price. The Valor is also much smaller which is what I needed to conserve space. That being said I really like the machine and have access to way more movements and lifts now. Its not the highest quality but all in all I feel like it was worth the money. One tip. Lay all your pieces out before you start and make sure you have everything first.

So far good. It took me about 5 hours to slowly put together. I had read the other reviews so took my time. TIPS: Definitely go to YouTube and get the videos for how to string the cables. The directions with the package will not help you do that and were not intended too. Don't fully tighten the frame bolts till you get that section together and aligned. Just slide the bolts that hold the pulleys in place for that cable run, don't put the nut on until you know you got all the pulleys and cable runs correct. It's easier to put on the nuts and tighten them down once you know you have them all working correct, do not tighten these to tight as they will bind the pulley. I purchased this unit as I have a very low ceiling and it was the only one I could find to fit in the room. I do like it and find it will be more adaptable than any of the others anyhow. I searched and found a very old used club type weight stack machine for $60 (there are 1000's of them out there, some for free). I cut out the 210 lb weight stack with it's very sturdy rack, cut down the heavy duty metal frame about 3" to fit in right where the current free pulley weight system was. This gives me plenty of weight to use, in my small work out area with no need to store and move free weights around. It works great. Those old systems have club level rollers on the weight stack sliders so it handles the weight and movement well. I found I was a few inches higher on the pulley for the stack, so I just pulled the front bottom cable out to take the slack out. I get full extension on the cable exercises so it had no effect on my usage. After a month of use I like it even more ... feels like a club level workout at home. After 3 months I am really happy with it. I just got rid of my traditional weight machine as I do not need it and after using cables I could feel just how restrictive the movements were. So I am getting some bonus free space in my workout area by adding the cable machine ... it's incredible that they can sell this for the $500 range.

I received this in the mail the other day in 4 or 5 different boxes which was packed very well with hard corners on each box to prevent damage of the pieces inside. I ended up buying this machine mainly because of the price but also because of the footprint, for a cable crossover it really doesn't take up much room. The directions were fine, it took me 2.5 hours to have it up and running, about 25 minutes for the metal frame and a little over 2 hours on the cables. The directions on the cables are pretty much just pictures you have to follow which can get confusing. Mark each set of screws on the packaging they come in so you don't use the wrong screw anywhere as it comes with the exact amount you need. The frame is very strong and sturdy, quality made. The pulleys are made of plastic but shouldn't be a problem seeing they're just spinning back and fourth. I jumped up and did some pull-ups and the frame didn't move a bit so very sturdy. The cables are surprisingly smooth from top to bottom, absolutely no issues there. This was my biggest fear and was relieved they were as smooth as the industrial machines at the gym, hopefully they stay that way. It comes with a lat bar and curl bar which aren't the best but they work, the curl bar could be a touch longer. It also comes with 2 hand grips with multiple ring connections which is pretty cool but the grips themselves aren't the best. I like that it comes with clips to use standard weights, 1" holes, but it also comes with attachments and clips so you can use olympic weights as well. So overall, I have absolutely no major issues with this machine. You really can't beat it for the price and is an excellent addition to my home gym. I'll update my review after a few months of use.

Awesome value for the price - I bought it 2 months ago and I'm very happy with it so far. Normally I only buy things with lots of reviews, but I previously purchased a Valor Fitness BD-9 squat rack, which I have been very happy with for 2+ years, so the company had earned some credibility with me. I was looking for something with adjustable height on the crossover pulls, and this was by far the lowest cost option. The plate-lifting bar is standard (1" diameter), but it comes with olympic (2" diameter) sleeves. I have olympic plates and the sleeves work just fine. It even comes with some crappy standard and olympic spring clip collars ... I haven't felt any need to use these (or the slightly less crappy clips I already had) with it, since the plate-lifting bar is level and balanced enough that the plates don't move. When you're putting it together, I recommend not tightening any of the bolts all the way until all the frame pieces are together, then tighten them like lug nuts. I didn't do this at first and had some difficulty getting the holes to line up, until I loosened all the bolts again. The biggest cons (which are not big deals to me): 1. The olympic sleeves on the bottom plate storage bars don't tighten onto the bar in the same way as they do on the plate-lifting bar. It looks like they're supposed to, but the plate storage bars are a little too short. So if I put my olympic plates on the storage bars, then the sleeves come up whenever I lift a plate off the storage bar. This makes the plate storage not very usable with olympic plates. 2. I don't want to let my toddler touch it. The black frame pieces have some kind of metallic dust coating which rubs off. The gray metal frame pieces where things slide are greasy. 3. The warning stickers it comes with fell right off. Could be related to the metallic dust coating.

I have used mine for a few months now with regular use and i am over all happy with this machine. Pros and cons below if you dont want to read my full experience. When i recieved this machine it came in a few boxes so assembly is a task. I was able to sort and assemble the whole machine minus running cables in less than 3 hours. I had to stop there for a few days because the pulleys came with 2 broken pulleys. The customer service was great easy to contact and with and email and proof of purchase they sent me out replacements. I was very pleased with the time of that service. When i recieved the pulleys i was able to run all the cables and put together the pulleys in just over 3 hours. The machine itself works great. I have not noticed any "break in" period it feels the same today as day one which is completely fine. I have not lubricated anything because i do not want to have any dust/ dirt to accumulate on my machine and it works great without it, there is just some extra drag while lifting. That being said do not expect to load this machine up with all your weights it will not work great. At least with the accessories that come with it. If you can i would just buy good single arm cable grips n the other accessories will be good to work with. The real only issue i have with the machine is the pull up bar. I weight 250 lbs and the pull up bar flexes... Hard when i do pull ups. It will probably be fine but i do not want to chance it. The machine stability is alright you will need to weigh it down with some plate weights at the base i use 30 lbs each side and that works alright for the workouts i do. Overall i enjoy this machine and it was worth the money. Pros: -Small foot print -Easy to use -Good customer service -Versatile Cons: -6 hours to assemble -Flimsy pulleys -Pull up bar is weak, same with attachments do not expect to do weighted pull ups or heavy weights -Does have excess drag on pulleys

What a great piece of equipment for a home gym. I’ve had mine since 2018, it’s now 2025. Works just the same as day one. I use it a few times a week. Can easily be used out of a corner or centered in the room. Lots of great movement options. Very sturdy. Moved it twice and it’s still perfect. Highly recommend.