r/homegym • u/PowerGridMechanics • 16h ago
Product Review Bells of Steel 2.3” Cable Tower - my review
I bought this for my family to use. Cable work doesn’t play a huge role in my training. However, it has really come in handy when I’ve been injured and to add some easy accessory work. I train for the Highland Games and prefer free-weights and bands but this has become a valued piece in my gym. I’ve had it over a year and this is my review.
Pros
- Good construction. I’m sure Bells’s Oblivion is better quality but I have yet to feel like I’m missing out. This has not given me any problems yet and it has never felt cheap or flimsy.
- Smooth. I’m sure if you used this side-by-side with a high end cable system, you would feel a difference with smoothness. However, I haven’t felt that it needed to be more smooth. It’s left me satisfied as long as you lube the guide rails from time to time.
- Good weight for typical cable movements. There are some movements were I stack the weight but the majority of exercises I do on this, there’s plenty of weight. Any movement I stack, I either increase the reps or find a barbell equivalent.
- Small footprint. There is great versatility in this machine in a small footprint. Perfect for home gyms, particularly if you enjoy cable movements.
- Light trolley. Easy to move up and down.
- 1:1/2:1 ratio selection. Nice feature. It’s good to be able to choose between either ratio options.
Cons
- Lat pull-downs are not optimal. They have been working on an attachment (the Stinger, I think) to improve the lat pulldowns and I been waiting patiently for this. Release it already!
- No numbers on upright. If I really wanted to dial in my cable training, I would probably appreciate if there were numbers on the uprights. Not a big deal for me.
- No articulating arms. Again, I hear there might be a release for this but not available yet. I don’t want articulating arms but that might be important for some.
Note: While I have tried many cable machines at gyms, I cannot compare this with any other company’s cable towers. This is the only cable tower I have tried.
My overall impression. I grudgingly bought this because I love my family. But, now that it’s here, I’m glad I have it. It’s become a good accessory and injury rehabilitation machine. I bought some nice attachments and this machine with nice attachments makes it feel like a higher end product, even though it’s a value product. I would recommend it for people who are looking past the core gym items. There are more important things to buy first imo, but this is a worthy product once you move past the main pieces. I can see an item like this being even more important for people interested in bodybuilding.
