We're thinking of buying a home gym, preferably one that is (a)
inexpensive and (b) doesn't take up a lot of space.

We were looking at the Weider 1900, which looks ideal, but
unfortunately seems to be out of stock in every online store.  The
other Weider machines tend to be a bit too large for our tastes.

So, we turned our attention to the Excel 530 Home Gym.  This one is
low-priced, and more importantly, seems the right size for us (space
is at a premium!).  However, we could not find any reviews of this
model, so we have no idea how stable, durable, etc. it is.  We are
beginners in this area, and don't have the sophistication to judge a
model based just on its technical specs.

Does anyone have any experience with this model, or with the Excel
brand name in general?  Do you recommend it?  Are there any other
compact gyms within this price range ($300-350) that you can
recommend?

Thanks!

---

Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 05 Jan 2003 19:09 PST

Hi! Would an online review from a professional publication of such
products be enough as a legitimate answer even if a researcher like me
has no personal experience of the product? Just let me know. :)

---

Clarification of Question by domitian-ga on 05 Jan 2003 20:12 PST

Hi there -- thanks for responding.

I'd accept an outside review of Excel 530 (plus other models in the
same range -- optional) as long as it was reasonably detailed.