15 Apr 2005 - Yuri of Pennsylvania, USA writes:
I purchased Crossbow Platinum on Jan 31. In less than a month it broke (stopped adjusting resistance fixing it to the maximum). I contacted customer service on March 3rd. They promised to send a part. When I called them back 10 days later, they couldn't find my name in their database. This process repeated at least twice. Then I posted a message on ICON's website and called their customer service at the end of March. On Apr 1st (I am still sure it was a joke by somebody from ICON's customer service) they send me an email promising to ship that same part (one month later!). Today is Apr 15 and I still didn't get it, not to mention that there was no work done or scheduled to fix the machine. Not only ICON's customer service did nothing to fix the problem, but they also aggravated it by misleading me on what would be done about the repair, and what would be a timeline for fixing the machine. This is the worst purchase experience in my life! Stay away from the Crossbow to avoid the aggravation and loss of time dealing with the manufacturer. This thing will break, sooner or later, so don't expect to be lucky. Then you will experience the worst customer service of your life!
25 Mar 2005 - George of Michigan, USA writes:
Thank you for having this website. I had the problem of the weight adjustment going to the minus. I opened the back where the wires are, with the black coating, and sure enough there was a crimp. I wiggled and straightened them out, those wires must control the switch that controls the electric motor to stop at the lesser weight. They call it the reduction switch control. Besides that when we put it together in April 2004 it was kind of a pain. My wife helped me and put up with my wining. The motor was very tierd when it went to the 340 lb setting. We called Weider right away, they sent me the whole back bottom section with everything in it you could imagine in one piece. The motor hasn't quit yet, but now I have a spare. Now I called them about the problem of adjusting the weight setting (which I found the answer to, from reading posts on this site), they are now sending the harness and stop switch. I was intimidated enough to pay for the extended 3 year warrenty, that will take me to April 2008 for all parts and service. I guess the more gizmos you have, the more you have to fix. Welcome to the world of technology!George of Michigan....
17 Mar 2005 - Jeremy of New York, USA writes:
I will spare the long drawn-out story and get right to the point when I say great machine but, CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE WORST I HAVE EVER DELT WITH.They had me on hold for about 30 minutes, then asked for my number so someone could call me back "within 24 hours". I waited and waited but no call back,after the third time.And my threat to send the Weider Crossbar Platinum back,I finally had my situation resolved. After I used the Platinum for a short time,I found afew things that could be improved to make the machine much better.I sent an e-mail to Weider to tell them the suggestions I have for improvement but,I guess their not interested because I haven't received any reply. I made the changes on my own and, what a diffirence. PS. I question the accuracy of the machine and the weight it says is being worked. 50 pounds of free weights is much heavier than 50 pounds on the Platinum.
8 Mar 2005 - Michael of Oregon, USA writes:
Liked this machine's features very much when operational. However, electrical or electronic problem has not been resolved in two service calls. Glad to have bought through []. They stand behind products sold. They are trading me for non-electric xp400 version (I still like overall design) and refunding difference. Ease of use, ergonamics, etc. great. Sorry that electronic version was not reliable for our home.
6 Feb 2005 - Miranda of North Dakota, USA writes:
I purchased the Platinum Crossbow last year, before it was even released. We received the product two months after we ordered it. Putting it together was a pain. We were able to use it for about two months when it stopped allowing us to adjust the weight. We have had every part changed by a technician here in town. We have called the company numerous times regarding the problem, their solution is to send us more parts. They will not take the product back, will not refund our money, or give us a new one. I do not recommend this product to anyone just because of the problems we have encountered not only with the product but with the company as well. Our Crossbow currently is operational, but who knows how long that will last. Out of the year we have owned the Crossbow, we have only been able to really use it for two months. We will never buy another product from this company.
31 Jan 2005 - Dave of California, USA writes:
Received it in about 3 weeks. Set up took about 2 hours by myself, simple directions if you have some mechanical skills. Calibrating and adjusting was a snap. Did my first workout this morning, a little over an hour. Went thru 11 exercise, 3 sets and 10 reps on each. Very easy to transition from one to the next. This afternoon it feels like someone has beaten on my body with a hammer! So far I have no regrets in purchasing this machine. Resistance is more than adaquate unless you are trying to be in competition. Waiting to see if my machine develops the fatal failure of not being able to adjust the weight. All in all I really like this product. WELL DONE!!!
27 Jan 2005 - Eli of Iowa, USA writes:
We purchased this product in Feb 04. It worked for about a week, then wouldn't power on. A month later we had a new power supply and then the machine wouldn't change weights. We waited FOUR months for a new motor. When it arrived in July, it has worked fine until Jan 19th. The motor wouldn't change weights again. Customer service told me to take the motor panel off and jiggle the wires around. When I opened up the back case, an orange wire was sheared in half. I called the company and they were willing to send out a tech to put in a new wire harness. This product has voided the first line of the warranty: "Icon Health and Fitness, Inc.(ICON) warrants this product to be free from defects in workmanship and material, under normal use and service conditions for 10 years.." They won't take a return of the product or refund my money. Everyone tells me that someone else handles that or "you can't return the machine". Use caution when purchasing this product and/or others from this company.
22 Jan 2005 - Chris of Indiana, USA writes:
I purchased the Weider Platinum Crossbow in the summer of 2004. I thought it was a great buy for the money. I worked out every other day for about 3 weeks, than it broke down the first time. It was working great for me up to that point, but the customer service was not helpful at all. They told me that the place I bought it needed to fix it, as it was under warranty(which is a great warranty if they do get it fixed right). I had to take off work to meet them to fix it and they didn't even bring the parts Weider support referred to them through me. So I had to take another day off work to meet them again to fix it. The problem seems to be common with this product, looking at other reviews (being it quits adjusting the weight). Shortly thereafter, the seat locking mechanism broke. Again I took a day off work to meet with them and they did not bring any parts, again. I finally started getting past the hard part of starting workouts again, and it quit adjusting the weight again. I am in the process of trying to get Weider to take care of their problem once and for all, so I don't have to miss anymore work for this. I seem to be getting the same runnaround from their support as everyone else. I will definitely follow up on this issue to let evryone know if the outcome is good or bad. If Weider doesn't take care of the problem theirselves this time, the situation could get kinda hairy.
1 Jan 2005 - Bill of New York, USA writes:
Purchase crossbow on 11/10/04, as of 12/28 the darn thing still wasn't working. I've had 3 of the main boards replaced and the wire harness. This thing is cursed. Fortunately I purchased it through Sears and they were very good to me, eventually taking the thing back and giving me a full refund. My suggestion to anyone who watches infomercials is "Don't get sucked into these ads." They always look wonderful but are usually a disappointment. Finally I went to the local fitness equipment store, paid nearly $2K, but got a piece of equipment that I know I'll have for the next 20 years.
29 Dec 2004 - Greg of Georgia, USA writes:
I ordered the crossbow March 2004. I was a little sceptical. I had a friend that has the bowflex and wasn't very impressed. I watched the infomertial and liked the range of motion the crossbow has. I received the one box it comes in took it to my workout room and put it together. It took about 3 hours. Plugged it in and it didn't work. The computer was dead. I called customer service and got a new one about 3 weeks later. It finally worked. I have been very happy with it. It doesn't have the resistance I need for legs. I purchased the 5-85 lb powerblock set and have been geting good gains since. I have to say the crossbow on it's own is a good product for those that need to tone and lose weight. I have found that with the powerblock set that i can do heavier leg exercises ie. squats. Overall I like my crossbow and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good workout.
28 Dec 2004 - Daryl of Texas, USA writes:
In general a very good piece of equipment. It has a flaw in the wiring in the mechanical assembly. If it will not adjust the weight, there is probably a broken wire near the pivot point on the right upper side of the mechanical assembly when looking at it from the back. This can be corrected by removing some of the tie straps on the wiring and rerouting the wire so that it does not crimp. In addition, it makes sense to by some larger gauge wire and replace it in this area. I have done this and have gotten over 70,000 reps in the last month without a failure. I would rate this machine as 1st class if the manufacturer would correct this flaw. It cost about $5.00 in wire and about 2 hrs labor to fix it correctly. If doing this yourself, be sure and get the weight very low and pull the cable out all the way and use a wire to tie the cam puuly to the lower left pully in this position. I used 2 wires just to be safe. This allows you to safely access the limit switches as well. The only other maintainance seems to be to wipe the cables down and lightly grease the worm gear down about every 4 to 6 months. Note, wipe out the old grease before applying new grease and be sure not to over do it. If you do, it will get all over the limit switches. The machine does make noise due to the springs and crossbar stretching. It will double count reps if you do the exercise improperly by moving too quckly when releasing weight. With that being said, it is very smooth. I have had great results. I have worked out off and on for 25 years and the workout I get from this machine is as good as any I have ever had. I utilize approx 45 different exercises once a week and all are fairly effective. This is a nice, safe alternative to free weights and barbells.
16 Dec 2004 - Pietro of New Mexico, USA writes:
Got one back in April '04, after 2 months of total satisfaction and visible changes on my body minor issues with resistance started. I must say I was absolutely satisfied to that point. Soon after, main cable broke and the company I purchesed it from replaced the whole exersizer instead of just replacing the cable. The new one started up very good again. They changed some things, because it feeled much smoother than the old one. Today, after 1 month of happy use it went to highest resistance and computer shows the lowest resistance. Tried recalibrate, to adjust cable tension, manually move the resistance with no success. When I turn it on it just goes to 340lb and shows 10lb. I'll just try to get my money back and buy Bowflex. Money saved by buying Crossbow are not worth the time spent on the phone with customer support.
14 Dec 2004 - Sheri of Saskatchewan, Canada writes:
I purchased our crossbow platinum for my husband about six months ago. It worked great for the first week and then it quit and would not adjust the wieght at all. Due to my purchasing it in the states and bringing it to canada, we got the run around regarding the warrantee. A friend of ours does maintenance for a company that sells other fitness equipment, etc. We had him come an take a look at our machine and the whole problem was due to a pinched wire inside that sends the message from the computer telling it to change the weight. The wire I guess tends to get pinched b/c of everything moving on the inside to adjust the weight, it is covered in black rubber and is near the bottom left hand side - inside the large black casing (looking at the machine from the front) should anyone else having this same problem. We have fixed this wire twice now and our machine works great - we are very happy with it.
3 Dec 2004 - Gary of Ohio, USA writes:
I bought the crossbow at a local retail store. I love the way it worked for a day, the motor which rotates the bar for cable tension, stopped working when i pressed the minus button to reduce the weight. I called customer service that was a head game, i called the store where i bought it and they replaced it, I had the same problem with the second one, I went back to the store and looked at the one on display it had the same defect, I called customer service to get them to fix or replace, all i got was the big run around, so i now have this crossbow sitting in the garage, collecting dust I would like to use it if anyone can help please contact me, I would like to use the machine that i paid good money for.
1 Dec 2004 - Chris of Missouri, USA writes:
I purchased my crossbow in the summer of 2004. I was skeptical of the quality and still am. for the most part it works great but sometimes I wonder if the weight selector is accurate.i usually used free weights so it has taking some getting used to.the legs workout leaves some to be desired because it only goes to 340#. I think it is good for somone wanting to stay toned.i hope they come out with some updates for it.
20 Oct 2004 - Dave of California, USA writes:
I just got mine. It would be a much better experience if the computer told you to do the same exercises as the ones shown on the reference chart. I'm not happy with mine and am considering sending it back as I bought it to assist me in getting the most of my excercises and the display excercises and quick references don't coincide. It's confusing and shows a lack of attention to detail. For $1000 it should at least be correct.
28 May 2004 - Daniel of North Carolina, USA writes:
I was ready to by the New Bowflex Ultimate for $1300 (without shipping). My wife and I had taken a few days off for our 10 year wedding anniversary and slept in on the first day off. We have just moved into our new house and decided to stay at home and take some nice day trips for our anniversary. We woke up and switched on the TV and an infomercial about the new Platinum Crossbow by Weider was on. They had a side by side comparision with the BowFlex and I saw the many advantages of the Crossbow and went to the web site [] and looked a the pricing, I could not believe only $999 and by paying upfront you could have the shipping for only $62.50 with tax and everything the total price was $1,135.81. I ordered online on 5/19/2004 after reading some reviews here and on other sites on the internet. (Some were not to positve but many were) I got the large box deliverd yesterday 5/27/2004 and set up the machine last night in our home gym/workout room. The room is a 13x13 room in our new home. I opened the box in the garage and took the machine piece by peice up the stairs and laid it all out, this took about 30 minutes. Then I cooked some dinner and my wife and I ate. I then started working on the assembly at 8PM. I was impressed with the quality of the parts and the sturdy construction. I went by the directions and matched up all of the bolts and washers and at about 10:30PM I plugged in the resistance motor and calibrated the resistance and did my first incline fly, and I must say that I am impressed. My wife and I are former "Golds Gym" members and have worked out for several years at the "Gym" we are excited about being able to work out at home in our own Home Gym and not have to fight for the machines. I will update this report after a few full workouts. My first few trial lifts were very impressive.
22 May 2004 - Brett of Texas, USA writes:
I have had this unit for about a week now. The box it arrives in is intimidating but all of the items were well packed and had no damage. The instructions stated that it would require two people. I was able to put it together myself in about 3.5 hours -- I highly recommend a socket set. The assembly instructions were vague in some areas but the machine worked on the first attempt. I'm not very impressed with the personal trainer but the rest of the machine appears to perform as advertised. So far, no issues. I agree with previous reviewers - the accompanying video looks like a fifth generation copy. A few more d clips should also be included so you don't have to actually move the clips.
21 Mar 2004 - Alan of Virginia, USA writes:
Everything that I could have asked for. Without limited time to join a gym, I needed an at home solution that others within my family could SAFELY use. Free weights for overall strength training are better, BUT with a teenager in the house (no = yes), I was concerned about injury. Additionally, a one piece solution was appealing ... if it worked. We've now owned ... and used ... the CBP for a bit over a month. From my perspective, this unit works all of the muscle groups that I could ask for and certainly has the capability of training to failure. No question, I am bigger, stronger and rapidly on my way to losing the middle aged tire around my gut. Complaints? One heavy as hell box to unload on the street from the common carrier. Difficult (but logical) to assemble. Crummy, poorly made VHS tape and a wall poster that doesn't fully diagram all of the available exercises. Would be nice for the electronics to retrain SPECIFIC USER'S routines/weights. Positives? Well made. Easy electronic weight change that works very well. After some practice, the ability to rapidly reconfigure the machine for a wide host of exercises. Warranty (10 years), kickbutt, sore muscle exercises.
21 Mar 2004 - Rick of Kansas, USA writes:
My friend and I each ordered home gyms; he opted for the Crossbow Platinum while I chose the Bowflex Ultimate. The Crossbow arrived in one extremely heavy and large box, and took about four hours for three of us to assemble. The Bowflex arrived in six boxes (easily handled by one person) and I assembled it myself in under two hours. Weider packages all parts together and you have to sort them out, measure and identify them. Bowflex sorts and packs each part separately with nice labels and numbers. Following assembly the Crossbow worked for about three minutes then quit. After disassembling the electronic resistance station we determined that the motor had become disconnected inside the cabinet. We reconnected the power connections on the motor and resolved the problem. The Crossbow Platinum is a fully capable home gym unit, but is significantly lower in quality of materials and construction than the Bowflex. It's about half as expensive and the quality is commensurate with the price. Overall a decent product, but I'm glad I sprung for the Bowflex.
