SAM’S REVIEW: ATX® Commercial FID Bench
This bench may look a lot like other benches on the market. It has the saw tooth adjustment system for flat, incline, decline and upright positions. But there are a few features that make this bench stand apart from the competition. The best part for you the customer is that the ATX-MBX-660 does it a lower price than benches of similar quality.
BUILD
Personally I have been selling this model bench in Australia for over 10 years now. This model has been around longer than that. During this time I have seen ATX continually improve the build quality and features. The new version of the MBX-660 has so many improvements that make it unbeatable value.
ATX have added a docking point for the ab attachment and head extension pad. It is not a metal on metal job, it has the ATX sleeve system and their new custom pop pins. Straight away that is a big improvement.
The docking section is housed in 50 x 20mm tube steel frame which is the backrest support. You can see it is built to handle its 500kg load rating. The pads are the same across the MBX-520, 750 & 650. They can be upgrade to polyurethane if you plan on using it in a high traffic gym.
The backrest pivots on a steel axis with bushes. The gap between the backrest and seat pad is only 3.5cm. You adjust the angle with the laser cut support. It is made from 5mm thick steel plate, and it pivots on bushes because it has a fair bit of weight to it. So even in incline positions it is like a tank.
Check out this latch mechanism which allows you lock the backrest into position so you can store it upright. The knurled handles add a bit of bling.
It might not seem like a big deal but a handy little upgrade is the nylon sleeve on the locking bolt at the base of the adjustment arm. One issues with these ladder or saw tooth benches was the sound that noob generated when making adjustments. I could hear the clanging in my office. Ultimately who really cares in a gym environment with weights clanging around. But I do appreciate it.
While we are down there you can see the angles of each position has been laser cut into the frame.
For the flat bench position there is a support bracket which pivots on bearings. With this in place the FID bench is just as solid as any heavy duty flat bench. Plus it is IPF height so if you are a powerlifter you can use it for your bench press training without fear of failure.
At the bottom it has these neat wheel covers which look great but also serve an important function. When storing in the upright position they disengage the wheels to make it stable.
But the main feature of the bench is up the front where the attachments dock.
ATTACHMENTS
The MBX-660 is a close second in popularity to the Ironmaster Super Bench Pro. Just like the Super Bench it is an excellent FID bench in it’s own right. But being able to build on it with quality attachments just sets them apart from the competition.
The current ATX attachment range includes leg lift, pec fly, preacher curl machine, preacher curl pad and ab crunch. These attachments are not cheap but I do not know of others that are better designed or better quality. Throw the leg lift attachment on this bench and you have pretty much got a stand alone leg extension leg curl machine.
For home user or personal trainers that are restricted with space this just gives you more options for exercises.
FINAL WORD
The quality of the ATX benches are equal to or in some people’s opinion better than brands like Rogue, Rep. So our current retail price of $900 makes this bench amazing value for the following reasons:
- I am not aware of a bench that offers this much in terms of features, attachments and build quality at this price.
- If there is, has that bench been around as long as the MBX-660 and undergone the same amount of refinement under years of real world usage.