This is a GREAT review. Thank you so much!!! You've pretty much addressed all the questions I had when I first the product on BFF site. I am now going to buy this!!
Hey man, great video! Thanks for making this. If I can give you some constructive feedback on your video production, the audio mix is VERY low. I really had to crank up the volume about 20% to hear you. Just something to consider for the next one, so keep them coming! 😊
@@andie_plHey Andie, that was me commenting above from my personal channel. Since then I made this one and just posted my first video. I did some research on recording audio and ended up buying the Hollyland Lark M2 wireless lav mic. If you want to see how it sounds, feel free to check out the video. It wasn’t very expensive and I think it works pretty well. Super easy to use, too.
Your set up looks great and awesome video. I found that I dislike my VTS. There is something off with it, the box came damaged from shipping, some of the components of one of the units were bent. I'm not sure if this ruined its normal functionality or what, but I cannot fit a barbell across it. I worked with the folks at BPF to get some replacement parts, I changed them out, but honestly, it didn't do it for me. It's a nice idea, but honestly, I'll wait until rogue eventually releases some smith attachment like they just did with their functional trainer and drop-in rhino. Glad to see it worked out for you though.
Good points and thank you for sharing your experience with the VTS. I definitely think it’s not for everyone in terms of feel and use. Rogue releasing a smith attachment with their bars would be pretty good. I’d like to see something that uses guide rods and not just the uprights from them
Thanks for these reviews! Do you notice a difference in smoothness or how well they keep the bar from moving out of horizontal between the lite and the standard?
Awesome vido man, def just earned a new sub! I'd love a vid on the set up of that rad rack set up, it looks like you have a functional trainer pully system and lever arms for the front uprights if i saw that correctly? If so, do they interfere with each other at all? Im having a ver similar idea as to what you do with a 6 post set up using the VTS on the interior and then cables (possibly levers too hence the inquiry lol) on the outside as well.
thank you for that! I have a Rogue Monster Slinger setup for my RM-6 and the rogue trolley arms. The only times they get in the way is if I am using a low row attachment near the bottom of my rack and the cable sometimes rubs on the trolley arms. If I had the rogue functional trainer attachment the trolley arms would get in the way for sure just because of how the cable management is. I think the VTS inside the rack is a good idea ass it keeps it out of the way for the most part. I currently have my VTS Lite hanging near the top of the uprights on my current setup
Is there another way to latch the barbell instead of using the holes on your uprights? They can be easy to miss. Also, does it comes with safeties in case of a failed squat or bench? Maybe hitch pins?
Yeah theres another hook system you can get that will latch onto a hitch pin on the side of the rack. Theres no safeties that come with the VTS lite but you can use a hitch pin to bottom out or catch it if you fail a squat, just make sure to have it on both sides. I kinda like that you can latch onto holes in the rack that way you can technically latch or fail at whatever point on the lift
How tall is your rack? I have the 90' rm4 with the vendetta trolley arms on the uprights. I'm afraid i won't be able to latch the hook on the vts lite when the vendetta trolley arms are at the highest point on the rack. you mind asking you how tall you are? Great and thorough review!
Hey I have a 90” tall rack and I am 5’8”. I wouldn’t recommend having the VTS Lite and Trolley arms on the same uprights as it gets a little crowded. If you have the long trolley arms, maybe putting the VTS lite on them might be more convenient
@@andie_pl I'm out of room actually so I have no choice, lol. Quick question, I was planning on putting the vts lite and the trolley arms facing away from each other on the uprights. Would the backside of the vts lite, hit the trolley arms if they were in the down position? I hope that makes sense, thanks for the help!
@@andysadvice3236 So the bracket of the vts lite sticks out 2.5”. The trolley arms at a down position is 2”. It might fit because the rollers only go out 1.5” from the back side. Its possible but I haven’t tested this theory yet
After owning vts do you think it would be better getting their hook system that latches onto the hitch pin option or do you like how it latches onto a rack hole ?
I think because I got used to the rack hole latching system I prefer it, but I wouldn’t get it if you have a 5/8” hole rack. 1” holes is better experience with the VTS. I kinda wanna get the hooks for the hitch pin style but I think it might be overkill with the hooks I already have. If I had to do it all over again I would get with whatever option is cheaper
its pretty smooth when using with little side to side wobble. The lite trolleys were intended to be built without much adjustability so the design is pretty well packed together. because of the trolleys being aligned with the upright and barbell unracking and racking the hooks could be uneven. it takes a little to get used to it but overall not too bad
Hey! I tried using the elitefts ssb however it is too thick to fit the current hooks bulletproof has for sale. They are currently working on a solution for the somewhat thicker bars
How do you feel about squats? Just got VTS standard and used it for the first time for squats. I did get some back pain. Although I am new to smith machine squats altogether…
Hey chrisa the smith squats are one of my top exercises for the VTS. However my advice would be to add counter weight like bands to help you out of the bottom position of squat. This isnt medical advice but If you are experiencing pain I would definitely seek professional experience. As for the smith squats itself try out different foot placements for your setup and keep the weight light. smith squats will limit you to a certain path where normal barbell squats will give you more room for play
I like how you showed it from start to finish! Thank you.
appreciate your comment! and thanks for watching!!
Gym walkthrough? Looks like you’ve got a pretty insane set up man.
I got some pieces to bring down and I can finally do an updated tour
This is a GREAT review. Thank you so much!!! You've pretty much addressed all the questions I had when I first the product on BFF site. I am now going to buy this!!
I appreciate those kind words! glad it was helpful
Hey man, great video! Thanks for making this.
If I can give you some constructive feedback on your video production, the audio mix is VERY low. I really had to crank up the volume about 20% to hear you.
Just something to consider for the next one, so keep them coming! 😊
i appreciate the feedback, ill see if i can adjust the audio volume up. i record off my iphone so i might have to just put the mic up close lol
@@andie_plHey Andie, that was me commenting above from my personal channel. Since then I made this one and just posted my first video. I did some research on recording audio and ended up buying the Hollyland Lark M2 wireless lav mic.
If you want to see how it sounds, feel free to check out the video. It wasn’t very expensive and I think it works pretty well. Super easy to use, too.
Nice setup
appreciate that richardganz! thanks for stopping by
Your set up looks great and awesome video. I found that I dislike my VTS. There is something off with it, the box came damaged from shipping, some of the components of one of the units were bent. I'm not sure if this ruined its normal functionality or what, but I cannot fit a barbell across it. I worked with the folks at BPF to get some replacement parts, I changed them out, but honestly, it didn't do it for me. It's a nice idea, but honestly, I'll wait until rogue eventually releases some smith attachment like they just did with their functional trainer and drop-in rhino. Glad to see it worked out for you though.
Good points and thank you for sharing your experience with the VTS. I definitely think it’s not for everyone in terms of feel and use. Rogue releasing a smith attachment with their bars would be pretty good. I’d like to see something that uses guide rods and not just the uprights from them
Thanks for these reviews! Do you notice a difference in smoothness or how well they keep the bar from moving out of horizontal between the lite and the standard?
Yes its not that noticeable, but I think the VTS is smoother with the 4 way roller system. The lite feels like theres more play side to side
Awesome vido man, def just earned a new sub! I'd love a vid on the set up of that rad rack set up, it looks like you have a functional trainer pully system and lever arms for the front uprights if i saw that correctly? If so, do they interfere with each other at all? Im having a ver similar idea as to what you do with a 6 post set up using the VTS on the interior and then cables (possibly levers too hence the inquiry lol) on the outside as well.
thank you for that! I have a Rogue Monster Slinger setup for my RM-6 and the rogue trolley arms. The only times they get in the way is if I am using a low row attachment near the bottom of my rack and the cable sometimes rubs on the trolley arms. If I had the rogue functional trainer attachment the trolley arms would get in the way for sure just because of how the cable management is. I think the VTS inside the rack is a good idea ass it keeps it out of the way for the most part. I currently have my VTS Lite hanging near the top of the uprights on my current setup
Is there another way to latch the barbell instead of using the holes on your uprights? They can be easy to miss. Also, does it comes with safeties in case of a failed squat or bench? Maybe hitch pins?
Yeah theres another hook system you can get that will latch onto a hitch pin on the side of the rack. Theres no safeties that come with the VTS lite but you can use a hitch pin to bottom out or catch it if you fail a squat, just make sure to have it on both sides. I kinda like that you can latch onto holes in the rack that way you can technically latch or fail at whatever point on the lift
How tall is your rack? I have the 90' rm4 with the vendetta trolley arms on the uprights. I'm afraid i won't be able to latch the hook on the vts lite when the vendetta trolley arms are at the highest point on the rack. you mind asking you how tall you are? Great and thorough review!
Hey I have a 90” tall rack and I am 5’8”. I wouldn’t recommend having the VTS Lite and Trolley arms on the same uprights as it gets a little crowded. If you have the long trolley arms, maybe putting the VTS lite on them might be more convenient
@@andie_pl I'm out of room actually so I have no choice, lol. Quick question, I was planning on putting the vts lite and the trolley arms facing away from each other on the uprights. Would the backside of the vts lite, hit the trolley arms if they were in the down position? I hope that makes sense, thanks for the help!
@@andysadvice3236 So the bracket of the vts lite sticks out 2.5”. The trolley arms at a down position is 2”. It might fit because the rollers only go out 1.5” from the back side. Its possible but I haven’t tested this theory yet
After owning vts do you think it would be better getting their hook system that latches onto the hitch pin option or do you like how it latches onto a rack hole ?
I think because I got used to the rack hole latching system I prefer it, but I wouldn’t get it if you have a 5/8” hole rack. 1” holes is better experience with the VTS. I kinda wanna get the hooks for the hitch pin style but I think it might be overkill with the hooks I already have. If I had to do it all over again I would get with whatever option is cheaper
Does the lite version have more side to side wabble when using as a smith machine? Thanks!
its pretty smooth when using with little side to side wobble. The lite trolleys were intended to be built without much adjustability so the design is pretty well packed together. because of the trolleys being aligned with the upright and barbell unracking and racking the hooks could be uneven. it takes a little to get used to it but overall not too bad
This was what I was worried about 😢. I think I’ll wait for other transitional smith machine attachments
would an axle bar fit in the lite version?
Yeah it should be able to, the clamp mechanism is nearly identical to the normal VTS
Have you tried using a SSB?
Hey! I tried using the elitefts ssb however it is too thick to fit the current hooks bulletproof has for sale. They are currently working on a solution for the somewhat thicker bars
VTS!!! This is making me want one of my own..
yeah ill sell you this one
How do you feel about squats?
Just got VTS standard and used it for the first time for squats. I did get some back pain. Although I am new to smith machine squats altogether…
Hey chrisa the smith squats are one of my top exercises for the VTS. However my advice would be to add counter weight like bands to help you out of the bottom position of squat. This isnt medical advice but If you are experiencing pain I would definitely seek professional experience. As for the smith squats itself try out different foot placements for your setup and keep the weight light. smith squats will limit you to a certain path where normal barbell squats will give you more room for play
Does it fit on a 2.3 by 2.3 . Look very good
I don’t think it would. would probably have to move to 3 x 3 rack or 2 x 3 at least
Nice video!
ty sire 🫡
What calf block were you using in this video? Thank you
it is the steadfast lifting calf block, they are no longer in business
i hear its BuildProof Andie now.
every time i hear bulletproof i think of the song by la roux lol
informative vid thanks bro
Does anyone have the VTS and they wanna sell. Reply here and I’ll give my contact info.