The ATX Preacher Curls Attachment provides loads of quality and functionality at a very reasonable price. For people who love preacher curls in their training, this is a very good option that won’t break the bank or empty your bank account. But I think people should be pretty into preacher curls before buying this attachment. It still takes up space and it is not particulary handy to move around.

Specs

• Price: 250 Euros
• Pad Width: 60 cm
• Unit Weight: 17 kg
• Weight Rating: 100 kg
• Adjustability: 6-Way Height Adjustable. Pad is Adjustable to 4 Incline Positions
• Weight Plate Compatibility: 30 mm and 50 mm (50 mm adapter sold separately).
• Compatible With: ATX-MBX-520-II (from model year 2023), ATX-MBX-650 (from model year 2023), ATX-MBX-650-PU (from model year 2023), ATX-MBX-660, ATX-MBX-660-PU, ATX-LMP-650, ATX-WSX-670.

Excellent Price-to-Quality Ratio

So far my expirience with the new line of ATX equipment (post 2023-ish) is that they generally provide on the best quality-to-price ratios in Europe, while their equipment is great in use. Especially their bodybuilding equipment always seems very tried and tested. And their Preacher Curl Bench Attachment is no exception (see pictures below).

I really think you get a lot for 250 Euros here. It is of course not commercial level finishes (although pretty close in many aspects). This attachment will outlast me. And I guess it only has a 100 kg weight capacity because they fear the bench will tip forward. Also, I love the rubber stoppers between the arm and the upright that provides a quiet and elegant stop once a set is done.

However, I have some very minor critiques in terms of the overall build and design. 1) A magnetic pin for adjusting the pad would have been nice. It can easily fall out when you are moving the attachment around. 2) You can’t load plates with a 450-500 mm diameter (20 kg plates) without hitting the handle bar, so they fall forward. However, almost none of us will be using 20 kg plates on this machine. 3) The actual grip on the handles is functionaly fine, but it feels very cheap and therefore a bit out of touch with the rest of the attachment.

Comfortable and Great for Pushing Hard

First of. What feels comfortable for me might not feel comfortable for you. For example I have never really been a fan of preacher curls because they would always be very uncomfortable for my elbows. Even when using dedicated commercial machines. However, when I use this attachment I get none to very minor elbow discomfort. In my case I believe that the freely rotating handles and the angle of the handles are responsible for the high levels of comfort when I use this attachment.

Now onto the infamous strength curve. The V-shaped arm is essential here. A traditional preacher curl with a EZ-bar will be heaviest at the beginning and become very light at the end of the movement. To my knowlegde and in my experience, the V-shaped arm makes the weight feels comparetively slightly lighter in the beginning of the movement, heaviest around midrange while still maintaining adequate resistance in the end of the movement. In short, I find it easier to push myself and rep out with this attachment.

The only draw back to the underwise splendid performance of this preacher curl attachment, is also its entire selling point – it is an attachment. So you need to store it somewhere. And you need to move this 17 kg attachment back and forth each time you want to use it. Which is pretty cumbersome. Of course it takes up less space than a dedicated preacher curls machine. But I recommend that you have a good and easily accessible space available for storing this attachment before you buy it.

Conclusion

I have been pushing the bench attachment agenda for years because I truly thought it was an underdeveloped area for many years. However, I also believe that many people these days will buy bench attachments that will end up collecting dust. And discovering that a piece of equipment was not for you is not necessarily a big loss. Especially not in this price range. You can sell it off at a moderate loss and you’ve still learned something a long the way.

Yet, I might be able to save you some time and money. I believe that the people who end up not using these attachments are the ones you said to themselves “Oh, that price is not bad and that would be a cool thing to have. Then I might do preacher curls one day. Although I can almost not remember that I’ve ever done them previously”. That is a thought I also get very often. In general I would suggest that people who think that way sleep on it for another night or two.

The people who should definitely buy this attachment are the ones who are already doing preacher curls regulary in their training in a commercial gym (or were prior to moving to a home gym). People who consider preacher curls to be a stable in their upper body days, but who do not have the room or funds for a dedicated preacher curl machine. If that is you, then I believe that you will be very satisfied with this attachment.