The photo of the product on Amazon doesn't do it justice. The four-foot-wide bar is made of heavy gauge, knurled steel, and can be mounted on just about any wood joist. It's not fancy, but it's solid and mounts firmly with four hex bolts. It feels indestructible.
The installation was simple and straightforward, though I ended up having to make a couple of trips to Home Depot (first, to pick up longer bolts -- the ones included weren't nearly long enough to make it through the doubled-up planks where I wanted to mount the bar -- and then later, to buy the necessary 7/16" drill bit, which I mistakenly thought I already had in my toolbox). It took me a while to get the bar leveled and bolted tight, mostly because I was trying to balance on a ladder while juggling a metal bar, a level and a handful of nuts and bolts. I'm sure I would have finished much sooner if I'd asked M to help, but I didn't want to interrupt her ChaLEAN Extreme workout.
Once the bar was up, I was eager to give it a try. Unlike my removable door-frame-mounted bar or my clunky, big-ass power tower, I found the rafter-mounted bar solid enough for me to swing from it like a monkey bar. I can freely switch grips and direction, perform core exercises and twists, and even get a nice back stretch without worrying about slamming into a door frame or protruding power tower attachment. My only regret is that I spent beaucoup bucks on a bunch of other pull-up bars before landing on this solution.
