A side-by-side comparison between the Balanced Body Reformer (what you will use in Club Pilates) and the Flexia Reformer, everything you need to know before deciding on a Pilates reformer.
Reformer Design and Storage
Pilates Reformer Design:
Both the Balanced Body Studio Reformer and the Flexia Reformer have similar overall dimensions and build (see chart below), which are comparable to many other Pilates reformers on the market. However, there are some notable differences between the two designs.
Though the Balanced Body Studio Reformer has a longer footprint, the carriage travel is actually shorter than that on the Flexia Reformer. For taller bodies or powerful jumpboard users, this is a big perk.
CC Tap here for spring conversion chart between Balanced Body (Manuf #1) and Flexia
Flexia’s founder & CEO, Kaleen Canevari, explains what she was thinking when designing The Flexia Reformer:
“Your reformer’s footprint is a vital component to delivering a luxury reformer experience, but it’s a delicate balance. If you make that footprint too small, that luxurious feeling suffers and movement will be compromised, but make it too big and it’s incredibly inconvenient for the home,” Kaleen shares, “The Flexia Reformer is engineered to use space efficiently, so that it perfectly achieves the smooth glide you expect with new, at-home versatility: more carriage travel, plus the ability stand on end in a standard 8-foot-tall residential space.”
Perhaps the most noticeable difference between these two Pilates reformers lies in the roomier carriage size of the Flexia Reformer, which is 6 inches wider and 3 inches longer than the Balanced Body Studio Reformer.
The Flexia Reformer’s larger carriage achieves so much more than a comfortable fit for larger or wider bodies; those with smaller bodies, or even those with less mobility, will also feel a significant benefit in the carriage’s size. For exercises such as side-lying, mermaid with a z-sit, short spine, and even mounting the sitting box from the floor, the size of the Flexia Reformer’s carriage allows for more comfortable and secure positioning.
The length of the Flexia Reformer carriage is also a key differentiator in design. Coming in at 3 inches longer, the Flexia Reformer carriage is designed to effortlessly accommodate longer torsos, so roll-up and teaser choreography is attainable without inching off the edge of the carriage.
However, the Flexia Reformer is not just engineered for taller bodies or those with limited mobility. Because of some clever engineering, smaller and extremely flexible users are able to shrink the length of the reformer’s carriage by adjusting the footbar, springbar, and shoulder rests to minimize the distance between a user’s shoulders and feet.
Pilates Reformer Upright Storage:
Unlike the Balanced Body Studio Reformer, the Flexia Reformer has the ability to tilt upright, wheel through doorways, and store on end. “This is a must-have feature for an at-home reformer,” says Kaleen. “It has to deliver a studio experience but also fit into smaller, multi-purpose spaces, too.”
Though some users may never need to store their Pilates reformer upright, others may find that the only way to house a Pilates machine in their home is to take advantage of some creative storage options. The Flexia Reformer has transport wheels built into the foot-end legs of the reformer; to store it upright you simply lift from the head end, tilt upward, and stand it up to rest on the footbar, which acts as a trusty kickstand. A wall mount kit comes with every Pilates reformer purchase to ensure your Pilates machine rests safely upright.
Regardless of whether you need to store your new Pilates reformer upright, or have plenty of space to store it down, the ability to move your Pilates reformer, when needed, is a life (or rather back…) saver. We’ve found it particularly helpful to be able to easily transport our reformer while:
- Cleaning (vacuuming or deep cleaning)
- Renovating, redecorating, or maneuvering other large furniture items in or around your reformer
- Moving homes (or changing reformer locations)
- Or just creating some extra square footage in a multipurpose space
Adjustability and Finding Your Fit
Both the Balanced Body Studio Reformer and the Flexia Reformer offer adjustability points within the footbar, gear bar, shoulder blocks, and ropes, though achieving these adjustments on each Pilates machine is quite different.
“Ease of use was one of my top priorities while designing the Flexia Reformer,” explains Kaleen. “I’ve met Pilates instructors who didn’t know how to adjust the reformers they were teaching on, and think that is such a disservice to the Pilates community. It shouldn’t take technical knowledge or special training to be able to get the reformer in front of you to fit”’
Pilates Reformer Footbar Adjustments:
The main difference you’ll notice between a Balanced Body Studio Reformer and the Flexia Reformer is the shape of a Flexia Reformer’s footbar, which sits at a 90-degree angle to the machine, moving up, down and flipping 180-degrees to achieve its 4 adjustable heights.
The Balanced Body Studio Reformer achieves its footbar adjustments through a bar on a pivot. While this may be the traditional arrangement for a Pilates reformer, the primary purpose of that adjustability is simply to provide different heights and distances to the carriage depending on the exercise being performed.
When asked about this change, Kaleen says, “Changing the footbar design enabled The Flexia Reformer to maintain all of the adjustability, while making more efficient use of space by enabling upright storage.”
Finally, while the Balanced Body Studio Reformer footbar can lower, it cannot be removed completely. The Flexia Reformer footbar is completely removable enabling additional space for certain choreography.
Pilates Reformer Springbar Adjustments:
The springbar is another simple lift-and-lock adjustment for the Flexia Reformer. To change gears in and out, simply lift up on the springbar, slide to the desired gear (3 positions available), and drop into place to lock into position. You can do this with no springs, some springs, or all springs attached.
Changing springbar positions is trickier on a Balanced Body Studio Reformer. In order to move positions with your springbar, you will need to lift up on the side lever and manage your carriage wobble while searching for the next position’s slot. You must have multiple springs attached to stabilize the bar. Depending on the springbar model you choose, you may have anywhere from 2 to 5 gear positions available.
“Adjusting the springbar positioning was the most common frustration I saw among studio owners and clients,” says Kaleen, “I knew that I wanted our reformer to be intuitive.”
Pilates Reformer Shoulder Rest Adjustments:
The Balanced Body Studio Reformer shoulder rests have two positions and attach to the carriage with a key-hole mechanism. They can be adjusted from narrow to wide.
“I saw people struggling to install the shoulder rests with this configuration [on the Balanced Body Studio Reformer] over and over again,” Kaleen explained, “It is just a little too complicated and can be frustrating and time consuming to adjust–sometimes even getting stuck.. I wanted more adjustability and less complication with The Flexia Reformer shoulder rest design.”
Adjusting your shoulder rests on the Flexia Reformer is more streamlined, as they have strong, simple pegs that drop into precision molded holes-–no blindly fidgeting for final placement. They have four positions, instead of two, which provide shoulder block width control, as well as vary the distance of the shoulder blocks to the footbar, giving users more or less room for their body to fit on the carriage pad.
Pilates Reformer Rope Adjustments:
Finally, the rope adjustment systems on both Pilates machines are infinitely adjustable for each rope independently, which is critical to achieving your body’s fit on the reformer and attaining identical rope length during movement–there is nothing worse than one rope feeling longer than another during an exercise!
The Balanced Body Studio Reformer uses cam cleats, a classic piece of hardware for sailing, which can be simple to use, but often slip over time. To adjust, lift the rope from the cam cleats and pull the rope in the direction of your adjustment (up for longer ropes and down toward the carriage for shorter ropes); to lock, weave the rope downward through the cam cleats and push any slack through the cutout on the carriage frame.
The Flexia Reformer uses a climber’s knot called a prusik knot, which is tied to the carriage frame below the shoulder blocks. To adjust, simply hold the prusik knot in one hand, and pull on the side of the rope you wish to adjust (pull up for longer ropes and pull down toward the carriage for shorter ropes), then drop the knot and it will naturally lock into place.
“I was tired of all the metal clanking on ropes with typical reformers,” Kaleen explains, “I wanted to create a more reliable rope system for users, while providing a silent ride and offering the same infinite adjustability and removable loops for washing and replacement.”
Both pulleys attached to the risers on the head-end of the machines are marine-grade, offering a smooth, reliable experience during movement.
Pilates Reformer Accessories
Pilates Reformer Sitting Box:
The dimensions of both the Balanced Body Studio Reformer and the Flexia Reformer sitting boxes are very similar, the differences lie in how they look and feel during use, specifically how they both fit on the carriage during use.
The Balanced Body sitting box sits over the edge of the reformer’s carriage in the short-box position, which can be tricky to mount and feel unstable during use if not positioned properly. This sitting box has three handles to aid movement, but the 360-degree padding can make it challenging to lift and transport.
The Flexia Reformer’s sitting box fits to the exact width of the reformer’s carriage while in the short-box position, which eliminates any wobbling during mount and use–yet another benefit of a slightly wider Pilates reformer carriage design. Additionally, there are hand cutouts beneath Flexia’s sitting box and an open box design to facilitate easy transport. It’s easy to simply grab the sitting box from virtually any angle to pivot, move, or carry.
Kaleen explains her design philosophy, “The sitting box is a portable accessory. You’re constantly moving it throughout a session, so searching for a specific handhold to move it can be limiting. I wanted ours to be super easy to grab from any angle–and also look beautiful in your home as an accessory.”
Pilates Reformer Standing Platform:
Both the Balanced Body Studio Reformer and Flexia Reformer have a standing platform.
The Balanced Body Studio Reformer platform is built into the reformer and is quite narrow, unable to fit a full hand or foot during use. The Balanced Body standing platform also sits farther from the carriage, even in the carriage’s closest gear bar position at the stopper.
The Flexia Reformer standing platform is removable and fits at either the foot-end or head-end of the Pilates machine. Flexia’s standing platform is significantly wider than its Balanced Body counterpart and can bump right up against the carriage edge at the stopper. This standing platform is covered in a firm, padded layer of foam that offers cushioned, grippable support, resembling the texture of a basketball.
“Making the standing platform removable enabled more efficient use of the reformer’s geometry, which meant that we could simultaneously save space on the reformer’s overall footprint, while also creating a platform with a greater surface area for users,” explains Kaleen, “The ability to install the standing platform on the foot-end as well as the head-end of the reformer also opened up a whole new world of options for choreography.”
Pilates Reformer Jumpboard:
The jumpboard is where users will notice the biggest difference between Pilates reformer accessories. Both the installation and overall dimensions of Balanced Body and Flexia jumpboards are quite different.
The Balanced Body jumpboard has a much smaller landing footprint compared to the Flexia and requires a specific footbar arrangement to install successfully.
“One of the most common things I saw in studios was utter confusion about the right way to install a jumpboard,” Kaleen says, “It shouldn’t be a brain teaser.”
The Flexia jumpboard is wider and taller than the Balanced Body jumpboard, which results in a larger landing footprint for users. Flexia’s jumpboard completely replaces the footbar on the Flexia Reformer, which means that this jumpboard achieves a stable, locked position during use and is easy to install correctly.
User Experience
Pilates Reformers During Use:
Overall, both Pilates machines offer the same smooth carriage glide, supportive spring resistance, and Pilates reformer accessories to round out your practice.
However, the Flexia Reformer keeps all the things you love about a professional-grade Pilates reformer while using space more efficiently to deliver intuitive adjustability that fits a wider range of body sizes and abilities.
One of the many features that Flexia Reformer owners rave about is the larger carriage size. While smaller people might be worried about feeling like the reformer is “too big for them,” there are actually a number of benefits, beyond a larger fit, that a bigger carriage can offer.
First, in seated exercises like mermaid, the larger carriage surface is more forgiving to tight hips, knees and ankles.
With side-lying exercises, there is more room for the bottom leg and rear to rest on the carriage surface, resulting in a workout that actually targets the areas you want–not the muscles needed to contort yourself to fit.
Finally, that same wider carriage on the Flexia Reformer floats above the reformer’s rails during use, so any limbs draping over the carriage’s edge during movement won’t drag along the railing. During exercises and side-facing seated exercises, this can help prevent the back of knees from sticking to the top of the rails during movement, which can be an unpleasant experience.
Beyond the hardware comparisons, the Flexia Reformer offers something that no Balanced Body Pilates Reformer can: a paired Online Studio and smart sensors to track exercise movement during class.
To read more about Flexia’s sensor technology and how it affects your Pilates workout, tap here.
Shipping and Delivery
The Balanced Body Studio Reformer ships in one piece via freight, which can include larger shipment fees and can be difficult to accept and move the fully assembled Pilates reformer to the desired location in your home.
The Flexia Reformer ships via UPS in 5 boxes for Flexia Smart Reformer + All-In Bundle and 2 boxes for the standalone Flexia Smart Reformer. This makes the Flexia Reformer much easier to accept and move throughout your home to assemble where needed. Flexia’s assembly video can be accessed here for instructions on how to easily assemble yourself, or In-Home Assembly can be added at checkout.
For a full-length video detailing this comparison with Flexia’s CEO and Founder, Kaleen Canevari, tap the button below.
Ready to take your Flexia Reformer home? Head to our collections page to select your reformer. For any questions, please send us an email to hello@flexiapilates.com