As a preface, I never thought I would own Olympic Dumbbell Handles. I dislike them for a number of reasons including:
- Weights can slip off
- Bulky
- Damage if dropped
- Plates over 9 inches are hard to manage
That being said, I do find myself in a circumstance where I need one. The USAWA Postal Championship will be contested on the following 3 lifts:
- Bench Press - Reverse Grip
- Deadlift - Dumbbell - One Hand
- Zercher
I cannot Bench Press reverse grip. I have equipment for the Zercher, but not a loadable dumbbell that can handle 200+ pounds.
I originally wanted a Kroc style 36" loadable dumbbell ($66 from Titan Fitness). One was listed on Facebook Marketplace a while ago for $90 and it included 90 pounds of plates.
The USAWA rules state the maximum length to be 24"
I found a pair of loadable dumbbells on Facebook Marketplace (Radha Snyder) for $30. The posting included (2) handles (brand could not be identified), (3) collars, and (4) 10 pound plates. I asked for a reduced price and the seller was willing to let them go for $20. I hopped in the car.
The handles turned out to be 20" CAP handles with hex bolts to secure the sleeves. The sleeve length is 7 inches. With a collar, I could load about 6 inches of plates. They have been sold on Amazon for as low as $29.99 each. Current price is $39.99 each with collars. Maximum loading claims 150 pounds, but I will certainly be testing that. I did lubricate these with 3 in 1 oil and the handles spun reasonably well. One handle was great, the other had light rust on it.
The CAP plates were in rough shape with a lot of rust spots and paint peeling. New they could go for $1-$2/lb. If the handles were worth $10, I figure the plates are worth $10 also. 25 cents/pound is pretty cheap. I hit them with PB Blaster and then some 3 in 1 oil. They need to be painted, but I would love to strip the paint and do them up white to match standard plate colors. They look pretty good just cleaned up, but I may touch up the lettering anyway.
The ad did mention 3 collars, but the 4th collar was actually there, but it was missing the set screw. A pair of collars would cost me $20 and I have no intention of paying that. I have some screw lock collars that came with my axle bar and plenty of nice collars (which unfortunately are wider than screw lock).
Plate Standard Colors (Rogue)
55 - red
45 - blue
35 - yellow
25 - green
10 - white
5 - black/blue
2.5 - chrome/green
1.25 - chrome/white
1 - chrome/red
0.75 - blue
0.50 - chrome/yellow
0.25 - chrome/green
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