Sorry if this has been covered before. Could it work if I just bought a pair of 25lb bumper plates and just loaded steel weights after that? Would it do any damage to the bar or anything?
Yes, it would probably damage the bar and the bumper plates which are designed to only absorb the impact of their own weight. You’d probably also wreck the platform or floor if the metal plates were hitting it constantly.
What I’m trying to describe is that I would load the rest of the weight needed with steel plates that have a smaller diameter than the 25lb bumpers. I would make it to where the metal plates would not hit the floor ever (use 25’s in steel plates to load whatever necessary because the diameter is smaller). If that makes any difference?
25Lb bumpers are normally pretty flimsy anyway. If you were going to do this (which I don’t necessarily recommend) I would at least get the 45lb/20kg weights
if you are going to do this, start with at least 1 pair of 20kg weights, and 1 pair of 10kg weights. go with the KG they seem to be made better than the American-made 25lbers or 45lbers which are often crappy.
[quote]ku2u wrote:
What I’m trying to describe is that I would load the rest of the weight needed with steel plates that have a smaller diameter than the 25lb bumpers. I would make it to where the metal plates would not hit the floor ever (use 25’s in steel plates to load whatever necessary because the diameter is smaller). If that makes any difference?[/quote]
Sorry if I wasn’t clear, the scenario you describe is that I mentioned in my first sentence. In the second sentence, I was referring to a scenario where all the plates/bumpers were the same size
I actually just bought a pair of 35lb bumpers from someone who didn’t use them anymore (paid only $40 for pair). I can’t use a whole lot of weight to begin with, but I think what I’ll do is just be smart about using too many steel plates with the bumpers. I have the weird idea of maybe if I was really going to load the bar w/ cleans (up to 225lbs), I would first load steel plates, load the bumpers next, then use steel plates afterwards and maybe it would be safer for the bar. Just a thought…
I don’t think it’s a good idea.
If you load say 100kg, the impact of collision becomes concentrated in a very small surface area. I am no expert, but imo this would accelerate damage to the your plates. Especially if you only use 10kg (close enough to 25lbs) bumpers, they are quite thin.
You want as much surface area as possible to spread out the force.
As PBandy suggested, try to get fatter plates if you can.
Ya, I’ll have to buy another pair of 45’s I guess.
Has anybody ran across this deal? It’s saying that the plates are made from crumb rubber, I would question the long term durability of these plates more than anything.
Would dropping the bar on to tyres be a cheap option instead of bumpers?
I don’t want to hijack this thread, but I would imagine that if the plates hit some well placed tyres it would work out just fine. That is to say you don’t fall back with it and it’s a textbook drop. You might even be able to put a few tyres in front of you because the plates don’t need to land directly in the centre of the tyre.
What do you guys think?
[quote]Mankar wrote:
Would dropping the bar on to tyres be a cheap option instead of bumpers?
I don’t want to hijack this thread, but I would imagine that if the plates hit some well placed tyres it would work out just fine. That is to say you don’t fall back with it and it’s a textbook drop. You might even be able to put a few tyres in front of you because the plates don’t need to land directly in the centre of the tyre.
What do you guys think?[/quote]
That will probably still damage the bar since the bumpers aren’t absorbing the impact from the weights. A bigger concern would be safety though. You can’t always count on perfectly placed drops nor can you anticipate where the bar will go if you don’t drop it in the right spot.
[quote]ku2u wrote:
Sorry if this has been covered before. Could it work if I just bought a pair of 25lb bumper plates and just loaded steel weights after that? Would it do any damage to the bar or anything?[/quote]
The overhung load will put more stress on the bar but since it is close to the bumper plate it will probably work for a little while. Certainly not an optimum situation for long term use.
I would be interested to hear if anyone has experience.
Ok guys, new question: If I were to just buy the bumpers, would I still need an olympic platform to drop them on? I was thinking I would just buy some bumpers and then drop them on some rubber pads to eliminate the chance of damaging the floor and the bar.
i have a similar question! is a specific bar needed for bumper plates?
my goal is to just use light (we’re talking 5kgs or so) bumper plates on my regular olympic bar -->i’m in the technique training phase. would the bumper plates fit a plain ol regular olympic bar?
[quote]brute_fury wrote:
i have a similar question! is a specific bar needed for bumper plates?
my goal is to just use light (we’re talking 5kgs or so) bumper plates on my regular olympic bar -->i’m in the technique training phase. would the bumper plates fit a plain ol regular olympic bar?
[/quote]
Yes, they will fit a regular Olympic bar, however, regular Oly bars don’t have much of a “whip”.
[quote]brute_fury wrote:
i have a similar question! is a specific bar needed for bumper plates?
my goal is to just use light (we’re talking 5kgs or so) bumper plates on my regular olympic bar -->i’m in the technique training phase. would the bumper plates fit a plain ol regular olympic bar?
[/quote]
This is fine.
[quote]entheogens wrote:
[/quote]
Welcome back, Entheogens.
[quote]ku2u wrote:
Ya, I’ll have to buy another pair of 45’s I guess.
Has anybody ran across this deal? It’s saying that the plates are made from crumb rubber, I would question the long term durability of these plates more than anything.
Probably not good long term durability but this might be a great find for what you are looking for. Won’t hurt your bars. Won’t hurt your floors - unless you’re on a floor you have no business lifting on. Probably won’t find cheaper unless you find a rare deal on Craig’s List.
[quote]on edge wrote:
[quote]entheogens wrote:
[/quote]
Welcome back, Entheogens.[/quote]
Thanks bro!
One thing to consider is the quality of your bar. I am guessing it is not a competition olympic bar? If it is then dropping it with metal plates will probably effect the bearings and the spin of the bar. If it is a standard olympic training bar for general use and weight being used it fairly light all should be fine.