Table of Contents
Oops, Titan Does it Again
You know, at least they keep trying. Eventually they get it right. I’ve got to give them an A for effort.
(the video was removed by its creator)
This is a video of their Hefty Bench.
Titan got back to him and is sending him a replacement leg that should fit right. But another person in this reddit thread said they ran into the same problem. If you have a problem like this, don’t just let it go. Tell them, and most likely they’ll look into it and fix it.
Ironmaster Made Micro Plates
I usually tell people to use PlateMates on their Ironmaster dumbbells to get the 1.25lb increments:
This works okay. Each magnet is 1.25lb so you have to use only 1 per dumbbell, making them a little unbalanced towards one end.
Good news! Ironmaster made some micro plates…
They’re 1.25lb each, so it’s the same basic idea as the Platemates, but cheaper, and the plates slide into the dumbbell instead of sticking out like the PlateMates. This minimizes the unbalanced effect of using 1 plate.
The Horrible Condition of New Eleiko Bumper Plates
I got a great email from someone who recently bought a set of new Eleiko training bumpers and an Eleiko bar to rant about how they were littered with defects and damage. Nothing to do with me, except he was wanting to buy some dumbbells from me and warned me that I better not send him junk like this (Thanks for the warning! See ya!).
If you look closely you can see a little ding in one ridge of the bar’s knurling, and some light scuffing to the mirror finish of the bumper plate hub.
Folks, this stuff is meant to be banged around mercilessly. Rust is bad. Paint rubbing off is bad. But the pics above are about as close to works of art as you’re going to see in gym equipment. Stock photos that make equipment look flawless are about as real as supermodels in skin care advertisements.
If you don’t like what you’re looking at, you’re gonna hate what some of us do with chalk, or the unsightly marring that a bead of sweat makes on that mirror finish of the bumper as it rolls down.
Anyway, to end the story, he contacted Eleiko, who told him nothing was wrong with his stuff (and that he’s insane).
OCD diagnoses aside, let’s move to the Boneyard, the place where normal people shop…
Boneyard OSO Collars
Rogue has these at 30% off while they last. People love the OSO collars. 4.8 star reviews on Rogue’s site.
The Boneyard is Rogue’s pile of used or slightly defective products. When I say defective, this usually means slight scratches, coloring errors, things like that. They’re perfectly functional but can’t be sold as “new” or they would get complaints.
2×3 or 3×3 Rack?
Good discussion on bodybuilding.com about how the size of the uprights affects stability and bar re-racking. I’ll just link to it. I hadn’t planned on going over so many topics this month!
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=177665241
And as far as 3×3 racks go, Rogue has been busy…
Version 3.0 of the Rogue RML-490C Released
This has been one of Rogue’s most popular racks of all time.
The two main improvements that stand out to me in the upgraded design are the addition of numbered holes on the uprights and an option for safety straps so that you don’t have to get the rack with safety bars and buy the safety straps separately.
As someone who owns three Eleiko Competition Bars, I can tell you unequivocally, that the finish is superior, at least visually, on my older bars. The oldest is from 1991 and still has a beautifully polished glass-like mirror finish, no damage or rust whatsoever. The latest is a 2018 NxG IWF Competition Bar. The finish is not as refined and noticeably rougher; you can feel micro-scratches if you run you fingernail over the unknurled parts of the shaft. That being said, the NxG bar with the race bearing system has unreal smooth and controlled rotation, with incredibly tight tolerances, as well as improved knurling.
I wonder if they’re doing something different with the new chrome plating that isn’t the same as the old chrome? Good to hear that the rotation and knurling is good. My understanding is Eleiko has a bit more aggressive knurling than the other IWF brands, but it also depends on the batch and how long it takes to dull the tool.
The knurling on the NxG bars are more aggressive, but also more precise/refined than the previous bars. The IWF Comp is the most aggressive for an Olympic bar at 1.2mm depth. The IWF Trainer is also at 1.2mm. However, only two(2) Comp bars are knurled with new bits, followed by three IWF Trainers. Then, after five bars, the bits are discarded (dull). Hence, the Trainers are somewhat less aggressive, but still more aggressive than most others, except perhaps Uesaka.
Note that the knurl isn’t “cut” into the shaft, which would weaken the bar. Rather, the bits push into the softer steel shaft, forming grooves without removing metal. The NxG Performance WL Bar is labeled “firm” by Eleiko, and formed to 1.0mm. All the above bars use the same steel shaft and sealed race bearing system.
The IPF Comp Power bar uses bushings and has a knurl depth of 1.5mm.
Great explanation! I had heard something along these lines, but then people also claimed conflicting things about how the knurling feel compares between Eleiko bars of different models and widely different years. They also keep changing their model names.
Historically, the knurling has been inconsistent by my observation. For example, my dad bought an Eleiko Competition Bar 30 years ago. He and his training partner used it a few times, then he returned it to the shipping tube and there it remained until I pulled it out in 2016. The bar is immaculate, but the knurling is so mild that the chrome literally filled the shallow grooves! Bare hands will just slip across the bar it’s so smooth, but when chalked they miraculously stick like sandpaper.
I called Eleiko to question them about the knurling over the years, and a woman told me that it wears over time. Now, I’m certainly well aware of that, but as I said, this particular bar was virtually new. This person just didn’t have a clue about the changes over time The bar was probably older than her!
Other Eleiko’s I’ve owned have varied, but been generally aggressive. Thankfully, since they went to CNC machining with the NxG, the knurling is infinitely more consistent.
You’re very knowledgeable on this topic! I imagine unless you find someone at Eleiko who has been there for decades and involved in the manufacturing aspect, it would be hard to find anyone there with an accurate understanding of how their process has changed over that time. Plus, for marketing purposes they wouldn’t want to acknowledge the inconsistencies and strange changes.