What dumbbells?

[scarble]

Not sure if right section, might get told it's not "sport" buut..
I've found the plastic spinlock collars on my old York dumbbells (which I've been generally happy with) are giving up a bit, threads starting to round off and they keep loosening so I've just bought some new York bars with metal spinlock collars off Amazon, they arrived today and I was so excited I even bought 2 (York again) 10kg plates from Tescos (They only had 3 and didn't seem much point buying an odd number??).
Got home and put it all together and noticed one of the collars wouldn't tighten up. There's a chip out of the start of the thread, rusty so it's been like that a while. finish of the threads on the bars is s**t, a few burrs and the threads on the collars are pitted, slightly rusty and not even particularly well defined. My old York bars are much nicer, even if the plastic collars are relatively feeble.
Putting aside the inconvenience of returning them, considering the packaging they came in was just plastic wrap which had to be ripped off...

Can anyone recommend a decent set of dumbbell bars? I've got enough plates for the time being so don't really want to buy a full set.

[LordGrover]

Not really a dumbbell user, more barbell, but I use powerhousefitness.co.uk for most of my bits.

[scarble]

Was beginning to think no one would respond, thanks for the suggestion.
I've realised there's a Decathlon somewhere around these parts and I think they stock some bells, both bar and dumb, so I'll be checking out what they've got over the weekend.
Having been shocked by the quality of a big brand the opportunity to see what I'm buying before I buy it is a plus.

Might get a bar actually.
No room for a bench really at the moment but.. I can do curls and stuff, maybe even learn to clean and jerk

They're not doing themselves any favours with that website, pop up javascripty bits and the dumbbell page is dominated by a near £400 set of trendy things with an iffy looking plastic mech. Such snake oil, so rip-off

[scarble]

Turns out Decathlon only stock 28mm bars (and collars and plates) and mine are all 1".
28mm = 1.1"

I got really excited about getting a barbell too

[Sway]

To be fair those adjustable sets are pretty well regarded as long as treated right.

I don't use dumbbells either, only bar, and use Olympic plates, but I never use collars as it ensures I work to keep level and can drop plates if necessary whilst benching/squatting - are collars really necessary on dumbbells?

[scarble]

ever try doing hammer curls without collars?
I guess I'll just stick to low weight dumbbell lifts at home and do bar and bigger dumbbell stuff at the gym for now.
Even if I look a pillock doing lifts for the first time at the gym

eta: dumbbells need collars for when I'm done and forget I'm holding them and nearly drop plates on my toes

Edited by scarble on Saturday 5th April 18:52

[mikebradford]

another recommendation for powerhouse
i have the rubber Hex set
so maybe not ideal for you as they are all individual

i have my old York individual dumbell bars
but over time i seem to have 2 types of metal spin locks on them, one is pure metal
the other has a slight rubber insert on the inner face that would touch the plates
not sure where these came from, but must have come with one of the many earlier sets
and does work fine

my main concern is that as you lift heavier, the size of the weights becomes an issue as it rubs against your forearm
thats why i like the individual ones

on some of my bars i bought the squeezy push clip locks, these vary from ones that take 2 hands to move to, some that are ideal
much better than spinners as they are quicker
but require a smooth bar

so i wish you luck hunting down some suitable bars/locks

[scarble]

I think I want a barbell not a dumbbell now.. and I think I still want collars, because I'm clumsy and forgetful
Can't decide what kind of collars, flicking through the catalogue at Decathlon, they offer spring or grub screw collars for smooth bars and rubber-ring chrome ones for spinlock.. in the Catalogue the first two have "suitable for weights up to 20kg" under them

But going to be weary of buying online from now on.. and weary of York.
I'd think I got knockoffs but they were sold by "York Fitness" on Amazon. I'm not too sure how Amazon works but surely it can't be that easy to set up a fakes shop with such an obvious name?

[FwdConvert]

Assuming you go for Olympic plates, the best I've used are things like these from Wolverson Fitness

http://www.wolverson-fitness.co.uk/Bar-Collars_A12...


or these from Watson Strength

https://watsongym.co.uk/product/bulldog-collars/


Not cheap but v. solid.