What to look for when buying a bumper plate?
You want to find a bumper plate that has not only properly flanged center rings, but also a manufacturing process that sets the rings into the rubber plates as best as possible (which can be done with using rebar, glues, and several types of different bonding rubbers).
What is a bumper plate?
A bumper plate is a weight plate for Olympic bars that is made almost entirely of rubber (with a steel or brass collar in the middle that accepts an Olympic bar). Why bumper plates? The "end state" of the Olympic lifts is overhead or at the shoulder. Many lifters drop the weights from overhead.
What are the best black bumper plates for the money?
The E1 bumper plates from LUXIAOJUN are the best basic black bumpers that I've used. These are designed by the world-renowned weightlifter, Lu Xiaojun, and they have several excellent qualities.
Where can I buy Vulcan bumper plates?
You can find Vulcan bumper plates in commercial gyms, high school and college gyms, military gyms, and every day home and garage gyms. Do Bumper Plates last a long time?
What is a bumper plate?
Bumper Plates are a necessity for any strength training program that will involve training the Olympic lifts or assistance movements involved in Olympic weightlifting training. A true bumper plate is made of solid Vulcanized rubber. Our Olympic weight plates are not rubber coated iron plates that will peel and crack.
How big are bumper plates?
All bumper plates may have similar appearance since they will all be a standard 17.7 inch diameter, round, and black or colored. That is where the similarities end. Many factories that produce bumper plates are very small and lack the technology and testing to create high quality bumper plates.
What is a blooming bumper plate?
This is called “blooming” . It is part of the curing process of virgin rubber compounds. “Virgin rubber” refers to natural rubber and first use rubber compounds as opposed to synthetic rubber like compounds or recycled rubber. Virgin rubber compounds are combined with surface protectants (antioxidants/anti-ozonants). These chemicals, migrate to the surface of the rubber where they are needed to protect the rubber by inhibiting surface oxidation. Once the substances migrate to the surface they leave a powdery residue. The residue poses no harm and can be removed with warm water and a terry cloth rag or towel. We use a substance which is basically a liquid silicone to protect the plates during ocean voyage (exposure to salt water moisture) and to protect them while in transit (high heat inside truck trailers). When you receive the plates you may notice they have a somewhat slippery coating. You should not use chemicals to remove the treatment, rather wipe them down thoroughly with a dry rag until the coating is removed or use warm water and a rag. Chemicals such as dish washing liquids and some general purpose cleaners contain harsh chemicals that will essentially dry out the natural rubber and cause it to prematurely crack.
How long does it take for a Vulcan bumper to smell?
If you have purchased Vulcan Bumper Plates, they were freshly manufactured within 30-45 days of your purchase. Over time and as the bumper plates are exposed to the air, the smell of the rubber will subside. Do not use chemicals such as pine sol or any type of chemical on bumper plates.
What is hard vulcanized rubber used for?
Hard vulcanized rubber is even used to make articles such as bowling balls and hockey pucks. Bumper Plate Inserts. We were the first company in the US to introduce the technology of using a forged steel insert in a bumper plate with "anchors" to permanently bind the steel insert to the rubber.
What size bumper plate for Vulcan?
Vulcan Bumper plates will fit on any Olympic barbell that is made with 50 mm sleeve diameter (tolerance within .020 mm). We can only guarantee our plates will fit on Vulcan and other high quality barbells.
Can Olympic weight plates peel?
Our Olympic weight plates are not rubber coated iron plates that will peel and crack. The benefit of solid rubber bumper plates is they can be dropped from overhead without damaging floors in the way that cast iron or steel Olympic plates would. Being able to drop the weights or "bail out" of a lift is essential when a trainee begins ...
How hard is a bumper plate?
For many years bumper plate marketing haas contained information relating to Shore Hardness . Currently all bumper plate manufacturers utilize rubber compounds that are between 85-92 SHa. You will find information on SHore Hard ness on many of our premier bumper plates, such as the black and color bumper plates. We have discovered over the years is that many claims that competitors were making of shore hardness was simply information copied from other competitors websites. We discovered that most did not have any actual method to test shore hardness and they simply made up numbers without any scientific backing. Shore hardness is only one aspect of rubber manufacture. There is elongation to break, tensiles strength, chemical composition, construction, and other aspects that can be equally important in relation to the performance of a bumper plate and it's durability. Two brands of bumper plates could have the same shore hardness and exhibit completely different aspects of bounce and durability.
Why do we need bumper plates?
Bumper Plates allow the lifter to safely drop heavy weights from over head which is an essential aspect of the Olympic Weightlifting movements. Bumper Plates also allow the lifter to safely miss lifts when beginning to learn technique based weightlifting or attempting maximal weight squats and or heavy overhead lifts.
What type of rubber has the highest bounce?
Bumper plates made crumb rubber and recycled rubber have the highest amounts of bounce which can be distracting, performance robbing, and dangerous. Higher bounce does not indicate that the bumper plates will have less of an impact on damaging floors.
What are Vulcan bumper plates made of?
Vulcan bumper plates are made from virgin natural rubber and synthetic rubber compounds . No used tires or recycled rubber products are used in Vulcan bumper plates, therefore they are PAHS and Phthales Free The inserts of our bumper plates are made from forged steel and anchored into the core of the natural rubber compound.
How many times can a drop test be done on bumper plates?
This video below shows our most recent drop testing machine. The machine will drop the bumper plates no less than 30,000 times. The weight that is hoisted by the chain weighs approximately 20 kilograms to simulate the weight of a barbell. Of course, having access to a machine like this would lead to testing competitors bumper plates. We have tested quite a few and yet to find other manufacturers' plates capable of withstanding the test.
Can you drop bumper plates?
Bumper plates can be dropped from any height by the lifter without breaking easily, damaging floors, or causing injury. In the earlier years of Olympic weightlifting, the lifter could not drop the weights from the overhead position after the completion of a lift as it would damage the floor or bend/break the weightlifting equipment. WIth the advent of bumper plates, lifters were able to lift heavier weights without fear of injuring themselves during the act of bringing the weight back down to the shoulders/clavicles.
Can you drop a black bumper plate on concrete?
Our black bumper plates are safe for dropping on wood platforms or athletic rubber flooring. They are not recommended for dropping on concrete or aggregate surfaces. Please see our Alpha Bumper Plates for outdoor use bumper plates.