Dumbbell collars are too tight

kaji · 17-04-2016 8:34am #1

Hi. I recently bought dumbbells and the spinlock collars (is that what they're called?) are tight. SO when I do 1 set and want to increase the weight, I have to take the collars off and on again and it takes so long, they're too tight and stiff. Is there anyway to make them less tight?

Dtp1979 · 17-04-2016 11:39am

kaji wrote: »

Hi. I recently bought dumbbells and the spinlock collars (is that what they're called?) are tight. SO when I do 1 set and want to increase the weight, I have to take the collars off and on again and it takes so long, they're too tight and stiff. Is there anyway to make them less tight?

Are they plastic or metal?

kaji · 17-04-2016 12:08pm

They're plastic

Dtp1979 · 17-04-2016 12:48pm

kaji wrote: »

They're plastic

Are they a find thread? Are you sure they're being screwed onto the bar correctly?

kaji · 17-04-2016 1:47pm

Hanley · 17-04-2016 1:48pm

Screw them on less tight?

Get a washer and glue it to the inside of the collar.

Dtp1979 · 17-04-2016 1:55pm

kaji wrote: »

Should the wider end not be the side closer the weight?

Mellor · 17-04-2016 2:26pm

Oil the bar/collars.

Dtp1979 · 17-04-2016 2:38pm

Mellor wrote: »

Oil the bar/collars.

Oil corrodes plastic.
Try a silicone based lubricant

kaji · 17-04-2016 2:41pm

Get a washer and glue it to the inside of the collar.

Could you explain this more? What would the washer do?

kaji · 17-04-2016 2:42pm

I tried both ways, they're both as stiff as each other.

Ok, I will try lubing up my dumbbells next

rubadub · 17-04-2016 3:06pm

kaji wrote: »

Could you explain this more? What would the washer do?

Is it hard to screw on all the way? or is it that you tighten them a lot and then its hard to remove it afterwards initially (but ok once loose).

If its hard to remove afterwards due to tightening then a washer can help. I have rubber washers and the collar is secure without having to tighten it up really hard. If its hard to spin it on all the way the washer will not help.

I would check inside the red plastic nut to see if there is a flaw in the plastic. Such as excess plastic which may be able to be trimmed off, carefully.

Wearing thick rubber gardening gloves makes taking them off a lot easier.

Or wrapping them in something rubber. You could also leave rubber on them permanently, if you had old mountain bike inner tubes you could tube a 2 inch section and pull it over the nut, this allows you to get much better grip.

kaji · 17-04-2016 4:30pm

Thanks for all the help.

But yeah, it's hard to spin them on all the way. Not impossible, just hard. I feel like it's a forearm exercise just doing it! It's annoying cos I feel like I lose any momentum between sets as I have to change 4 collars (2 dumbbells) which takes about 5 minutes

Dumbbell collars are too tight

Comments