3 Best Loadable Dumbbells in India
Last Updated May 30, 2024
Today I'm going to be talking about Olympic-sized loadable dumbbells in India. If you're low on space or want to precisely control the weight, well, if you've already got the plates and the collars, so Olympic dumbbell handles are going to be your cheapest option.
And even if you later-on upgrade to some fixed dumbbells, you can still use these for heavy exercises or other movements.
You can go pretty heavy with these without having to re-mortgage your house like a pair of 50 kg dumbbells would force you to.
Now, can’t lift 50 kg, you say? It’s not about what you can lift, it’s about looking sexy on Instagram.
So for this blog, I’m going to give you my top pick, my alternative, and my budget pick for Olympic dumbbell handles.
Let’s get started.
Which type of dumbbells are best?
Everybody needs some form of dumbbell for their home gym, and that’s so they can work the most important muscle in the body.
Every true influencer knows that every other workout, every other day and exercise is just you covering up the fact that you’re waiting to get back to arm day.
When it comes to dumbbells, you have three options.
#1 Fixed dumbbells:
There are fixed dumbbells, which in my opinion are the best option, but they’re also often the least logical option for many home gyms. That’s why I have adjustable dumbbells.
They’re expensive and take up a ton of room, but normally the most durable and convenient during a workout. But the problem with a fixed dumbbell is when you start going heavy, they’re really expensive.
If I wanted a pair of 10 kg hex dumbbells from Bullrock, for example, it’s going to cost me over Rs 6000 shipped to my door, and even Leeway Fitness dumbbells going to be over Rs 3,200. That’s a lot of money.
So you can look at adjustable dumbbells next.
#2 Adjustable dumbbells
Now, they can still be expensive, but they’re going to have a much smaller footprint. My issue is that I tend to have a lot of adjustables, not all of them, but with Flexnest you’re going to have a lot of plastic involved and a lot of parts.
More complex means more likely to break but is often a great solution for many people.
#3 Loadable dumbbell handles
Which brings us to option Olympic dumbbell handles. Now, we are focused on two-inch Olympic-size plates for these rather than the handles that work with 1-inch standard-size plates (which my Leeway Fitness spinlock dumbbells use).
Now, if you’re wondering, why somebody like me needs a set of handles?
If you’re building a home gym or have a home gym, as I’ve said, since you already have everything else, you just need the handles to recreate all the movements.
And if you upgrade to another option later, you didn’t blow a ton of money here and can probably still work them into your workouts with unilateral movements or other heavy lifts that you can’t afford to recreate with expensive heavy dumbbells.
Pros:
1. Cheap:
Being the cheapest option might be the best reason to get a set of loadable dumbbells because even if they don’t work out, they’re only about Rs 5000 for a pair, so they’re not gonna set you back a lot of money.
That way, you don’t end up like that guy on YouTube who every week makes the same joke about not have a full set of fixed dumbbells. How long is he going to keep this up?
2. Less Plates needed:
You can use the exact same weights you’re going to be purchasing anyway for your Olympic barbell activities. That’s the reason.
3. Not restricted by the size of the dumbbell.
It’s quite long, the sleeves, so you are able to add as much weight as you really possibly can depending on how long the sleeve size of your dumbbells are.
4. Save Saving:
Next is you’re saving a lot of space & money with them.
Because yet again, you’re using the exact same weight plates that you would have been using anyway, and all you need to do is invest in the handles themselves and then you’ve got as many dumbbells as you want as a single person.
And they can be used to do mostly the same movements as a traditional dumbbell.
Cons
1. Timely Setup:
In order to set up your weight on these dumbbells, it’s a little bit of a mission.
So what I would need to do is take the weight, whatever weight you wanted, and kind of just plonk it onto the floor with your collars.
And then, one of the cons is that the setup is quite tedious and it takes quite a long time, especially if you’re going to be using more than one weight plate per side.
2. Short size of the sleeves:
Some people might think that’s a con.
For me, it doesn’t make too much of a difference because, in something like a bicep curl, it might kind of bump into your leg if you want to do it in a different orientation.
The same thing could be said for a shoulder press.
Obviously, you can’t really, it’s not too much of a problem. For me personally, it hasn’t been too much of a problem, the actual length of the dumbbells themselves.
3. Less Heavy:
The 3rd con that I can think of is depending on the amount of weight plates that you have available at home. But currently, I only have 2.5-kilogram weight plates available.
That means every time I want to increase my weight for my dumbbell exercises, I have to go up in 5-kilogram intervals. So if I want to go up from 10 kgs, it’ll have to be 15.
If I want to go up from 15, it’ll have to be 20. You get the point. This is again easily fixable if you just manage to find 1.25-kilogram weight plates or 1-kilogram or 2-kilogram weight plates.
4. Can’t be used by two people:
One more con, this is more of a con for having a home gym in general. If you build a home gym for yourself, it’s going to be very difficult to train with a partner.
Obviously, when it comes to dumbbell exercises, I only have one pair of adjustable dumbbells.
If I have somebody else who wants to do exercises with a different increment of weight.
It’s going to be a bit of a pain in the ass to change between that weight on the dumbbells every time you want to switch exercises or switch every time a different person wants to do the exercise.
5. Less Plate Available:
The last con is if you don’t have multiple smaller-weight plates available to you, then if you want to go heavy, it’s going to start getting very impractical.
So for me, I only have enough 10 kg weight plates to go on the dumbbells once. Right, so I’ve only got four, two for one dumbbell, two for another.
Honestly, at times it can be a bit of a pain in the ass, especially if you’re trying to do like a drop set or you’re working with somebody whose weight is different than yours, so you have to switch between sets.
And when it comes to bailing out a lift or dropping them, not that I would ever fail a lift, but others might feel more comfortable dropping theirs.
A rubber hex dumbbells on a rubber floor would hit differently than these with circular plates that will roll when they hit that floor.
3 Best Loadable Dumbbells in India
Now let’s get into my choices for handles!
1. Good Pick: Kobo Loadable Dumbbells
- Made of: Solid steel with a chrome finish.
- Dimensions: 20″ L x 2.76″ height x 2.76″ width.
- 2-inch sleeve diameter
- 28.5 handgrip diameter
- Adjustable for 50 mm Olympic Plates
For my budget pick, I’m going with Kobo Loadable Dumbbells in India. Now, as we know from this blog, not everything Kobo makes is good, but these are pretty good.
For Rs 5999 shipped to your door, these are 20-inch handles with a 6.5-inch loadable sleeve, 28.5-millimeter diameter, and the knurling is not aggressive but bordering towards aggressive.
They have bushings which spin decently and chrome but not hard chrome finish, and they weigh 2.5 kg per piece.
Now, if you want a shorter version, they make a 15-inch version with a 3.5-inch loadable sleeve. They’re very similar but shorter.
Now, for the money, Kobo can be hit or miss, but this is one of their better products. These things, for the price, honestly, they’re bordering on exceptional.
If you put them against more expensive dumbbells, they’re not going to compete, but for Rs 5999, I’m not sure you could ask for much more.
2. Top pick: Bullrock Loadable dumbbells
- Net Weight: 5 kg
- Loadable Sleeve Length: 100 mm
- Sleeve Diameter: 49.8 mm
- Knurl: 1.2mm diamond
- Warranty: 3 years
- Handle length: 130 mm
They come with a 3-year warranty. They’re 14.6 inches long, and they have a 28-millimeter shaft with a hardened chrome sleeve & handle finish. They also have bearings, so these things can really spin.
They weigh 5 kg each, are Rs 5,664 to your door, and have a 3.93-inch loadable sleeve length.
The only thing that makes me wonder about them a little bit is typically I don’t recommend items that are inexpensive with bearings inside of them because it makes me wonder about their longevity.
Again, absolutely no issues, these things have worked flawlessly, but it makes me wonder years and years down the road if I’m going to have issues.
3. Alternative Pick: USI Universal Dumbbell 36 cm or 51 cm
- 14″ Length Single Bar
- Black Oxide Shaft, Bearings & Bush For Smooth Rotation
- Item Weight: 5 kgs.
- Loaded with preferably up to 5 Kg plates.
Based on your size preference you may choose 36 cm or 51 cm sleeve length. Now, they are expensive at over Rs 10,800 shipped to your door. So is that worth three times the cost of these or twice the cost of those? That’s kind of up to you.
If that USI India-made quality, and it is a jump in quality versus either of those, if it’s worth that price difference, it’s essentially a miniature USI Barbell, same knurling, same shaft diameter. They’re also sold individually, though if you’re purchasing just one for unilateral movements, they’re awesome.
They come with a chrome sleeve and a black oxide handle. And they’re 20.5 inches long with a 51 cm loadable sleeve. If you like it a little bit longer, but emphasise a little bit, it’s only a quarter of an inch longer than this sleeve and an eighth of an inch longer than the Kobo sleeve.
Now, from there, they have the USI 36 cm sleeve Dumbbell Rod, which weighs 5 kg. They’re 14.5 inches long, and they have a 36cm loadable sleeve. And yes, they are expensive, but they are not the most expensive option.
FAQs
Q1: Are loadable dumbbells worth it?
They’re perfect if you’re on a budget and have limited space, as you can buy one set of dumbbells which do all your work. However, they might not be the most ideal option if you prefer the ease of grabbing fixed-weight dumbbells for each exercise.
Q2: Can you drop loadable dumbbells?
Generally, dropping dumbbells isn’t recommended. The weights can damage the floor and the dumbbells themselves. So don’t drop.
Q3: Why are heavy dumbbells so expensive?
Heavy dumbbells require more durable materials to handle the weight safely. Additionally, the plates themselves can be expensive, especially for higher-weight capacities.
Q4: Are adjustable dumbbells better?
Adjustable dumbbells (like Sketra one) offer similar space-saving features to loadable dumbbells. However, they can be more expensive and might not offer the same weight range or adjustability as loadable dumbbells with separate plates.
Q5: Should I use 1 or 2 inch dumbbells?
The dumbbell handle thickness (1-inch or 2 inches) depends on you. 1 inch: More comfortable for exercises like bicep curls and tricep extensions. 2 inch: Offers a more secure grip for heavier weights or exercises. Ultimately, it’s best to try both sizes, to see which feels more comfortable for you.
Thats for reading my blog on “3 Best Loadable Dumbbells in India”. Let me know in the comments what type of dumbbells you have, whether they’re fixed, adjustable, loadable, or other options you want me to look at.
I hope this blog was helpful. I’ll see you in the next blog.
Also, check our other blogs –
1. 5 Best Exercise Cycle in India For Weight Loss?
2. 8 Best 20kg Olympic Barbell Price in India
3. 5 Best Fractional Plates in India For Barbell
