Plates

[blandrick]

If I'm going to buy iron plates, other than potential variance in weight, is there any reason not to go as cheap as possible? This is assuming I'm buying new, which honestly I probably won't do, but...

[Adam Skillin]

Some of the crappy CAP Barbell handle plates I have aren't machined on the inside. None of mine have major burrs, but some people have experienced that problem.

The size is totally incorrect. All 4 of them are smaller than my bumpers, but by very different amounts. Their weight is close enough (43.5-46.4), actually.

Also, they have huge holes, so there's a lot of slop, which isn't great for deadlifts or the fast lifts, but mostly irrelevant for squats and bench.

And they're ugly.

[Joe Murphy]

Mahog covers it, I think. I'd be embarrassed to own the plates they sell at Sports Authority... if I had guests to my house I would need to avert my eyes in shame.

[sking1001]

I have 12 plates now and bought 10 of them at Walmart, delivered to my local store for free:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/CAP-Barbel...-Gray/19226058

They are at least the right diameter and all pretty close to 45 within a pound or less. Without collars, they wobble some on deadlifts like Mahogany says, but I am overall pleased. I don't think you can beat the price unless you find used ones, which I have had zero luck with.

[Dave Klopp]

I've good luck with buying used. I've bought all my plates off of craigslist and Play It Again Sports. Bought four 45 lb York plates at Play It Again Sports for $100.

[JohnRoman]

If you DL with them :
1) Make sure they are close to the specs for height
2) I would only buy the round plates. Nothing 8,12,etc sided.

I bought 2 different types from Academy Sports that were both made by CAP. Type 1 were "Standard" knock-offs, like Steve's link above. They had a lot of problems with burrs but nothing that a Dremel can't take care of. I bought these to DL with so they would put the barbell at the right height to lift. If I remember right about 1/2 of the ones I looked at had that problem. The other types are shorter and take up more room on the bar but are easier to handle because they are grip type plates. I don't have to worry about room on the bar for a while. Can't speak to the accuracy because I haven't weighed them (yet).

If you watch craig's list for a month or two you can usually get some plates in okay shape for ~ 50 cents/pound.

[sking1001]

It's so hard to find someone that has just 45s vs a "set" of plates though.

@keeptryn 4 Yorks for $100 is awesome!

[hollismb]

Yeah, those cheap CAP plates are horrible if you care anything about your barbell's sleeves. I bought a few for change plates and spent some time sanding them smooth. They also have a pretty loose inner diameter, so they're wobbly. I've yet to see a halfway decent plate at any sporting goods store I've checked around me, which is just sad. I'm still looking into buying some iron as well. Does anybody have York Legacy plates, or the Olympic iron plates that Rogue sells?

[blandrick]

I've looked on Craigslist, but lately nothing I've seen has been cheap enough to warrant dealing with some random dickhead. Doesn't mean it won't happen.