Are you using the bumpers for the Olympic lifts?
I have a nice set of bumpers and the B&R bar. (as an aside, cleaning that bar as per your video reminds me sooo much of cleaning my guns. Maybe it's the oil smell, the raw steel, whatever.) Anyway, I'm going to need to get more plates, probably within the next 8 weeks, provided no resets happen first. I was thinking that I should just get maybe 4 or 6 of the 25 pound bumpers. I kind of wish I got those instead of the 45's, and definitely wish I never bought the commie 35 pounders. (to borrow Kirk's accurate description).
As a gym owner, do you see any advantage to one particular assortment over another? For me, it's more about convenience than the money.
Are you using the bumpers for the Olympic lifts?
If you're not going to use them as the major component of your training, or even use them at all for the next few months, why are you asking?
My question is not so much bumpers vs iron, but I was asking if you found a certain combination of plate sizes (regardless of material) to be ideal? Weight is weight is weight, yes, but just like I found that my 35's rarely get used, I was wondering if you have found that other plates seem to get a lot of use.
Your question was, in fact, about bumpers. Iron plates in pounds as a set are 2 x 2.5, 2 x 5, 4 x 10, 2 x 25, 14 x 45.
Why 14 for the 45s? Is that just what you've found to be the sweet spot as a gym owner in terms of the requirements of your strongest lifters?
Or maybe fourteen 45s is all that will fit on the bar..., (Can you tell I haven't yet had a need to put that much weight on a bar yet?)