The Eleiko XF Bumper Plate is incredibly durable and quiet, designed for rough environments and tough training. Eleiko has compressed durable yet soft rubber, offering a fantastic sound dampening and shock absorption.
Eleiko focuses on creating a unique feel on their equipment that creates a pure, flexible, strong, and ultra clean foundation. They design excellence and have a continual innovation commitment to quality and craftsmanship.
They build all their products to last, which is why you will find Eleiko equipment in daily use in gyms and houses for decades after it has been delivered.
These plates are more narrow than standard 20 kg bumper plates, matching the size of standard 15 kg discs. This allows you to load more weight onto the barbell, up to 200 kg.
They are available from 10 to 45 lbs and manufactured with compressed recycled crumb rubber. If you’re looking for bumper plates that are thin, durable, green friendly, sound dampening, and shock absorption,
As a collegiate athlete who has trained in several small to world-class gyms, I’ve been able to test out The Eleiko Bumper Plate and will be revealing my findings, pros and cons, and thoughts throughout this article.
Pros
- Low vibration when dropped
- Low noise during the bounces
- Thinner than standard bumper plates
- Available from 10 to 45 lb weights
- Durable and Quiet
- Used recycled crumb rubber
- Great for indoor and outdoor user
- Great starting price point
Cons
- The bounce can use a bit of improvement
Things to consider before buying a Bumper Plate
Bumper Plates or Olympic-Sized Plates are made of thick, dense rubber. They are usually 450mm in diameter and have 50.4mm inserts that allow them to attach to the barbell.
They’re designed for athletes to safely drop a barbell from an overhead position such as the clean and jerk, the snatch, or front squats. This reduces risking any damage to the bar, the plates, and the platforms.
Bumper Plates are available in both pounds and kilograms. Most plates are black; however, some companies provide different colors and labels.
Dead Bounce
Dead bounce is when your bumper plate doesn’t bounce back in the air as high. The best bumper plate will have barely any bounce after being dropped from an overhead position.
Look for dense virgin rubber on your bumper plates as they tend to have less bounce.
Center Ring Quality
The center ring is designed to prevent the bumper plate from becoming loose on the barbell. Most quality center rings are made from steel and are usually hooked inside the bumper plate.
These hooks are inside the robber and stop the inserts from moving or shifting once the place is dropped.
Type of Rubber
There are three kinds of rubber used for bumper plates; Virgin Rubber, Recycled Rubber, or Crumb Rubber.
Virgin Rubber is more expensive as they are denser and more durable. They are overall slimmer, harder, and have less bounce when you drop it on the ground.
Crumb Rubber and Recycled Rubber is much more affordable as the materials are bonded together. This leads to the rubber to chip and becomes softer over time. It is not as durable, and it will bounce higher when dropped.
Thickness
Thinner bumper plates allow you to fit more weight onto the barbell. Lower quality bumper plates tend to be thicker without metal inserts.
If you’re a beginner, this may not affect you as much. However, if you’re an intermediate to advanced lifter, not being able to add an extra 45 lbs on can be annoying.
Design
If you’re a visual person, then you will like the color-coded bumper plates and labels. Although they are a bit more expensive, they don’t serve any extra purpose apart from visuals.
Why You Should Consider The Eleiko Bumper Plate
Eleiko XF Safety
As a weightlifter, dropping a bar that has iron plates on each side from a reasonable height can damage your floors and sometimes yourself. Bumper plates reduce the impact of the drop and will provide a controlled bounce that protects you and your floor.
As iron plates have no bounce when they hit the floor and usually damage either the plate and break or chip the floor.
The Eleiko XF is made out of recycled crumb rubber meaning it is sturdy and does not have a high bounce. Crumb rubber plates work well for both indoor and outdoor lifting as they can handle harder surfaces without wear and tearing fast.
As they don’t bounce as high, the less likely the plates will move after you drop the weight, reducing the risk of your getting injured.
Eleiko XF Noise
When rubber bumper plates hit the ground, it makes a light thud sound. When iron plates hit the ground, it makes a large bang.
If any of your lifts requires dropping your weight, then you will need bumper plates, especially if you’re lifting in a home gym and have housemates, kids, or neighbors.
Eleiko XF’s compressed soft and durable rubber provides a fantastic sound dampening and shock absorption. With the XF or SVR Platform, there will be less noise and vibration reduction.
This makes it perfect if you’re trying to lift without annoying your neighbours or roommates.
Eleiko XF Durability
Bumper Plates are made out of rubber that requires little to no maintenance. This is perfect as they are durable and won’t deteriorate if you use them in an outdoor setting or a humid environment.
While iron plates will rust extremely quickly if they are left in these environments. Iron plates often chip or flake if they aren’t maintained properly.
Eleiko XF is durable and designed for rough environments and tough training. Although it isn’t as durable as bumper plates made out of virgin rubber or urethane, it provides enough durability to be used for years.
Eleiko XF Weight Accuracy
Bumper Plates are made out of rubber and steel or iron inserts. These inserts are covered with rubber, which allows the measurement to be more accurate (Up to 1 – 2 % weight tolerance) than iron plates.
Eleiko XF is 1 – 2% weight tolerance for the bumpers.
Eleiko XF Lift More Heavier Weights
As bumper plates are safer and more durable to work with, you won’t have any mental blocks about breaking the floor when you drop the bar or your neighbors complaining about the noise.
The FAQs
Is Eleiko A Good Brand
Eleiko focuses on creating a unique feel on their equipment that creates pure, flexible, strong, and ultra clean foundation. They design excellence and have a continual innovation commitment to quality and craftsmanship.
They build all their products to last, which is why you will find Eleiko equipment in daily use in gyms and houses for decades after it has been delivered.
How Much Weight Do I Need?
It depends on your weightlifting experience and strength level. We recommend that you get more weight than you think since you can always add more weight.
If you’re building a home gym, we recommend adding more weight over time than spending thousands of dollars on plates that you might not use.
For a total beginner, we recommend a set of 20 kg bumper plates, 15 kg bumper plates, 10 kg bumper plates, and a 5 kg bumper plate. You may also need a 2.5 and 1.25 plate to increase weight incrementally.
What Do The Colors Mean Or Stand For Color-Coded Bumper Plates?
Colors are typically seen with a more higher-end bumper plate.
These colors are set to the International Weightlifting Federal standards. This allows you to calculate the weight quickly from a distance.
Red Plates are 55 lbs
Blue Plates are 45 lbs
Yellow Plates are 35 lbs
Green Plates are 25 lbs
Our Final Thoughts on The Eleiko Bumper Plate
Eleiko focuses on creating a unique feel on their equipment that creates a pure, flexible, strong, and ultra clean foundation. They design excellence and have a continual innovation commitment to quality and craftsmanship.
They build all their products to last, which is why you will find Eleiko equipment in daily use in gyms and houses for decades after it has been delivered.
The Eleiko XF Bumper Plate is incredibly durable and quiet, designed for rough environments and tough training. Eleiko has compressed durable yet soft rubber, offering a fantastic sound dampening and shock absorption.
These plates are more narrow than standard 20 kg bumper plates, matching the size of standard 15 kg discs. This allows you to load more weight onto the barbell, up to 200 kg.
They are available from 10 to 45 lbs and manufactured with compressed recycled crumb rubber. If you’re looking for bumper plates that are thin, durable, green friendly, sound dampening, and shock absorption,
If you’re looking for an affordable and budget Bumper Plate, then we recommend you checking out The Eleiko Bumper Plate.