Barbell Sleeve Adapters
Maybe your barbell broke, maybe its too small for your plates. In any case, barbell sleeve replacement is a great way to save some money and get your barbells back in working order.
If you’re of better safe than sorry school of thought, or you just want equipment in your backyard gym shed in the best shape possible, then you can go ahead and get a new get replacement; some brands like cap barbell comes with several models that you can choose from.
Believe it or not, berbells break! I’ve seen it happen plenty of times, especially with old or budget barbells. So… What do you do when a barbell breaks? Do you throw it away and get a new one?
Well… Sometimes you do. If the damage is too severe. You can decide the struggle isn’t worth it and get another one, thankfully, there are some very affordable barbells out there.
Otherwise, if you wanna spare your wallet, you can just replace the sleeves!
In my case, I found out about barbells sleeve replacement not because of a broken barbell, but because I bought a barbell without realizing it was too small for my plates. Try lifting with plates that clang around and don’t fit snuggly, you’ll realize its so much of a pain that you don’t really want to lift.
That’s why I scoured the web until I found a solution. Barbell sleeve replacement.
Can Barbell Sleeves Be Fixed Or Should I Replace Them?
Of course, when you’re dealing with broken barbells, there isn’t a one size fits all solution. The extent of the damage is what determines if your barbell is fixable or not.
Moreover, the impact that caused your sleeve to break can also cause your barbell to bend, which causes a whole new host of issues.
Keep in mind that you’ll use this barbell to lift hundreds of pounds over your body, safety is the primary concern. You wouldn’t want it to snap while its on top of you and hurt yourself. Don’t try military press, bench presses, or even worse extreme Olympic lifting if you think your barbell sleeves are about to break!
That being said though, when a barbell’s sleeve breaks, it usually doesn’t cause a whole lot of damage to the structural integrity of the barbell. In those cases, fixing it is the way to go.
The Best Barbell Sleeve Replacement Of 2021 – Top Rated
Here are the top barbell sleeves you can find on the market.
BodySolid 8″ Adapter Sleeve – Converts Standard 1″ Bars To 2″ Bars (My Personal Favorite)
This one won’t help you if your barbell broke, but it’s my personal favorite because it saved me from having to buy a new barbell that would fit my plates properly. And it looks so good sitting next to my DIY dumbbell rack.
Basically, its a sleeve that goes on top of your barbell to make it wider so that plates fit more snugly. That way, they don’t clang around as you lift, which is annoying as hell but can also damage your plates and barbell.
Technical Specs
Material: Nylon
Brand: Body-Solid
Item Weight: 1 Pounds
Item Dimensions LxWxH: 8 x 2 x 2 inches – Also available in 14 inches.
What I Like
What I like the most about these is that they’re cheap, reliable and easy to install.
They’re made out of plastic, which assures me they won’t damage the barbell sleeve underneath, and installing them is as easy as fitting them over the sleeve and tightening one screw.
Be cautious though, since they’re plastic you should be careful not to over tighten them, or you could strip the screw..
Customer Reviews
Unsurprisingly, the average customer reviewed this product with 4 stars. I mean why wouldn’t you? It’s cheap, easy to install and does what is advertised.
There are some negative reviews, but those are mostly from people that tightened it too far and messed up their screws. Just follow the instructions and you’ll be fine!
Ader Sporting Goods Olympic Adapter Sleeve Choice of 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14″
Much like our previous product, this is another heavy duty nylon sleeve. In this case you can choose from a wide array of lengths to fit whatever bar you need to adapt.
They also sell a chromed sleeve, which is even stronger if you need to hold up hundreds of pounds. Unfortunately, its so good that it’s out of stock right now.
Technical Specs
Nylon Sleeve:
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Ader Olympic adapter sleeve 9″, effective length 8″
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Black nylon material with set screw, and round end cap
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Durable black nylon
Chromed Sleeve
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5″ Chrome plated olympic sleeve
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Sold as 1 piece
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Convert 1″ bar to 2″ bar
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Max for 2 pieces of 45 Lbs cast iron plates.
What I Like
As mentioned, I like that you can choose multiple lengths for your sleeve adaptopr. Of the top of my head, you can adapt a leg extension machine, a lat pulldown or other gym machines that may not require a full 9 inches of sleeve.
Customer Reviews
Once again, we get a 4 out of 5 rating for these sleeves. Both nylon and metal. Some have claimed that they don’t adapt to EXACTLY 2 inches, but it’s still good enough.
York Barbell FTS 2 Inch Olympic Adapter Sleeve
A 5lb metal adapter from a well known barbell brand; York Barbell. These distinguish themselves from the competition because of their sturdy build. As mentioned, they weigh in at a whopping 5lbs each, so you can be sure these will last for a long time.
Technical Specs
Sleeve weight: 5 pounds each
Sleeve length: 10 inches
Sleeve color: Black
What I like
My favourite part about these sleeves is that they clamp down with two screws rather than one. That makes the fit extremely tight, you just know that those sleeves aren’t going anywhere.
Them being made of metal also means that it’s gonna be almost impossible to strip those screws!
Finally, the peg is square, not round, so you can center the fit to your heart’s content!
Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews are STELLAR for these sleeves. Seriously, I couldn’t find one, not a single bad review.
Everyone loves them and rates them 5 stars, so if these fit your budget, go for it! Buy them.
Valor Fitness Ex-10 | Olympic Adapter Sleeve
Another great metal sleeve, these are designed to be used mostly on machines and weight trees. Don’t worry though, it will work on any peg – bars too – and convert them from 1 inch to 2 inches in diameter.
Because they’re made for machines, these are sold individually, so if you have a single peg you need adapted you won’t have to pay for an extra adapter.
Even better, these are exceptionally long, which makes it so that you can load a BUNCH of plates!
There are some caveats though. First, your peg needs to be at least 7 inches long for these to work properly, so measure up your bars/machines/weight trees before you buy! Second, not all collars fit these pegs, so again, measure up before you buy.
Once that’s taken care of, installing it is as simple as tightening a screw!
Technical Specs
Sleeve weight: 1 pound
Diameter: 2 inches
Sleeve Length: 9 inches – 8 inches of usable space.
What I like
These pegs stand out because they have rubberized tips that are great for loading and unloading plates without scratches, as well as making any accidental bump a whole lot less painful!
What Customer Reviews Are Saying
Customer Reviews are great for this product too. The only complaints I could find were about some collars not fitting on the sleeve. It’s a pretty simple issue to fix, just use a screw-on collar instead.
What To Consider When Buying A Barbell Sleeve Adapter?
Here is are few things to consider when shopping for a barbell sleeve adapter.
Sleeve Strength
Not all sleeves are built the same and because of that not all of them can hold up the same weight.
For most of us, a plastic sleeve will do just fine, since we’re not lifting massive amounts of weight. For the freakishly fit & strong athletes out there who want to measure their fitness levels and push the limits, read the product spec to find out how much weight your new sleeves can take before they break. You’ll probably have to go for a metal one.
Sleeve Length
Related to our previous requisite, sleeve length is also crucial. If you’re using your adapter sleeve for a barbell, then you’ll probably be fine because these tend to mimic the length of a traditional barbell.
However, if you’re using yours for a machine (be it a smith machine or any type of squat rack) or a weight tree, super long sleeves might not work. They might just not fit. So be conscientious of what you’re buying.
Sleeve Radius
Of course, the most important part of picking an adapter sleeve is what radius fits your barbell/machine/etc. and what radius fits your plates.
Most plates are made to fit 2 inch barbells. It’s no surprise that most adapters are made for those measurements too! The only thing you need to be cognizant of is the size of the peg you’re adapting, which can vary.
But… How Do These Fix My Barbell?
This is where you need to get a little bit handsy with your barbell. Think about it this way, your broken barbell sleeves attach to a much smaller bar, so our goal is to attach our barbell sleeves directly onto the bar.
The way to do this is by removing your broken sleeve and attaching the new one. I can’t go into the specifics because each barbell is built differently. There is no way for me to cover every sleeve attachment mechanism in one article! But removing your barbell sleeves shouldn’t be much of a problem sleeves, trust me it’s better than other issues like having a bent barbell or having to remove rust from weights.
For these cases I’d suggest going for the strongest sleeves available, since there won’t be as much material supporting it. Of course, these sleeves won’t spin, so it won’t work for weightlifting, especially not for youth weight lifting training who could easily injure themselves in an instant.
For our purposes though, just getting in some weight lifting workout, you’ll do fine. After all, even dumbbell-only workouts will give you all the benefits from exercising to increase metabolism, burning calories, training biceps and triceps and overall body muscles in your target areas – all it takes is time, work, and being consistent enough.
FAQ About Barbell Sleeve Adapters
These are a few questions about barbell sleeve adapter s answered.
Do I Need An Adapter For My 1 Inch Barbell?
Well, you don’t NEED an adapter if all you want to do is lift some weights at home. However, getting your hand on 1 inch plates is usually a lot harder and more expensive.
That’s because 2 inch, olympic style plates are the norm, which makes them cheaper and easier to find. In fact, if your budget is tight you can usually find them in garage sales or used on the internet.
What Happens if I Use Olympic Plates without An Olympic Adapter Sleeve?
Using plates that don’t fit snugly on your bar is a big no no. It not only causes an annoying clang every time you move the weight, it can also damage both your weights and barbell!
Even worse, for lifts like the deadlift or barbell row, plates that are too big will not sit straight on the floor, which can make the bar uneven and cause injury.
Finally, plates that are moving around are liable to fall out mid lift. No need for me to explain why that’s bad news.
What Do I Do If The Sleeve Is Too Long For My Machine?
I’ve seen some cases where even the shortest sleeves are too long for machines. In these cases, you’re out of luck. Or… you can just cut off the end that won’t properly fit the sleeves. For obvious reasons, this will void your warranty, and will only be possible if you bought a plastic sleeve.
Where Should I Buy Barbell Sleeve Replacements?
As always, I suggest buying solely from amazon. They’re support is unmatched and can help you out if anything goes wrong. Especially so with this kind of product, that needs to hold up a lot of weight and may break if used incorrectly.
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