Average Joe Teardown of a TRULAP™ 8552 Adjustable Dumbbell -- another solid competitor in the market 

Outstanding! Happy to hear that. Thank you for letting us all know. I feel fairly confident that these components will not be an issue under normal everyday use. But if something should happen by accident, it's nice to know that you stand behind the product with support and parts. I should mention to everyone (and I do in the video description as well) that our companies have no relationship of any sort. I purchased the dumbbells independently. So your reply, and the fact that you've watched the video, is a welcome surprise.Thank you again. Cheers, Joe

Are you planning on fixing the increment delineation?

@@mikeo759is America going to the metric system? Jk

Oh man, yes, that makes complete sense for a company based in Canada. Thank you for pointing that out. What threw me off is the lack of kg numbering on the version sent to me. So it's the same old challenge designers face. We can make the increments clean in one system (metric or imperial) but not both. Fair enough. I deal with the same challenge in my own products.

I appreciate you taking the time to let everyone know, Ryan. Especially since the 1.5"/~38mm grip can't really be modified to make it any narrower. Cheers, Joe

Hiya, Bear. I'm glad you found the video helpful. Thank you for your kind words. So far they're holding up nicely here. 100% agree that being easily repairable is a huge plus. Cheers, Joe

With similar durability and future repairability, I think you can't go wrong with either one. Keep in mind that you could always make your own magnetic adder weights too. If you browse through my channel videos you should see one about various ways to DIY make incremental weights. Cheers, Joe

I am glad you found the videos useful. Mine are Gen 2. I'm not sure what the differences/improvements are since I never owned Gen 1. If you scroll down the comments, you'll also see Trulap replied that they do make parts available. To me, that alone is a major advantage over a product such as Nuobell. I'd rank Snode an Trulap about the same in that regard. If you do buy and use Trulaps, I'd love to read your feedback after a few months of use. I always appreciate perspectives other than my own.

Excellent, that's what I was told too. They replied to me shortly after making the video, but I never updated the video description. Also confirmed is that the "unusual" increments aren't really unusual. You'll see that comment elsewhere in this comment section. Thanks for taking the time to let everyone know. Cheers, Joe

Hiya Ryan. Thanks for watching the video! I'm glad you found it helpful. I don't know if you saw Gluck's reference to my original Nuobell teardown video from last year, but here's an up close look at the cam followers that Gluck referred to in his recent video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VI3alL6i8jA.htmlsi=oWAAMSSPZxRogIqJ&t=1167 The telescoping rods and weight plates are what determines much of the durability as far as drops. The internals are what determines the durability/longevity of weight adjustment. Nuobells have issues with both. Trulap's implementation is, in my opinion, more durable and, unlike Nuobell, it's fixable. I suspect Trulap handles will significantly outlast the current Nuobell handles. I say that as someone with no relationship with either of these brands. Cheers, Joe

I'm glad you found it helpful. That's a great question. This answer applies to *all* adjustable dumbbells that use telescoping rods to select weights, including Nuobell, Core, Snode, MX, Trulap, etc. They all use some variation of a dovetail or tab to interlock their plates. Each of the plates "locks" into the one before it on the handle. You can see the upper and lower tabs on the Trulap plates at 4:00. So the rod keeps the plates aligned, and the dovetails/tabs keep them from sliding off the rods. This is both a strength and a weakness of the telescoping rod design. A video about telescoping rods adjustables has been on my to-do list for quite some time. I'll see about finally filming that video in the months ahead. Cheers, Joe

I tend to agree. In fact, many of my modifications alter the original weight settings of various dumbbells. So, oftentimes, the original decals are no longer accurate. It's more of a market expectation than anything. Someone else pointed out that these unusual LB increments are because the original version used KG increments, which should have been obvious to me earlier. But at the end of the day, I agree that it's more about tracking what you do.

Hi Marek, sorry about the late reply. This past month was crazy busy. I believe I understand what you're asking. You'd like to see a demonstration of the telescoping rods and pins that engage the full and half plates. Is that correct? I may be able to do some sort of short video about it in the near future. It's basically a variation of the same method used by all of the designs that rely on telescoping rods: Nuobell, Core, Snode, etc. Rods extend outward from inside the grips and with each twist of the grip, the rods extend further to engage more plates. All telescoping rod style adjustable dumbbells rely on dovetailed plates to keep the plates from sliding off of the rods. I think what I'll do is add a telescoping rod explainer video to my to-do list. Something that covers all of the different considerations of the design. Thank you for your suggestion. Cheers, Joe

I'm glad you found it helpful. I don't believe you'll have anything to worry about with microloading by way of magnetic adder weights. Its telescoping rods and internal mechanisms should be fine with the added weight under ordinary use. The usual restriction applies...we shouldn't intentionally drop adjustable dumbbells. Outside of that, you should be fine. Cheers, Joe

Hi, Esha. I'm glad you found the video useful. Unlike some of the other dumbbells on the market that use plates which contain other small components (e.g. Nuobell, REP, etc), Trulap plates are just layers of what appears to be stamped, die-cut steel, and can't really be disassembled without drilling out several rivets that are used the fasten the layers together. I don't see any visible welds, and I doubt they use an adhesive between the layers. Both would be unnecessary. You'd drill out all of the rivets, and the two layers would come apart. You could very likely throw these plates off of a rooftop and the steel would either deform or damage the ground below first, before the two halves would come apart. In the teardowns, I focus mainly on the handles which generally determine the overall durability and repairability of the dumbbells, and even then I only focus on the portion that owners can disassemble with simple hand tools. If I do any plate disassembly down the road, I'll be sure to post it here on RU-vid. Thanks for taking the time to submit the idea! Cheers, Joe

Can you tell how thin is each plate? Seems like 4 mm plates joined to make 8mm

@@eshakhan5752 You have a very good idea for scale, Esha. They are ~3.5mm thick combined to make ~7mm +/- a couple tenths.

@@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC just guessed :) my friend is using them and I want to buy it someday. Thanks for the update

Sorry about the late reply. I'm just seeing your message now. Bowflex 1090s? I would not recommend buying replacement plates. eBay is one of the few places you can find individual plates for sale, and they're fairly costly. They're typically sold by people who part out dumbbells. So there's no telling how much more life you'll get out of the plates before you run into the same issues. If the tabs on your plates have begun to crack, I do have a DIY video about how to permanently fix them: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--a-gqVB-oOw.html. The method described in the video is just one of several ways to accomplish the same goal. You can use other methods such as welding or epoxying the bolt into position too. If the outer plastic shell of the plate has begun to crack and lift away from its steel core, you can try to lift the plastic enough to squirt some epoxy underneath, then clamp the shell down until it cures. I hope you found this helpful. Cheers, Joe

Hi hi. These are Gen 2, as far as I am aware. At least that's the reason Trulap provided when the shipment was delayed several weeks last year. It definitely makes sense that they'd just ship a larger base with extra plates as an expansion kit. For the heck of it, I'm going to inquire about the differences between 1st and 2nd Gen and see what they say. I'll post here if/when they respond.

​@@AverageJoeInnovationsLLCDid you het a response?

@VTF82 wow, it had been so long I had forgotten about my request. I don't recall receiving a reply. I'll send a followup and find out.

@@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC 👍🏻

Hi, Zoogie. I'd rank them about the same in terms of ease to repair. A couple simple hand tools. There's still an unanswered question of whether Trulap will supply parts. But I suspect, based on the overall construction of both the Snode and Trulap, that they aren't going to get many warranty claims over the years. At least not due to normal wear and tear. Cheers, Joe

Great video Joe, I was able to fix my snode thanks to you and your video on the snode.

I suspect it's because the parts aren't really under any significant load, and they aren't rotating in such a way that friction/heat would be an issue. Some plastics are self-lubricating, though I don't know if that's the case here. It wouldn't hurt to add a silicone grease, but I believe you'll find that it doesn't really measurably improve anything. Cheers, Joe

Hi, SFD. I wouldn't say a 100% no-go. It depends on how small we're talking about and the individual's intent. A 1.5" (~38mm) grip would definitely feel like a fat grip in smaller hands. They'd likely find 30-35mm (1.2-1.4") more comfortable. However, for adherents of the "fat grip" school of thought who purposely challenge their grip strength and go for more forearm engagement, this might be right up their alley. Still, 1.5" is a bit on the thick side if the folks behind Trulap want to appeal more broadly. It would require a potentially significant retooling for them to shrink their grip now. It'll be interesting to read user feedback as more people give it a go. Cheers, Joe