Barbells from China

[Sihan Goi]

Hi,

A few of my friends and I are thinking of setting up our own gym at a warehouse as a cooperative effort, not really for profit(at least not for now). Obviously one of the concerns will be cost of equipment, since our country(Singapore) doesn't sell these things.

We are thinking of importing the equipment from China since it is a lot cheaper and thankfully freight is calculated by volume not weight.

I'm thinking that plates, racks, dumbbells, KBs don't really matter that much in terms of quality, however barbells do matter. I've had the unfortunate experience of training at a gym who had cheap $30 barbells that bent after a few short months, and 1 of them had uneven ends.

So I'm thinking of getting IWF certified brands such as DHS and Zhangkong. From my research it seems like their male training bars cost about US$500-600 and would suffice for olympic lifts. In the interest of cost, I'm thinking of just getting a couple of these for olympic lifts, and some cheaper but still heavy duty ones for other lifts like squats, deads, etc. Obviously I'm not gonna get cheap $30 ones, so I'm wondering if there are other cheap manufacturers in the $100-200 range perhaps, that would withstand the "abuse" of a warehouse gym audience?

Also, does anyone know chinese distributors/suppliers of the DHS/Zhangkong barbells? Or do we just order direct from them?

Thanks in advance!

[John Stewart]

Zhang Kong's web site, (work/family safe), has a number to call for international sales: +86-317-8316978. you could give them a ring and see what their direct sales and shipping costs were. or ask for a singapore distributor list. god, shipping costs based on volume and not weight. that'd be great for a big affiliate sized order

[Sihan Goi]

Thanks John. Now why didn't I think of that.

Anyway, I am very sure they don't have a local distributor. Singapore is not big in weightlifting at all. But when the time comes I'll give them a call to find out.

Do note that shipping from China is often delayed and unreliable. What you receive may not be what you ordered, there may be missing stuff. This is from experiences some of my friends had when ordering equipment. But for the price, it's still worth it I think.

[John Stewart]

slow day at work, so i played around a bit trying to see what i could find. turns out, there is a history with weightlifting in singapore. the first and only olympic medal won by an athlete representing singapore was a silver won by tan howe liang (work/family safe) in weightlifting at the 1960 games.

there is a singapore weightlifting federation (work/family safe). they may be able to help you find options for import of equipment.

you may have already looked in these places. i sometimes get into these "research modes" when i have too much time on my hands at work.

[Sihan Goi]

Haha, thanks John. Yes, as a weightlifting enthusiast myself, I do know of these facts. Unfortunately, they are buried in the history books as far as the average Singaporean is concerned. Weightlifting as a sport is rare, looked upon as "weird", lacks funding, etc. Tan Howe Liang sadly did not get the recognition he deserves in a day where the most popular competitive/professional sports here are table tennis, bowling, swimming, archery and soccer.

In fact a friend of mine is in the national weightlifting team, and I also know others who train at the SWF. Their equipment is old, rusty, and I didn't get much help in terms of options.

Thanks again.

[Sihan Goi]

Hmm actually checked out the roguefitness website and they do have some affordable bars as well, especially the powermax bars($181.50 for a 1500lb rated 20kg barbell). Does anyone know if these work for olympic lifts? Would hate for it to break/bend after a few dumps from 8' high.

[Carl Chia]

Originally Posted by Sihan Goi

I didn't get much help in terms of options.

Yo Goi, did you contact Tom Liaw(president of SWF) himself?

Eleiko is expensive but if you ever consider it then they have a local distributor http://www.eleikosport.se/weightlift...4&Region_Id=72

ASIA PACIFIC & OCEANIC TRADING
102 Sims Avenue
387427 SINGAPORE
Phone: +65 67413328
Fax: +65 67457893

with SWF still finding a new home at the moment(the temporary training place has 1 platform only) which I have no idea when.. I really hope the opt forum guys will get that gym.