Circus Dumbbell - Custom/DIY

Only reasons I have to take stars off this thing is due to the simple fact that I cannot even lift the thing. Don’t know how much it weighs and won’t know until I can shoulder press it. Much heavier than my all time best so it’ll be a PR whatever it is.

I had been looking for a circus dumbbell for a while. I had a few criteria. First, I wanted something relatively light empty. Second, I was not willing to pay $300+ for something new from a major retailer. My bell weights 58 pounds empty and that is a pretty good weight for me. Build quality is fine, but these are not indestructible. I would highly recommend some crash pads for setting these down on and even then, they will bounce and bend if you are not careful. Nice piece of kit and I am glad I found it on Facebook Marketplace for under $100. No idea who the original manufacturer is.

I have used shot weighted circus DBs, but these plate loaded style ones are far better. Easy to load with 10s, durable and comfortable on the shoulder.

A friend of mine who welds made this for me with some scrap metal he had. I sent him the specs from Titans website and he went off of that. He used a little bit too thick of metal for it so it’s about 125 lbs empty which is quite a bit more then I wanted but it is solid as can be though!

Got myself a thick handle and a load of 5kg plates, not the most comfortable for resting on my shoulder, but made it work

Is this a circus dumbell? No. what is it? I am not sure the best way I can describe it is an axle loadable dumbbell. I welded the sleeves on and grinded it, it is fat boy

Right place right time freebie, but this one is way too heavy for a starter piece. It's shot loaded making it a little extra difficult to adjust.

Made right here at The Roost Mfg. 10” & 12” dumbbells. 10” has a 2” handle (1) 12” has a 2” handle and the other 12” ones I’ve made have a 2-1/2” handle. I can provide specs if anyone is interested in making a similar one.

Made this using a single piece of pipe and foam insulation board for the thickness. Some Rogue spacers for the weight storage that I had left over. All in all, I think I paid about $50 for this. The plates were not the most durable but I was able to train on it a couple times a week to get ready for a competition.

FBMP find. My main critique is the side walls were made with too thin of metal. So you got to be careful, or it’ll dent and distort. So make sure you get a thick enough bell if you are thinking you’ll be reckless with it.