Why it’s so hard to find dumbbells in the US

[Scrumhalf]

No supply chain, no gains. The United States dumbbell shortage, explained.

On lucky days, my friend Andrew drops a dumbbell alert in my Slack group chat. He tells us which sites — Rogue, SPRI, NordicTrack, Bowflex — have them in stock, which are shipping, and what kinds of weights are available. If you get to his messages five minutes late, the weights are almost always sold out.

“Finding dumbbells that deliver within a reasonable time (less than a month) is like trying to acquire concert tickets for a pop legend without ever knowing when the tickets go on sale,” Andrew told me. “I checked in up to five times a day on my most reliable sites, hoping that I would get lucky that two dumbbells in the weight I want will be available.”

Dumbbells, like Nintendo Switches, yeast, and bidets, are one of those things that have become extremely popular during the pandemic and extremely hard to find. People are spending more and more time at home, and they’re buying things they never needed or possibly wanted before. The sudden surge in demand has created shortages of the most seemingly disparate things.

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/213961...ctrack-bowflex

[Bouncer]

No supply chain, no gains. The United States dumbbell shortage, explained.

On lucky days, my friend Andrew drops a dumbbell alert in my Slack group chat. He tells us which sites — Rogue, SPRI, NordicTrack, Bowflex — have them in stock, which are shipping, and what kinds of weights are available. If you get to his messages five minutes late, the weights are almost always sold out.

“Finding dumbbells that deliver within a reasonable time (less than a month) is like trying to acquire concert tickets for a pop legend without ever knowing when the tickets go on sale,” Andrew told me. “I checked in up to five times a day on my most reliable sites, hoping that I would get lucky that two dumbbells in the weight I want will be available.”

Dumbbells, like Nintendo Switches, yeast, and bidets, are one of those things that have become extremely popular during the pandemic and extremely hard to find. People are spending more and more time at home, and they’re buying things they never needed or possibly wanted before. The sudden surge in demand has created shortages of the most seemingly disparate things.

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/213961...ctrack-bowflex

Yea pretty crazy. They are basically tiny companies used to supplying a steady and reliable amount of gyms and a few people at home. Now all of the sudden they find themselves in massive demand.

And what do you do as one of these business owners? Do you massively scale up operations only to find yourself in trouble when business inevitably slows down again and things get back to normal? It's a tough call.

[Bouncer]

Be innovative and make your own. All this time trying to find them you could've had em made already.

with what? got any easy examples? remember, some of us live in apartments. i don't have a garage or basement or any place to do anything more then basic shit.

i just keep saying to myself, gym will open soon. still fucken closed in cali. god damn it.

[Bouncer]

One way...get a couple coffee cans. Get a broom stick. Cut your stick to approx 10-12inches. Fill up one can with cement. Insert handle. Let it set up then flip and do the other side. Simple.

it's stuff like that that's tough in an apartment. where do i mix cement? in the kitchen? i'm not saying it's impossible but i think people with garages, back yards, and basements take it a bit for granted that these things can be done with ease.

[Bouncer]

Go to your local waterworks supply house. Grab a couple 4inch short solid sleeves. 3/4inch all thread rod and nuts. Assemble. I've done this method before as I used to work in the pipe yards.

There's 2 for you and I'm sitting in lowes on the shitter.

no idea what any of that means bro. need an example like a picture. what is used for the weight? i'm from New Jersey then Chicago, and now Cali. i never built a god damn thing in my life besides some muscles and maybe a TV stand. :D

you fuckers from Alabama take this shit for granted that we all know how to do this. you guys are used to your cousins as your wives, BBQ, and building shit. us city slickers need help. :D

[Jack]

I got lucky found a bunch from gyms closing. Shitty way of getting them I threw the guy a few extra bucks. Said I’m not looking to take advantage of a situation. He appreciatesd it. Before that took a log from a tree that came down screwed handles in it from Home Depot $10. Used different sizes to change the weight. Squat curl shoulder press wasn’t bad

[Ashop]

I got lucky found a bunch from gyms closing. Shitty way of getting them I threw the guy a few extra bucks. Said I’m not looking to take advantage of a situation. He appreciatesd it. Before that took a log from a tree that came down screwed handles in it from Home Depot $10. Used different sizes to change the weight. Squat curl shoulder press wasn’t bad

Unfortunately your going to see a lot of gyms closing within the next year. We just bought some commercial equipment from a gym that just shut down.

[Jack]

only 50% capacity at gym I go “struggling” they say it’s good considering.

[Jack]

Another thing lot of dudes lost a majority of their size from the 8months on the couch. I was Shocked