Perhaps you’ve owned some home gym equipment before. There’s a certain type of frustration that can only be felt here: You’re midway through a workout, sweaty and going hard. Click.
Your adjustable dumbbell locks at a weight you didn’t intend on lifting. Rattle. Spin.
Useless. Selector dial spins but your plates don’t move. Equipment stop working, so you stop.
Why? Because now it’s broken. How adjustable dumbbells work.
Fortunately, almost all problems with these dumbbells is fixable without replacing them. Unfortunately, it take time. These things are based off a delicate system of plastic housings, pins and springs.
Get any one of those component off-kilter and it will seize up the entire mechanism. With just a little knowledge about how it’s built and some simple tools, you should of be able to get your dumbbells working again. This is a step-by-step walkthrough of the most common failures and how to fix them.
Step By Step Bowflex Dumbbell Repair Guide
Understanding Adjustable Dumbbell Mechanics
The most common issue you’ll run into is the selector dial being “stuck”. This means the internal pins don’t retract all the way. When this occurs, there is no physical blockage.
The dial won’t turn because of it own internal mechanism.
Fixing a Stuck Selector Dial
Carefully disassemble the dumbbell. First remove the end caps which are secured with either screws or small plastic clips (depending on the model).
After opening up the housing, you’ll find the pin assembly. Is there any junk? Dust or small weights can get in the tracks and cause jamming.
Use a soft brush or compressed air to clean everything out. The second key is lubrication. The pins rides in dry tracks and eventually bind up.
Spray them down with a dry lube such as Teflon spray. Do not use an oil based lube. Oil attracts dirt and becomes a gummy mess after a while.
Lube the moving parts of the selector mechanism and the pin rails. Move the dial a few times back and forth. That will help get the pins seated right and also distribute the lube.
If you’re still having binding, check your pins for bending. Once bent, a pin won’t retract proper. In that case, you might have to replace the pin.
A second frequent issue is that the weight plates don’t lock in place. When you pick up the dumbbell, it clunks a bit. The weight feel insecure and loose.
Securing Loose Weight Plates
Typically this is a spring thing. Thousands of reps wears down the internal springs. Their tension is lost.
They no longer push the locking pins into place as hard. To solve this, you’ll have to open up the handle and get at the spring chambers. Take out the springs and measure their length.
Are they stretched? Replace them. You can buy replacement kits from Bowflex.
Generic springs can be dicey. For safety’s sake, the tension has to be just right. When you reassemble, don’t overtighten the screws holding the assembly together.
Many folks do this. They believe that tighter is better. But it’s not.
Tightening them too tight will warp the plastic housing and cause the pin tracks to be misaligned. As soon as you put any pressure on it, the mechanism bind back up. Hand tighten the screws until they are snug.
If needed, add an extra quarter turn. Give the plastic some room to flex slightly when loaded. Also look over the selector dial itself.
With age, plastic tend to wear. The teeth on the dial will become stripped and the dial will slip. It is not as easy repaired.
Replaced Worn Selector Dials
Perhaps you’ll have to get a new dial. Look around on the forums for that particular model online. Third party companies sometimes produce compatible parts.
If the dial is cracked don’t ignore it. A broken dial will cause the pins to fire with the wrong weight. That’s a dangerous situation.
And then there’s how you use ’em. The quickest way to wreck a set of these babies is to drop one. And no, they’re not cast iron.
Proper Handling and Care
They’re precision instruments. The pins can bend and the housing can crack if they hit the floor hard enough to cause that kind of damage. Keep ’em on the tray.
Period. Treat them well, and they’ll serve you better in time. Repairing them won’t hurt ‘em.
But treating them gently helps them last longer. Your floor should be treated the same way. Repairing your Bowflex dumbbells doesn’t require much mechanical skill; only thoughtful inspection.
No fancy tools required either. Simply observe the assembly of the parts. The spring and pin system becomes clear once you figure it out.
Presto: The dumbbell is fixed. And your workout continues uninterrupted. You heard that sound when you chose your weight.
Solid right? Keep it that way.
