Equipment Care & Maintenance
Customer Service
Equipment Care & Maintenance
A few minutes of care keeps your kit safe, working smoothly and covered by its warranty. Here's how to look after every part of your gym.
Why Care Matters
Most problems we see aren't manufacturing faults. Chalk traps sweat against steel and starts rust. Metal rubbing on metal wears through protective finishes. Constant vibration loosens bolts and anchors. And a few habits, like dropping light plates on their own, break kit that would otherwise last for years.
The guidance below follows our warranty care guidance. In a busy commercial gym, follow the checklist as written. In a home gym with lighter use, you can clean less often, but keep the safety checks the same.
Barbells
Our Team and Evolution bars have zinc finishes and bearing sleeves. Treat other bars the same way unless their product page says otherwise.
Knurling & shaft
- Brush chalk and skin out of the knurling after use with a stiff nylon brush.
- Once a week, scrub the bar, then wipe on a light coat of 3-In-One oil with a lint-free cloth and wipe off the excess.
- Never use a brass or steel wire brush. It strips the zinc finish that protects the bar from rust.
Sleeves
- Wipe the outside of the sleeves clean.
- Don't spray WD-40 or other solvents into the sleeves. They wash out the grease the bearings need.
- If the spin slows down or the sleeve feels gritty, stop using the bar and email us rather than taking it apart.
Storage & use
- Strip plates off straight after use. Never leave a bar loaded on the rack.
- Store bars on a barbell rack or gun rack, not leaning on a wall or lying on the floor.
- Stay within the load limits on our warranty page, and don't use the bar for rack pulls.
Racks & Rigs
Safety first. Kipping pull-ups, wall balls and dropped bars send vibration through the frame. Over time this loosens bolts and anchors. A loose rig is a safety risk, so make the monthly bolt check a fixed job, not an occasional one.
Every month
- Check every bolt on the frame, crossmembers and pull-up bars with the right size spanner, and tighten any that have worked loose. Don't over-tighten.
- Pay extra attention to pull-up bars and crossmembers that take kipping and muscle-ups.
Every 3 months
- Check floor anchors and wall fixings. If an anchor spins, has lifted or the concrete around it is damaged, stop using that rack and replace the anchor first.
- Look for cracked welds, bent parts or damaged hole edges. If you find any, stop using it and email us.
Protect the finish
- Keep the plastic (UHMW) liners on J-cups, spotter arms and attachments in good condition. They stop steel rubbing on steel.
- Replace liners when they wear through. Replacement liners and parts are available.
- Wipe sweat and chalk off uprights so the powder coat lasts.
Bumper & Weight Plates
Cleaning
- Clean plates with warm water and a little washing-up liquid, then dry them.
- Don't use bleach, alcohol, ammonia or solvent cleaners. They dry out the rubber, which then cracks.
- Wipe the steel hubs with a lightly oiled cloth now and then so rust doesn't transfer onto your bar sleeves.
Dropping
- Drop plates only onto shock-absorbing gym flooring at least 20mm thick, or onto a lifting platform.
- Don't repeatedly drop 5kg or 10kg plates on their own from above hip height. Load them with larger bumpers.
- Tri-Grip plates aren't made to be dropped during Olympic lifts. Use bumper plates for that.
Scuffs, surface marks and fading from normal use aren't faults. Plate cover is against splitting, cracking and the hub coming loose.
Rubber Gym Flooring
Daily
- Dry-sweep or vacuum first. Mopping over loose chalk turns it into a gritty paste that grinds into the rubber.
Weekly
- Damp-mop with a pH-neutral cleaner made for rubber floors.
- Avoid pine, citrus or petroleum-based cleaners. They break down the binder that holds the rubber together.
Protect the subfloor
- Use a damp mop, not a soaking wet one. Water trapped under the tiles can rot wooden subfloors and cause mould.
- Lift and dry any tiles that get soaked.
Need flooring for lifting? See our gym flooring guide.
Cable Machines & Benches
Cables & pulleys
- Check cables every day for fraying, kinks or a split coating. If you find any, stop using the machine and replace the cable before anyone uses it again.
- Check pulleys, carabiners and handles for wear.
Guide rods
- Wipe guide rods clean and dry with a microfibre cloth.
- Lubricate them lightly with a silicone spray or PTFE dry lubricant, unless the product manual says otherwise.
- Don't use grease or WD-40 on guide rods. They attract dust, which turns into sludge.
Benches & pads
- Wipe upholstery after each session with mild soap and water.
- Avoid strong alcohol sanitisers. Used every day, they dry out the vinyl and split the seams.
- Check bench bolts and adjustment pins monthly.
What To Avoid
These habits cause most of the damage we see. Points marked in red are in our warranty terms: damage caused this way isn't covered.
Dropping 5kg or 10kg plates on their own
A thin plate can't absorb the energy of a falling bar. The steel hub can warp or crack and the bar sleeve can bend.
Instead: Drop small plates only with larger bumpers on the bar. Repeatedly dropping 5kg or 10kg plates on their own from above hip height voids the plate warranty.
Dropping without proper flooring
On concrete, wood or thin matting the plate rebounds hard, which loosens the hub and can split the rubber from the steel.
Instead: Drop only onto shock-absorbing gym flooring at least 20mm thick or a lifting platform. Our warranties require it.
Leaving a bar loaded on the rack
Bars are built for movement, not a constant static load. Left loaded, the shaft can take a permanent bend.
Instead: Strip the plates off as soon as you finish. Damage from storing a bar loaded isn't covered.
Dropping the bar onto pins, spotter arms or boxes
Steel-on-steel impact damages the sleeves, the knurling and the rack.
Instead: Lower the bar under control onto safeties. Don't drop it onto benches, boxes, spotter arms, pins or unprotected floors.
Using indoor kit outdoors
Rain, damp and sea air rust bars and bearings and lift powder coat.
Instead: Keep kit indoors in a dry room, away from direct heat. Our equipment is for indoor use.
Dropping an empty bar
With no plates to take the impact, the force goes straight into the sleeves, bearings and snap rings.
Instead: Never drop an unloaded bar. Lower it to the floor or return it to the rack.
Racking on worn or missing liners
Bare steel J-cups and attachments scrape the bar's zinc finish and knurling, which lets rust in.
Instead: Check J-cup and attachment liners monthly and replace them when they wear through. Replacement liners are available: just ask.
Care Checklist
For a busy commercial gym. Print it and keep it by the rig, or add it to your opening and closing jobs.
| Daily |
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|---|---|
| Weekly |
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| Monthly |
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| Every 3 months |
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Home gyms with lighter use can clean bars and floors less often, but keep the monthly bolt check and the cable checks the same.
Your Warranty
Our warranty covers manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship. It doesn't cover misuse, normal wear and tear, or damage from using kit in a way our care guidance rules out. Following this guide is the best way to keep your kit in good shape and your warranty valid. For cover lengths and the full terms, see our warranty information.
If something looks wrong, stop using it and email [email protected] with your order number and photos or a short video. Carrying on using a faulty product can cause further damage that isn't covered.
Need A Part Or Some Advice?
Our team is available Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm (UK time). Send your order number and a photo of the part, and we'll help you sort it.