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For those who train with a barbell, weight plates are an essential yet often overlooked aspect of building a home gym. Many gym owners spend plenty of time choosing the best squat rack or barbell, while the best weight plates can feel like an afterthought.
There’s nothing wrong with this, but if you want to infuse some color into your home gym equipment and avoid the standard black or metal weight plates, Mayhem Strength’s neon fleck bumper plates are a fantastic choice. They’re durable, vibrant, and sure to turn heads—but are they worth the cost?
In this Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates review, I’ll share our final thoughts after months of extensive testing (and dropping) to help you decide if these plates deserve a spot in your home gym.
We Know Bumper Plates
Here at Garage Gym Reviews, we test as many products as possible. Our testers, who include certified personal trainers, weightlifters, gym owners, and fitness enthusiasts, have tested dozens of bumper plates over the years, and we know exactly what to look for.
For this review, our tester was Lindsay Scheele, CPT, CNC, the face of our Garage Gym Reviews Everything YouTube channel. Lindsay has used all kinds of bumper plates over the years, and she spent several months primarily using these Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates in her training before filming a full video review.
After spending so much time with these plates, Lindsay used our equipment testing methodology to calculate a final score, which rates each product in a number of specific categories, such as:
- Durability and construction
- Ergonomics
- Versatility
- Rubber density and bounce (for bumper plates)
Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates
Mayhem Strength Neon Fleck Bumper Plates
Product Highlights
- Ranges from 10 lbs to 55 lbs
- Neon colors in a fleck pattern
- Virgin rubber
- High durometer rating
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Unique color and pattern
- High durometer rating
- Low bounce
- Virgin rubber
Cons
- Not available in sets, only as pairs
- Pricier bumper plates
Bottom Line
With bright neon colors broken up in a speckled fleck pattern, Mayhem Strength Neon Fleck Bumper Plates are sure to make any home gym pop. Although a bit more expensive than black bumper plates, the neon fleck plates are made with a virgin rubber, which should minimize the rubber smell weight plates can have. Additionally, they have a high durometer rating—between 85 and 90—which will protect your floors with a dead, low bounce when dropped.
A Quick Look at the Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates
With a stunning design that immediately catches the eye, these are some of the most unique bumper plates we’ve seen. The plates say Mayhem Strength on them, but when you go to the Mayhem Strength website, only a few sizes are available.
The full sets are available on GymBroFitness.com. We aren’t exactly sure how the two companies are related, but if you’re interested in picking up these plates, you’ll want to do your shopping on the GymBroFitness website.
Slightly confusing branding aside, these vibrant plates come in a variety of weights and colors. If you’re looking for a way to add a splash of color to your gym, you’ll love them. They’re a bit pricier than we’d expect to see and cost more than popular brands like REP Fitness and Rogue, but we still like the plates quite a bit.
If you’re a weightlifter or regularly use Olympic lifting in your training, commonly seen in workout styles like CrossFit, bumper plates are essential, as they’re meant to be dropped. They also work well with exercises like deadlifts, where the bar is repeatedly crashing into the floor.
RELATED: 13 Deadlift Benefits
Mayhem Bumper Plates are durable and built to withstand heavy use, and aside from a few minor design issues we’ll call out later, we think they’re a great choice for most people.
Before You Buy
- Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates are made of virgin rubber, which has no odor and is very durable.
- The plates use an interlocking design, but the ridged edge isn’t comfortable to hold.
- They aren’t the cheapest plates, but the quality is high, and they should last for a long time.
Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates Video Review
Are the Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates Worth It?
These bumper plates are more expensive than we would have expected, but that doesn’t mean we don’t recommend them. If you’re on the fence, here’s who we think will love these plates the most.
Great for:
- Anyone who wants bright, colorful bumper plates
- Weightlifting, powerlifting, or any exercise that may be rough on your barbell
- Home gym owners who want something durable
Not recommended for:
- People shopping on a budget
- Anyone looking for competition-grade plates
- Those who prefer smooth, flat plates
Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates Specs
| Price | $104.50-$2,738.99 (sold in pairs and sets) |
| Material | 100% virgin rubber |
| Weight range | 10-55 lbs |
| Weight set options | 230, 260, 370, 410, and 1,090 lbs |
| Diameter | 450 mm (17.7 in) |
| Insert | 50.6 mm (2 in) |
| Durometer rating | 85-95SHA |
| Warranty | 6 months – 3 years |
Experience Using the Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates
Lindsay Scheele, CPT, CNC, has used these plates weekly during her training sessions at the Garage Gym Reviews warehouse. She said that while she loves training with all of the equipment at our warehouse, she almost exclusively reaches for the Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates because the colors and design are so pretty.
To quote Lindsay directly, “They just bring joy to me every time I look at them.”
At 3 inches thick, they’re a little bit thicker than something like an Eleiko competition plate, but they’re about the same size as many other bumper plates meant for home use. Because of the durometer rating of the rubber, Lindsay pointed out that they don’t have much bounce when dropping them.
Unlike iron plates, bumper plates are specifically designed to be dropped on a barbell without damaging either the plates or the bar. This works well for Olympic weightlifting, an explosive type of lifting that can help improve power, strength, and speed1.
RELATED: Bumper Plates vs Iron Plates
They certainly bounce a little, but compared to some other budget plates we’ve tested that seemingly bounce halfway to your chest, these plates feel pretty good.
Lindsay also mentioned that the 2-inch collar fits very well on most barbells and machines. It’s easy to slide on and off but not so loose that it feels like it’s moving around constantly.
Overall, these colorful plates are a great choice for home gym owners who want to add a unique look to their setup.
RELATED: Crazy Ways to Use Weight Plates
Construction and Durability
For the construction and durability, arguably the most important part of a bumper plate, the Mayhem Strength plates earn a 5 out of 5.
Lindsay has dropped these plates on the gym floor countless times during her training, as have others in the gym, and they still look great. The company website says these plates can be dropped 30,000 times before durability becomes an issue, which is a lot of drops. You may hit this number faster in a commercial gym, but home gym owners should get many years out of these plates.
The plates are made of 100% virgin rubber, which is meant to withstand regular wear and tear. After months of regular use, including plenty of dropping, the plates don’t show any scratches, dents, or other signs of damage. The virgin rubber also means the plates don’t have a strong odor when you first get them, which is great for home gym owners who’ll have these plates in a smaller gym.
RELATED: DIY Weight Plates
According to the durometer rating of these plates, which measures the durability of rubber, the Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates are just as durable as bigger brands like REP Fitness and Rogue.
Ergonomics
The plates received a 3 out of 5 for ergonomics. Lindsay’s main callouts were with the ergonomics of these plates, and she wishes a few features were a little different.
The plates have a bumpy edge that’s meant to provide enough grip and allow them to interlock. However, Lindsay feels this doesn’t work well when stacking the plates on a bar, especially if the bar doesn’t have collars.
She noticed that every time she dropped the bar, the plates bounced and separated without a tight collar. This is common with most bumper plates, of course, but it defeats the purpose of intentionally adding interlocking features. Lindsay noted that she’d rather have no edges at all so the plates can lay flat against each other on the barbell rather than an interlocking design that makes it difficult to get the plates evenly lined up.
Lindsay had one other callout about the textured design, saying it felt a little “Ouchy,” a word she made a point of writing down. She asked several others in the warehouse for their opinion, and they all agreed that it felt like aggressive knurling, but in a bad way. Be prepared for a textured ridge that may be a little painful to grip.
Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates vs Rogue Echo Bumper Plates
Rogue Echo Bumper Plates
Rogue Echo Bumper Plates
Product Highlights
- Great value for the quality
- Black-and-white contrast for easy weight identification
- 88/100 durometer rating
- 3-year warranty
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Tremendous value
- Shore A Durometer rating of 88
- Weight tolerance of these bumpers is +/- 1%
- Great for general training and CrossFit
- White lettering offers great contrast
- Stainless steel insert rings
- 25-45 lb plate variants are warrantied for 3 years
Cons
- Wide plates
- Maximum you can fit on the bar is less than 500 lbs
- May smell bad out of the box
Bottom Line
The Rogue Echo Bumper Plates are a great value plate based upon our review. Although they're cheaper than Rogue's flagship HG 2.0 Plates, they have extremely similar specs and warranty at a much lower price. If you need bumper plates for your garage gym, these are a great option. If you need them for your commercial facility or CrossFit Affiliate, we'd suggest going with something like Hi-Temps.
If you’re looking for a set of black bumper plates from one of the biggest names in fitness equipment, the Rogue Fitness Echo Plates are another option to consider.
The Echo plates, available in both black and full-color sets, are similar to the Mayhem Strength plates in many ways. They’re sold in pairs or sets, available in 10- to 55-pound increments, and have a high durometer rating that results in minimal bounce.
The main difference is the design and cost, which were our only two callouts with the Mayhem Strength Plates.
Unlike Mayhem Strength, Rogue uses flat plates that don’t have an interlocking design and don’t have the painfully bumpy edges. They’re also cheaper in most weights and sets. For example, a pair of 45-pound Mayhem Strength plates costs $275.99, while a pair of 45-pound Rogue Echo plates only costs $165.
If you love the colorful designs and don’t mind spending more, we recommend Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates. However, if you prefer the flat design or want to save money, the Rogue Echo Plates are a better choice.
For more, you can check out our in-depth Rogue Echo Bumper Plates Review.
| Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates | Rogue Echo Bumper Plates | |
| Price | $104.50-$2,738.99 (sold in pairs and sets) | $165-$555 |
| Material | 100% virgin rubber | Virgin rubber |
| Weight range | 10-55 lbs | 10-45 lbs (55 lbs for the color option) |
| Weight set options | 230, 260, 370, 410, and 1,090 lbs | 160, 230, & 260 lbs (plus 210, 320, and 350 for the color option) |
| Diameter | 450 mm (17.7 in) | 450 mm (17.7 in) |
| Insert | 50.6 mm (2 in) | 50.6 mm (2 in) |
| Durometer rating | 85-95SHA | 88SHA |
| Warranty | 6 months (10 & 15 lb plates), 3 years (25, 35, 45, & 55 lb plates) | 90 days (10 & 15 lb plates), 3 years (25, 35, & 45 lb plates) |
Customer Experience
The customer experience from GymBros Fitness, the company that sells Mayhem Bumper Plates, earns a 3 out of 5 rating.
No free shipping is offered, and all returns are charged a 25% restocking fee. Several products are available on pre-order, but if you wish to cancel your order before it ships, you’ll be charged 20% of the fee as a penalty.
The company website has a phone number, email address, and contact form for reaching someone.
Ordering the Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates
At the time of writing, the Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates are currently out of stock, but the website says they’ll be restocked in December 2024.
The plates can be purchased with a credit card, Amazon Pay, or financed through Sezzle at checkout, and shipping charges will vary depending on where you live.
Customer Reviews
At the time of writing, there is only one review on the company website, a 5-star review that praises the look and quality of the plates
Final Verdict of Our Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates Review
We really like the Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates, especially the bright color patterns. They’re certainly not cheap, and we wish they had smooth edges instead of the rough, somewhat painful grip areas, but everything else is great.
Whether you’ve been lifting for decades or you’re preparing to start your fitness journey, these plates are a great choice that will fit any standard Olympic barbell.
The rubber is very durable and doesn’t have a strong smell when unboxing, and there’s no excessive bouncing when dropping them. If you don’t mind spending a little extra money, Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates are a great way to add a splash of color to your home or garage gym.
Full Rating
Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates
With bright neon colors broken up in a speckled fleck pattern, Mayhem Strength Neon Fleck Bumper Plates are sure to make any home gym pop. Although a bit more expensive than black bumper plates, the neon fleck plates are made with a virgin rubber, which should minimize the rubber smell weight plates can have. Additionally, they have a high durometer rating—between 85 and 90—which will protect your floors with a dead, low bounce when dropped.
Product Brand: Mayhem Strength
Product Currency: $
Product Price: 104.50
Product In-Stock: InStock
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Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates: FAQs
Are Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates good?
Yes, Mayhem Strength Bumper Plates are extremely durable and sized to fit most standard barbells. Their high durometer score means the rubber is built to last and doesn’t have a dangerously high bounce.
What are the best bumper plates?
The best bumper plates depend on your training goals, style, gym setup, and budget. When choosing bumper plates, be sure to choose plates that fit your budget and are durable enough to withstand regular drops if you’re doing any type of weightlifting.
For our top picks, check out our guide to the best bumper plates.
Can you drop bumper plates?
Yes. Unlike dumbbells and standard iron plates, bumper plates are specifically designed to be dropped and absorb the impact, protecting both the plates and your barbell from excessive damage. Most are made of a durable rubber that can withstand thousands of drops and should last for many years.
References
- Morris, S. J., Oliver, J. L., Pedley, J. S., Haff, G. G., & Lloyd, R. S. (2022). Comparison of Weightlifting, Traditional Resistance Training and Plyometrics on Strength, Power and Speed: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 52(7), 1533–1554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01627-2
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