There are many small but significant elements in our world that help us in the course of our daily lives. These handy little gadgets fly almost unnoticed and are mostly an afterthought until they break or wear out and need to be replaced. Only then do we suddenly realize its importance.
Take, for example, the fitness enthusiast. For these “frequent travelers” to the gym or fitness center, grip knobs, handle knobs, shifters, and a variety of other equipment knobs and handles are continually used during their workout routines. Knob and handle manufacturers are vital in providing exercise equipment OEMs with handles and knobs to meet the demands of the exercise equipment industry.
Those who spend time in a gym interact with adjustable machines the entire time they are there. Whether it’s sweating it out on a treadmill or stationary bike, performing resistance training on a weight machine, or lifting free weights, there’s almost always a situation where handles and knobs are used to adjust some aspect of an exercise machine.
a variety of machines
Loading machines are designed to offer the user a controlled environment in which to lift weights. There are many athletes who do not want to work with free weights for various reasons. They may have an injury where they want more control of their lifting mechanics. Or they may just want to keep things simple and not have to move free weights to and from racks. Whatever the situation, many of these machines use clamping knobs to hold the plates in place once a weight is selected.
Clamp handles and clamp knobs can also be found on machines that require “slide” adjustments, such as some of the leg machines. In cases like these, a clamp or knob is loosened so that a pad or brace can be slid into place and adjusted to the size or comfort level of the wearer.
When it comes to cardio equipment, many of the treadmills and elliptical machines found on the gym floor have a series of adjustable knobs. On older stationary bikes, clamping knobs are used to adjust the resistance. But with the advent of new digital technologies, there are more buttons to push than there are knobs to adjust when it comes to actual cardio machine settings these days. Regardless, knobs and handles will always play a prominent role for height and angle adjustments on cardio machines.
When it comes to exercise equipment, there’s no escaping knobs and clamps, even when engaging in the relatively primitive effort of lifting free weights. The benches still need to be adjusted for chest exercises; Not to mention some of the height and angle adjustments required for barbell placement that are accomplished in many cases with the use of clamp knobs or screw knobs.
Even non-weight-bearing activities, such as seating benches, use equipment that can be adjusted with a knob or clamp. And of course, those multi-exercise cable machines are packed with knobs, clamps, and handles that control just about every weight adjustment and piece of equipment imaginable.
DimcoGray is a manufacturer of knobs serving OEMs that build exercise equipment and machinery for other specialty markets. Of course, the average gym member won’t consider the handles and knobs supply chain until they go to make an adjustment to one of their favorite machines, only to discover that the means to do so is unavailable.
