page_title: BUR Barbell Company
section_title: Product types
hierarchical_section_title: BUR Barbell Company / Product types
caption_attribution_description: BUR-140 Mailer - Mid-1950's- Part of a BUR Barbell Brochure
context_page_description: The BUR Barbell Company was a privately held American physical fitness equipment manufacturer that was in operation from 1928 until 1966. The company traces its origins to Bradenton, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama. After the Second World War, operations were relocated to Lyndhurst, New Jersey to take advantage of the rapid economic and population growth in the region. At one time, BUR Barbell was the second largest producer of barbells in the United States.
  BUR manufactured a limited selection of weight training products that further narrowed over time until, by the early 1950s, it consisted of a single barbell/dumbbell set and the component parts. BUR Barbell produced plates for sale under its own name as well as for companies such as the Jackson International Barbell Company, the Dan Lurie Barbell Company, and Ace Barbell.
context_section_description: BUR Barbell produced a limited line of free-weight products.  This approach kept manufacturing simple and efficient and allowed for the production of a quality product at a lower price than many competitors could achieve.
  With the exception of the “BUR Quick Change” set, standard plate sizing was the norm.  BUR did not manufacture Olympic bars or Olympic-sized plates.  The original BUR-BEL plates had a center hole diameter of 1-1/4” and were designed to fit a 1-1/16” bar.   Sometime in the 1950s, the bar diameter was reduced to 1” and the plates were drilled with a 1-1/16” hole.
  During its 38 years of operation, BUR Barbell offered the following products:
  Barbell Sets
  85, 105, 175, 185, 275, and 285 Pound BUR-BEL Sets – These were offered in both "Standard" (unmarked) and "Deluxe" (BUR-BEL) versions.
  BUR Quick Change Set - The “BUR Quick Change” was a barbell with slotted ends.  Quick Change weights were U-shaped and slotted - not round - and had hooks attached to them.  These hooks allowed for the quick and easy loading and unloading of weight plates.  The BUR Quick Change was patented in 1930  and first offered for sale in 1938 for $60 ($930 in 2010 dollars).  
  95 Pound Set – A standard/deluxe set offered via mail-order.
  100 Pound Set – A standard set offered via mail-order.
  110 Pound Set – A standard set offered during the 1950s and 1960s and advertised as the “finest ever manufactured”.
  185 Pound Set – This “Deluxe” set was sold during the 1930s and 1940s under the BUR-BEL brand and included 155 pounds of plates, a standard bar, dumbbell handles with collars, and – unlike later sets – kettlebell handles and iron boots.
  BUR-130 – Sometime in the early-1950s, the “BUR-130” became the only barbell set offered.  It set consisted of a 4-1/2’ knurled pipe bar, dumbbells with fixed collars, and 110 pounds of weight plates.
  BUR-140 – The “BUR-140” is arguably the best known BUR product.  It replaced the BUR-130.  Unlike previous BUR sets, the BUR-140 came with a 38-inch chrome-plated and knurled revolving barbell sleeve.  This sleeve increased the grip diameter of the 5-foot (1.5 m) steel bar from 1" to 1-1/8”.  The set's dumbbells also included removable revolving sleeves.  Finally, the BUR-140 came with BUR’s own oversized inner collars; these collars were machined to allow the bar sleeve to rotate freely while simultaneously eliminating the gaps between sleeve and collars that were common at the time.  According to BUR brochures, the new bar could support a maximum weight of 400-pounds.  The BUR-140 sold for $16.80 in the early 1950s (about $140 in 2010 adjusted dollars) and was still being produced when the company closed in the 1960s.
  Custom Sets
  
  Although – in its advertising literature – BUR often stressed the advantages of purchasing one of its "feature" barbell sets, the company also sold customized sets upon customer request.
  Dumbbells 
  
  Throughout its history, BUR offered several different dumbbell variations.  The earliest BUR dumbbell was a simple bar with four removable collars.  Later versions included a welded on sleeve.  The final BUR dumbbell design consisted of a standard 12-inch bar with a removable chrome-plated flanged sleeve and two standard collars.
  Multifunctional Exercise Stand
  
  This product, introduced in the mid-1950s, was an exercise stand that could be used as a Squat Rack, Prone Bench, Abdominal Board, Leg Raise, Dip Station, etc.
  Kettlebell Handles
  
  Kettlebell handles were offered with the BUR 185 pound set.  Eventually, they were discontinued.  Later BUR advertising branded kettlebell handles as “gadgets” with “practically no value”.
  Iron Boots
  
  During the 1930s and 1940s, the BUR Barbell Company sold iron boots under the trade name “BUR Foot-Weight”.  Unlike traditional iron boots, the BUR Foot-Weight design called for weights to be attached to the bottom of the boot rather than to the sides.  Iron boots were included with both the BUR Quick Change Set and the BUR 185 Pound Set.  The sale of iron boots was eventually discontinued.
  Weight Plates 
  
  BUR sold standard weight plates via mail-orde
caption: Mid-1950s "BUR-140" Brochure
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