Submit a pre-order request. Once you submit your pre-order request, I will receive an email notification of your request. I will then either email you with questions to clarify your pre-order or email an invoice to you for payment. A 50% minimum deposit is required up-front. Any remaining balance will be due once your Grip Kit(s) are in-house and ready to ship. Once your deposit is received, I will add you to the pre-order reservations list.

PLEASE NOTE: On occasion, email invoices either get caught in spam filters, or don't arrive at all. If you haven't received an invoice within 3 days of submitting your request, please check your spam folder. If it's not there, send an email to let me know so that I may resend it to you.

It's not my first rodeo. For the past three years, I've been designing, manufacturing, and delivering custom dumbbell upgrades compatible with BowFlex® brand dumbbells. I managed three successful pre-order campaigns, one each in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The current 2023 campaign is my second for Grip Kits compatible with Powerblock® dumbbells.

I encourage you to check out my Facebook page, Instagram account, and Youtube channel to read what customers have written about me and my upgrade kits. Alternatively, you can always wait until April to find out if any kits remain after pre-orders have shipped.

Average Joe Innovations, LLC was founded in mid-2020. But it began life in early 2018/2019 as a personal project to fix some of my broken and unsafe dumbbells rather than throw them out. As luck would have it, a wave of unanticipated interest in my first 2019 Bowflex® "dumbbell fix" video on YouTube led to a demand for dumbbell fixes and the company's formation.

There's a reason I use the tagline "Better than OEM." Ever since the day that I designed my first fix for some of my Bowflex® brand dumbbells, my focus has been on creating parts superior to OEM in every way. Heck, my Grip Kits are better than anything else on the market.

I'm not some reseller dropshipping parts I didn't design, from a manufacturer I've never seen, for equipment I've never actually used.

I begin with original OEM-compatible designs. I select the best materials I can reasonably afford. I deal directly with the owners of the shops who make my parts. I don't deal with go-betweens. And my kits are installed and used on my dumbbells long before I make them available to anyone else. So, yes, my grips are quality parts that I trust from day one.

Hands down it is the best material for this application. It isn't the least expensive, but it's the best while still remaining reasonably affordable. Average Joe 316 stainless steel grips are not plated. They are left exactly how they were machined. Stainless provides beauty, corrosion resistance and low maintenance that cheap coated steels simply cannot match. No rusting, peeling or pitting. With minimal proper care, Average Joe grips will look as good 20 years from now as they do today.

Try my grips side-by-side with Powerblock knurled grips. There is no comparison. In fact, several of my current customers own Powerblock's premium-priced Commercial Pro Series that shipped with Powerblock's knurled steel grips. They disliked the OEM knurled grips so much that they invested in two pairs each of mine to replace them. Here's how my knurled grips compare to Powerblocks's:

• Powerblock uses cheap coated/chrome steel versus Average Joe premium 316 stainless steel
• Powerblock chose to use an inexpensive simple cylindrical design because it costs less to fabricate, versus Average Joe grips designed and contoured to look Better than OEM
• Powerblock's relatively passive coated knurl lacks "bite" versus Average Joe uncoated knurling that ranging from medium to aggressive.
• Powerblock advertises one size, 1.25" (~32mm), versus Average Joe grips available in 3 sizes: 30mm (1.2"), 35mm (1.4") and 40mm (1.6").
• Powerblock currently charges $99 + shipping (~$20 to me in NH), while Average Joe grips are currently $110 (30mm), $120 (35mm) and $130 (40mm) shipped free in the States (outside the U.S., provide an address for a shippping quote).

The short answer is that Average Joe grip knurling falls somewhere between "volcano" and "mountain." The challenge is that there is no single universally accepted standard. Knurling is highly subjective and more art than science. Even the folks at Rogue Fitness® describe it as "more a beer tasting process than an exact measurement."

Aggressive-passive. Fine-coarse. Hill-Volcano-Mountain. Coated-uncoated. Different grades of steel, knurl parameters, finishes and coatings influence the final feel of knurling experienced by users. As a result, no two manufacturer's grips/bars have an identical feel despite being characterized as a specific type of knurl. The following is a bit more detail about how I approach knurling.

Last year, out of the thousand-plus pairs of knurled grips from my first production run for Bowflex 552 and 1090 dumbbells and several hundred pairs for Powerblock in my second production run, a percentge leaned toward "volcano" knurl and the rest leaned more toward "mountain".

There is always some variation during manufacturing based on the tolerances specified. I ask the manufacturer to never waste any parts if the knurl is a little more/less aggressive than what I specified. Instead, I have all of the grips shipped to me. I inspect each grip, separate them into groups, and create pairs with similar knurling. If customers express a preference for something a little more or less aggressive, I do my best to fulfill their preferences.

This has proven to be very effective. Out of all the grips I've shipped to date, fewer than 6 customers have requested a swap-out for something more or less aggressive, and I managed to find a pair with a knurl that worked well for all but one of them.

Here's a trio of photos taken directly from some of my grips in the November 2022 shipment:

Yes, as long as your country is not currently on any export restriction list and service is available from DHL, UPS, or USPS. Average Joe Innovations now has customers all over the world, from Brazil, Columbia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, to Abu Dhabi, Australia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Dubai, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and more.

When you fill out the pre-order request form, I will respond with an invoice that includes the shipping cost based on your address. I will also let you know if there is a slower or faster service available for more/or less.

U.S. Customers: FREE USPS Priority Mail Shipping to addresses within the United States and any territories/APO/FPO/DPO served by USPS Priority Mail.

International Customers: For customers outside the U.S., shipping is calculated based on several factors, including the package size, weight, service level, insurance and destination.

U.S. Customers: Your State & Local sales/use tax may be added to your invoice when applicable. That occurs once I exceed your State's minimum sales volume in dollars or number of transactions within a fiscal year.

International Customers: Your invoice will not include duties or VAT. You will be responsible for paying your country’s VAT/duties during the import process. Typically, the appropriate agency will contact you with the fees due based on current trade policies. Please keep this in mind so that you aren’t taken by surprise later.

I will continue to use YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, this website, and my email list notifications at least once per month to keep everyone informed. Average Joe Innovations, LLC is still basically a one-person operation. I design, source, test, inspect, package, sell, ship, and support my products. I don't and won't have the bandwidth to reply to you all individually in a timely fashion if I begin receiving hundreds of individual requests for a pre-order update. I respectfully ask that you please refer/subscribe to the previously mentioned sources for the latest news and information.

If you receive a Grip Kit and decide that you'd rather exchange it for the next size up or down, you will be responsible for round-trip shipping to exchange the Grip Kits. In addition, you will receive either a credit or an additional charge based on the price difference between the two Grip Kits.

Note that I may not have the Grip Kit size that you want in-stock to proceed with an exchange. It depends on the level of demand for this inaugural production run, and how many kits remain. Once these Grip Kits become part of AJI's regular inventory in 2023, an exchange should be straightforward.

You may cancel your pre-order according to the Terms found on the Pre-Order Request Form

At the moment, AJI is still primarily a one-person operation. I handle everything from research, development, part sourcing, testing, and quality assurance to invoicing, packaging, shipping, and pre-/post-sales customer support. All of this, in addition to my "day job." So I squeeze in email replies whenever I can.

Generally speaking, I do my best to reply to customer inquiries and orders within 24 hours. However, it is not uncommon for me to reply after 48-72 hours depending on the volume of inquiries and other tasks on my plate. I appreciate your patience and understanding while I grow AJI to the point of being able to hire other folks to help out.

If you have not received an invoice or reply after 48 hours, please don't hesitate to follow up with me by email: joe@averagejoeinnovations.com

No. Powerblock® is a trademark and property of Powerblock, Inc. The company is not involved with the development, marketing, or sales of Average Joe Innovations product upgrades. It is not affiliated with AJI in any way, and Average Joe product fixes and upgrades are in no way endorsed by Powerblock.