Dualbell

Inspiration

Dualbell was born during a conversation that I had with my dad where I asked him simply, “What if we put the dumbbell on a bar?” For a while, we sat on the idea, but that all changed during the Covid-19 lockdown. My dad and I were both into fitness, and my dad even worked in the fitness industry. After he lost his job due to the lockdowns, we decided to start working on a product that could connect a dumbbell to a bar, and today, that product is Dualbell. The other people on the Dualbell team are my dad’s friend who is an architect and designer, and a personal trainer who is well known within my hometown. During the pandemic, we were not able to go to commercial gyms. By creating the Dualbell, we were able to complete barbell exercises in our own home without purchasing expensive plates that take up a lot of space. After using the Dualbell ourselves, we saw how this product could help so many Americans just like us. The Dualbell helped my dad and I continue to meet our fitness goals right in our own home, and we hope that other people will have that same experience.

What it does

Dualbell allows its users to take a dumbbell and use it as a weight plate on a bar. The Dualbell is much cheaper, smaller, and lighter than weight plates that would otherwise need to be purchased.

How we built it

When designing and testing prototypes, we used a home 3D printer with PLA filament. When building the final product, we tried using polycarbonate, but it was not suitable for accidental drops. We settled on using Nylon 66 because it had the properties to withstand accidental drops while still being lightweight like polycarbonate. The Nylon 66 is put into an injection mold at the manufacturing plant in Connecticut. After the mold is created, we have rubber inserts that need to be placed in by hand. The rubber inserts are patterned and match up with the shape of the Dualbell so that it does not fall out.

Challenges we ran into

The first major challenge we ran into was designing the Dualbell. We had several prototypes before settling on a final design. Once we had the final design, we decided to launch a kickstarter campaign in order to see how much interest there was for the Dualbell. Luckily, our campaign was successful, and we were able to reach our goal in only 4 days. The tough part was getting the word out to potential customers, especially because none of us co-founders have a large social media presence. After seeing that there was interest in the Dualbell, we planned to continue Dualbell operations. Our next order of business was to choose the material. We had been building our prototypes with 3D printer PLA filament, which was not a suitable material for the final product. Our first thought was to use polycarbonate, but polycarbonate was not able to withstand accidental drops. The material we settled on was Nylon 66. After deciding on the material, we needed a place to manufacture the Dualbell. This search took multiple months until we found a small manufacturer in Connecticut. After finding our manufacturer, we now had all the pieces in place to create the final version of the Dualbell. Now all we have to do is sell it, which is our current and possibly most difficult challenge yet.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Dualbell’s biggest accomplishment is the product itself, which is a revolutionary fitness product that has been extremely useful for us and our customers. We have and continue to receive positive feedback from Dualbell users as the Dualbell has helped people start and/or continue on their fitness journey. The availability of the Dualbell started with the launch of our kickstarter campaign where we reached our goal within 4 days of the launch. Dualbell is a family business, and we are proud to manufacture our product in America. So far, Dualbell has been shipped to 37 states, 9 countries, and 4 continents. The Dualbell has been seen on Wish TV's Life.Style.Live! Program, and the Dualbell has been written about New Atlas, Fitness Gizmos, and GadgetGram.

What we learned

When starting a business, we knew that it was going to be challenging. However, the biggest thing we learned was patience and resilience. It was frustrating at times because we wanted to just sell the Dualbell, but it took a while to get the right design, get the right material, put together and launch a kickstarter campaign, and find the right manufacturer. All of these steps took longer than we had anticipated, but instead of giving up, we were patient and resilient when things did not go our way. Without the patience and resilience of the team, Dualbell might not be here.

What's next for Dualbell

Our mission has always been to bring a great and affordable product to people who want to expand their workout options at home. The next step in that process is to increase our brand footprint. None of the owners of Dualbell have a large social media presence, so we are looking to get the Dualbell into as many hands as possible, especially those who have a large following within the fitness community. We have found that most people who are into fitness and hear about the Dualbell will purchase it, but we need to get our product out there.

Built With

• 3dprinting
• nylon66
• plafilament
• rubber