How we research

IRONINDEX is desk research. We read manufacturer manuals, specification pages and governing bodies' rules, then turn them into checks you can use before buying: will it fit your room, your bar, your plates and the training you have in mind. Unless a value is labelled as measured, we have not tested the equipment ourselves, and we do not give products review scores.

Who writes IRONINDEX

Pages without a named author are credited to IRONINDEX. We don't invent writers, reviewers, qualifications or personal experience. AI tools help organise research, draft and edit; they are not sources, and our publication policy requires human review before anything goes live.

Where the facts come from

• Dimensions, load figures and permitted use come from the manufacturer's current page or manual for the exact model and version named on the profile.
• Rules and standards come from the body that issues them, and we say which edition.
• Price bands come from the brand's or a UK stockist's own page, never from Amazon, and show when they were checked.
• Retailer pages are used for price, availability and delivery. They do not establish quality.

A "checked" date is the day we read the sources. It describes desk research, not a physical inspection, and pages and listings can change after it.

What the specification labels mean

Stated

The figure appears on the linked manufacturer or seller page for the named model and version.

Measured

We measured it ourselves. The value records who measured it and when.

Calculated

Our arithmetic from stated figures. The formula is shown next to the result.

Not published

The checked page does not give the figure. That is a finding in itself, so we say so instead of guessing.

Not applicable

The field does not apply to this product, such as treadmill speed on a rower.

Sources disagree

Two sources give different figures. We show both and do not average them.

A manufacturer's load figure is a claim. We report it as one and don't turn it into a safe working load, and we don't treat a warranty as proof of durability.

How shortlists are built

Each shortlist starts from a written rule, shown at the top of the page. We apply the rule to every product in our index for that category, using the published specifications, and sort the results into three groups:

• Listed: meets every criterion on the stated figures.
• Couldn't confirm: may qualify, but a figure the rule needs isn't published or sources disagree.
• Ruled out: a stated figure fails the rule. The reason is given.

Listed products are not ranked: those with photographs come first, then each group is in name order. A shortlist covers the products in our index, not the whole market.

How we summarise owner reviews

Specifications can't tell you about assembly, finish or how a product holds up. Where enough owners have written about a product, a profile may include a "What owners report" section. We only publish one when these conditions are met:

• We read the reviews ourselves and record where and when. We don't copy reviews or use automated scraping.
• We only count reviews that clearly concern the version we profile, because retailers often merge variants under one listing.
• A theme is listed only when at least three separate reviews raise it. One-off comments are left out.
• Delivery, seller and packaging complaints are left out unless they describe the product itself.
• Themes are in our own words. We show our own count of the reviews we read, not star ratings or a retailer's review totals.
• We note the limits of the sample, for example when reviews are hosted by the seller and may be moderated.

Owner reviews are self-selected, so these summaries show what owners mention, not how often a problem happens. They are owners' accounts, not our findings.

Commercial links

Whether a product has an affiliate link does not decide whether we cover it or how it is described. Our affiliate disclosure explains how links work.

Updates and corrections

Each page shows when it was updated and when its sources were checked. If you spot a mistake, use the contact page with the page address, the detail in question and a supporting source. Substantive corrections are recorded when advice changes.

About IRONINDEX