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Rolling Thunder


Cannon

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I do not understand why there is no clause in the rule regarding the style of the handle. The newer handle will take at least 5lb., possibly more, off of someone's p.r. with the older style handle.

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My AW training partner has a new one and I can pull more on it than I can my two older ones (thumbless). It spins freely so I don't think it's one of the locked up ones but it feels like the fit is much tighter than an old one with fit being defined as space between the rotating sleeve and the undercarriage AEB by the lack of rattle when you shake it. I tried a new one at Gripmas and it def felt harder but I'd just completed an entire grip contest. Everyone I've talked to is in agreement that the new ones are harder but that has not been as clear cut for me.

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I do not understand why there is no clause in the rule regarding the style of the handle. The newer handle will take at least 5lb., possibly more, off of someone's p.r. with the older style handle.

Thanks for asking about this.

All records must be made on current equipment—same as on the Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge. Some of the old Rolling Thunder handles could yield inflated numbers because of rust, etc. slowing down the rotation, which is why IronMind used to always send a fresh RT handle to major contests.

With the new Rolling Thunder handle, it's easy to test/demonstrate that it's legitimate: hold the black handle, rotate the frame until it's parallel to the ground and let go. If the frame rotates back to pointing straight down, it's good to go and whatever you lift is legitimate.

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My AW training partner has a new one and I can pull more on it than I can my two older ones (thumbless). It spins freely so I don't think it's one of the locked up ones but it feels like the fit is much tighter than an old one with fit being defined as space between the rotating sleeve and the undercarriage AEB by the lack of rattle when you shake it. I tried a new one at Gripmas and it def felt harder but I'd just completed an entire grip contest. Everyone I've talked to is in agreement that the new ones are harder but that has not been as clear cut for me.

We (at IronMind) outsmarted ourselves when we first developed the new Rolling Thunder handle and had to do a couple of tweaks on the new design, which is why some guys ran into problems with the Rolling Thunder going stationary on them. Anyone who had one of these was encouraged to return it to us for inspection and repair or replacement.

Yes, the new Rolling Thunder is a much tighter ship than the old one—thanks much for noticing.

As far as how the old and the new Rolling Thunder compare in difficulty, I'd have to agree with you: old Rolling Thunders could vary a fair amount since the way they were built increased their susceptibility to changes over time, and this is what we worked to eliminate with the development of the new Rolling Thunder.

I can't tell you how many times I heard of guys swearing they could pull close to 300 lb. on the (old) Rolling Thunder they had but when it came contest time, maybe something like 220 or 235 would leave them humbled.

So, if you had a freely rotating, undoctored old Rolling Thunder, yes, it would compare very closely to the new one in terms of numbers, but if you had an old, rusted up, non-Rolling Thunder with pieces of gravel wedged under the handle, you'd lift a whale of a lot more on it than you would on the new one.

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I own an old RT. It was purchased used before I knew there could be a difference in numbers come contest day on a new RT. I've tried to maintain it well and keep it moving freely. So far it doesn't appear to bind or help in a lift. I've seen a new handle and they are very nice quality but I haven't pulled on one. I will on Sunday so will be interesting to test the difference of mine to the new models. I rather enjoy tougher training tools at home to ensure come game day it will feel "easy". Hopefully mine hasn't been inflating my numbers, mostly because they are pewny to begin with.

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Having now used a new RT I can say my old one is very comparable pounds wise. I technically did better with the new one. Go figure.

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Tilting makes it considerably easier and is cheating plain and simple. When we were running the LGC competition in Sweden we were very strict with the horizontal handle rule. I have seen plenty of dodgy lifts lately getting a pass. The latest WR for females would, for example, not have been approved in our competitions. If you grab the handle near one end it is going to come up with a tilt.

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