Thor Barbell Vintage Weight Plates

Name: Thor Barbell Vintage Weight Plates
Brand: Thor Barbell
Rating: 4.8 (5 reviews)

The Thor Barbell Vintage Weight Plates are 1980s-era Canadian Olympic plates, produced in what appears to have been a partnership with York Canada using York’s own milled four-spoke pattern – the design closely matches York’s milled plates, with the Thor branding the main visible difference. Production reportedly ended after a dispute over use of that pattern, making this a short-lived, long-discontinued line that today exists only as collector iron; there is no active manufacturer or retailer selling it. Vintage-plate collectors rate it well for its rarity and York-adjacent pedigree (GymRadar: 4.8/5 across 5 owner reviews), though independent review flags inconsistent casting quality – uneven lettering and mismatched weight labeling within the same set, and 45 lb plates running slightly undersized next to genuine USA York iron.

Buying guide

Best Weight Plates for Your Home Gym — July 2026 Bumper Plates or Iron Plates? How to Pick Your First Set — July 2026 Do You Need Calibrated or Competition Plates? — July 2026 How Much Do Weight Plates Cost Per Pound? — July 2026 What Weight Set Should a Beginner Buy? — July 2026 Will Dropping Weights Damage Your Floor? — July 2026

Era	1980s
Brand	Thor Barbell
Design	Four-spoke milled pattern, closely matching York's milled Olympic plates
Origin	Canada
Material	Cast iron
Availability	No longer manufactured; found only on the collector/resale market
Production status	Discontinued -- production ended after a dispute over use of York's pattern

What is a Weight Plate?

What weight plates are

Weight plates load your barbell — but “plate” covers two very different tools. Bumper plates are rubber discs around a steel hub, all the same ~450mm diameter, built to be dropped from overhead without damaging your floor or bar; they’re the default for Olympic lifting and CrossFit. Iron/steel plates are denser and thinner per pound, cheaper, and quieter to load, but most aren’t made to be dropped — better for slow, controlled powerlifting-style work.

What actually matters

Bumper vs. iron. Buy bumpers if the bar might hit the floor; iron (or rubber-coated iron) for controlled lifts and compact loading.
Weight tolerance. How far a plate strays from its stated weight (±1% is tight, ±3% loose). It barely matters for general training but adds up if you chase a specific total — which is why serious lifters add small change / fractional plates.
Collar fit & bounce. The center hole should fit your bar’s sleeve snugly; rubber durometer (around 88 Shore A) controls how “dead” a dropped plate lands.
Coating & set composition. Virgin rubber holds up and smells less than recycled crumb rubber; plan a starting set (usually a pair each of 45/25/10/5 lb plus change plates) around the lifts you actually do.

Who it’s for

Every barbell gym needs plates. Most home lifters should start with a bumper set, then add iron, change, or specialty plates as a second purchase once they know what their training is missing.

How it compares

	Thor Barbell Vintage Weight Plates	1.25LB Dumbbell Fractional Weight Plates	Black Training LB Plates	Micro Gainz
GymRadar rating	4.8/5	4.81/5	4.78/5	4.78/5
Price		$54.99	$225.00	$29.99
Era	1980s
Brand	Thor Barbell
Design	Four-spoke milled pattern, closely matching York's milled Olympic plates
Origin	Canada	Made in USA		Made in the U.S.A.
Material	Cast iron	Sintered steel, powder coated		Hot rolled 1/4" American steel
Availability	No longer manufactured; found only on the collector/resale market
Production status	Discontinued -- production ended after a dispute over use of York's pattern

4.8/5 · 5 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert	4.8/5	5 reviews
Youtube	4.3/5	2 reviews

Thor Barbell’s Vintage Weight Plates are 1980s-era Canadian Olympic plates, reportedly cast in partnership with York Canada from York’s own milled four-spoke pattern before a falling-out over pattern use ended the run – long discontinued, and now only found on the collector market. GymRadar’s small owner sample rates them well (4.8/5 overall, a standout 5.0/5 for versatility), and collectors prize their rarity and York-adjacent pedigree, but the one independent technical source in the knowledge base, Vintage Weights PGH, is more critical of the actual castings – build quality is the clear weak point, with inconsistent lettering and lb/lbs labeling within the same set, and 45 lb plates running slightly undersized next to genuine USA York iron. Durability reads fine in practice – these are decades-old plates still doing duty in home gyms today – but that’s inference from age rather than dedicated stress-test coverage.

+Versatility: GymRadar's strongest sub-score for this product (5.00/5), consistent with a standard Olympic four-spoke plate that drops onto any Olympic bar (GymRadar)
+Value: GymRadar owners rate value highly (4.80/5) despite collector-market pricing (GymRadar)
+Durability: decades-old 1980s castings are still actively used and displayed in home gyms today (Vintage Weights PGH; YouTube: Massenomics)
+Functionality: four-spoke handling and pattern lineage mirror the well-regarded York milled-plate design they were reportedly cast from (GymRadar; YouTube: Vintage Weights PGH)

−Build quality: independent vintage-collector review flags inconsistent casting -- trailing/uneven lettering and mismatched "lb" vs "lbs" labeling within the same set (Vintage Weights PGH)
−Build quality: 45 lb plates run a slightly smaller diameter than genuine USA-stamped York castings, described as "lower quality castings" overall (Vintage Weights PGH)
−Value: long discontinued -- no current retail source exists, so pricing is unpredictable and set entirely by the collector/resale market (editorial note)
−Durability: no dedicated stress-test or failure-mode reporting specific to this line -- durability signal rests on age and anecdote, not testing (KB coverage gap)