Eleiko Plates: Everything You Should Know About Colors, Weight Units, and Personal Lifting Experience

When it comes to premium weightlifting equipment, few brands are as respected as Eleiko. Whether you’re outfitting a commercial gym or building a home training space, understanding the details about Eleiko plates—such as whether they’re in kilograms or pounds and what the color coding means—can help you make a more informed decision. Here’s a complete guide to Eleiko plates, including useful tips from personal training experience.

Are Eleiko Plates in KG or LBS?

Eleiko plates are traditionally manufactured in kilograms (kg), especially for Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and competitive settings. International competitions like the Olympics, World Championships, and CrossFit Games almost exclusively use kilograms.

However, Eleiko does offer plates in pounds (lbs), mainly for North American commercial gyms and home gym users who are more accustomed to the imperial system. These pound plates typically follow similar quality and design standards as the kilogram plates but cater to a different market.

In summary:

• KG plates are standard for competitive lifting.

• LBS plates are available, usually for recreational and gym use in countries like the U.S. and Canada.

Eleiko Plates in LBS: What to Expect

Eleiko plates in pounds are most commonly found in bumper plate formats and some specialty training plates. They retain Eleiko’s hallmark features—tight weight tolerances, high durability, and minimal bounce.

From experience, these plates tend to be slightly thicker than their kilogram counterparts due to conversion and design adaptations, so barbell sleeve space is something to consider if you lift heavy. Nonetheless, their performance in deadlifts, squats, and presses remains outstanding. The grip handles and soft edges are consistent across both systems, making them a pleasure to load and unload during training sessions.

Eleiko Plate Colors Explained

Eleiko follows the internationally recognized color coding system for their kilogram plates, which makes weight identification quick and straightforward:

• Red = 25 kg

• Blue = 20 kg

• Yellow = 15 kg

• Green = 10 kg

• White = 5 kg (sometimes grey in older versions)

• Smaller increments (2.5 kg, 1.25 kg, etc.) are typically in black or plain steel.

For pound plates, Eleiko adopts a similar color scheme for their bumper plates:

• Red = 55 lbs

• Blue = 45 lbs

• Yellow = 35 lbs

• Green = 25 lbs

• Lighter increments (15 lbs, 10 lbs, etc.) are often in black or grey.

This color consistency is especially helpful in mixed gym environments where both kg and lbs plates are present—it reduces confusion and keeps training efficient.

Personal Experience: Why Eleiko Remains My Top Choice

Over the years, I’ve used countless brands, but Eleiko plates always stood out. I first used Eleiko competition plates during a powerlifting meet, and the stability on the bar was like nothing else—zero wobble during squats and no unpredictable bounce during deadlifts. Even during high-rep CrossFit sessions, the consistent color coding saved me precious time when loading the bar.

In my own home gym, I opted for Eleiko’s training plates in pounds to simplify progression tracking, and they’ve been rock-solid after thousands of reps. The grip design made plate changes fast, and the durability has been exceptional—no warping, no cracking, just solid performance session after session.

Final Thoughts

Eleiko plates cater to both kilogram and pound systems, with standardized color coding that enhances usability. Whether you lift recreationally or compete, the craftsmanship, durability, and user-friendly design make Eleiko a worthwhile investment. If you want plates that will outlast years of training and still look and perform like new, Eleiko remains a gold standard in the strength community.