BowFlex Results Series 552 Review: $399 for 15 Settings, and the Dumbbell Named in the Recall Remedy

The 2.5 lb steps stop at 25 lb

The page and the printed manual give the same 15 stops: 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 52.5 pounds per dumbbell. The fine half of that ladder is only the bottom half. Every move up to 25 lb is 2.5 lb; from 25 to 50 each move is 5 lb, so a step out of 30 lb adds a sixth of the load again, and 52.5 is a single 2.5 lb step with nothing between it and 50.

Those numbers are nominal. A footnote under the specs says individual weight settings may vary from their stated values because of tolerances in the manufacturing process, and the manual's own wording is blunter: the increments are estimated values, and exact values vary. Treat each dial setting as nominal.

What holds the target is a locking tab, and the manual treats it as maintenance. It specifies a monthly test: lift the handle out of the base at the 5 lb setting, try to turn each locked knob and confirm it will not rotate, then park one knob deliberately between 5 and 7.5 and confirm the handle is locked to the base and cannot be lifted. If the test fails, the instruction is to stop using the dumbbell until service is available.

What recall 25-311 covers, and who it concerns

CPSC recall 25-311, dated June 5, 2025, covers the BowFlex Model 552, 52.5 lb adjustable dumbbells and the Model 1090, 90 lb units: about 3,844,200 of them, sold for between $200 and $800. The windows run from as early as 2004 through April 2024 under BowFlex Inc. (formerly Nautilus Inc.) and from May 2024 through May 2025 under Johnson Health Tech Trading, at Johnson Fitness & Wellness, DICK'S Sporting Goods and Best Buy stores and online at bowflex.com and Amazon.com.

The hazard wording is specific: the weight plates can dislodge from the handle during use, posing an impact hazard. The agency lists 337 reports of plates dislodging on units Nautilus sold, including 111 that resulted in injuries it describes as concussions, abrasions, broken toes or contusions, plus 12 further reports with no injuries on units Johnson Health Tech sold.

CPSC prints serial ranges and says the model and serial sit on a sticker under the molded plastic tray, but the vendor's recall page is wider than a serial lookup: all genuine BowFlex 552 and 1090 products in the U.S. are included and eligible for a remedy regardless of whether the serial appears in the CPSC list. Owners are told to stop using the dumbbells and submit a claim. Buyers in the April 23, 2024 to May 2025 window can take a replacement dumbbell or a voucher for the full purchase price plus a year of the JRNY app; buyers before April 23, 2024 get a prorated BowFlex.com voucher plus that year.

The claim mechanics decide how useful the program is. A claim needs the serial number from each base and a photo of it, the place and date of purchase, and proof of purchase for anything bought from a retailer on or after April 23, 2024. A prepaid label and box come back for the handle and base of every dumbbell; the plates stay with you to dispose of locally, and items judged ineligible are not returned. What that means for a buyer shows up in the used market: a secondhand Model 552 falls under the recall whatever its serial says, while a new pair from BowFlex or Amazon is the Results Series model the remedy hands out.

What it takes to put the pair somewhere

Each dumbbell is 16.9 by 8.3 by 9 inches, and the manual puts a fully loaded assembly at 54.6 lb, shipped one dumbbell to a box with its molded tray. The tray is the zero-cost answer: the manual specifies that if you are not using the optional stand, the assembly goes directly on the floor for best support. The SelectTech Adjustable Dumbbell Stand is $199, fits every SelectTech model, ships free by FedEx parcel, and measures 30.7 by 24.4 by 26.2 inches per the stand's own listing. Pair plus stand is $598.

Space is also the only edge the 552 holds over its own sibling. The Results Series 52 costs the same $479 list and $399 promotion, carries the same 15 settings over the same 5 to 52.5 lb range and the same two-year parts warranty, and differs by being a traditional straight shape with uniform plates at 18.5 inches long against the 552's curved tapered plates at 16.9 inches. If the limit is a shelf or a corner 17 inches deep, that 1.6 inches is the purchase. If it is not, the choice is which plate shape suits the room, because range, settings, warranty and price are identical.

Where 52.5 lb leaves you in the line

The 552 is the line's entry price, not its top. Results Series 552 and 52 both run 5 to 52.5 lb across 15 settings at $399 on the current promotion; Results Series 1090 and 90 both run 10 to 90 lb across 17 settings at $649 against $799, with three years on parts instead of two. Nothing lighter is on the lineup page today, no dial starting at 2.5 lb, and the SelectTech 840 kettlebell covers 8 to 40 lb as a separate product.

BowFlex frames the pair as replacing 15 sets of weights, which is its own count of one set per dial setting, and no rack of fixed dumbbells is priced on these pages to check it against. The ceiling is what decides: 52.5 lb per hand, in 5 lb steps above 25 lb, with the 1090 at $649 as the next step, $250 further out.

Four conditions that end the purchase

If one arm already presses or rows past 50 lb and the plan is to keep climbing, this is the wrong instrument and the 1090 is the in-line answer. If the habit is to set weights down rather than place them, the manual is explicit that dropping damages the plates or the locking mechanism, can let plates disengage without warning, and voids the warranty. Households with children under 14 are outside the product's stated use, and 14 to 17 requires supervision. And if a monthly mechanism test is not going to happen, a locking-tab adjustable dumbbell is the wrong category to own.

What is left is a specific buyer: one corner of a room, a working range that ends below 52.5 lb per hand, and a monthly lock test on the calendar. For that buyer the order of operations is short: photograph the serial sticker on the base of each dumbbell when the boxes are opened, register at bowflex.com/register, which is what the manual says warranty support needs, and only then decide whether $199 of stand earns its floor space.