My el-cheapo bar is kind of broken.

The collar things that keep the weights from sliding onto the actual bar are stripped out. I'll probably end up welding them in place for safety, but the bolts that hold the ends on are constantly working loose, there is a flat spot in the bar so it isn't perfectly round, and I anticipate it bending at some point.

The most abuse it will see hitting the floor after a deadlift, I don't have the room to even try to learn olympic lifts.

What is a good quality, middle of the road bar that will hold up well for the average basement lifting.

I plan on putting the cheapo on permanent landmine detail, so basically the new one will be used primarily for Squat, Dead, OHP and Bench.

The best I can do for you is to suggest waiting for an Academy sail, or hunt something down on craigslist.  This is what I do for kettle bells.

Decent equipment on craigslist around here is tough. I can't find any 45 lb weights, and the barbells I am seeing are identical to mine, just a cheap one from a package deal.

No Academy stores around here.

Buy a Rogue bone yard bar.  A good bar is worth the money.

What KaiK said.

If I had to lift with only one bar my whole life it would be the Ohio power bar. I love that thing.

Yup, keep an eye on the closeouts/boneyard, stuff comes through all the time.

http://www.roguefitness.com/deals-closeout/closeout/

Or just pick the one that fits what you want and buy new.

Thanks. I'll keep checking it for a couple weeks and hopefully I can snag something.

Shit, like sometime in the last few hours.......

I checked this when I got to work this morning.    And now Euro Bars for $375?!?  Damn it.

CAP OB-86PBCK is less than $110, shipped to your local Walmart for pickup.


https://www.walmart.com/ip/CAP-Barbell-Weight-Lifting-2-Olympic-Solid-Power-Squat-Bar-Black-7/20641150?u1=73733X1523007Xbd75cb6e35abbe62153743144509a175&oid=183959.1&wmlspartner=TnL5HPStwNw&sourceid=32584949513801249851&affillinktype=10&veh=aff#about-item

These are very well reviewed at $149. The company is excellent and have gone back to them for equipment purchases multiple times.

https://www.xtrainingequipment.com/X-Training-Equipment-20KG-Olympic-Barbell_p_1504.html

This is another very well reviewed bar from Xmark at $149. Free shipping from Amazon...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NBTGVNI?tag=vglnk-c102-20

So here's the next question. Bare steel bar, or coated?

I feel like bare steel is the more hardcore option, and will go nicely with my poorly lit basement workout corner.

Some people like the feel of bare vs. coated, I think it depends more on the knurling.  

Bare bar will need some care.  Wipe it down occasionally, if you use chalk, hit it with a brush and give it some oil every once in awhile.  That pretty much goes the same for coated bars.

My B&R had some surface rust going from lack of use.  CLR, brass brush and 3 in 1 got it looking pretty good again.

Taren is pretty much spot on.

I have the ohio deadlift and power bars. The power bar is coated and the deadlift bar is bare. The knurling pattern/cut is supposed to be identical(unless I am remembering wrong) but you can definitely feel a difference between the raw and coated. I got the deadlift bar just about 3 months ago(??), it lives in my garage, and already has some oxidation. I figured I'd have some by the end of the summer with the humidity, but was pretty surprised that it started already. The power bar is over a year old and has zero rust even though some of the coating has worn off on my shins and such.

If I promise not to let it rust, will you send it to me?  Nice and dry at 10% humidity here.

I also like the Rogue beater bar, are those still a thing? It's a little thicker, but hey man, Grip++. 

I use mine for squats and bench press. It sucks for deadlift and cleans though.

So apparently I need to be checking the closeout section a few times a day.

If I can't catch one though the Ohio Power Bar seems like it will work great, $15 ground shipping.

Has anyone used the Texas Power Bar though? Same price as the Ohio Bar, but more expensive shipping.

I kind of want to make this a long time purchase so I don't have to deal with it again for quite awhile.

I actually have both.  I bought the Ohio Power Bar new and found the Texas Power Bar at a estate sale and paid $80 for it.  The OPB is coated and the TPB has bar steel.  I live in the desert so the bar doesn't get rust, other places it may.  For the comparison the TPB has deeper pointer knurling, the OPB seems more grippy though.  Outside the knurling the OPB is extremely slick might be the coating.  the OPB is slightly wider for the index rings. The OPB is shorter between the collor but the loading portion of the sleeve is longer.

The are both very nice bars and the only reason I got the second one is because of price.

So I came home from a shopping trip today with a Texas Power Bar.

I didn't really intend too.

I swung into Dicks quick just to check some stuff out, their new Ethos bar is way nicer than their generic bar with the bolted on sleeves and has a nice coating and good knurling. No center knurl though, and when I racked it to spin the sleeves on one I could hear a type of grinding inside one of the bearings. I figured I would let it stay at the store and just order one from Rogue.

In the same area there is a commercial fitness supply, so I stopped in to see what they had (tons of cool and expensive stuff) and asked him about their barbell inventory.

They had Texas bars in stock for $280, which is cheaper than ordering one and paying shipping on it.

In a moment of weakness I dropped the cash on the counter and told him I would take one and some new collars.

So now my bar is the nicest thing in my fitness area, and officially cost more than my power rack. I feel like my fitness gear plates don't even deserve to be loaded onto this bar, it's super nice and feels awesome. No slop in the sleeves either like my other one, I feel like setting up for the deadlift is going to be easier because of that.

Hopefully it last me a really long time.

I deadlifted with it today....what a difference.

No slop in the bar, knurling like spider man grip.....

I love my Texas Power Bar, going from a bent, no-name bar to the TPB was an awesome jump for me too

Something off-topic but do the oly lifters here prefer a 28 vs 28.5 mm bar?

As best as I understand, the 28's will have more whip for oly lifts.

Any thoughts?

Olympic weightlifting uses 28mm bar for men, 25mm for women.

There is a felt difference from a 29 to 28.5 to a 28 but how the barbell is made and treated makes a big difference in performance.  Knurling aside, I can tell a difference between a DHS 28 and my Rogue 28.  My old Chinese bar was a 28mm, that one bent at some point in the 300lbs range.