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Thread: Barbell question

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
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    70

    Default Barbell question

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    Hi,

    sry if this question is asked before, but I can't find when I search.

    I'm buying a barbell to use with mainly deadlift, benchpress, squat and overhead press. Should the barbell have "ball bearing" (is that the correct word??) or not?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Cedar Point, NC
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    4,769

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    Barbells have different kind of bearings, and different quantities thereof. You do want bearings, I have all B&R bars in my gym save a few specialty bars. Highly recommended for what you are describing.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    10,378

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    This is a place where terminology gets tricky. In general on a rotating sleeve barbell, you have two technologies that get used to facilitate the rotation: bushings and bearings. To confuse things, bushings are actually a type of bearing called a plain bearing. There are no rolling elements in a bushing. Bars that cost a lot of money use needle bearings that have several cylindrical rollers that allow for rotation to occur. Bushings are considerably cheaper and if they are of good quality and occasionally oiled, they will spin very nicely. A $1,000 Eleiko weightlifting bar uses several sets of needle bearings and spins very freely.

    So, to answer your question, you do not need a bar with needle bearings. A B&R bar has bushings in it and it has a nice spin to it among its other favorable qualities. It doesn't spin like an Eleiko, but then again, you don't need it to do so and you can get three of them for what an Eleiko costs. I bought a B&R bar from Rogue a few years ago. It was a good choice.
    Last edited by Tom Campitelli; 09-07-2013 at 11:28 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    Also of interest is an article that Rippetoe helped to write a while back called Where Barbells Come From:

    http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf...e_Barbells.pdf

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Tulsa, OK
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    6,233

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    Also very popular is a Texas Power Bar. If you get the authentic bar manufactured by Buddy Capps in Irving, TX, many prefer it over the B&R bar. I have yet to try it, but I have heard that if you are going to clean and front squat a lot, the center knurl is painfully aggressive.

    Bear in mind that I do not own a B&R bar and have not yet received my Texas Power Bar, but I do know of one particular gym owner whose B&R bars are only used when all the Texas Power Bars are taken. I've also inquired of many lifters that are ecstatically happy with their Buddy Capps.

    I have heard that if you are going to buy only 1 bar, the B&R is the logical choice, but I thought the OP should know about the TPB. Personally, I have another bar to fall back on if I find that the TPB is too aggressive for cleans and front squats.

    Maybe the coaches would prefer this in another forum, but I thought this might open up more discussion among those with more experience.

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