Awesome."too Swedish to use" and "dangerously Chinese."
Anyway...regarding barbells...I've got a small strength training biz. I've got: A texas power bar, texas dl bar, b&r bar, westside power bar, rogue bar (chan model), pendlay bearing bar, & a bunch of sub $200 bars. For general purpose bars, splurge for rogue bars or b&r bars. If you're working with competitive oly lifters, you'll need a nice bearing bar...otherwise, bushing bars are perfectly fine. My absolute favorite for the slow lifts is the westside power bar. I sorta regret getting all of the sub $250 bars.
Maybe brush it with a wire brush to remove the chalk and rust and coat with the 3 in 1 oil like this video? I have the Ohio bar (black oxide), and just use a plastic brush and coat with oil when I'm done using it.
As for the original question, I've bought all my gear from Rogue, and have nothing but good experiences.
Don't rub oil all over your bar. Bill Henniger, who I got to meet a few months ago and is a genuinely good dude, is wrong about this. Yes, it will help to keep it from rusting, but it also makes it slippery. Brushing the bar to keep chalk off it is a good idea. A bare steel bar will oxidize over time. As long as you keep the collars oiled, this oxidation will not present any problems to the proper functioning of the bar. Rubbing oil over the bar can make holding on to heavy deadlifts harder.
And when I say "keep the collars oiled," I mean "keep the bushings in the collars oiled."
To say he's wrong isn't really fair, since we all agree that occasionally oiling the bar will prevent the rust he asked about. Most barbell manufacturers recommend this (here and here, for example), and in the case of black oxide, the anti-corrosive properties are activated by the oil. Sure, it makes the bar slippery, but that's only temporary if you wipe it down before you use it and apply a fresh layer of chalk. I guess it all depends on how new you want to keep your barbell looking more than anything.
Good point. Bill isn't wrong that rubbing oil on the bar will prevent it from rusting. I should say it is not necessary and probably isn't a good idea.
I also have the Rogue B&R bar and recommend it without reservation. As far as bumper plates are concerned, I have heard nothing but good things about Rogue's training bumpers. They are more expensive than others but they are high quality too. If cost is a concern for you, consider iron plates. I use iron plates for squatting, deadlifting, benching and pressing. The only lift I would consider bumpers is on cleans or snatches due to the possibility of dropping the bar.
And speaking of dropping stuff, make sure you at least have some 0.75" horse stall mats to protect your floor. I use them on top of the platform I built in my garage.
One last item: before buying your bar, check out this video Rip made about barbells:
http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...r_bar_straight
Best Regards!
George
Thanks for all of the input guys. I'll keep brushing the knurling and oiling the bushings as necessary, and I'll quit worrying about everything else.