Reply With QuoteEither the Ohio Power Bar or the Burgener & Rippetoe Bar, both from Rogue. The OPB will get you closer to your $300. The B&R will be a touch higher. I would've gotten the OPB but they were out of stock. So I got the B&R instead.
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Barbell Purchasing Advice
I am looking to purchase my first serious barbell in the near future. I have been using a starter barbell that comes with the typical 300# weight sets for over 2 years now and pretty much anything would be an upgrade (it whips pretty noticeably with 300+# squats).
My training goals are based on Squat, DL, Bench, and Press. Olympic lifts, including power cleans, are not something I care about or bother with. Accordingly, I want something with a good center knurl for squats and good knurling for DL. As far as strength, I can squat in the high 300s and DL in the mid 400s.
The top of my budget is about $400 and ideally I would be spending closer to $300 including shipping. Any advice on what bar and where to buy it from would be appreciated. I have bought things from Rogue in the past and would feel comfortable ordering from them again but I don't really know what other places are trusted.
Thank you.
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Either the Ohio Power Bar or the Burgener & Rippetoe Bar, both from Rogue. The OPB will get you closer to your $300. The B&R will be a touch higher. I would've gotten the OPB but they were out of stock. So I got the B&R instead.
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Thanks. I just read through the reviews on Rogue and am leaning towards the OPB right now. There is a bare steel option and a zinc coating option. I understand that the bare steel version requires maintenance in the form of oiling. Are there any differences in terms of grip or durability?Originally Posted by JTC_MN
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The B&R bar sticks like velcro during squats compared to my starter bar. Super grippy on other lifts too, without tearing up the skin. I just hit it with a wire brush periodically, no oiling necessary. Rip suggests a wipedown with mineral spirits to clean it, I presume to remove sebaceous matter caused by sweaty, greasy hands. I haven't found the need to do that yet.
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The grip on the OPB is going to be more aggressive since its a powerlifting bar. The grip on the B&R is gentle. With a little chalk my grip is SOLID on the B&R. I have nothing to say on the durability as I do not know. Also the OPB is maybe a tad stiffer since the tensile strength is rated higher. But the slightly less tensile rating on the B&R probably isn't noticeable with my weak lifts.
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I've had a B&R for about 5 years. It stays in my garage. When it got to my house I cleaned it with mineral oil (really cool stuff I wish I ran across it sooner.) Since then I oil the bushings once a quarter and wire brush the knurl. That's it. My bar has no rust and really no browning. Since lifting a bare steel bar every other bare feels slick. Get a bare steel bar.
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No.
Geometry (shaft diameter and length) is all that differentiates how stiff different barbells are. The Modulus of Elasticity is essentially identical for all steel.
Tensile strength is a useless metric for a barbell, as it is the measurement of how much force is required to break the steel. Yield strength is relevant since it is the measurement of how much force is required to permanently deform the steel. These numbers measure the strength of the steel, not it's elasticity.
Both bars are 29mm with the same distance between collars. Using the above information, can we conclude one of the following:
A. The OPB is stiffer
B. The B&R is stiffer
C. Neither bar is stiffer than the other
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Is your recommendation for bare steel due to it feeling less slick, like Eric220 said?
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Barbell Purchasing Advice
Up in Rips q&a, it says that the B&R is going to be manufactured by Rogue in the future. Apparently Rip has one on order, so if you're leaning that way, you may want to wait for the first reviews on the new build.
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