Hey
I'm about a month into SSLP. Put on about a stone in weight and doubled my strength. Going great so far.
In the UK as you know we don't have the best value barbell options, especially currently. I purchased a cheapo £99 job to get me started, as it was the only thing i could find on the market. It did the job despite being 17kg and the knurl was so lacking in grip might as well have been drawn on. Just last week I took delivery of a newly released 'power bar' by the same company. Not tried and tested, no reviews, took a punt. £249.
20kg Power Bar | Mirafit
I have very little experience with bars and this is the first power bar i have used. The knurl seems to have inconsistencies. I first gave it a brush just to make sure it wasn't debris. I struggled to take some macro shots so I could have a close up look at it, but just going from feel, there's a bunch of microscopic slightly sharp / snaggy bits. Nothing major, just little imperfections.
After deadlifting, I discovered some little microfine steel particles on my hands, like i'd been messing around with glitter. Is anything like this 'normal' on a new bar?
Also, the knurl keeps on going right underneath the sleeves, it doesn't stop a few mm before, i've never seen this on a bar before, is this weird?
I realise these are shit Chinese bars i'm dealing with, but budget isn't too high. I thought this one would be a considerable step up. I was looking at B&R and OPB from Rogue EU but catching them in stock is difficult and they'd work out about £100 more, so I just went for this one. I have some other Mirafit gear - rack, bumper plates, bench, etc, that is pretty decent quality.
I can still send this thing back so just wanted a bit of advice. Thanks.