B&R Bar to keep

[Nate-L]

I was sent a replacement B&R. I'd appreciate any input. This is a really troubling decision for me. Neither is without it's own flaws. I just wonder which bar overall seems the better one to keep, and if some of the conditions would disqualify one bar over the other.

New Bar:
1. Slight horizontal sleeve movement. I was wondering if this could be a problem if I were sliding weight plates on aggressively, especially since one sleeve has no apparent welds. I did notice a very slight shift of the sleeves when placing weights.
2. No welds on one side of the bar sleeve where the sleeve meets collar.
3. 1 - 1 1/2 mm bend
4. Both sleeves spin well. Noticed very slight bump during spin (probably the bushing.) Really see no issues here.

Original Bar:
1. 3 mm bend.
2. Sleeves are spaced tighter and feel more solid. They really don't move that much. Feels better than the new ones when comparing.
3. One sleeve spins super smooth (Ironically this is the side that shows the bend.) Other sleeves spins exactly like the ones on the new bar. So, I wonder if the new bar is how both sleeves should be.
4. Overall feels more solid. I noticed that the collars on this bar are, by a very slight margin, beefier than the new bar. No weld problems on either side.

My concerns with the new bar are with the slight horizontal movement in the sleeves. The original bar's sleeves feel super solid as far as not shifting horizontally, and that can be seen by the tighter spacing at the end caps. If that one sleeve with no welds is a big issue, then I will just be sending the new one back and keeping the old. Also, the bend in my old bar shows up on one side more that the other which is weird, but measuring from the center knurl you can see the slight deviation as well. I've included some pictures to see the difference between the new and old. Video links to my original bar spin on each side. I've included two pictures of no welds sleeve on the new bar, and the original bar is the last picture. The new one is straighter. However, I feel that overall the original bar is more solidly built to last. There seems to be quite a difference just looking at the spacing on the end caps. Right now I'm leaning more towards the original bar, but maybe there's something I'm missing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=391oSf-m_V8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4UJmsbe-k0

[veryhrm]

I'm pretty sure that's not a weld there even on the ones that don't have a visible gap. On bars i've seen w/ a weld at that location it's considerably larger: 1/4"+ in width. Also, a bit of play in and out shouldn't be a problem. It's the way these York bars are designed.

So therefore i'd take the straighter one. However, the "slight bump" when spinning one collar is somewhat of a concern. I don't know what you're describing but it probably shouldn't be there. Just film it and see what rogue has to say if you're concerned.

[Dastardly]

The one with the 'bump'

I would take off the sleeve and inspect the contact surfaces inside.

[Andrew_WOT]

Any chance to exchange it for another brand? Depending on what you are after, I'd rather get Westside Power Bar if strict powerlifting or Pendlay Nexgen HD bushing if some oly lifts are part of your routine. Rogue Power Bar would be pretty good too, almost same as Pendlay but lesser steel and center knurling. As you get your B&R from Rogue, I assume, hope there shouldn't be a problem as they sell all of them.
York Barbell really disappoint with their QC recently.

[Nate-L]

I'm pretty sure that's not a weld there even on the ones that don't have a visible gap. On bars i've seen w/ a weld at that location it's considerably larger: 1/4"+ in width. Also, a bit of play in and out shouldn't be a problem. It's the way these York bars are designed.

So therefore i'd take the straighter one. However, the "slight bump" when spinning one collar is somewhat of a concern. I don't know what you're describing but it probably shouldn't be there. Just film it and see what rogue has to say if you're concerned.

When I spin all the sleeves on both bars, they all spin well. The "bump" I'm talking about is very slight. Probably from the sleeve going over the bushing. I'm guessing that is a feature of a bushing sleeve. There's only one sleeve out of all 4 sleeves of the two bars that spins completely smooth. In my opinion the one very smooth spinning sleeve is not normal. However, the only reason I would bring this up is because this one sleeve is different from the other 3. I don't think the spin concerns me on either bar.
What does concern me is the horizontal movement of the sleeves of the new bar compared to the original. The original sleeves feel more solid because they don't shift like the new one. I see that there's an agreement that some horizontal movement in the sleeves is a normal thing for York? So, that makes my original bar an exception.

[Nate-L]

I'd get a Rogue bar if I could. Seems to be more predictable in quality.

[ARoden]

If they both spin well, I'd keep the one without the gap in the first photo.

[veryhrm]

When I spin all the sleeves on both bars, they all spin well. The "bump" I'm talking about is very slight. Probably from the sleeve going over the bushing. I'm guessing that is a feature of a bushing sleeve. There's only one sleeve out of all 4 sleeves of the two bars that spins completely smooth. In my opinion the one very smooth spinning sleeve is not normal. However, the only reason I would bring this up is because this one sleeve is different from the other 3. I don't think the spin concerns me on either bar.
What does concern me is the horizontal movement of the sleeves of the new bar compared to the original. The original sleeves feel more solid because they don't shift like the new one. I see that there's an agreement that some horizontal movement in the sleeves is a normal thing for York? So, that makes my original bar an exception.

I think you're thinking of some other meaning of the term bushing because these kinds of bushings are axially symmetric. It's basically just a brass cylinder and it doesn't have any gaps or welds in it.

A few months ago (when this discussion first started about bars and UPS bending them etc) i ran across this thread http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=115122621 that has some bar sleeve disassembly pics and overall discussion about their construction. The pics in the first post actually show how you'd take the sleeve off a B&R bar too if you're curious to do so. If you do, please take some pics as i'd like to know what is keeping the sleeve from sliding toward the center of the bar.

[Nate-L]

I don't think I'll be taking the sleeve off as I don't have the proper tools or a replacement for the pin. I'm thinking of keeping the new one since it is straighter and york bars are known for sleeves that move a bit I guess. The only last worry I have is the part where the sleeve and collar meet where there is no bond. Hopefully the sleeve and collar won't disconnect over time?

[Tom Chase]

I would send them both back if you're not happy with them. It's your money and you shouldn't have to keep a brand new bar with issues straight out of the box.