Quote Originally Posted by porphyry View Post
Awesome - I was actually tossing up between those exact two bars. For background I'm planning to build a home gym but I wanted to keep things nice and neat - one bar for her, one for me. I was thinking she could squat with a Bella or Junior bar too but if it's that awfully thin I would get her something else. Does 3mm really make that much difference? Can I just wrap some athletic tape around the center?

After Stef's comment I found a shop near here that sells 10lb/28mm Aluminum bar but I'm not sure how well that well that will work for squatting/deadlifting. I don't know if she'll ever OHP much more than 75lbs (50lbs @107lbs now) but I think a 150lb squat isn't far away. I'd like to keep this to just two bars if possible.

FWIW I'd rather not get a standard bar - space, quality and utility are my main concerns. I'd rather buy nice than twice.
If the Bella bar is not too heavy for her current press and bench sets, then get the Bella bar. Do not get the 10 lb aluminum bar. I have two of those, but they are for my 5 year old and 7 year old to snatch and clean and jerk with, and they are already outgrowing them. My 5 year old pressed over 26 lbs the other day. You should assume that she will press bodyweight because you always want to assume that people are going to be as awesome as possible.

I have ONE woman who squats and deadlifts with a junior/women's bar, and she just started and has a medical issue that has her lifting a very small amount of weight. It is okay to have two bars and to have your wife squat and deadlift (and eventually press and bench) with the 20 kg bar. Every other woman at my gym uses a 20 kg bar for squats and deadlifts and then moves to the 20 kg bar on presses as soon as they can.

The Bella bar is a good bar for Olympic weightlifting. The black color and double knurl marks annoy me, but I have set PRs with a Bella bar more than once.