Beginner Bar recommendation?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I have a rather strange question. At what weight deadlift is a barbell sleeve expected to break?
This was the gym's excuse tonite, after I did an AMRAP benchpress (luckily it was only 70%) where the weight seemed to be sliding all over and I hit a hook (that never happens)...after 15 reps, I rack and see the sleeve is broken! The gym didn't seem to be too concerned that I might have gotten hurt when I brought it up front, but blamed the issue on "deadlifts." (Incidentally, the guys I have seen there think 305 is a big deal). No choice in gyms, so I guess I'm in the market for a bar....

If you buy these assholes a bar, we will never speak to you again.

[granny]

Hahahaha!! It’d be for me. I have a pickup and I’d have a 20kg/45# bar for at home, and I wouldn’t have to check the gym bars and then take a good one from someone (it’s enough I regularly kick people out of the rack, although plenty of times I outsquat them, which is absurd given my strength levels).

[wsmoran]

I have a rather strange question. At what weight deadlift is a barbell sleeve expected to break?
This was the gym's excuse tonite, after I did an AMRAP benchpress (luckily it was only 70%) where the weight seemed to be sliding all over and I hit a hook (that never happens)...after 15 reps, I rack and see the sleeve is broken! The gym didn't seem to be too concerned that I might have gotten hurt when I brought it up front, but blamed the issue on "deadlifts." (Incidentally, the guys I have seen there think 305 is a big deal). No choice in gyms, so I guess I'm in the market for a bar....

If you get a good bar, you won't have to worry about the your deadlifts surpassing the capacity of the bar sleeves.

[Les Hahn]

If you aren't doing weightlifting stuff, the Rogue Ohio Power Bar is probably your best bang for the buck. It's probably too stiff for weightlifting and better for powerlifting movements.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The SS Bar is a better bar for another $20. No sillyass coating on the steel. Better knurling feels better in the hands. Same diameter = same stiffness. Center knurling is very important for an all-purpose bar.

[Les Hahn]

The SS Bar is a better bar for another $20. No sillyass coating on the steel. Better knurling feels better in the hands. Same diameter = same stiffness. Center knurling is very important for an all-purpose bar.

Maybe you are thinking of the Ohio Bar vs th Ohio Power Bar. The Power Bar is more like the Texas Power Bar. It has aggressive knurling and it has a center piece too. The Ohio Power Bar is 29mm and has skinnier sleeve ends which makes it a little less whippy than the Texas Power Bar. It also comes in bare steel, which is the cheapest option.

I've never used an SS bar, but I've used the Texas Power Bar a lot. How does it compare to that? The Ohio Power Bar is my favorite general purpose bar. I like Buddy Capps stuff too, and have a Texas Squat Bar I use all the time.

[Les Hahn]

Just to add, the wider sleeve ends would be advantageous for walking out squats in some racks. I squat with an 8' bar, so I never have to worry about that. That could be one potential advantage for the SS or Texas Power Bar.

[wsmoran]

I've never used an SS bar, but I've used the Texas Power Bar a lot. How does it compare to that?

Same shaft. Medium knurl instead of aggressive so you won't tear up your hand on volume work. Both IPF and IWF marks. Smoother sleeves. Slightly thinner collar. No coating on the bar.

[Les Hahn]

Same shaft. Medium knurl instead of aggressive so you won't tear up your hand on volume work. Both IPF and IWF marks. Smoother sleeves. Slightly thinner collar. No coating on the bar.

Nice. :-) I actually don't think the knurling is that aggressive on the Texas Power Bar, but I'm used to deadlift bars. It sounds like a nice barbell. Now when you say smoother sleeves, do you mean they spin a little easier? That would be nice for power cleans.

I use 3 different bars for training, since the competitions I do have something similar to them (Texas Squat Bar, Ohio Power Bar, and Ohio DL Bar). The Ohio Power Bar would be solid for squats and deadlifts. The SS bar would probably have more whip for deadlifts, which would be a positive (plates farther out and thinner bar). The OPB probably wouldn't be as great for power cleans. So it kind of depends what you want to do with it. But I did 680x5 bench to 4 boards in a bench daddy (working my way up to a bench shirt for my first geared competition), and I have wider generic plates. With the change is was about out to the end of the bar. That bar has very little wobble. I bought a second one for my brother to start training with. I really love that bar for powerlifting stuff.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Buy a SS Bar from Capps. If you don't like it, I will buy it from you for the full price. I need another one here anyway.