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Buying a quality barbell

Is it really stiff? Deep rough knurling?
You sound pretty damn strong. Whats your weight?
 
Welcome Spritcha.

I agree, for $500, you'll never damage the ABC bar, f u c k paying triple for an Eleiko.

The ZK is a pearler, but I got it for free, I couldnt justify paying that much for it.

If your setting a place up....3 x ABC or 1 x Eleiko.....hmmmmmmmmmm
 
But is the ABC any good for power cleans ect.....

If the ZK is great for all lifts, why wouldnt I just get that.
Saves me buying and ABC and an oly bar......

Stuff it.
ABC power bar x 2 and ill look for a medium range oly bar.
3 new bars are better than 1 right :p.

Thanks for everyones imput :).
 
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I thought ABC were making an oly bar with the nice knurling now?

A power bar for deads and squats and any oly bar for cleans, so much less time spent changing plates if you have enough, of them...For bench you could use any bar really!!???
 
I was at Australia barbell today- they have an oly bar and a power bar. The knurling is a little smoother on the oly bar and I think the bearings are different. My power bar cost $480. The ABC bars are 28.5mm I think- whereas I think the Eleiko is 29mm. The Eleiko is a lot stiffer. Since the IPF have made Eleiko the approved bar there is some sense in using the bar to train with if you compete IPF- otherwise ABC will survive and perform year after year.
In answer to the question above and the welcomes- thanks- I'm around the 125kg mark- meaning I compete at 125kg, train a few kgs over.
 
ABC do in fact make an excellent Oly bar, some of my clients have one, needle bearings and smooth knurling, buy one of each Scott.
 
Having squat with an elieko weightlifting bar i would not buy one if I spent most of my time doing slow lifts.
 
Both the Eleiko Powerlifting and Weightlifting bars are awesome.
Worth every dollar I spent on mine. FAR superior to the ABC which is about my 4th choice for squatting at muscle pit, after the old Ivanko, then Leoko, then the better of the two old Texas power bars.

The ABC is good value for $500 but there's a reason why the Eleiko is 3-4 times the price
 
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macmad said:
Both the Eleiko Powerlifting and Weightlifting bars are awesome.
Worth every dollar I spent on mine. FAR superior to the ABC which is about my 4th choice for squatting at muscle pit, after the old Ivanko, then Leoko, then the better of the two old Texas power bars.

The ABC is good value for $500 but there's a reason why the Eleiko is 3-4 times the price
Click to expand...
I agree with you about the Eleiko, Ivanko and Leoko- but to be honest I didn't really think the texas bar (or the okie bar for that matter) was any better than the ABC one.
 
I find the knurling too harsh on the ABC, especially for extended sheiko sessions.
One of the CAPO shirted benchers has also complained that the bearings on the ABC are too spinny, which with larger weights can make the plates spin.
 
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ABC now make a powerbar with fine knurling.

I know the needle bearing bar spins freely, but my bush bearing bars will barely do a revolution when spun by hand with a 10kg plate. My ZK will spin until I physically stop it.
 
macmad said:
I find the knurling too harsh on the ABC, especially for extended sheiko sessions.
One of the CAPO shirted benchers has also complained that the bearings on the ABC are too spinny, which with larger weights can make the plates spin.
Click to expand...

Couldnt you just spend an hour or two with a mill file?
 
right now in my garage I have 2 Eleiko bars (neither mine) and an ABC bar. The Knurling is almost identical on the ABC and the newer Eleiko, if anything the Eleiko is harsher. Macmad- maybe your Eleiko is smoothing out.
 
or Maybe the ABC bar's Henry purchased are not the powerlifting specific ones.
As the knurling is harsher than any other bar in the gym, including the Texas deadlift bar.
My Eleiko has that crisscross type knurling, the ABC's are just spikes.
For Deadlifting I prefer the old Ivanko bar.

here's a comparison I did a while ago of 4 bars at the musclepit.
From top to bottom,
Pendley Bar from Aus kbells
Leoko power bar used at 1988 IPF world champs ( still in perfect condition, not sure how the chrome has survived or if it's actually polished steel ). Great for benching, has almost no bend at all so not so great for deadlifting.
ABC bar
Texas deadlift bar

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B3WLGhXxYIjoYjYzNDU1NTItNTg3Mi00OWVjLTg5Y 2ItMThjNjViZThhMjFl&hl=en
 
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Anyone know the tensile strength of the ABC power bar ?

IVANKO are 202,000 psi

Eleiko 215,000 psi

Pendlay 166,000 psi

The average Olympic bar rated at 1,000 pound are about 130,000 psi
 
Yeah i understand that but the tensile strength is about if the bar can last a lifetime and accounting for dropping the bar at height on the power rack or ground without bumpers on failed attempts.

I don't doubt the ABC bar as i remember you saying nick i think it was dropped the powerbar onto your rack from height with no damage done.

The psi rating is a very good indication to the quality of the barbell and would be good to compare to the best.
 
Also, the PSI I believe, can give an indication of how much the bar will whip.

I talked to Wayne at ABC today, awesome bloke to chat with. Nice and friendly :).
He also took the time to explain a few things to me, and tell me about his products.

ABC power bars sound awesome. 3 year warrenty or bearings ect NOT AGAINST BENDAGE. If it bends, they can re use your sleeves ect, and just machine up a new bar. I think it was like $150ish.

The weightlifting bar, does not sound as good for cleans/snaches as I first hoped. Its the same BAR as the power bars, the only difference is the bearing are not bronze bush, they are needle. Being the same as the stiff power bars, I doubt they would be very whippy.

I cant remember the PSI rating of the steel sorry. That would help :).

They can also put any depth knurl you want on your bar as they are made in house. This is awesome news.

I might get a pendlay and ABC power bar.

Whilst whip may not help or be useful to me, I hope some strong feckers will train with it, so I need to accomodate them also.
 
My ZK has no more whip than my ABC at normal human weights.

I think you'll need to be cleaning 160-180kg before you see any difference, even then it wont be that much.With most guys cleaning 100-130kg, no diff.

we deadlift with the ZK, no more bend than the ABC at over 200kg.
 
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