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Affordable Olympic Lifting Barbell

P

Peterpack

New member
I'm looking for a barbell which i can use for olympic lifting including crossfit style workouts. Currently i am using a fairly cheap bar and already i can see the sleeve becoming a bit loose

Aside from the Force USA bar, F-OLB20 and the Iron edge premium bar, are there any other alternatives ?

I guess you have to pay for a quality bar and 600 is the cheapest you can get one
 
The Force USA Oly bar sucks. Had one come through my gym and its beat up after 6 months. We bought an Again Faster bar for under 300 to use as our Oly beater. I had it recommended to me by a few CF clubs. However it has no centre knurling so I can't rate its use as a squat bar highly.
 
Thanks to El Freako's heads up, i've done a bit more research especially on the Again Faster Team barbell and that's probably going to be the one i get

For half the price of the Force USA, Iron edge and Rogue bars and with no real negative feedback on the bar, it seems the best value by far for me.
 
I'm thinking of getting a couple bars when i get my home gym, one is planned to be the BOP 220 from ABC.. i'm thinking the AF might be useful second.. how would that be for deadlifting a couple hundred KGs as well as the oly lifts?
 
Rogue Bar, Again Faster Bar

WALL OF TEXT INCOMMING !

I have:

Rogue Bar
Rogue Operator Bar
Again Faster Bar
Chinese Steel

I also have:

Pendlay Econ Bumpers
Rogue Bumpers
Again Faster Bumpers

Rogue bar/ Operator Bar:
I got these from the states as it was a cheaper option. These bars a whippy, spin well and can be lifted on all day without tearing callouses. I regularly smash them from overhead to ground with over 100kg on them and use them for Deadlift reps over 200kg.
They have give for deadlifts, I only high bar squat 150ish but have low bar squatted 160 without them slipping.
Overall great bar with fine (non aggressive) knurling that loves to take chalk.

Again Faster Bar:
Price difference comes down to finish between this and the rogue bar. the knurling is the same depth, however it is much less fine. We find it rocks for slow lifts and still has good whip and maybe slightly better spin for faster lifts. I haven't had this one long and it must be noted that it really is bare steel (I love the feel during Benching) and must be cared for. the fact that it is so cheap and yet carries an unconditional warranty is fantastic and I don't see why you would not use it as a starting bar, until you are pulling over 230kg there is no issue with the smaller available sleeve area for loading plates. (3cm per side less due to collar width).

Chinese bar:
Made in China from god knows what. Cost almost as much as the above, bought years ago from Orbit. (F@$%@$% them and the cost of the garbage they sell.) Chrome is slippery on big pulls and the knurling is like a grab bar in a disabled toilet...

As for Bumpers:
Pendlay and Rogue Econ bumpers are the exact same plates. They are bullet proof, fairly quiet and don't bounce above knee height after dropping from overhead. For the price I cannot recommend anything more higly than the pendlay Aus Econ bumpers whilst they are on sale.

Again faster:
Great plates, very similar to the above, though the finish quality is lower than the Rogue/Pendlay bumpers. If you get an again faster bar you save a bit in shipping if you package these bumpers. However, there is a silver lining as the again faster plates are thinner than the equivilent plates from the other two.

Power Rack / Platform:
Regardless of Bar / bumpers. Build a solid platform from good non hollow plywood and the highest density 15mm+ rubber you can find (or even better layer 3 pieces of 15, 17 and 17mm ply in 90 degree layers, bond them and buy the iron edge 50mm tiles and you have a bullet proof setup)

Any stands are good with this setup, however I screwed my Rogue R3 to my 2.4 x 2.4m platform and it is rediculously strong and stiff. I don't think I have utilised a better power rack thanks to the hole spacing and accesory options available. I have 2 different chin bars with several options. (My wife just pointed out that she buys everything as I procrastinate too much...)

WALL OF TEXT ENDS !
 
If you want I can do a video review of any of the above gear in action.

Might just do that this weekend anyways. It is nice to see things you might buy in action, especially things like bumpers and barbells as they are obviously quite expensive.
 
Really appreciate the mini reviews Serpy Ben and yes would love to see video reviews (as i'm sure a lot of others would too)

I intend to use this bar for Olympic lifts only, i have another bar for benching, squatting and deadlifts

This is purely to be dropped from overhead with not mega huge weights (not above 100kg)
 
shaft size

Peterpack said:
Thanks , i will check out the Again faster bar

Anyone have experience with Rogue bars

WEIGHTLIFTING BARS - Rogue Fitness Australia

or Warrior equipment

Warrior 220cm Hybrid Olympic Barbell Warrior 220cm Hybrid Olympic Barbell : Warrior Equipment :: Strength and Conditioning Equipment for the Warrior, Delivering Training Steel to Australian Warriors
Click to expand...


your asking about a Olympic bar so watch out for the shaft size - i think the OWL bars are 28mm while the powerlifting bars are thicker and have chainsaw knurl.

cheers
 
Quick Video

Again Faster Bar vs Rogue Bar,

Just a quick look at Knurling, rings and sleeves. Was in the middle of a workout so is ust a quick look. (please excuse me saying collar instead of sleeve in vid)

I'll throw a more in depth video up tomorrow with dropping bumpers, showing that there is no real difference in spin etc.

The Again Faster bar certainly bows a bit more than the rogue bar on deadlifts btw, will check how that translates to whip tomorrow (or when wife gets off my (our) platform this morning. The AF bar would still hold in excess of 300kg with steel plates.

 
Last edited:
NightFallTech said:
I'm thinking of getting a couple bars when i get my home gym, one is planned to be the BOP 220 from ABC.. i'm thinking the AF might be useful second.. how would that be for deadlifting a couple hundred KGs as well as the oly lifts?
Click to expand...

If you get a BOP 220 you wouldn't be using an Again Faster bar for deadlifts or squats.

That would be a nice combo to have though for using the AF bar for high pulls, floor presses, bench or any other time you may drop a bar or smash it into a rack.

I have used the Iron Edge econ bar also, it would last a while in a home gym being dropped and bashed and is also deserving of a mention.

At the end of the day, any bar with bushings and circlips will last a long time unless rack pulled or dropped on a box or at a severe angle while loaded.
 
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