Buying a quality barbell

[Christian]

trofius your bar looks exactly like the ones we have at my gym..

 

[The Laughing Man]

+1 for ABC power bars!

 

[Oli]

When I e-mailed ABC they said what I have, sounds like an old power bar. On their list their "power bars" are the black nitride. Mine is obviously chrome with stainless ends, a full 7 foot, 20kg (no collars, my scales say 20.2kg) Were my knurling is worn is is black, but doesnt appear to be rust at all, just dark grey steal looking.

The give aways aparently is my black end caps are recessed 10mm...I dont think their current bars have recessed caps..I have seen about 3 other ABC bars they are different. I have seen my bar pulled off the ground with over 300kg on it!, not a lot of flex.

What are yours like Marcos are the end caps recessed at all.

trofius,

I'm not a pro on barbells but ABC has a line of static bars of high quality for 'general gym use'.

Its possible that whilst the effects are the same (both bars wont have much whip) they are different in tensile and respond differently to wear.

 

[trofius]

Yep I agree Oli, when you look at the specs it seems like a BO220 bar..ABC quoted me $564 to replace it a lot more than the OP has mentioned.

 

[amac38]

Awesome info here, just adding to the discussion,

Jarrod of Aus KB said this on the Iron Edge barbells and the Pendlay.

Put simply, if you are looking at Olympic lifting or Powerlifting where the bar will be dropped, you will require a bar such as the Pendlay. If you are not planning on dropping the bar at all, then the Ironedge bar will certainly cater to your needs. There is a hell of a lot of science behind a bar such as the Pendlay whereas the ironedge bar comes out of China at a price. We've had a lot of input in their manufacture and hence there simply isn't a better economy priced bar on the market-It is a genuine bearing bar with great spin and a moderate whip. In terms of feel the Ironedge bar is every bit as good as a Pendlay or Zhang Kong. It is the longevity where the more expensive bars gain their reputation. If you are to drop an Ironedge bar consecutively and it lands unevenly it will not stay straight, whereas the Pendlay is designed to bend under pressure and return to the exact same straight shape. ​

The Pendlays have a lifetime warranty against malfunction. As we are the Australian distributor for them we will honour their warranty. Up until this point their has been a need to as there hasn't been a single bar returned. They're made in the USA and are a precision product. ​

Both bars are exactly the same dimensions (,28mm diameter shaft, 50mm collar).

For big deadlifts you're definitely going to need a quality bar for it to stay straight over a long period of time. No problems with the Power Cgae damaging the bar - They're generally built with a bars life span in mind.
​

Yep I agree Oli, when you look at the specs it seems like a BO220 bar..ABC quoted me $564 to replace it a lot more than the OP has mentioned.

If you're after an ABC bar and reside in Perth, contact rob@gymcare.com.au
He can sort you out with ABC stuff. This is an email i received from Rob.

Hi Alvin
BO220 $484.00

BO220BN (Black nitride bar) $484.00

BO220P (Power bar) $484.00
What is the difference between a black nitride bar and the normal BO220 one? - Just the finish (black vs silver)

What difference is there between the power bar and the olympic bar, BO220 vs BO220P? Power bars need to be treated with more care, they have a special internal bearing that can break very easily if not handled properly. We very rarely sell them as a result.

Also, how much would the ABC collars cost? $30.00 per pair

Hope this helps you Alvin, like I said, we would tag this order onto the back of a larger one to save you on freight (Alternatively the freight charge would be $150.00 + GST to send by itself)

The usual frequency for ABC orders arriving here is every three weeks, although this isn't set in stone.

The black nitride bar looks sexy as, im sure it could add about 10kg to all my lifts just for being black. All three bars cost the same, just have to choose one and start saving up

Can anyone else explain a bit more about this 'special internal bearing that can break easily'?

Marcos, do your bars rest on metal stays, or have you added rubber or cloth to them so they treat the bars better.

That's a great idea!!!

 

[PTC]

lol.........thats crap, I have 2 powerbars in black, they have lifted as much weight as any bar, been dropped from height, missed reps in the rack, dumped over heads, they are still mint.

Remember, a powerbar will have to lift a lot more weight than an Olympic bar.

I'm sure Wayne at ABC would like to know more about this problem. I'll mention this post and ask him, maybe this guys right, I'm just going by experience.

 

[Oli]

The Jarrod guy really doesnt know what he's talking about - a bar thats going to whip and bend is going to be a pain in the ass for powerlifts.

Interesting remarks on the power bars, I thought ABC powerbars were as tough as you could get?

I'd also be interested what the difference between a general purpose bar like trofius has got and a power bar is.

 

[macmad]

Amac38, if you want to see the difference between the pendlay and a proper powerlifting bar, come down to the muscle pit. We have a pendlay, 2 ABC's, a Leoko, 2 older Texas bars, an old Ivanko, a Texas deadlift bar, and some crappy cheap shiny bars.
The Pendlay is ONLY suitable for olympic lifts despite what Jarrod says above. It is not a good bar for benching and squatting.

 

[Ben]

Spoke to Wayne at ABC yesterday, absolute gentleman and a pleasure to deal with. Might have a black powerlifting bar on the way shortly - I'll ask about dropping it.

 

[Ben]

Going to Melbourne Tuesday to pick the new bar up.

Wayne said dropping it isn't a problem, you just don't want to be using steel plates on concrete.

 

[Ben]

a bar thats going to bend is going to be a pain in the ass for powerlifts.

What about the deadlifting bar they used at the vic state titles? Pretty sure it's designed to bend.

Or, maybe anything would bend with 200kg+ hanging off it...

 

[PTC]

In the WPC they use a 30mm bar that hardly bends in the squat and a 27mm bar that really whips around on the dead

 

[Oli]

What about the deadlifting bar they used at the vic state titles? Pretty sure it's designed to bend.

Or, maybe anything would bend with 200kg+ hanging off it...

Ivankos are designed to have a slight bend when 250kg+ is loaded on the bar.

Deadlift bars are a little different to standard power bars, but they have nowhere near the whip of an olympic bar.

 

[amac38]

lol.........thats crap, I have 2 powerbars in black, they have lifted as much weight as any bar, been dropped from height, missed reps in the rack, dumped over heads, they are still mint.

Remember, a powerbar will have to lift a lot more weight than an Olympic bar.

I'm sure Wayne at ABC would like to know more about this problem. I'll mention this post and ask him, maybe this guys right, I'm just going by experience.

Yeap, so true, just got this from Rob:

Hi Alvin

The foam tubes are $40.00 + GST ea

And my apologies.. I gave you a bum steer on the Power Bar.. I was thinking of another model.
The major difference between the standard bar and the Power bar is the knurling.. it’s much deeper on the power bar.

Rgds
Rob

That clears up a lot, I spose i should be going for the power bar with deeper knurling for the big compound lifts?

Amac38, if you want to see the difference between the pendlay and a proper powerlifting bar, come down to the muscle pit. We have a pendlay, 2 ABC's, a Leoko, 2 older Texas bars, an old Ivanko, a Texas deadlift bar, and some crappy cheap shiny bars.
The Pendlay is ONLY suitable for olympic lifts despite what Jarrod says above. It is not a good bar for benching and squatting.

Thanks for the offer macmad, man you know a lotta stuff about powerlifting.

Going to Melbourne Tuesday to pick the new bar up.

Wayne said dropping it isn't a problem, you just don't want to be using steel plates on concrete.

Sweeeet, that sounds great! What did you end up getting and for how much, if you don't mind me asking? Is this for your home gym? That'll last you ages!

 

[Ben]

Sweeeet, that sounds great! What did you end up getting? Is this for your home gym? That'll last you ages!

Got the BOP220, for my own setup at home.

 

[PTC]

Check out macmads lifts, seriously strong, and a sandgroper

 

[Oli]

Just ordered my ABC power bar today (heads up for the discount markos).

This better be significantly better than my chinese 700lb test bar...

 

[PTC]

I'm glad Wayne looked after you.

 

[amac38]

About to place an order for the power bar with spring collars from Gymcare, what's this discount from Wayne? Any contact details?

Cheers

 

[Ben]

Just returned from ABC with a powerlifting bar.

Whilst I was there Wayne showed me through the engineering department where the bars are manufactured.

Also had a look at the Eleiko and Ivanko bars he had in stock, very nice.

Top notch customer service there.