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One Bar or Two.

M

Mr0ops

New member
G'day guys n gals

So, I need to order a bar and I want a good one. I've read the sticky thread and thought I'd settled on the ABC power bar (BOP220). That was until I picked up a sweet set of Pendlay Elite bumper plates and now I'm not sure the ABC will be much good for oly lifts. I mainly train the big 3 (bench, squat & dead) but that's because I've never had bumpers.

So, my question is this...

Should I....

A) Get the ABC power bar and save for a good oly specific bar

OR

B) Get something like the Rogue Ohio bar that's a "dual purpose" kind of bar.

http://www.rogueaustralia.com.au/rogue-olympic-wl-bar-au

I've never used a dual purpose bar before and I don't want to wax $600 on a bar that tries to do everything but doesn't do anything particularly well. That said, I'm not moving much weight right now so would I even notice?

Any input would be sweet

Cheers
 
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Get the ABC and do oly lifts with it. if oly lifts are then your thing, look at getting a second bar. You'll be fine with the abc until you are moving 120++

Trust me, i'm a doctor.
 
Are you going to be dropping them from overhead type of thing. Since you are really only piss farting around with oly lifts I would say just get a shit second bar.
 
Cheers guys, wise words.

@ Darkoz - yea cash is getting tight and I'm definitely not a competitive lifter but I do hate having to buy things twice (hence the pendlay elites.) Also figured I'll need all the help I can get when it comes to oly lifting.
[MENTION=4043]Karak[/MENTION] - that's a pretty sound plan mate. Not having done oly lifts in the past, it's hard to know if a bar with no whip and average barings will make me hate life or not. Good to hear you say I'll get away with it under 120. Thanks Doc.
[MENTION=16378]StrungOut[/MENTION] - Yea a shit second oly bar was my first thought too but then I started thinking maybe a nice oly bar and a shit power bar might be better... then I found out about the dual purpose bar. Then I remembered that I don't know shit so thought I'd see what you guys think.


Cheers fellas
 
@ Karak & WoodyAllen

Since you guys have first hand experience with the ABC bar, do you know if it will hold up to being dropped? I'm not planning on dropping every set while high fiving "the bros", but I figure the whole point of bumpers is to be able to bail out if shit gets real and it'd be nice not to stuff the bar in process.
 

We have several ABC bars at my gym, they get plenty of drops from people doing oly stuff. The newest ones must be well over a year old now, still aok. The old ones, all I can guess is years old, still fine.
 
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There's a big difference between dropping it and the plates hitting the floor and dropping it and the bar hitting the safeties. Got loads of bent bars at our work gym (incl abc) cos kunce just drop shit for the sake of it
 
White_Lie said:
There's a big difference between dropping it and the plates hitting the floor and dropping it and the bar hitting the safeties. Got loads of bent bars at our work gym (incl abc) cos kunce just drop shit for the sake of it
Click to expand...

Whaddaya mean dropping it on the safeties? On a bench?
 
In the racks.
I think they're bending them on the rack that has those thin ass safeties. The HS rack that has thick ones probably absorbs/spreads the load a lot better
 
Do you have one [MENTION=2727]Fadi[/MENTION];?​what's the essential difference between the training and comp bar?
 
Goosey said:
Do you have one @Fadi;?​what's the essential difference between the training and comp bar?
Click to expand...
No Andy I do not have one but have trained and lifted on more than few. I mainly do squats with my lifting bar at the moment. The difference between the comp bar and the training bar is to be found in a moderately sharper knurling for the comp bar. That difference becomes accentuated as the weight begins to increase and your only strong hold on that bar is your hook grip. Sure one can use chalk and straps etc, but nothing beats that grip confidence a lifter gets once hands meet a bar with just the right amount of knurling on it.

This is not about Eleiko making one bar hard and another soft (on purpose) Andy, rather this is about a process of first and second bar made with sharper knurling, and as more bars are made, the knurling created by the machine becomes less and less, hence those other bars get selected for a different purpose. It's a bit similar to a razor sharp knife if you like, that gradually looses its sharpness as it's put into use and needs re sharpening etc. So in a nutshell, what the knurling machine creates for the 1st and 2nd bar (comp bars), is somewhat reduced as it creates more knurling for bar #3 #4 etc....

I've trained on non Eleiko bars (as early as 2010 here at Homebush/Sydney Olympic venue), and I've trained on soft knurl bars. The difference is very clear if you lift day in and day out, and you want the bar that would replicate the exact same feeling your hands would feel on a competition lifting platform.
 
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the ABC power bar is not good for Olympic lifts but very durable for everything else.

If you plan on oly lifting more than 110kg, the power bar will limit you severely. It is just too damned rigid.

Being able to utilise the momentum of the whip in a springy weightlifting bar is part of the skill and it seems that whip really becomes a potentially valuable factor once the weight gets beyond 110kg.
 
@ Repacked - cheers mate. Good to hear some more positive feedback about the ABC bar. As I mentioned in the op, I was all set to get one, even had a quote done. Then along came the deal of the century and I ended up with bumpers.

@ White Lie - Definitly won't be dumping onto the safties unless the shit hits the fan. Cheers for the reminder though!

@ Fadi - Man you really shouldn't tempt me with stuff like that because before you know it I've convinced myself I actually need it. The Eleiko looks sweet and quality makes me moist but I might have to put that one on my "one day" list with the Ivory back scratcher and a BJ in a Bugatti Veyron

@ Vonfram88 - Solid info mate. Unfortunately for me it's exactly what I was worried about. On the flip side, if I got a dual use bar with moderate whip, how badly would that affect the bench, dead and squat? Ie what's worse, a stiff bar for oly lifts or a bendy bar for power lifts?

@ EVERYONE - you guys are bloody legends. I wasn't expecting even half as many replies as this so thanks heaps!
 
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Main difference between eleiko comp bars and training bars is the knurling depth (training not as sharp) and the calibration weight. Comp pars are 20kg +/- 20g i believe, training bars arent quite so accurate.

Depends where your focus, i'm biased to powerlifting as thats what i do. To me a stiff bar is more versatile. Squats, bench, dead, goodmorning, rows, whatever else.

Whippy bars are good for Oly lifts.

Side note, don't ABC make an oly bar as well?
 

I'm with you on the power bar being the weapon of choice for the majority of lifts too. I guess I've just bought myself a problem by forking out cash I didn't really have for classy bumpers and now I feel like I need to get the use out of them to justify it. First world problems hey...

Maybe I'll just take my $600 bucks and put it on red. If it comes in, I'll get two bars. If not, theres no decision to make
 
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