Olympic Barbells - any difference?

[stingo]

I was thinking of picking up an olympic barbell/weight set and was wondering if just about any would do, or if there are things/brands I should be looking for. Thanks in advance for replies.

 

[goergen1]

It depends on your budget. Cheaper sets will have bars that bend and plates that chip.

York, Ivanko, or something higher end will last. When buying a weight set always buy the highest quality. It may be more expensive. But they will last forever and you will never have to buy again.

 

[NBS 4life]

Make sure that the bars are 20kg not 15kg. Alot of cheaper companies say olympic because of the bar end diameter but arent actually the real mc coy

 

[Cynic]

What's your max lift?

I bought a decent 300lb set from Sport's Authority for $109. The bar is not the best, the knurl is smoothed down, but it's good enough for starters. The plates are better than the bar.

You can invest in a better bar later on.

I bought bar from fitness factory so that I can do front squats without the knurl scraping my neck. It's solid, has excellent knurling, supports 1500lbs, is 200,000lb tensile strength, etc, at a pretty good price.

 

[stingo]

I'm sure that the 300lb set would suit me for quite a long while. I was looking at fitness factory - seems like they have some good stuff there. Though I will see what's available locally to get around the shipping costs.

 

[stingo]

Seems I can get a set of weights for about $160 locally... Think the plates are Cap Barbell, not sure about the bar... I looked at fitnessfactory too, anyone know if their olympic weight sets include the $175 bar?

 

[Cynic]

Seems I can get a set of weights for about $160 locally... Think the plates are Cap Barbell, not sure about the bar... I looked at fitnessfactory too, anyone know if their olympic weight sets include the $175 bar?

Don't order plates online. You'll pay bigtime for shipping. Since iron is iron, just get what you want locally.

No, the FF set doesn't include the $175 bar.