The authors stress bar quality. Here's an excerpt from a Glenn Pendlay post on the subject of Olympic lifting bars that may have some application to power bars.
From
http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=13733&page=2:
“I would also like to rate some of the bars I feel are the better bars on the market, and try to be objective. . . .
“Anyway, here goes. As I see it, the better Olympic weightlifting bars on the market right now are the Eleiko, Werksan, Zhangkong, York Elite, Chapman, and Pendlay bars, listed from most expensive to least expensive, with the first 3 being IWF certified and the last 3 not. The IWF certified bars all go for somewhere north of $700, I think the York Elite is around $600 but not sure, the Chapman is available from several places for in the neighborhood of $500, and the Pendlay bar is somewhere in the upper $300's depending on where you buy it. I am leaving out the Uesaka bar because I dont like it and dont want to rate it low in everything. I have one of the Uesaka bars that was used at the '96 Olympics and have trained on several others, and just plain dont like them, and don't know many who do, enough said. Also be advised that I own all the bars mentioned except the Werksan and have used them extensively and gotten the opinions of quite a few high level lifters about their qualities, and even though I dont have a Werksan I have used one.
“Anyway, first strength. All these bars are strong bars... bars your average guy couldn’t bend if he tried. But the Eleiko would have to get the first place here. Eleiko bars have stood up to so many 550lb plus clean and jerks that you just cant doubt their strength. I dont know that the other IWF certified bars are actually weaker, but they don’t have the track record that Eleiko does. Out of the non IWF certified bars on the list, I would have to list the Chapman as the strongest. They are made out of a stainless steel called T-7 that is very strong, and they are thicker than the other bars on the list, the only one on the list that is 28.5mm instead of 28mm even. Might not sound like much but it makes a difference. The Chapman, however, pays a price for this strength with less bar whip than the others.
“The next category is knurl. The knurling of a bar is a very important thing... if you arent clean and jerking 500lbs or squatting 1000lbs it might be the most important! I feel like this would have to be a tie between the Chapman bar and the Pendlay bar. I would like to say the Pendlay bar wins here because I am very proud of the great knurl on my bars and how comfortable they are, but Mike Chapman does a truly superior job knurling. his bars. I believe that he knurls them and then somehow rolls them on hardened steel to "soften" the edges of the knurled steel. Whatever he does, it gives a secure grip that is truly comfortable. Of the rest of the bars, I would have to give the edge to the York Elite. Great knurl on the couple of York Elites that I have. Nice bars to lift with. Honorable mention goes to the Zhangkong because they have a very fine knurl pattern that feels great in your hand, however it is like freaking sandpaper to your shins or thighs if the bar scrapes them.
“Bar whip is another consideration. The Chapman is a great bar, but I feel it has the worst bar whip of the bars I am rating. Of the IWF certified bars, the Zhangkong has the best bar whip in my opinion. It truly whips like no other bar. Be prepared to make a personal record on your jerk the first time you use this bar. All the others are in the middle of those two extremes, except that I think the Eleiko and Pendlay bars whip better than the York and Werksan bars, but the difference is slight. I doubt most people could notice any difference between the 4 bars in the middle.
“Next is spin. The Eleiko bar is famous for its great spin, but I truly feel like the differences between all the bars is slight enough that a person could not notice it when lifting. Maybe if you had the bar sitting in the rack spinning the sleeves without weight on them, but not when lifting. The difference is slight! If I absolutely HAD to rate the bars on spin, here is my list in descending order, from best to worst. Keep in mind that the difference is so slight that the differences I am listing might be just due to the individual bars I own or have used. Here it is, Zhangkong and Eleiko for the first 2 with the last 4 tied. That’s the best I can do.
“Durability/Warranty is the last category... I think an important one if you are going to spend between $350 and over $700 on a bar. I find it difficult to rate the bars on this for fear of offending someone, so let me just rate the bars individually.
“Werksan is undoubtedly a good durable bar. They haven’t been on the market here in the USA long enough to establish a track record like some of the other bars, but they have an UNCONDITIONAL lifetime guarantee. If you buy one you will have a good straight bar that spins great for the rest of your life, no matter what you do to it.
“Eleiko has the best track record of durability. Lots of 20 year old Eleiko bars out there. The things do last. However, in my opinion they do not have the warranty that the other bars do. If something does go wrong, and it can and I have seen it happen, you cannot count on a replacement like you can with some of the other manufacturers.
"Zhangkong is an unproven commodity. Good bar no doubt, but you would have to trust the seller and not the company. No track record that I am aware of of this company fixing problems. I have no knowledge of any problems or any lack of willingness to fix them, I just dont know.
"Chapman bar... I am not aware of the official warranty policy, but I know Mike Chapman to be a good man and a person who will fix a problem. I can't see anyone having a problem with his bars that won't be fixed.
“The York Elite bar has, in my opinion, the most "bulletproof" design of any of the bars I am rating. The problem with this design is that the "stopper" on the end of the sleeve interferes with loading plates, in fact some brands of high quality plates just plain wont fit on a York bar, including Uesaka and Zhangking. I don’t know the specifics of their warranty, but I do know that they are a company with a history of doing whatever necessary to fix a problem, as evidenced by their recent recall of defective bars.
“My Pendlay bars are, in my opinion, designed well and durable. They are also lifetime guaranteed.
“Cost is a consideration. I have already listed the rough amounts you would have to pay for each bar. The IWF certified bars are all expensive. That certification is expensive to obtain. My Pendlay bar is the cheapest. You pay more for the Chapman because of the type of stainless steel used for the bar shaft which has its advantages and disadvantages, as already explained. The York bar used to be IWF certified, but is not anymore. Personally I think that partially explains its high cost but of course not being a part of the York company dont know for sure.
“All these bars are good bars and any bar you will use for 20 years is cheap no matter what you pay for it. A person would be making a good decision no matter which bar he or she chose to buy from this list. As I have said, the differences are slight, and most people would not notice them.
“If I had to buy 10 bars for a gym money no object which would I buy? Personally i would buy the Zhangkong because I love a whippy bar and don't care about shin abrasions!
“If I wanted to buy bars for the last time in my life and never had to worry? Well, the Werksan and Pendlay bar have the best warranty, and the Eleiko has the best track record. Take your pick.
“If money was a consideration? Well of course I think the Pendlay bar is the best value, but I might be biased.â€
Edited by Jack C on 01-29-08 01:06 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
