Should I buy a new barbell? Smaller diameter and centre knurling.

Hi BBM Crew,

I built my home gym and in my naivety I purchased a barbell intended for (apparently) olympic lifting. It has no centre knurling and 32mm diameter, with not that great knurling. I don’t even know if the rings are right, haven’t measured it, but don’t think they are power rings.

I don’t want to feel like I have wasted my money, so I think my current bar will still be ok for Bench/OHP. But would buying a new budgetish (320KG rated) barbell with 28.5mm diameter and a centre knurling actually help with my squats and deads? Or is it in the grand scheme of things, minimal?

Thanks again,

Alister

What’s your actual budget?

Are you just starting out? Regardless, that bar should work fine for BP, Press, and Squat even (center knurl is not necessary). I would start saving for another bar though… probably lean towards a 28.5mm all-purpose bar (like the Rogue Ohio Bar), or if you want a better power bar with nicer knurl, go for a 29mm Rogue Ohio Power Bar or Rogue B&R Bar. My preference is to DL with a 28mm bar, but a 28.5 or 29 is fine. A 32mm bar for deadlift is not ideal.

I’m in the UK, so the selection of bars available for me to buy is smaller than in the US. I paid £100/$200 or so for my current one, so something around that. Which I understand is very budget for a 7’ Olympic Bar.

This is the one I am considering: BODYPOWER BLACK 7' Olympic Bar - 320Kg Rated : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Until I can one day justify something rated higher than 320Kg (which is more than enough for my paltry 180Kg deadlift), such as a rogue bar.

I have no experience with that specific bar to give a strong recommendation for or against it, unfortunately. We’ll see if anyone else around here has ideas for the UK.

I’ve just bought some grip tape similar to the stuff on the top of a skateboard and put it in the centre of the bar works better than any knurling

Rogue has a boneyard section on their website with all the same regular bars for discount price. The bars have minor imperfections like in the knurl, etc but still have same overall specifications and I assume quality. Might find a cheaper option there.

Strengthshop is a UK brand that looks to make a pretty nice power bar. A bit out of your price range, but if you can sell your current bar, it could help set off the cost.

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I moved from a cheap cap barbell that came with my cheap 300# Olympic weight set to a stainless steel Rogue Ohio Power Bar. Its 29mm as stated above for my home gym - knurl is super aggressive, the bar works amazing. I use it for all lifts. It comes with a nice center knurl.

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Thanks all, glad to know that a better barbell will likely make some difference at least.

https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/weights-bars/bars/olympic-bars/strengthshop-bastard-bar-with-centre-knurling.html

Something like this it sounds like what I should be looking at? Well I’m sure if I hold off a couple of months until christmas I can wing that with the wife!