Barbell ends

[Sihan Goi]

Hi,

This may be a stupid question, but bear with me...

I've noticed that most globogyms that have mediocre/crappy barbells, and these barbells usually have collar ends that have hex nuts screwed into them. Presumably they can be detached and disassembled.

Then there are good Olympic barbells that are meant for the Olympic lifts, and I've noticed that all of these that I've seen(Eleiko, DHS) have collar ends that have a solid plate.

Does this show a fundamental difference in construction? i.e. if I see a barbell and it has a solid plate for the collar end, can I automatically assume that is has a certain better construction? For example, it may be that needle bearing barbells use this kinda construction while regular bearing ones use the hex nuts.

I'm just thinking out aloud. Am I on to something or should I lay off the crack?

Thanks!

[Ahmik Jones]

You can't make the assumption that a solid end means that it is a better quality barbell, but if you see a bolt screwed into the end then, yes, that barbell is not suitable for olympic lifts.

While all of the good quality bars that I can think of have solid ends, I do not know if there are other bars with solid ends that do not use high quality components or even use bolts below the solid end cap.

Any barbell with a bot in the end will fail eventually because the screw will loosen itself and either come out completely or break during a lift.

To determine the quality of a barbell you really need to know the manufacturer and the components that were used.

For example, most quality barbells use snap rings rather than bolts to hold the sleeves in place. However, this is not the only way to securely attach the sleeves. For example, York's higher quality bars use an end piece that is the size of the sleeve with a pin in it to keep it in place. This may be an even stronger way to attach the sleeves.

Sometimes a solid endcap indicates that the sleeve is a closed systems where the bushings or bearings are bathed in motor oil. This is probably one of the most desirable ways to make a sleeve. However a sealed system is not the only way to go. The Chapman Elite bars that everyone loves have to holes in the end that allow you to add 3-in-1 oil periodically to lubricate the needle bearings. (I guess that even with the 2 holes in the end I would still put these in the solid endcap category)

Even needle bearings bars are not created equal. If you hear that a bar has needle bearings the first reaction is to assume that it is a good quality bar and will be better than a bar that uses bushings, since this is what the IWF certified bars use. However, this is not always the case. Some bars will advertise that they use needle bearings and just use one per sleeve. Good quality bars will use at least 3 per sleeve, some will use 5. The quality of these bearing varies greatly as well. There was a bar made a little while ago that used low quality needle bearings. It was quickly taken off of the market due to the needle bearings failing.

There are some bars with really good quality bushins that spin quite well, as good or better than some needle bearing bars. At the very least they spin well enough, that it does not effect the quality of the lift. Some of the good quality bushing bars are manufactured by Pendlay and York. Another point is sometimes people say that they are going with bushings for less maintenance, while it is true that you may need to be a little more careful about oiling your needle bearing bars than your bushing bars, the real difference in maintenance is the fact that you will not have to replace broken bearings, because bushings are much less likely to fail.

So I guess in answer to your question: A solid end cap is a start, but you may need to look further.

[Sihan Goi]

Thanks. That's what I needed to know.