Pin and Snap ring Comparison?

[Brian Russell]

I did a quick search for a comparison on the Pinned Barbells and the Snap ring design. I came up empty handed. Well, actually not, because I came up with some great threads comparing barbells and the proper cleaning methods, but nothing that described the workings of them. Does anyone have a decent link for such a comparison? I know I will go with a Snap Ring design when I buy a good bar, and will most likely go with the Rogue Bar since I can only afford 1 bar, but would still like to know the difference of the two designs. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Robert Britt Freund]

I did a quick search for a comparison on the Pinned Barbells and the Snap ring design. I came up empty handed. Well, actually not, because I came up with some great threads comparing barbells and the proper cleaning methods, but nothing that described the workings of them. Does anyone have a decent link for such a comparison? I know I will go with a Snap Ring design when I buy a good bar, and will most likely go with the Rogue Bar since I can only afford 1 bar, but would still like to know the difference of the two designs. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Brian.

I can go take a picture of the difference if you don't get any good links from someone else on the board.

Do you have a good feel for the difference in construction techniques and you want some specifications?... or, are you not clear on exactly what the difference is?

If the latter, a couple of pictures and some verbal explanation might suffice. I can provide both of those if you would like...

Regards,
brittf

[Brian Russell]

Just mainly wondering what the overall differences are. I assume it is like the pinned vs. threaded barrel on SKS's. Oh, and pictures would be great! Thanks.

[Robert Britt Freund]

Hi Brian.

Okay, I have uploaded 4 pictures. Two are of a "pinned-end" bar and two are of a "snap-ring" bar.

(Note that I am discussing the high-quality "pinned-end" bars and not the cheap Chinese bars that use a completely different attachment method that is sometimes referred to as a "pinned bar". They are in no way equivalent and I don't even own one of these cheap Chinese bars; someone else will have to chime in on those bars.)

Edit: Sorry the pictures are out of order. I noticed that I had uploaded the wrong second picture of the B&R Bar.

The first two are of a B&R Bar with a pinned-end. You can see that the bar shaft is a smaller diameter (29 mm) and goes the entire length of the bar. The rotating sleeves fit onto bushings that rotate around the bar shaft. To keep the sleeves from coming off the end, you see the steel disk on the end of the bar. This steel disk is about 1/2" thick and 2" in diameter. To hold it fixed in place on the bar, there is a press pin that goes across its radius, through the bar, and then across its other radius. That pin is a press fit so that the steel disk is held in place and cannot rotate or slide off. The sleeves are free to rotate on their bushings around the shaft but are captured so that they cannot come off.

The other two pictures are of the Pendlay Bearing Bar with snap-rings and an end-cap. You can see the snap-ring that fits into a groove on the inside of the rotating sleeve. The snap-ring is like a circular spring; it compresses to fit inside the sleeve and then "snaps" back to its full diameter when it hits the groove. Once it has snapped into place, it is all but impossible for that ring to come out. It takes special pliers that grab the two holes on the snap-ring and compress the ring so that it can be pulled out of the groove. The snap-ring that you can see in the picture is actually there only to hold the end-cap (the nice blue logo steel disk) in place. The end-cap has no real functional role except to hide the inner workings of the sleeve from view and to keep dirt and chalk from getting inside. Inside of that end-cap, you have another snap-ring (that works just like the one you can see) that holds the outermost bearing in place so that it cannot slide off the bar. A similar snap-ring holds the bearings in place on the other side of the sleeve.

The bottom line is that both of these systems work well and you don't need to worry about failure from either one of them. If anything, the pinned-end bar is even more fail-safe than the snap-ring system because there is simply NO WAY that that steel disk will come off accidentally.

The disadvantage (IMHO) of the pinned-end B&R Bar (which, by the way, is the method used by all of the upper-end York bars and, as I recall from the pictures on the website, also on the Sorinex Blackhawk Bar) is that there is a "hump" you have to slide over when loading/unloading plates. Remember, the steel disk on the end is FIXED and is solid and won't move. However, the sleeve rotates on bushings. To rotate, there HAS to be a little slop, which means that that slot you see between the steel disk and the sleeve becomes like a little ledge you have to push the plates over. This is not a big deal; just an annoying little hassle at times. The snap-ring design doesn't have that problem because you are loading plates directly onto the rotating sleeve without any fixed part directly touching the plates...

Hope this helps.

Regards,
brittf

[Brian Russell]

Wow, thanks for the excellent description and pictures! Really makes me rethink the pinned design, but I will still go with the Rogue bar when I do eventually get one; since I only have room/funds for one bar. Thanks again.

[Gonzalo Fernandez]

The disadvantage (IMHO) of the pinned-end B&R Bar (which, by the way, is the method used by all of the upper-end York bars and, as I recall from the pictures on the website, also on the Sorinex Blackhawk Bar) is that there is a "hump" you have to slide over when loading/unloading plates.

Hi Britt,
I remember you mentioning this hump before, but I do not notice it being a problem on the B&R bar I recently purchased. I am using Rogue Hi-Temp bumper plates as well as a full set of Olympic plates, and some 2" washers that I use as fractional plates. Do you know if this is a problem with specific plates or bumpers, or perhaps this problem has been corrected? If anything, I am intrigued.

Gonzalo

[Robert Britt Freund]

Hi Britt,
I remember you mentioning this hump before, but I do not notice it being a problem on the B&R bar I recently purchased. I am using Rogue Hi-Temp bumper plates as well as a full set of Olympic plates, and some 2" washers that I use as fractional plates. Do you know if this is a problem with specific plates or bumpers, or perhaps this problem has been corrected? If anything, I am intrigued.

Gonzalo

Hi Gonzalo,

There is not way to "fix" the problem since it is fundamental to the design. However, it probably won't be as noticeable to you with the Rogue plates since the stainless steel hub has a nice beveled edge. It probably just hops over the gap without any problem. My Werk-San plates have a very sharp edge that catches the gap every time :(. I guess that is one downside to the Werk-San/Eleiko/Pendlay Elite design...

In any event, it isn't really a "problem" per se, just an annoyance. Not a big deal for an otherwise excellent bar...

Hope you are well...

Regards,
brittf

[Gonzalo Fernandez]

Hi Gonzalo,

There is not way to "fix" the problem since it is fundamental to the design. However, it probably won't be as noticeable to you with the Rogue plates since the stainless steel hub has a nice beveled edge. It probably just hops over the gap without any problem. My Werk-San plates have a very sharp edge that catches the gap every time :(. I guess that is one downside to the Werk-San/Eleiko/Pendlay Elite design...

In any event, it isn't really a "problem" per se, just an annoyance. Not a big deal for an otherwise excellent bar...

Hope you are well...

Regards,
brittf

Thanks again for an excellent response.
I am well, the new bar is well, and everyone is happy.

Gonzalo