Olympic Lifting Bar - Mid range
 

Looking at upgrading my bar:

These seem comparable:

York Men's Training (bushing) $445
Chapman (needle bearing) $429
Pendlay (bushing) $359

Looks like Chapman is no longer selling direct? Found him through BS olympic gym. I would have preferred a direct purchase, don't want center knurling.

I would like to keep it under $500, so the competition york is out at $650.
Not sure I like the low end York Needle bearing at $210, thick chrome.

Any other thoughts or considerations?

I love my Pendlay.

I don't lift anywhere near the weights it can handle, but the feel and the knurling are fantastic.

I have also never used a comp bar so can't compare.

Thanks Derkek, I have an early Pendlay crossfit bar, it has a cross-over PL/OL knurl that is too aggro. I may file it, but that got be thinking about an upgrade.

I bought two of the CrossFit bars from Glenn. When I first got them the knurling was a bit aggressive for my tastes. Glenn told me he would be happy to take them down a little if sent them back. He also said he would work with me to get the knurling I wanted if I bought some new ones. Remember, he's making these bars himself so he can do that pretty easily. Give him a call; super nice guy.

I have been emailing him about how to knock it down, not worth my shipping expense. Still interested in feedback on the 3 bars I mentioned above.

I lift a couple of times a week with an eleiko training bar. Once every couple of months I head down to Seattle where they are stocked with pendlay bars, and dare I say, I like it better! It feels so good.....nice and whippy!

my 2 cents.
No experience with the other 2 bars in question.

Jordon,

Was it a Pendlay Mens 20kg Weightlifting Bar, Economy Mens Bar or the Crossfit discount weightlifting bar that you used?

I have no reason to think that one does not get more for the money with Glenn.

Paul

It was the 20kg weightlifting bar.

My understanding is that he's no longer making a "CrossFit" bar--just the Economy bar at a CrossFit discount.

I have both the Economy and Men's 20kg bars, and they're both great. Haven't touched a Chapman bar for a few years, so can't compare, but they feel very comparable to the Elieko bars I've used.

Also a bonus to be able to speak personally with the creator, for any product.

We use Pendlay Economy bars almost exclusively for all of our serious weightlifters. Simply awesome, the only bar that I've ever really liked the knurling on.