I'm looking to pick up a new barbell, and I always hear great things about the TPB. I'm curious what specifically about the bar is so great, and what other bars are comparable to the TPB. Is part of the cost of the power bar buying the brand, or is it worth every penny?

I gather that it's a damn near indestructible bar that meets several regulations. Am I missing anything?

Where are you planning on buying the bar? They don't have product description for it there? If i was going to shell out that much for the bar, i would expect it to last me my lifetime. Especially because i know i will never throw on 1000lbs of weight on it. I would skimp on the bar and shell the money for the fat bar though.

naw fat bar you can make go to home depot or lowes or what ever buy 7-8' long piece of 2 inch pipe, have them cut that for you, mark off where you want the rings to be with tape so you know where to grip it. Then again at home depot there are these like pipe holder things (sorry dont know what they are called) that you loosen put on the pipe then tighted with a screwdriver to act like the sleeve of the barbell all for sub forty dollars i think. Thats what idid and it works like a champ

It depends on what you type of bar you like.

I've been using an ivanko bar for 6 years. Its very whippy. A lot of people seem to have that, but I've gotten very used to it and I don't notice any whip.

The Texas Power Bar is much more rigid (from what I've read).

texas power bar is bad ass...also texas deadlift bar. However don't pay retail! google LB baker he can sell them to you much cheaper, i am assuming he is still doing this. And yes they are worth the money. For me it is not so critical because i don't train that heavy, but the guys that i work with who are competitive destroy regular bars constantly. The TPB has never bent and these guys regulary squat in the 800-900 range. It will last forever.

Be sure to check out the Quest Training bar, The shaft is the same as their IPF legal but it uses bushings (like the TPB) instead of bearings. The knurling is inscredible. West Cary Barbell sells them for $368 inclucing shipping.

We have a TPB and the Quest training bar in our gym and I always seem to reach for the Quest, I really like the coarse, sharp knurling.

I've noticed that the prices for the TPBs can vary significantly, I believe that several manufacturers market a TPB so be sure you're comparing apple to apples. Michael White at Outlaw Strength offers the TPBs at a great price; I don't think he has a website.

Very interested in this. Can you please post some pics of your bar? How much have you loaded it up to?

Thanks in advance!

Jesup Gym has a great bar for cheap. This is a rigid bar though and has no whip for DL.

http://www.jesupgym.com/...ucts.htm?cid=12

# OPB86M 7' Olympic Power Bar (B)
1500lb test. Has a center knurl and roll pin ends. There are no bolts to come loose and with deep knurl this bar is built for the toughest use.
Our Price $165.00 Delivered; $135.00 In Store Pick Up

It's the black bar in this photo:

I second the reccomendation for the Jesup bar. I purchased one and have been quite happy with it. Note that it is 1.25" diameter rather than 1.125".

mastodon bar! haha I really want one of those


Id get the TPB if thats what the feds your competeing in use. if they dont use it, dont et one, get something your gonna need to get used to. we got the TPBn my gym and its ok for your usapl meets but I want a mastodon bar for my aapf meets

If youâ??re only going to have one bar the TPB is a good choice.

If you went with the Jesup bar you will feel the thickness difference and the knurling is pretty rough. Deadlift grip will be harder and it wonâ??t be the same as a bar using in a meet if thatâ??s a factor.

York makes a good bar and itâ??s probably about the same as the TPB however I just like the TPB better. The collar rotation seems a little better.

If you were to have two bars then the TPB would be great for SQ and Bench and having a bar with more spring would be nice for deadlifts and Olympics lifts (if you did these).

I agree about the thick bar that you can easily make one for cheap by getting a pipe from home Depot cut to length. Regular bar collars wonâ??t hold on this but you can use a compression barbell collar with added tape to make it fit snug.

I have had a Texas Power Bar, and currently have a Cap power bar (IPF-BB), Ivanko OBX-20kg (2nd Gen) for comparison.

Short answer is that the TPB is a great bar, and you will not regret buying it. The knurling is great, and it's a stiff, strong bar. Assuming you don't abuse it it will last a lifetime's worth of lifting. Remember that any bar will bend if abused or used for things like pin-pulls.

The Ivanko is a bit thinner, and an inch wider between the collars. That leads to the whippiness that some talk about. The TPB and the Cap, being slightly thicker and shorter are noticeabley stiffer when walking out a squat. I hasten to add, that the Ivanko is popular for squats at the Anvil preceisely because of the extra length inside the collars; it is more comforatable for larger lifters.

If you are really asking: Is it worth ~$300 to get a good bar. Yes. My thoughts on that can be found here:

http://tnation.tmuscle.com/...s_the_cheap_bar

I have 2 eleiko bars in my homegym, and I like them alot. I haven't tried the TPB, but the eleiko is surely an option. At a PL gym, that I sometimes train at they have Eleiko bars from the 80's, that are being used like every day, and they are still going strong..

Jonatan, those elekio bars cost a small fortune..... Thats why I got an ivanko bar.

How much whip do they have?

Synthetic killer & morepain - They are pricey, yes, but last forever..
They make both oly an PL bars, the oly ones have quite some whip, here I squat with one, you can se the plates bouncing
The PL bars are quite rigid, I'm quite sure this was an eleiko PL bar

I have not tried all these american brands, I'm from Denmark and we use mainly Eleiko and Leoko, but I like Eleiko alot. Sorry, but I have nothing but videos for comparison.

The Leoko bar is an absolutely AMAZING all round bar.

Hanley - I've never really done that muck work with Leoko bars. What's the difference from Leoko to Eleiko?

I just got my Jesup bar in the mail the other day. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to do, but I decided to get this bar for bench and squats. The knurling is really deep and sharp and it has no bolts on the end to come loose like the crappy bars I was using from those 300lbs weight sets. For the weights I am moving (up to about 600lbs at the most) this bar will be perfect. I am also not bothered by the larger diameter since I have used thicker bars like this is meets before. Both the Texas Squat Bar and Mastodon have a thicker diameter than a normal bar.

Overall I love this bar and I just plan on using one of my old bars from the 300lbs set when doing pin pulls as those could wreck any good bar and you should use a crappy bar for them anyway.

Overall, I don't think you will be disappointed no matter which bar you pick. Either one are light years ahead of crappy gym bars.