Guides
How to judge a barbell for yourself, which is considerably more useful than being told what to buy. These guides explain what the numbers mean and which ones should change your mind — they never name a best bar, because nobody here has lifted on any of them.
How to choose an Olympic barbell
The four decisions that settle it: what you lift, how thick the shaft is, bushings or bearings, and how much steel you actually need.
Read the guide →
Barbell specifications explained
Tensile strength, whip, knurling, knurl marks, sleeve rotation, load ratings — what each number on the listing means and which ones matter to you.
Read the guide →
Buying a barbell for a home gym
Ceiling height, bar length, how damp your garage is, and why the finish matters more at home than it does in a commercial gym.
Read the guide →
Buying barbells for a gym
Buying in quantity: load ratings, warranty terms, what gets dropped, replaceable sleeves, and how many bars of each type a floor actually needs.
Read the guide →52 bars, by type
If you already know what you need, skip the reading.
Power bars
A 29mm shaft, almost no whip and a centre knurl that grips your back. Built for the squat, the bench press and the deadlift, and the standard diameter across powerlifting federations.
See the power bars →8 barsOlympic weightlifting bars
A 28mm shaft on needle bearings, so the sleeves spin fast enough to let the bar turn in your hands through a snatch or a clean. Marked to IWF grip spacing.
See the olympic weightlifting bars →11 barsMultipurpose bars
One bar for everything — 28mm to 28.5mm, dual knurl marks for both grip standards, moderate spin. What most home gyms and most mixed-training gyms actually need.
See the multipurpose bars →8 barsWomen's 15kg bars
15kg, a 25mm shaft and 201cm overall — the IWF specification for women’s weightlifting. The thinner shaft also suits anyone whose hands struggle to close round 28mm.
See the women's 15kg bars →5 barsDeadlift bars
A 27mm shaft and a longer span between the sleeves, so the bar bends before the plates leave the floor. Aggressive knurl, no centre knurl. Not for squatting or benching.
See the deadlift bars →3 barsSquat bars
32mm to 35mm and 25kg, fully knurled and deliberately stiff. The extra diameter keeps a heavy bar dead still across your back instead of oscillating.
See the squat bars →5 barsTechnique and short bars
Light bars for learning the lifts, and 6ft bars for garages where a 7ft bar will not fit between the walls. Lower load ratings — check them before loading up.
See the technique and short bars →And the plates
Bumpers, calibrated discs, cast iron and change plates — what each is for, the published specs, and which UK shops stock them.
Weight platesWhere to buy
The UK shops stocking these bars, what each one carries, and what to check before ordering something this heavy.
The shops