American Barbell Stainless Bearing Bar

American Barbell Stainless Bearing Bar

The American Barbell Stainless Bearing Bar is American Barbell’s crown jewel in their Olympic Weightlifting barbell lineup, and probably their entire barbell catalog.

It takes all of the best features of their other barbells and makes a barbell best suited for serious weightlifters or for those who just prefer the finer things in life. This bar is fully spec’d to competition standards and it also includes a center knurl.

Here are some further details about the bar:

Knurling

The knurling on the American Barbell Stainless Bearing Bar will offer an overall medium feel, similar to other bars from American Barbell, but you’ll get a distinct grip advantage because of the stainless steel shaft. The stainless shaft offers a totally raw feel that also takes chalk extremely well. You may find that it’s slightly more aggressive compared to its hard chrome counterpart.

Unlike the other Olympic bars made by American Barbell, the Stainless Bearing Bar does offer a center knurl, making it ideal for a competition-like setting. Keep in mind this bar is not IWF certified, but it is spec’d as such.  As you would expect, the bar also includes single Olympic Weightlifting knurl marks.

Shaft

The Stainless Bearing Bar weighs 20kg and it offers a traditional 28mm shaft. It has a tensile strength of 190,000 PSI, which is consistent with other American barbell bars and in-line with many other competing bars.

In addition to its grip benefits, the stainless steel shaft provides excellent oxidation resistance. If you’re training in a garage or a humid environment, this is a great option.

Sleeves

The sleeves on the Stainless Bearing Bar are among the most unique in the industry, and this goes for several other American Barbell bars as well. They use a beautiful recessed weld on the sleeves as opposed to a standard friction weld used by other companies. Functionally, this won’t make a difference, but aesthetically, it’s one of the nicest you’ll find.

Another quality of these hard chrome sleeves is that they’re smooth. This will largely come down to preference, as some people prefer grooved sleeves. The benefit of a smooth sleeve is that they’re quieter to use. The potential downside is that they may not keep the plates on the bar as well as a grooved sleeve. If you’re using collars, however, this is a non-issue.

The sleeves utilize a proprietary bearing technology that produces a smooth spin that you would expect from an Olympic Weightlifting bar. It also includes a protective ring on the inner collar to prevent calk, dust, etc… from entering the sleeve and coming into contact with the bearings. The sleeve is affixed with a heavy-duty single snap ring.

Aesthetics

While I don’t own this exact barbell, I have owned a stainless steel barbell from American Barbell, which will provide a very similar aesthetic. This bar is likely the best looking barbell that American Barbell offers. Not only does stainless steel look absolutely awesome, but the center knurl, the recessed welds, the smooth sleeves, and the slick end cap make for a very unique bar with a distinguished look.

Features & Highlights

• Stainless Steel Finish – Stainless steel is excellent at preventing rust and it provides a true raw feel. While it is one of the more expensive options, it is arguably the best one available. Aside from the oxidation resistance and excellent feel, stainless steel also looks fantastic.
• Proprietary Bearings – This bar utilizes a proprietary bearing system that American Barbell claims will spin smoother as the weight gets heavier. The needle bearing, according to American Barbell, is “substantially larger, stronger, higher load rated, and more expensive than a conventional bearing found in all bars today.” They also use an inner sleeve that fits over the bar, which eliminates the needle bearing from coming in contact with the bar itself. This increases the life expectancy of the bearings and promotes a smooth concentric rotation.
• Smooth Sleeves – The smooth sleeves will generally create less noise when loading/unloading plates compared to a grooved sleeve.
• Recessed Welds – The bar includes stunning recessed welds that American Barbell is known for. 
• American Made – This bar is 100% made in America.
• Strong Warranty – The Stainless Bearing Bar comes with a limited lifetime warranty from American Barbell.

From the Manufacturer

What They’re Saying at Americanbarbell.com

The American Barbell Stainless Bearing Bar receives extremely positive feedback from users. With a 4.9 average rating at Americanbarbell.com, here are some of the things people have said:

Positive

• “I love this bar! It’s beautiful to look at and use. I consider it functional gym art. And it’s built like tank. It will certainly outlast me. Knurling is perfect with a little bit of chalk.”
• “I’ve had the opportunity to train and compete with other barbell brands. This barbell is by far the best I’ve used! Solid, high quality……it is worth the price!”
• “The knurling on this bar is the best there is. You have to feel it to appreciate just how good it is. It’s not aggressive but you know the grip won’t let you down.”
• “The spin is not only buttery smooth, but it’s virtually silent. The sleeves don’t spin endlessly without plates loaded on, like some bars do; instead, they spin with remarkable smoothness and consistency regardless of the load on the bar.”
• “Beautiful bar, straight,strong, smooth. Fine knurl yields very secure grip without being punishing for multiple reps.”
• “Great bar, great feel, great performance! As good as any certified bar I’ve lifted on! Couldn’t be happier!”
• “I waited 6 months to write this review so I could rack up plenty of training hours on it and to make sure the “honeymoon period” was over. The verdict? This is my favorite olympic bar ever, bar none, and I’ve tried a lot.”

Critical

• None noted

Garage Gym Lab Review

Garage Gym Lab has not yet reviewed this bar, but stay tuned!

Other Options

The below barbells were picked as alternatives to the American Barbell Stainless Bearing Bar.