Best Olympic Weightlifting Barbells (2024) – For Olympic Lifts

Best Olympic Weightlifting Barbell

Eleiko IWF Weightlifting Training Bar

I’ve owned my Eleiko IWF Weightlifting Training Bar for over a decade, which has been abused daily at a Weightlifting club. It is still going strong, spins well, and the knurling is in excellent condition.

It’s a testament to their high-quality manufacturing and is often used in international competitions. It comes with a 12-year warranty, confirming the confidence Eleiko has in its quality.

The barbell also features needle bearings, which provide the perfect spin needed for Olympic lifts to protect your wrists, and balanced knurling 1.2 mm deep that isn't too sharp, allowing you to lift daily without damaging your hands.

The Eleiko IWF Weightlifting Training Bar boasts a tensile strength of 215,000 PSI, which is among the highest tensile strengths of all barbells and indicates the bar's durability. It is made from proprietary steel from Sweden, which allows for perfect whip when lifting.

The shaft is 28 mm which is standard for all Weightlifting barbells.

Because this barbell is IWF-certified, it has a tight weight tolerance of ± 0.5%, making it very accurate for competitive lifting.

However, the barbell's quality comes at a price, making it more expensive than other Olympic Weightlifting barbells and aligns with the price range of other top Weightlifting bars. Despite the high cost, its superior craftsmanship justifies the price tag.

You can read our full Eleiko IWF Weightlifting Training Bar review here.

Best Budget Olympic Weightlifting Barbell

Rogue IWF Olympic Weightlifting Bar

Since the Rogue IWF Olympic Weightlifting Bar is IWF certified, it has similar specs to the Eleiko IWF Training Bar except for the coating.

It is manufactured at the Rogue factory in Columbus, Ohio, and has a steel shaft with needle bearings for the spin needed to perform the Olympic lifts.

It has a tensile strength of 215,000 PSI and a shaft diameter of 28 mm. The coating is where these bars mainly differ.

Instead of a chrome finish that Eleiko provides, Rogue uses a bright zinc coating. Instead of the shiny look of the Eleiko bar, this gives a matte grey finish.

However, chrome coatings are typically more durable and last longer, and zinc coatings can wear off over time. Especially in heavily used areas like your clean and snatch grip.

Further, you may need to clean the Rogue Weightlifting Bar more often to prevent discoloration and rust.

Finally, zinc provides a different feel to chrome. Chrome is smoother and more comfortable, whereas zinc coating is slightly rougher.

But at half the price of the Eleiko IWF Weightlifting Training Bar, it’s an excellent budget Weightlifting barbell option. Especially since it comes with a lifetime warranty.

Best Beginner Olympic Weightlifting Barbell

Eleiko Performance Weightlifting Bar

What makes the Eleiko Performance Weightlifting Bar excellent for beginners is you get all the features of the IWF Training Bar with a softer knurling. As a beginner with little training under your belt, your hands aren’t prepared for the beating they’d receive on a sharper knurling.

The Eleiko Performance Weightlifting bar has a 1.0 mm deep knurling compared to a 1.2 mm deep knurling for the IWF Training Bar. It doesn't sound like much, but it's a noticeable difference in sharpness.

Further, since it's not IWF certified, it's not calibrated. As a beginner, having an IWF-certified barbell is the least of your worries.

Besides that, this is the best beginner-friendly Olympic Weightlifting barbell you'll get that will last decades.

What To Look For When Buying The Best Olympic Weightlifting Barbell

Material

Most top Olympic Weightlifting barbell companies use proprietary steel from their manufacturing country. For example, Eleiko uses a proprietary steel from Sweden, and Rogue Fitness use their own steel.

Typically, you judge steel quality by the tensile strength measured in pounds per square inch. Common types of steel used to make barbells are alloy and stainless steel.

Tensile Strength

Tensile strength typically indicates the quality of the barbell. It reflects the maximum weight the bar can handle before it becomes permanently bent or deformed. You want a tensile strength greater than 180,000 PSI for a regular barbell.

More is better for an Olympic Weightlifting barbell since it'll be dropped from overhead. High-quality bars are usually >215,000 PSI.

Whip

Proper Olympic Weightlifting bars have great whip allowing you to bounce out of the hole during the Olympic lifts. Stiff bars are extremely hard on your joints, and lifts will feel much harder than they need to be.

Diameter

Men’s Weightlifting bars are 28 mm and women’s are 25 mm. This the bar diameter you need to perform the Olympic lifts well. Regular and Powerlifting barbells are 28.5 mm which feels notably bigger and will negatively affect your grip.

Coating

All high-quality Olympic barbells used on the international stage and training halls are chrome coated. It provides the best balance between rust protection and feel.

Some companies use different coatings on various barbells for the CrossFit population as they are brightly colored.

However, coatings like black oxide, zinc, and cerakote typically require more maintenance to remain rust-free, protect the coating, and don't provide the same feel as chrome.

Bushing vs. Needle Bearings

The sleeve is one of the more important aspects of an Olympic Weightlifting barbell. This will dictate the level of spin the barbell has. Here are the main differences:

Spin

As mentioned, having a barbell that spins smoothly is critical to Weightlifting. Without spin, it’s near impossible to have a fast turnover. Further, you can easily damage your wrists on a barbell that doesn’t spin.

This means looking for a barbell made explicitly for Olympic Weightlifting with needle bearings. The more needle bearings, the faster the spin.

Knurling

There are multiple types of knurling, from volcano to mountain knurling. But all you need to know is if it's aggressive or soft. Aggressive knurling is present on competition Weightlifting barbells. You don’t want aggressive knurling on training bars as you’ll shred your hands when training often.

The Eleiko IWF Weightlifting Training Bar is a balanced knurling that is 1.2 mm deep, whereas the Performance bar has a 1.0 mm deep knurling. It is much softer and less aggressive, which is why it makes a great beginner Weightlifting barbell.

Price

Unfortunately, there is no way around the higher price of an Olympic Weightlifting barbell. And it’s not one you want to skimp on. Going cheap means your lifting will struggle due to poor knurling, spin, and the barbell will likely break from being dropped.

Olympic Weightlifting barbells are more expensive than regular Olympic barbells because they are made to spin, bend, and be dropped without deforming. For the best of the best, you’re looking at a price range of approximately $800 - $1200.

Frequently Asked Olympic Weightlifting Barbell Questions

What Bar Do Olympic Weightlifters Use?

Olympic Weightlifters often use the following brands depending on the country they reside:

What Is An Olympic Weightlifting Barbell?

An Olympic Weightlifting barbell is specifically designed for the sport of Weightlifting. It must handle the rigors of multiple daily training being dropped from overhead. It also spins more than a regular barbell to allow a turnover during the snatch and clean & jerk.

Summary

Eleiko has always been the number one Olympic Weightlifting barbell brand, and their IWF Weightlifting Training Bar is the best you can buy. However, Rogue Fitness makes a decent barbell if budget is an issue. However, I go by the saying, "buy nice, don't buy twice."

I've never had problems with Eleiko barbells, even when they were decades old. Beginners may like their Performance Weightlifting Bar as the knurling is softer.