Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. I recently imported a well known branded barbell to use in my garage gym in the UK, not the cheapest thing to do, but hey ho… I’m not unduly bothered by the chipping on the bar ends, as it’ll receive that and worse in due course. However, there is quite a lot of ‘play’ or ‘slack’ in the sleeves relative to the actual bar.
I’ve only ever used cheap unbranded bars until now, and wasn’t expecting this to be a feature on a ‘better’ bar. Are all good bars like this, or is mine faulty?
Those can be snugged up using a washer under the head of the bolt that holds the collar. A little thread locking adhesive helps keep the bolt secure too.
It’s tough to know if the amount of play you are describing is excessive but it sounds like you are describing damage on the ends of the bar. Is that what you mean by “chipping”?
If so, I say send it back. That’s BS if it’s arriving to you damaged even if you think it will take that type of damage when you use it. I don’t see why it would though. If you’ve got a bar for your personal use it should stay in near perfect condition for a long time. Sending it back will also answer the question about how much play should be in the ends. If the replacement is tighter than the first one you will know that 1st one had other damage. If the replacement is about the same, you will know what the correct play should be.
Did you tighten the nut holding the sleeves? Most companies like York - Eleiko -EliteFTS- will ship these loose for various reasons. I have had 2 come to me with the sleeves off .
Thanks for the replies! The bar doesn’t have a nut in the end of the caps. If the bar sits horizontally in the rack, the sleeves can be moved up and down, not left to right (as it would in the case of a loose end nut) I would have considered sending it back, only it’s pretty costly to do so (UK to USA) plus I’d possibly get raped for a second helping of import duty.