Shrug Bar with Built-In Stand vs Without

Hi everyone. Just wanted to get some advice. I am interested in getting a shrug bar for my home gym, but don’t have a lot to spend. Mirafit makes a pretty cheap one that would work fine for me. See it here:

They also make a version with a stand, and from what I can tell the stand height matches standard olympic weight plates. So it wouldn’t really change my range of motion.

What I don’t understand is why the version with a stand is cheaper. I spoke to customer service and they said the version without stand is a better seller, and if you look around that’s what most other manufacturers offer.

The stand seems like a great idea to me - no more holding the bar up with one hand while trying to angle on the plate with the other. Easier all around. But if it’s such a good idea, why is it cheaper and not as popular? What am I missing here? Does anyone have any negative experience they could share? It’s a fair bit of money for me, and I don’t want to regret it because of something stupid I overlooked.

Did they list a weight rating on either? I don’t see one.

The weight capacity of this is pretty low if I remember correctly (only 180kgs) I would just go for a regular hex bar/trap (I used to have aMarcy hex I bought from e bay for about 90 quid), it had about a 300+ kg weight capacity and worked really well.

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Those pins are for standard plates (one-inch), not Olympic plates (two-inch). Olympic plates won’t fit on there safely or securely, and will almost definitely be taller than the stand.

The built-in stand means that you basically lose the option to ever go any lower than that height without standing on a support, making deficit work (extended ROM) not really an option. That means deadlift variations or floor presses will be compromised. If you’re only going to use the bar for farmer’s walks or shrugs, it’s probably a non-issue.

I mean, is that really a major hassle?

It offers one very minor benefit (the convenience of plate loading) and comes with a minor-to-not-so-minor drawback (the mandatory/limited ROM).

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Good point. The stand is “Maximum weight capacity 180kg”, regular bar is " * Maximum weight capacity 300kg". Definitely a factor to consider.

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X2

I bought mine off Amazon for around £100. It fits Olympic plates, has more than enough weight capacity, and has lasted 5+ years with no dramas.

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Thanks so much everyone for the quick replies. I didn’t catch the weight capacity difference, thanks for pointing it out. Though, to be honest, it will take me a LONG time before I hit the 180kg max for deadlift. The limits on ROM for alternate exercises is something I hadn’t thought about either, but I will now.

I need to double-check on the height, but a reviewer on Amazon said that it elevates the handles to the same height as if you were using Olympic plates. I’ve got a mix of plates that I’ve picked up over the years, and I’ve made some wooden adapters that I slide into the Olympic plates to fit onto standard bars. They’re wobbly and I wouldn’t trust them for any sort of explosive lift, but for slow and steady lifts they work fine.