Synergee Regional Olympic 20kg Men’s and 15kg Women’s Hard Chrome & Black Phosphate Barbells. Rated 1500lbs for Weightlifting and Powerlifting.

Background: My only prior experience with barbells is with a beat up bar with two broken sleeves for 2-3 years, so read my review in that context. I purchased the hard chrome 20kg olympic bar for $300 a week ago. Here are some points worth discussing:0) SHIPPING. Package arrived on time. I originally ordered another brand 20kg bar from Amazon in the same price range, which got "lost" in transit from Amazon to UPS (after waiting for weeks). Amazon resolved that without hassle but I was hesitant to buy from a 3rd party in case this happened again. Synergee however, did not disappoint.1) PACKAGING. As others mentioned, the package comes in a hard cardboard cylinder with screwed on end caps. Getting the caps off required some gentle shaking to use the bar's inertia to push itself out. Inside, the bar comes wrapped in a plastic bag with a pair of lifting straps, wrist wraps, and a couple of cards with information pertaining to customer service. While the cylinder did its job and protected the bar in transit, the internals suffered damage prior to being placed into said tube. At some stage in this bar's early life, it was likely stored in just the plastic bags without hard cover; parts of said bag were torn and there were numerous small scratches and chips to be found all over the bar. I don't care about cosmetics as much as functionality, but had hoped for something better.2) OILINESS. After reading some other comments, I expected the bar to come greased and protected (yes, I wanted it to come oiled). Mine was completely dry, except at the interface between the bar and the sleeves. What at first looked like rust turned out to be grimy grease (which wiped off easily enough), indicating that my bar has probably been in storage for some time. I have not taken the sleeves off to inspect the insides, and I probably won't until I have to do maintenance in a few months from now. Will update my review if necessary when the time comes.3) SPIN. The spin on my bar is exactly the same as shown by another reviewer's video clip. With a 45lb plate on it, a light push will keep the sleeves rotating for 20-30 seconds.4) SLEEVE PLAY. There is a 1mm lateral play on the sleeves, and almost zero vertical play. I don't know if this 1mm is a significant shortcoming, but it's definitely there if you are concerned about it.5) STRAIGHTNESS. With a light push, the bar rolls itself straight across my tiled floor. I also used the technique of turning the bar on a rack and eyeballing it. It is completely straight as far as I can discern.6) OTHER. In terms of knurling, whippiness, and general feel, I will just say that the bar is superior in every aspect and feels much safer and effective (pressing, benching, deadlifting) compared to the no-brand beater I got from a garage sale (which also had a chrome finish). It holds the weights I am able to use so far (450lb) without problem.Summary: My bar came with some imperfections, but it functions as I expected. All things considered, including COVID related inflation (200-300% over a year ago or so) and availability, customer reviews, designs, specs, etc., I give it 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5).Spec sheets and performances are of course two different things. It is hard to tell if figures like "190k PSI" are accurate or are even relevant for long term durability and performance -- only time will tell. I'll be back to update my review in a year or so.Update: 1 year later, the bar is still functioning perfectly. I have been using it almost every single day since my purchase, and there has been no problems. The sleeves still spin perfectly, and I have not had a need to open it and clean it yet. I now regularly load it to over 400lb and it is handles just perfectly. I squat in the 450+ range, and have never had an issue with the lack of center knurling - the regular knurling digs into the real deltoids just fine.

I have been seriously working out for the past year. As my lifting weight has increased, I became less and less confident in my three piece bar. I am not lifting a crazy amount of weight, under 250, but my old bar just started to have some play in it. I started researching bars and found this one. It is a great one piece bar! The bearings on the ends are just incredible. As you are doing exercises where the angle of the bar changes, like bicep curls, the weights do not rotate at all. At first that seemed odd, but actually it leads to a very stable weight. I also really love the knurl on this bar. It is enough to get a solid grip but not so much that it bites into your gloves or hands like my old bar. Lastly, the diameter of the bar is "standard". I had not really paid attention to this, but when I first got this bar I realized my old bar was thicker. It took about 10 days to get used to these small changes, but I would not go back to the older bar now. This bar feels great, is very solid and well made, and I am very happy with it!

Purchased this in anticipation that a bar with a super-heavy rating would be a good investment, and picked this up on discount. Will likely never be able to test if it actually will support 1500 lbs, but I can verify no flex during steady lifting with 350 lbs (sorry I don't have more, Olympic plates are quite expensive). The bearings are smooth and make no noise whatsoever. If there is any "buyer-beware" issue, then I must report this: It is a very pretty bar, in my opinion, but adding and removing weights will scratch the black coating. I don't knock a star for this because this is to be expected, and quite frankly, if you are buying heavy-duty equipment for heavy lifting, performance and quality should be your only concern. Heavy usage will cause nicks, dings, scratches and the like. It happens. But some will probably opt for a chrome-looking bar or sleeves for aesthetics, and that will be their decision. Also, packaging and shipping could not have been better. Very pleased with this product, glad I took a shot on an unfamiliar brand - just wish I had more olympic plates.

Great barbell! I’m not a super powerlifter, Olympic lifter or CrossFit athlete but I do enjoy doing a little bit of all those types of exercises. I was looking for a budget bar that’s high quality to stand the test of time. I found this bar and was super excited for it! I lifted with it for a year with no issues. Recently, I’ve noticed a slight warp to the bar- maybe from my loading up the bar as I’ve gotten a little stronger. What’s amazing is… I emailed Synergee about the warp and within 2 days they sent me a replacement!Great bar. Great service. Great experience.I now am lifting with both and am super stoked for the option. I’ll be looking for more Synergee bars in the future!!

Compared to my rogue bearing bar it’s fair priced. Works ok but not super smooth. Worth the money if you can get on sale or buy rogue boneyard