I’m talking about the traditional Olympic Bar that weighs 45lbs and has 2" sleeves that rotate. Do the Bar ends always have some type of bearings in them or is it just a bushing and grease?
Here’s the one in question. http://www.sears.com/weider-7’-chrome-olympic-bar/p-00615730000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1
The answer is yes, my friend. Yes.
Like any other product, there’s a range in quality that hopefully corresponds to price. About 40 years ago, I went on a vacation to Mexico, and visited a gym there that had Olympic bars with solid ends, i.e. they didn’t rotate at all.
And if you think about it, it doesn’t really matter for most lifts. Most guys use Olympic bars for benches and squats, and there’s no need for rotating sleeves. I haven’t used a commercial gym for a while, but even 20 years ago, you hardly ever saw anybody doing power cleans or whatever.