Who is Gymway?
With over 30 years of experience, Gymway is a Taiwanese company that has been producing high-quality barbells for years; you probably didn’t know it. They’ve had bars and bumper plates featured in international competitions and are among Japan’s top-selling brands. You may have even used one of their barbells without even knowing it! Gymway primarily stays behind the scenes as the “Original Equipment Manufacturer” but has recently brought some retail options to the United States.
Now, lets talk about this barbell pictured below.
The Gymway Cross-Training Barbell 2.0 is a well-built multi-purpose barbell that would serve many home gym owners extremely well. It’s ideal for someone performing many CrossFit type workouts or someone that needs a bar where you can do everything. It’s one of the smoothest bars you’ll find and the overall value is extremely high.
Overview
- This barbell has a 28.5 mm Shaft Diameter (ideal for having the ability to do a wide variety of lifts) with three coating options (Chrome, Black oxide, and Manganese Phosphate). The one discussed in this review is the Chrome one, which covers the entire bar and will be easy to maintain over time.
- It can hold up to 1,500 pounds with a tensile strength of 216,200 psi and yield strength of 206,900 psi. Therefore, it will be able to uphold against anything you can throw at it.
- Dual Knurl Marks for Weightlifting + Powerlifting are included.
- A center knurl does not exist. Therefore, this bar accommodates for high repetitions of the Olympic lifts. It also means that you’ll have a little less grip when using for heavy squats.
- 16.25″ loadable sleeves and a bar length of 86.6″ are pretty standard.
- The sleeves on this bar are very smooth, which means less noise when loading but means that a collar is necessary for almost all lifts.
The Differentiator is in the Bushings
This bar handles the Olympic lifts extremely well. The spin on this barbell is smooth. Gymway uses a patented bushing sleeve system to secure the bushings inside. With fewer parts, there is a better and quieter rotation. For reference, it has a smoother spin than an Ohio Bar from Rogue. The drops are extremely quiet as well.
The Knurl
The knurl on this chrome coated bar is relatively mild. It doesn’t vary far from what you’d find on other multi-purpose bars like this. This will serve well for higher volume work. The chrome coating does take away some of the “feel,” but the bar does pair well with chalk.
The black oxide and manganese phosphate coating options will add some grip to the bar, but will take a little more maintenance in the long run.
The knurl extends all the way to the collar so you can take full advantage when you need a wider grip, specifically for snatch movements.
Price
When considering shipping, this is priced similarly to other popular multi-purpose bars like the California Bar from American Barbell, Rogue Ohio Bar, and Luxiaojun E1 Training Bar. It’s currently priced at $298 + a $25 flat shipping rate in the continental USA. This, along with the other bars mentioned, are all high-value options that will serve you well for years (if taken care of).
Aesthetics
Overall, this is a very nice-looking barbell, and it does stand out a bit from others. Rather than being your typical square, it includes a slight slope that is unique to most other bars on the market. Plus, it includes an inner etched design on the collars that highlight the company name and weight of the bar. This is also uncommon amongst most other bars out there.
Conclusion
To sum it up, the Gymway Cross-Training Barbell 2.0 is an easy multi-purpose bar to recommended. It has all of the primary features you’d look for in a quality multi-purpose barbell, including maybe the smoothest bushings you’ll find. Plus, it’s priced reasonably and is a beautiful-looking bar. It’s tough to really find anything to complain about with this bar.
Lastly, sometimes Gymway has heavily discounted bars in their “Closeout and Blemished Barbells” section, similar to Rogue’s Boneyard. You may be able to find a barbell with some scratches or other minor errors at a huge discount.
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