Exodus Strength

We seem to have a few Aussies here so I was thinking it might be a good idea to have a thread sharing sales and good suppliers of fitness equipment down under.

Sams Fitness

• Quality & Speciality Barbells
• Calibrated powerlifting plates
• Non-calibrated, almost competition-thin plates

Gym and Fitness

• ForceUSA equipment
• Decent quality barbells

Gym Direct

• Decent quality equipment, ideal for home gym on a budget

Rogue

• Top quality equipment
• Expensive as fuck and limited range compared to the US store
• Sales are mediocre and almost alway for small stuff, apparel, collars etc I have yet to see a sale on plates or barbells.

Goliath Barbell

• Speciality squat bars
• Calibrated powerlifting plates extremely well priced
• The more weight the less you pay

Underground Elite

• Powerlifting and strongman gear, belts, sleeves, wraps
• Sells Mark Bell's Slingshot

The WOD Life

• Lifting apparel and wearable gear
• Focused more towards Weightlifting/Crossfit
• Klokov equipment suppliers

--------------------------Must have deep pockets to enter
Leisure Concepts

• Eleiko seller in AU
• Slim pickings, but what they have is priced astronomically

Australian Barbell Company

• Sells Ivanko calibrated plates $11/kg
• Lots of strength training equipment, pricy

You rang??

I have bought from a few places - good experiences with Sam's Fitness, The Wod Life, Underground Elite and probably others I can't remember.

Another Aussie here checking in.
Although I've been living in the US for 12 years now, so I'm no help for the purpose of the thread.
Still felt the need to stop in and say G'day.

Thanks gents, I've updated the top post with some of the vendors I know, will add as we get more.

Sumo wrote: ↑Thu Jan 10, 2019 1:51 pm
Rogue

• Expensive as fuck

Just wait until you see what an eleiko comp set retails for in Australia.

RyanHartigan wrote: ↑Thu Jan 10, 2019 10:30 pm

Sumo wrote: ↑Thu Jan 10, 2019 1:51 pm
Rogue

• Expensive as fuck

Just wait until you see what an eleiko comp set retails for in Australia.

I didn't even bother to put up the Eleiko distributor, Leisure Concepts, because their prices don't seem to be real but rather a concept. Eleiko plates are $15/kg the PL Training bar is $1621 - the bar price I can live with, but the plates price per kg is laughable.

But the training bar isn't IPF approved and has softer knurl imo, so you really can't compare it with, say, an OPB. The eleiko competition bar is like $500 more expensive so it's ~2200 (eleiko ipf) vs 560$ (rogue ipf).

I'd call Rogue insanely good value from this point of view. I also prefer the OPB to the Eleiko regardless of price. I found eleiko bars were sharp and I would cut myself on them without any grip or feel benefits over the OPB, they rust and the end caps look cheap and tacky for a bar of that price.

With respect to sales, you seem to be able to get a 20-30% discount on retail if you ask, depending on how large the order is from both leisure concepts and rogue. Also certin clubs associations can get similar discounts from leisure concepts - if they have any stock that is, which they usually dont.

I've also used/bought ABC olympic/power/chrome import/deep fine knurl bars for extended periods of time and these are all 300-600$ so I wouldn't call them pricy, but the ABC rigs certainly are.

The imported ABC bars are absolute garbage.

The ABC iwf bars are exceptionally good for the price and I'd highly reccomend them over just about any of the competitors for oly lifting (eleiko/taishan/werk-san etc.).

The power bars are nice, the deep fine knurl is highly inconsistent between bars ranging from moderate to way too harsh so I'd recommend actually trying them before you buy one.

ABCs are the wrong diameter and have noticeably more whip than a 'power bar' should. Before the OPB came out I would reccomend them however, with the OPB only $80 more expensive there is absolutely no comparison. The OPB is IPF approved, has less whip, is the right dimensions, better sleeves, better machining/quality and is a way better bar overall.

The only advantage the ABC bars have is that they have a stronger coating which you can use metal brushes on without scratching it, but they are still prone to rust which the OPB isn't, but you have to brush it down with plastic brushes or the coating on the OPB will scratch badly.

My advice to anyone wanting to buy their own kit is:

IPF

Ohio Power Bar.

Muscle Motion Old Scool Plates (https://gymdirect.com.au/products/muscl ... -20kg-25kg)

All of these plates I've seen run heavy so it's easy enough to calibrate them if you have accurate scales.

Or Gucci IPF plates if you want to.

A cheap half rack with plate holders like: https://www.aussiefitness.com.au/p/body ... ack/L470HR

They take up way less space than a cage, are cheaper and save you money not having to buy a plate tree. That one is also rubber coated j-hooks and safeties.

Any ipf dimension bench will do. The cheap nasty (force usa whatever) ones do the job well enough, the expensive (rogue) ones are much nicer and feel just like a comp bench.

IWF

Standard ABC oly bar with b/n or s/s sleeves and whatever bumpers are on sale. It seems like no matter what brand is put on them, they all come from the same factory.

Don't forget www.Citystrength.com.au For your sbd and Sabo requirements

My gym has an ABC power bar which is the only good bar they have. It's ipf speed and the same tensile strength as the eleiko bar. Or so I'm told.

There also an ABC oly bar but it doesn't spin for shit and is 29mm. I don't know what's doing there

+1 for the Muscle Motion plates. The gym I was going to had them and I bought a set when I made my garage gym. Got them from GymDirect, no issues.

I originally bought a ForceUSA rack from Gym and Fitness. Both companies were good to deal with, no issues with customer service or delivery.

I would also +1 the OPB. It's not the cheapest bar but it's the best. As an American living in Australia for a few years, I always cry when I compare the Rogue US pricing to Australia.

I ended up selling my ForceUSA rack and got an Iron Edge Assault Rack: https://www.ironedge.com.au/racks/squat-racks.html. It came highly recommended from Joe Pemberton down in Sydney and I have been extremely satisfied with it. Customer service is also top notch. Like Rogue, it's not cheap but it is very high quality.

thanks for the feedback and extra details guys, i'll update the top post tomorrow.

Is anyone here interested in buying calibrated plates, and you live in Sydney or surrounds? I'm pending a quote from Goliath on a 259kg set, 0.5-20kg pairs and 3 pairs of 25s. They do have a hundo-like order policy in place which could mean some good savings if we get a few of us in.

I may be interested, depending on price. I can get an ATX bar and 180kg of calibrate plates for under $1200. I need to finalise a gym location first though

@simonrest they quoted me $1646 for 259kg and free shipping, 3 pairs of reds and a pair of each increment bellow that - free shipping because some of the smaller plates are on backorder. I had to pull the plug due to unforseen expense at home, but if you're keen you can reach out and I'd wager you'd get a similar deal.

Hi all, great forum.

I am starting my home gym and have been researching which power bar to purchase. I am a beginner and will be focusing on powerlifting.

I notice Ryan, that you think the Ohio Power Bar is much better buy than the ABC bar. Unfortunately the Ohio Power Bar is out of stock at Rogue Australia, and the ABC bar is on sale at the moment for about $400 including shipping. Is the OPB that much better bar? I am not sure if I should wait it out for the OPB or just go with the good enough ABC. Are there any other power bars you would recommend around this price range?

Cheers
Jaime

@jimbob I would consider the ATX Ram Power Bar as well. Available from Sams Fitness, I think they are pretty highly regarded.

Nice.

Is there any cheap half-squat racks there (also how much weight can those type of racks usually hold)? I have limited space plus I don't want to bolt it down on the floor.

jimbob wrote: ↑Tue Jan 29, 2019 5:58 pm Hi all, great forum.

I am starting my home gym and have been researching which power bar to purchase. I am a beginner and will be focusing on powerlifting.

I notice Ryan, that you think the Ohio Power Bar is much better buy than the ABC bar. Unfortunately the Ohio Power Bar is out of stock at Rogue Australia, and the ABC bar is on sale at the moment for about $400 including shipping. Is the OPB that much better bar? I am not sure if I should wait it out for the OPB or just go with the good enough ABC. Are there any other power bars you would recommend around this price range?

Cheers
Jaime

The 20kg power bar is available, but it's $560 vs $480 for the lb version.

Bolder wrote: ↑Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:42 pm Nice.

Is there any cheap half-squat racks there (also how much weight can those type of racks usually hold)? I have limited space plus I don't want to bolt it down on the floor.

My recommendation is from GymDirect - https://gymdirect.com.au/products/half- ... 9785910538

I had this exact same rack for 2 years and it was great, I sold it eventually when I found a great deal on a full rack. I squatted near 180 in mine, bailed on a handfull of squats over the 2 years and th rack never blinked. If the rating certification is anything to go by I was a few hundered kilos short of failure.

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The 20kg power bar is available, but it's $560 vs $480 for the lb version.
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I had a look and that one is out of stock too, looks to be a 2-3 week wait time before they are back in stock

The OPB has much nicer. and more consistent knurling than the ABC bar. If someone gave me one for free, I wouldn't turn my nose up at an ABC, but if I had to spend my own money OPB is just a much better bar.

Thanks OCG. Think I will hold out for the OPB. Now to decide on the steel or the zinc. Have you guys any experience between the two ?

Leaning towards the cheaper bare steel for cost but not for the extra oiling and maintenance required