Jordan makes a lot of bars. That's a good problem to have when you're fitting out a gym and a frustrating one when you're trying to buy a single barbell and every listing looks broadly similar.

This guide sorts it out. Every Jordan Olympic bar we stock, what actually separates them, what each one costs, and — the bit most comparisons dodge — which one you should buy for how you actually train.

Short version: for the overwhelming majority of home gyms, the Steel Series Straight Olympic Bar from around £162 is the right answer and you can stop reading. Everything above it is buying a specific capability, not general quality.

What separates one Jordan bar from another

Four things, and only four things, actually change how a bar feels and lasts.

Spin: bushings vs bearings. The sleeves have to rotate so the plates don't torque your wrists. Bushings are simpler and perfectly good for pressing, squatting and pulling. Bearings spin faster and smoother, which matters on cleans, snatches and anything where the bar has to turn quickly in your hands. If you don't do Olympic lifts, you're not missing much without bearings — but every Jordan Steel Series bar has them anyway.

Knurl. The cut of the grip. Too aggressive and it shreds your hands on high reps; too passive and heavy deadlifts slip. Jordan pitches most of the range at a medium knurl, which is the right call for a mixed-training gym.

Tensile strength and load rating. How much the bar takes before it deforms. This is where the premium bars earn their money — the Elite Steel is tested beyond 750kg, which is far past anything you'll load, and that headroom is exactly why it stays straight for twenty years.

Finish. Determines how the bar handles sweat and a damp garage. A better finish is genuinely worth paying for if your gym isn't heated.

Everything else — sleeve length, whip, branding — matters far less than any of the above for a home gym.

The everyday bars

Steel Series Straight Olympic Bar — the one most people should buy

Our default recommendation, and the bar we put in most home gym builds. Bearing spin, medium knurl, brushed steel finish, and available in 5ft, 6ft and 7ft so it fits a compact rack as easily as a full cage.

At £162 to £264 depending on length, it undercuts what a commercial-quality bearing bar normally costs. Unless you have a specific reason to spend more, this is the bar.

Steel Series Straight Olympic Bars£162 – £264View product →Elite Steel High Performance BarFrom £276View product →

Elite Steel High Performance Bar — the buy-it-for-life upgrade

Tested to exceed 750kg. You will never load it near that, which is precisely the point — a bar operating at a fraction of its rating simply doesn't fatigue.

At £276 it's around £100 more than the Steel Series. Spread over the fifteen-plus years you'll own it, that's under £7 a year for a bar that will outlast the gym around it. If you deadlift heavy, train daily, or just want to buy once and never think about it again, this is the sensible splurge.

Shadow Olympic Bar — the looker

A titanium-finish 7ft bar at £300. Performance sits alongside the Elite Steel; what you're paying the difference for is the finish, which is genuinely striking in a well-built gym and holds up better against sweat than a plain steel bar.

Buy it if the aesthetics of your gym matter to you. There's no shame in that — a room you enjoy walking into is a room you train in more often.

Ultimate Olympic Bars — the top of the range

Jordan's flagship at £316 to £351. Highest specification in the line-up, aimed at commercial floors and serious private facilities where the bar is loaded and reloaded all day.

For a home gym this is more bar than you need — and we'd rather tell you that than take the extra £80. Put the difference into plates.

JORDAN Shadow Olympic BarFrom £300View product →JORDAN Ultimate Olympic Bars£316 – £351View product →

The specialist bars

These don't replace your straight bar — they solve a specific problem it can't.

Hex (Trap) Bar — £228

You stand inside it and lift from neutral handles. It shifts the deadlift toward a more upright, quad-dominant pattern and takes a lot of load off the lower back. If you've ever had a back that complains about conventional deadlifts, or you train athletes, this is the single most useful specialist bar you can own. Also excellent for loaded carries and shrugs.

Olympic Safety Squat Bar — £204

Padded yoke and forward handles, so you squat without needing shoulder mobility to reach behind you. Two audiences buy it: lifters with cranky shoulders or elbows who can't hold a straight bar comfortably, and strong squatters who want the extra upper-back demand it creates. Both are good reasons.

Steel Series Hex (Trap) BarFrom £228View product →Olympic Safety Squat BarFrom £204View product →

Steel Series Super Curl Bar — £174

Bearing-equipped EZ bar. The angled grip takes the strain off your wrists and elbows on curls, skullcrushers and upright rows. A small purchase that quietly gets used every single arm session — and one of the few accessories we'd call genuinely essential rather than nice-to-have.

Aluminium Training Bar (6ft) — £173

Light, full-length, Olympic-sleeved. Built for teaching technique, warm-up sets and rehab work where a 20kg bar is already too heavy. If you coach, train beginners, or work with anyone returning from injury, it's far more useful than it looks.

Steel Series Super Curl BarFrom £174View product →Aluminium Training Bar (6ft)From £173View product →

Studio and class barbells

Running pump classes or a studio floor is a completely different requirement — you need many light, quick-change barbell sets rather than one heavy bar. The Ignite Pump X Urethane Studio Barbell Sets cover exactly that, in urethane that survives being dropped on a studio floor by people who aren't watching where they put it.

Ignite Pump X Studio Barbell SetsFrom £10.20View product →All Olympic BarbellsFrom £140View range →

Which Jordan bar should you buy?

If you're weighing Jordan against other brands rather than choosing within the range, our best barbells UK guide compares across the whole catalogue.

What to buy alongside it

A bar on its own doesn't train you. Three things complete it.

Plates. Match them to how you lift — bumpers if you drop the bar, tri-grip or deep dish if you don't. We break the whole Jordan plate range down in our Jordan weight plates guide.

A rack. The bar is only as useful as what holds it. See the Jordan racks and rigs range.

Somewhere to put the plates. An Olympic weight tree keeps the floor clear and the bar loadable in seconds.

The Olympic Lifting Setup (bar, plates & more)From £2,500View package →JORDAN Olympic Weight TreeFrom £228View product →

Looking after a Jordan bar

Barbells are low-maintenance, not no-maintenance. Three habits and yours will outlive the gym:

• Wipe it down after sweaty sessions. Sweat is salt water and it's the main thing that pits a bar finish.
• Brush the knurl occasionally. A nylon brush clears chalk and skin out of the grooves and keeps the grip live.
• Don't store it loaded, or leaning in a corner. A bar left loaded across a rack for months will take a set. Rack it horizontally or stand it in a proper holder.

A garage gym in a damp British winter is the hardest environment a bar faces. If that's your setup, the better finishes on the Shadow and Elite Steel earn their premium.

Frequently asked questions

Which Jordan Olympic bar is best for a home gym? The Steel Series Straight Olympic Bar, from around £162. It has bearing spin, a medium knurl and comes in 5ft, 6ft and 7ft, so it suits everything from a compact rack to a full cage. Step up to the Elite Steel at £276 if you train heavy daily and want a bar you'll never replace.

Are Jordan barbells any good? Yes. Jordan has supplied commercial gyms since 1989, and the bars are specified for facilities where they're loaded all day by hundreds of members. In a home gym you're operating well inside what they're built for. There's a fuller assessment of the brand in our Jordan Fitness review.

What's the difference between the Steel Series and Elite Steel bars? Load rating and longevity, mostly. The Elite Steel is tested beyond 750kg — far past anything you'll lift — which is why it resists taking a set over decades of use. Both have good spin and a medium knurl. For most home lifters the Steel Series is plenty; the Elite Steel is the buy-once option.

Do I need a bar with bearings or bushings? Bearings spin faster and smoother, which matters for cleans, snatches and any lift where the bar rotates quickly in your hands. For squats, presses and deadlifts, bushings are fine. Every Jordan Steel Series bar has bearings, so it's not a decision you have to make in this range.

What length Olympic bar should I buy? 7ft is standard and fits a full power rack. Choose 5ft or 6ft if your rack is compact or your room is narrow — measure the inside width of your rack and allow room to walk the bar out. The Steel Series comes in all three.

Is a trap bar worth buying as well as a straight bar? If deadlifts bother your lower back, or you train athletes, yes — it's the most useful specialist bar there is. It shifts the lift to a more upright, quad-dominant pattern and is excellent for loaded carries too. It complements a straight bar rather than replacing it.

The bottom line

Buy the Steel Series Straight unless you have a specific reason not to. Step up to the Elite Steel if you want to buy once and never revisit the decision. Add a trap bar or safety squat bar only when your training or your joints actually ask for one — not because a chart says you should own them.

Browse the full Olympic barbell range or the wider Jordan Fitness collection. Not sure which length fits your rack? Send us your rack model and we'll tell you — it takes us thirty seconds and saves you a return.

The Full Jordan Fitness RangeSee range for pricingView range →All Weight PlatesFrom £26View range →

Pro Gym Essentials — premium home and commercial gym equipment, delivered across the UK.