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Nothing wrong with professional looking equipment. Some people like the ferric oxide dungeon of doom look, personally, I like neat, sharp and clean. Those look sharp.

Absolutely, I have been to the one near Toledo, Ohio. They have some great stuff in that store. This bar is a solid choice at a great price.

Any cheap Oly bar with cast metal(chinese bars with cheap sports store sets) sleeves isn't going to weigh 45lbs and I would not drop it period. I use two Yorks, one Eleiko and one Ivanko and they...

I have the heavier version of this sled, it will hold 2000lbs and weighs in at about 500lbs with no weight. The thing is a tank and built like a battleship. Got it for about $700 in mint used on...

I have used York olympic plates for 30 years, milled to the advertised weight on the plate on one side. Only see them used once in a while on the market now.
Also the Yorks have slightly smaller...

Spray some WD-40 or squirt some 3 in 1 oil on a rag and wipe em' down.

The cheap chinese import bars usually have chrome plated cast lightweight metal sleeves that are usually fairly loose and sloppy with a bolt inside the end of the sleeve. Look for peeling chrome...

They call it "trolling for idiots"

The hose also protects the knurling on the bar when its dropped or put down on the pins.

Get some garden or automotive heater hose, cut it down the middle from end to end, and just work it onto the bars starting at one end. make sure that the rubber hose covers at least three quarters...

Just consider it another tool in the toolbox.

Also, CAP 45lb bumpers it seems price includes shipping. Just something else to look at:

http://www.warehousefitness.com/exercise-equipment/OPX-045/product.aspx

About $90 including shipping, thats not bad at all. BSG has similar bumpers, not sure if the price includes shipping. I don't own any of these but they are comparable.
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I would go with the Werksan or Pendlay bumpers for sure and upgrade to a better bar for sure. Spend an extra $100-150 and get a quality first rate bar. As you say, you want it to last a lifetime.

Don't know if thats true in this case, but most silver or gray sets have a baked on finish as opposed to a regular painted surface on most black sets.

If they cost the same, York black IMHO. But I'm a bit biased, I have used original York stuff for many years. Either would work.

One more for you Tapper in your continuing education program. Ivanko's 50 Kilo powerlifting plates(thats 110lbs) are 1 7/8 thick(my York 100's are 1 3/4), 17 3/4 dia. Goooollllllllleeee Sgt....

Yeah, you have to keep your hands on the bottom half of the plate and you learn to keep your feet in a wide stance when loading or unloading these babies just in case, especially with sweaty hands.

Well, then heres a homework assignment chief, refer to a copy of "Inside Powerlifting"(now a collectors item) by Terry Todd, on the cover, is the late great Doug Young performing a deadlift with...

Sure they can I've got 1200lbs that say so, you have "can'ts" and "mythical beings", got anything else?