Buffalo Bar Vs Duffalo Bar Comparison

[MGM711]

I use my Duffalo bar in a pair of monolifts made by Mech6. My rack is a drop in style so my j hooks don't tilt to the side.

I think pin style j-hook would work great for these bars in the style of racks in the above pictures. Try a long appropriate diameter carriage bolt with a washer welded near the bolt head.

I'm pretty sure that won't work either because the flat part of the bar doesn't go flat until 48 inches in width if you're measuring the bar from the middle of the rack. Basically, you're contact points are at the very least one inch inside of the rack ends which would put the contact spot at 46 inches total width which is still on the curved part of the bar.

I haven't used my Rogue Monohooks yet, but there's a chance that it will sit better in the hook than on the flat of the jcup.

[glossyMac17]

This is the zinc coating I believe. I would assume the portables would have the same issues potentially although you could widen out the uprights theoretically so that the flat of the Duffalo bar will contact the cup better.

Do you know how long the coating process took before the bar was ready to be shipped? And how would you rate the knurling compared to the bare steel bar you initially used?

[MGM711]

Do you know how long the coating process took before the bar was ready to be shipped? And how would you rate the knurling compared to the bare steel bar you initially used?

The bare steel felt a bit more biting than my zinc bar, but it's not like a drastic difference nor is it a bar where the grip difference would even be significant in any lift. I have no idea on how they do their coating process, so I can't speak to that.

[Synthetickiller]

Yes, for the last few weeks I've been using both bars on the same exercises, sometimes both on the same day.

Basically, the Duffalo Bar to me is a hybrid of the GCB and the Buffalo Bar in how it functions. The increased camber and forward whip out of the bottom position on both squats and good mornings in very similar to how the GCB reacts, but obviously with milder effects because of less camber. I almost parted with my Buffalo bar and I'm very glad I ended up keeping it and trading out the rackable GCB instead.

As far as pressing goes, the camber of the Duffalo puts the hands and elbow tuck in a really nice position, but the increased range could be too much for someone with really bad elbows or shoulder tendinitis. I find the Buffalo is nice compromise for benching...not quite as nice hand position of elbow tuck, but less range makes for happier shoulders and elbows in some cases.

Bottom line is both bars truly stand on their own the more I use them. From a shoulder comfort standpoint, I prefer the Duffalo on squats, but from a squatting perspective, I prefer the Buffalo a bit better. I like the Duffalo better for good mornings and is actually a perfect hybrid of Buff and GCB on this movement. I don't mind the Buffalo for good morning, but it doesn't sit on the back as nice and the lack of camber makes it a little more difficult to move as heavy of weights. Both bars stand on their own for benching as they feel different mainly from hand angle position and added range of motion. Like I said, I'm very glad I now have both bars as they offer variation from each other and I'd still very much encourage people to get either bar or both depending on specific circumstances.

That's for clarifying.
If I come across a Buffalo bar on the cheap, I will pick one up. More tools are better.

[MGM711]

That's for clarifying.
If I come across a Buffalo bar on the cheap, I will pick one up. More tools are better.

Yes, while I'm moving away from wanting to have every specialty bar in the arsenal, both Buffalo and Duffalo bars should be on the list to own, especially if you have any shoulder issues. Anything that provides relief for the shoulders and provides lift variation is a must have in my book.

[glossyMac17]

I have some rust on mine. The humidity levels break 70% in this rental. A little WD40 does a decent job of controlling the rust. I can snap some pics if that'll help anyone. I will say that you can easily tell where you grab the bar, due to oxidation from oil.

I wouldn't want black oxide either. Electroless nickle would be on my shot list. I wish I had a 2nd bar to compare, hint hint, lol. Sadly, I've never run into a bar with that coating, so it's really hard to compare to any other coating.

With the bare steel bar, what's your maintenance like and how often do you do it?

[rlundregan]

With the bare steel bar, what's your maintenance like and how often do you do it?

I can tell you that I've had mine since January. I live in Eastern PA. Mine was fine until I set it on the floor in my garage for about 10 minutes while I was moving some things around a few weeks ago. This was just after a few days of rain, so I'm guessing that I ended up with a little condensation on the spots where the sleeves actually made contact with the garage floor. A few days later, I noticed surface rust on those particular spots.

It was easy enough to remove the rust with a wire wheel and then oil the bar. However, if I had it to do over again, I would have gone with either the Zinc or the Nickel finish. It didn't take long for the bare steel to develop those spots once we had a little humidity. I'm going to need to oil the bar at least once per month.

[Synthetickiller]

With the bare steel bar, what's your maintenance like and how often do you do it?

I rarely maintain the bar. It has a nice patina, but not a large amount of rust. The bar sits in a "climate controlled" room. It's still more humid than it should be.
I will WD40 & wire brush the knurling to remove chalk/surface rust. I will also go over the sleeves with WD40 and paper towels to remove rust. I only do this when I feel like it.

I am curious to see how my final weight room will end up treating this bar. I'll have 2 air vents in & an actual air return in the room. I should have a fairly low humidity room (50% to 55%) for this area.

For people w/o climate controlled training areas, get a coating. Don't be dumb, lol.

[MGM711]

With the bare steel bar, what's your maintenance like and how often do you do it?

You can see in my garage pic of the two bars that my Buffalo has started to patina. I've had it for a couple years now. It's was a perfect silver until this year. We had a huge rain fall in Northen California and the humidity started getting to it. I probably should've started oiling it sooner with WD40 but I was being lazy. As I started to develop some rust, I started to take care of it. Because my gear is in my garage and there's zero climate control, I was wiping it down and oiling it several times a month for whatever reason. I've never had to do this in years past. Occasionally, I'd wire off a rust spot and add a little oil, but this year was different and I had to be more attentive. This is really my only bar now that I really need to maintain, this and my 50s York Shorty. I'm done with bare steel...love the feel, but I'm lazy and the last thing I want to be doing is maintaining a bunch garage bars. That's why I decided on not getting the bare steel Duffalo Bar. While zinc isn't my favorite finish, I like the fact that the bar has a finish I don't have to constantly maintain. And luckily, my Duff Bar doesn't have any finish related spinning issues, so somehow I lucked out!

[glossyMac17]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'm pretty lazy so getting some kind of coating will provide a little piece of mind.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how Electroless Nickel is as a coating?

[CraigThoreson]

Sorry to raise the dead, I have the Mega Ox by Ader but contemplating adding the Duffalo instead. I do have some shoulder and joint issues that aren’t correctable. According to an email the Duffalo has a 10 degree bend radius. It’s expensive so may try to hold out for a sale but if it helps me keep lifting it may be worth it.

On that side I did just receive the EliteFTS SS Yoke and it is an amazing bar though I cut way back on weight to start with. I’ve been swapping back and forth between my 2 bars for squats.

Any new info or thoughts would be appreciated..

[MGM711]

Sorry to raise the dead, I have the Mega Ox by Ader but contemplating adding the Duffalo instead. I do have some shoulder and joint issues that aren’t correctable. According to an email the Duffalo has a 10 degree bend radius. It’s expensive so may try to hold out for a sale but if it helps me keep lifting it may be worth it.

On that side I did just receive the EliteFTS SS Yoke and it is an amazing bar though I cut way back on weight to start with. I’ve been swapping back and forth between my 2 bars for squats.

Any new info or thoughts would be appreciated..

For junky shoulders, I do think the Duff feels better than the Buffalo. Is it worth the expense to upgrade over what you have...hard to say. For a while, my shoulder was so bad I could only use the Duff, so I suppose if it's the only bar that allows you to squat pain free, then the expense may be worth it. That said, it's really hard for me to endorse anything Kabuki new...get the bar used if you can.