York Vintage Split Sleeve Olympic Bar

My York split sleeve Olympic bar has passive knurling and hangs in my rack for frequent use. There are a lot of variations with these bars, so if you are trying to identify or value one, the YORK Vintage Weights Identification and Valuation Resource Facebook group has good guides.

Got this as kind of a throw-in with a combo rack and some plates. For as old as it is, it seems like it's holding up really well. The knurling is super passive, especially where it has sat on the combo rack's metal rollers, but that's to be expected. It's not an everyday sort of bar, but it's a cool piece of history and is perfectly functional.

Decent barbell. Knurling feels good in your hands. Love the look of the York split sleeve. I was lucky enough to find a 90s bar that was in pristine condition only used a handful of times.

I picked up my vintage York split sleeve olympic bar with a set of Yorks I purchased and I use them together. Iconic and enjoyable bar for sure.

There I was on a Saturday marketplace pickup, picking up some milled york plates not noticing the bar. The gentlemen was a former football coach, before he helps me start putting weights into the back of my vehicle, he stops and says to me "Now these have a story to them". He continues "These belonged to my brother who unfortunately passed away, and was a former pro powerlifter. He took good care of these, and they meant a lot to him". I acknowledge and listen to his story about his brother, and I let him know these will be going in my gym and will be lifted every single day. I go back into his barn to pickup this bar, I look down at the bar. My god, it's an old York bar. The knurling, super aggressive. A little bit of rust, but nothing a little 3 in 1 oil can take care of. I bring this bar back to my gym and clean it off right away and put it in my rack where it's new home is. In this home it will be used, and lifted with care and power. And eventually it will be passed down to another powerlifter when I am old and grey. To that powerlifter that sadly left this world, I hope you are looking down and seeing this York bar is being looked after and is being used and being lifted with heavy weights.

Vintage York split sleeve oly bar. York has made several generations of there oly bar over the years and I have owned a few of them but currently just one one pictured. The split sleeve bars just have a cool look. This is a 28mm oly bar with grippy / passive knurl and no center knurl. I use this bar occasionally for front squat rdls ect. Decent bar if you can buy it for 75-150 Purchased used in 2020