Folding bar vs a doorway pull-up bar
A doorway bar is the cheapest way to start doing pull-ups, and for a lot of people it is the correct answer. We would rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise.
What it cannot do is dips, and it cannot hold a barbell. It also puts a bar across a doorway you have to walk through, at whatever height the frame happens to be — which for anyone tall means bent knees on every rep. And it is only as strong as the frame it presses against; older plasterwork and hollow frames are a real problem.
| MITZ | The alternative | |
|---|---|---|
| Drilling required | Three holes | None |
| Depends on your door frame | No | Yes — width, depth and the frame holding |
| Dips | Yes | No |
| Barbell hooks | Yes | No |
| Grip height | Set anywhere on a 235 cm beam | Wherever the door frame is |
| Full hang for tall users | Yes, mount it high | Usually not — knees bent under the frame |
| Leaves the room when folded | Yes, 10 cm | Yes, if you take it down each time |
When the other one is the better buy
If you are not sure you will still be training in three months, buy the doorway bar. It costs a fraction, it answers the only question that matters — will you actually use it — and if the answer turns out to be yes, the money is not wasted.
Come back when the doorway bar starts limiting you: when you want dips, when you want to hang fully, when you want to load a belt, or when you are tired of taking it down.
Where these numbers come from
No brand is named here because doorway bars vary enormously and quoting one model's numbers would misrepresent the category. Everything above is a property of how a pressure-fit or over-frame bar works, not of any particular product.