This is how I tend to think about it as well. That first inch or two of flex you get out of the deadlift bar seems to make the pick much easier for me. Training the stiff bar forces you to get strong off the floor, which for me translated well.
I don’t miss, haha. But seriously, I’ve never missed a pull on a deadlift bar (to be fair, I’ve only pulled 6 heavy lifts on a deadlift bar, at two meets, with one red, total). Not sure where I would end up missing it, to be honest.
I do. This is purely my opinion, but I find the deadlift to be the least technical lift, so if I challenge myself on more difficult variations (stiff bar, or even axle), the deadlift bar just feels easy. I don’t feel specificity is as important with deadlift (vs squat/bench). Sure, there is a little whip you get as you’re approaching lockout that could cause you some problems (my one red light), but overall it is way easier to pull on. My deadlift bar PR is over 30lbs over a stiff bar, and felt easier.
You can see my pulls at the end of this video. I think my stiff bar PR is around 645lbs.