Titan Fitness Barbell Review

Pros

Good spin on sleeves for Olympic lifts
Very little slop in sleeves
Grippy knurling and nice finish
Measured dimensions match advertised dimensions

Cons

Smooth sleeves mean weights aren’t as secure when collar-less

The Bottom Line

At $120, the Titan Fitness bar falls in the mid-range of budget barbells. It has better spin than the CAP Classic and Body-Solid bars, but the sleeves are not quite as good as CAP’s “The Boss” barbell.

Our Rating:

Measured vs. Stated Specs

The Titan Fitness bar weighs 20.224 kg, slightly less than the advertised weight.

The measured dimensions of the bar match up, fairly precisely, to the advertised dimensions.

	Titan Fitness Measured Specs	Titan Fitness Stated Specs	Standard Olympic Barbell
Length (m)	2.20	2.18 (86 in)	2.2
Weight (kg)	20.224	20.4	20
Center bar diameter (mm)	30.05	30	28
Center bar length (m)	1.31	1.32	1.31
Sleeve diameter (mm)	50.26	50.8 (2 in)	50
Loadable sleeve length (mm)	411

Finish

The finish of the bar is chrome, which is the only available option. We did not find any deformities or imperfections. The bar also has a red “Titan Fitness – 1000 lbs” rubber band on the sleeves, which adds a bit of flair.

Sleeves and Spin

Like most budget barbells, the Titan Fitness bar spins on bushings. Bushings, compared to bearings, don’t spin as well–this is fine for the slow, controlled lifts done in powerlifting, which most home-gym users are likely to be doing. Still, having some spin is beneficial to give some flexibility to do both Olympic lifts and powerlifting.

The sleeves spun for about 1 second, which is fairly good for bushings. It’s better than the CAP Classic and Body-Solid bars, but not as good as the Rogue Ohio or CAP “Boss” bars (the latter two spin about a half second longer).

The sleeves have good spin and fit snug on the bar.

The fit of the sleeves on the bar is snug, on par with the Rogue Ohio and CAP “The Boss” bars. It’s certainly better than the CAP Classic and Body-Solid bars.

The ends of the bar are sealed with retaining clips and glue.

Knurling

The center and side knurling is identical, and fairly grippy. It does not have as much grip as the CAP “Boss” bar, but more than the CAP Classic. The grippyness was about equal to the Body-Solid bar, however we found the Body-Solid bar to have a sharper knurl, so the Titan Fitness bar has an edge over Body-Solid for those with sensitive backs.

Load Test

The Titan Fitness bar has a stated max capacity of 1000 lbs – it’s written on the sleeve bands on the bar. However, we only tested it up to 565 lbs.

Testing the Titan Fitness bar with 565 lbs of weights.

Since the Titan Fitness bar has smooth sleeves, we don’t feel it would be stable with heavy weights without strong collars to secure them.