Safety Squat Bars

[TimK]

Sounds like this thing is a miss. Rusty, sleeves don't actually spin, doesn't fit on a 3x3 rack, sleeves are short, sloppy stitching on the pad that's falling out after two workouts, guy says he wishes he would have bought the Titan.

[mbasic]

Sounds like this thing is a miss. Rusty, sleeves don't actually spin, doesn't fit on a 3x3 rack, sleeves are short, sloppy stitching on the pad that's falling out after two workouts, guy says he wishes he would have bought the Titan.

The sleeves appear to spin... or um...turn... with just his light finger pressure.
Sleeve don't have to spin like car's wheel bearings, especially for squat.
The sleeves on our elieko WL bars at our gym won't really freewheel-spin without a plate on them.
But I will say that sleeve set up seems shitty.

I always thought it was a little odd most SSBs just a had a piece a pipe welded on there (non spinning sleeves).
The angle of the SSB bar seems to move around a bit when people use it ... it rotates, and therefore the sleeves rotate.

Maybe its in a way MORE stable if the thing doesn't have spinning sleeves/plates that can spin.
The bar will never fall off your back of course, but maybe the camber angle wants to stay fixed with non-rotating sleeves.
The inertia of the whole thing trying to be one unit trying to stay in place ---the plate would have to spin on fixed sleeve and they're not going to want to move of course.

The way it fits (doesn't fit) in a rack is really lame.
I didn't watch the whole thing, but my impression the guy with the busted arm got an SSB so he can keep squatting with a busted arm.
Walking it in after a set with one arm is probably harder to do I'm sure ...and have to be more precise they way it doesn't fit.
I guess it will kinda self-correct if you just jam it in there and your Jcups are set low enough.

You stronger guys will really have to pay attention to the sleeve length thing when buying one of these.
The Power Systems SSB at our globo starts to look really funny with 275# of bumper plates loaded up.
There's not much room left with the collar; a bet you could barely do (3) 45's and (1) 25 per side.
.... like a lot of cheap trap/hex bars. Y u do dis peeple?

[murphyreedus]

I've never seen a BoS product in person, but everything I've seen on the internets leads me to believe they're just the Canadian version of Titan, and usually TItan seems to be less expensive.

[Stoop]

Titan doesn't ship to Canada so this is probably my only option. I saw it on sale for $190USD on Black Friday so I'll probably grab it next year. At that price point, I have 0 problem making my own washer and cleaning up the rust. The pad is the only concerning part. I don't think a 13 inch collar is a big deal either. That still fits 5 Rogue 45lb bumpers and I don't think I'll be doing SSB squats with fahvehunnid anytime soon.

[omaniphil]

I'm about 1 mouseclick away from buying the Titan SSB 2.0. I wonder what this would do for my hip pain squatting.

[kcjason]

Maybe someone already mentioned, but the sleeves on the Titan SSSB V2 also do not spin...they're welded. After a few days of use, I'm liking it, and planning to exclusively use the SSB for the next 8 to 10 weeks or so and see how it goes. I'd be able to report back then if it helped some hip pain stuff I've had problems with, but too early to tell.

[TimK]

Maybe someone already mentioned, but the sleeves on the Titan SSSB V2 also do not spin...they're welded.

Same is true for the Elite FTS SS Yoke Bar which I own. I don't really care about spinning sleeves on an SSB, but it's relevant if that's one of the things you're paying more for and then it doesn't work like you expect.

[bobmen10000]

I wonder why BOS didn't directly copy the Titan SSB v2.

Never purchased anything from BOS but they have been very helpful in answering my questions about equipment.

[damufunman]

Since the sleeves kinda swing around on a SSB with any rotation of the main part, the moment arm will have a similar effect as fixed plates, I think, so it doesn't make sense for the sleeves to spin since that'll just add cost. I'm not totally convinced a straight bar needs to spin for S/B/D, but haven't tried a fixed bar to Squat (arguably the only lift of those where it might matter).

[Skander]

Since the sleeves kinda swing around on a SSB with any rotation of the main part, the moment arm will have a similar effect as fixed plates, I think, so it doesn't make sense for the sleeves to spin since that'll just add cost. I'm not totally convinced a straight bar needs to spin for S/B/D, but haven't tried a fixed bar to Squat (arguably the only lift of those where it might matter).

Shitty plates, sleeves and knurling are a non fun situation with deadlift. As you lift it from the floor, the plates can start to spin, and if they attached to the bar, the whole thing tries to squirm out of your hands. If everything is quality but the sleeves, maybe a non issue.

[mbasic]

I'm not totally convinced a straight bar needs to spin for S/B/D, but haven't tried a fixed bar to Squat (arguably the only lift of those where it might matter).

this is interesting to think about for deadlift... a no spin bar.

because the angle of your arm/hand does change some from start to finish

and whether you use mixed-grip or hookgrip

and whether or not the plates would still spin a bit on/over the fixed-sleeves

that pull-up bar trick at the Arnold-fitness-carnival-thing where you hang from a pull up bar (that's mounted on bearings) comes to mind.

EDIT: skander beat me to me, but yeah, that

[murphyreedus]

this is interesting to think about for deadlift... a no spin bar

I had an Ivanko bar with seized sleeves that were stuck even after removing the sleeve bolts and soaking in penetrating oil for days. I deadlifted with a few times, no sleeve bolts, hoping it would break loose. I know I tried it to at least 405. Never did loosen while deadlifting, but I felt almost no difference lifting with it then vs after I torched it and got the sleeves spinning again.

[KrustyKrab65]

So I got the Titan SSB v2 today. How the heck do you guys store or hang these SSBs? I've got a barbell hanger for my bar, wife's bar, ez curl bar. But the SSB is too large to fit in the regular hanger...at least the standard one I have. Do they make something to hang bars of bigger diameter?

I hang mine on a gun rack bar holder. Pictured is the Titan holder, also have a Rep one that works equally well.

Hey @murphyreedus ,

I just noticed you had two SSB's. Looks like one with the handles in line with the camber and a 'regular' SSB where there is a 20-30 degree offset. If you don't mind my asking, which do you prefer and why? I currently have an inline SSB, but am looking to order a Titan v2.

I appreciate any insight you can provide! Thank you, sir!

--Bryan

[murphyreedus]

Hey @murphyreedus ,

I just noticed you had two SSB's. Looks like one with the handles in line with the camber and a 'regular' SSB where there is a 20-30 degree offset. If you don't mind my asking, which do you prefer and why? I currently have an inline SSB, but am looking to order a Titan v2.

I appreciate any insight you can provide! Thank you, sir!

--Bryan

The regular one is an Elitefts Yoke bar, and the chrome one is a TDS SSB. I have the TDS because it was cheap on Craigslist and I wanted to try it out. No other reason.
I haven't ever been a good squatter only recently got back to squatting at all; my experience with the TDS is only up to 315, so I don't really know how it feels when things are actually heavy.

If I had to pick which one was harder, I'd say the TDS feels like it pushes me forward harder when using the same weight as the Yoke bar, likely because of how the sleeves get pushed higher and further forward in the position I use it for squatting.

I do think that the Yoke padding feels much better, while the TDS padding is closer to the Rogue SSB I used to have. I have to push up on the TDS handles to keep it from hurting my neck, but can go hands free on the Yoke without having a sore neck afterwards.

The TDS is basically just a cheap barbell that was bent and had handles welded on, and it definitely feels springy compared to the Yoke.

I'd trade off the TDS if something else I wanted came along, so that answers which one I prefer, but that has more to do with the padding and general build quality than the camber/angle. I think which design is "better" depends on why you're using an SSB in the first place, but I don't think you can go wrong with the Yoke/Titanv v2 style.

[KrustyKrab65]

Thank you for the thoughtful response! I have an AmStaff SSB which looks identical to your TDS. It was very inexpensive and at the time met my needs just fine.

At work, we have a small gym with a Yoke bar. At first, I couldn't really tell the difference between the two...but as the weights got heavier I noticed I also have to push the handles up to avoid neck pain on the AmStaff. Seems the space between the handles is a little wider on the AmStaff as well, which makes balance a bit trickier.

Well, thanks to your timely review, I know what to order myself for my last Christmas present! Have a Merry Christmas, sir!!!

[Cleverusername]

Santa did not put a SSB under the tree.

[Cleverusername]

After getting some poor customer service from elitefts im looking elsewhere for a SSB.

The Titan v2 looks like a good value but they won’t ship to Alaska and I don’t know anyone in the lower 48 to “forward” it up to me.

I have a ton of Rogue stuff, but their SSB doesn’t get great reviews.

Thinking about the Crep. SSB. Anyone know about the different handles available? Their website has no info.

[weisgarber]

I don't know about handles, but if you're looking to save money, they offer an "850 lb" version that is around $310 shipped instead of the 1500 lb bar that's listed on the site. I think you have to call or send an email to get info about it. A guy over on bodybuilding.com who is a big fan of the Crepinsek bar recommends the less expensive version for most people.

[jake241983]

I bought the EliteFTS SS Yoke Bar in 2018. I really like it, but it's the only SSB I've ever used.

[alek]

After getting some poor customer service from elitefts im looking elsewhere for a SSB.

The Titan v2 looks like a good value but they won’t ship to Alaska and I don’t know anyone in the lower 48 to “forward” it up to me.

I have a ton of Rogue stuff, but their SSB doesn’t get great reviews.

Thinking about the Crep. SSB. Anyone know about the different handles available? Their website has no info.

What specifically about the Rogue bar reviews put you off? I’ve been using one for about 5 months, and I’m happy with it. I’ve used the Titan 2 as well. It was fine.