REP Excalibur barbell vs stainless steel Gladiator

This is a comparison between the REP fitness Excalibur bar and the REP fitness Gladiator. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the REP stainless steel Gladiator bar

This is an overview of the REP fitness stainless steel gladiator bar including the pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in which barbell to buy from REP Fitness. Follow the links for more information.

Rep Stainless Steel Gladiator bar $399

The REP Stainless steel gladiator bar is REP fitness's top-tier Olympic weightlifting barbell. The knurl is medium while the focus is on high tensile strength and bearing to make the ride as smooth as possible for Olympic weightlifters. The full list of specifications runs as follows:

205k tensile strength, 1500 lb rated
Medium depth knurl
5 needle bearings per sleeve for a smooth spin
Ribbed sleeves to keep weights from sliding while training.
Weightlifting knurl markings
28mm diameter
87.4" length
Lifetime warranty*

If you can afford it, then there is not a lot you can do wrong with the REP fitness stainless steel Gladiator bar. This is a great purchase for anyone who is aiming to build an Olympic weightlifting gym at home. Commercial buyers might opt for the normal steel version. Especially if they are buying in multiples to save on cost per item.

Pros of the Rep Stainless Steel Gladiator bar

The pros of the stainless steel Gladiator bar:

Stainless steel
Good whip
Good spin

This is a great option for anyone who wants to spend no more than $500 on a good quality Olympic weightlifting barbell. The stainless steel makes it durable while it spins smoothly and has a great whip. REP fitness has improved on its successful Gladiator design by delivering it in stainless steel. Not a lot to do wring here.

Cons of the Rep Stainless Steel Gladiator bar

The cons of the Stainless steel Gladiator bar are:

Price
Imported
Lack of color options

If you are into the REP fitness portfolio you are already more price-sensitive than someone who buys their equipment from Rogue fitness. In that case, this is still a pricey barbell as you can get a piece of steel that does the job for between $200 and $300. You do not necessarily not bearing and stainless steel to get your home gym going, especially if you have not been training professionally in a team already.

REP fitness achieves its prices by importing from overseas. If you have an issue with that business practice and would rather buy from someone who produces and sources locally in the US then Rogue fitness and Sorinex are your alternatives.

Currently, the REP fitness production lines are not laid for the use of Cerakote for their barbell production to add color. I am sure it is only a matter of time until they switch suppliers and find a way of getting their hands on the necessary machines to upgrade their overseas supplier. For now, the only colored barbell in the REP fitness lineup is the Black Sabre bar.

Alternatives to the Rep Stainless Steel Gladiator bar

The Rogue Pyrros bar forms the pinnacle of weightlifting bars from Rogie Fitness. Co-designed with one of the biggest legends of Olympic weightlifting this barbell does not just provide the best in class when it comes to whip and spin but also a mind connection to a great weightlifter. If you want the best apart from Eleiko barbells then this is the one to get.

The REP deep Knurl bar is the top of the food chain in the REP portfolio when it comes to powerlifting bars. If you won’t do overhead lifts with your barbell but have $400 to spend the deep Knurl is the better choice than the gladiator bar.

The REP gladiator bar has all the good DNA from its stainless big brother, except the stainless steel bones. If you want a very close feel to the Stainless gladiator bar in terms of spin and whip, but do not want to shell out the extra dollars for the stainless steel, then the Gladiator bar is your friend.

The Rep Sabre bar is the right choice for anyone who is looking for an all-around barbell for all the needs of a Crossfitter at a decent price. If you are only going to buy one barbell to do all the lifts with then this is the value-for-money workhorse you want from REP.

The TITAN blues city Olympic barbell is TITAN’s touch on Olympic weightlifting. TITAN is the price leader in the market which comes at the cost of looser quality controls. If you want a smooth precision barbell this might work against you in the long run. Still, money saved and spent on plates is also not to be scoffed at.

Conclusion for the Rep Stainless Steel Gladiator bar

If you want the Apex predator in weightlifting barbells from REP fitness then the Stainless steel gladiator bar is your weapon of choice. There are higher quality Oly barbells out there like the Eleiko range or the Pyrros bar, but not at the same price point.

Overview and review of the REP Excalibur barbell

This is an overview of the REP fitness Excalibur barbell including the pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in which barbell to buy from REP Fitness. Follow the links for more information.

Rep Excalibur $289

The rep Excalibur barbell is a middle-of-the-road barbell from REP fitness with average knurling, bushing on the sleeves, and 215K tensile strength. The main distinguishing feature of this barbell is its lifetime warranty which makes it a good commercial buy. Home gym warriors might opt for a REP fitness barbell with a 5-year warranty but get some better features like aggressive knurling, a center knurl, or bearing on the sleeves.

28.5mm diameter (25mm for 15 kg bar)
20kg Length: 87.4"
15kg Length: 79.13"
20 kg (45lb) or 15kg (35lb) option
1500 lb static rating
215k tensile, 205k yield
Bushing sleeve construction
Very mild ribbing on sleeves to keep plates in place
No Center Knurl or Center Knurl Option
Medium/Deep Knurl
Dual Knurl Markings - Powerlifting and Weightlifting
Lifetime Warranty

This is a good choice if a lifetime warranty seems like an attractive feature for you. Otherwise, I would steer clear of this barbell and go for the Gladiator WL or MX in the same price range or the sabre barbells if you want to save some money.

Pros of the Rep Excalibur

The pros of the REP Excalibur barbell are:

Warranty
Well balanced design

The lifetime warranty and the well-balanced design make the REP fitness Excalibur barbell a good option for anyone who wants to buy in stockpiles for commercial use. This barbell can be used for anything by anyone and if they break you have a warranty to cover it. If that is what you think makes a great purchase for your use case go ahead and know yourself out. For a home gym warrior, this might not be the best way to spend their money on a barbell.

Cons of the Rep Excalibur

The cons of the REP Excalibur barbell are:

No center knurl
No aggressive knurling
No bearing
Imported
No color options

Sorry for the long list of negatives but while I think that the Gladiator WL and MX are good design ideas for a home gym user, I personally think that the REP Excalibur is a bit of a bad choice. You are mainly paying about $100 more compared to sabre barbell for a lifetime warranty on a piece of equipment that is fairly hard to break. In return you get no cool stuff like a center knurl, bearing sleeves, or extra color options. Unless you work with big beginner classes for CrossFit that are likely to be all over the shop with their barbells, I would not recommend this. Either go for the sabre bar for yourself if cost savings are what you have in mind or look for a more specialized barbell like the Gladiator MX or WL when you have the budget, but want to treat yourself.

Alternatives to the Rep Excalibur

Alternatives to the REP Excalibur barbell are:

The black sabre and REP sabre barbells are in my opinion better all-purpose barbells for someone on a tight budget or who want to buy in bulk. Of course, the quality of the barbell and the warranty significantly drop when you look at the specification side by side, but they still are good barbells for the occasional user or for a gym that doesn't blow them out on a regular basis. If you are mainly using your barbell for powerlifting movements and do not drop it often from overhead go with the sabres. If you intend to drop from overhead and can conveniently assume that a lot of beginners will get their hands on them, go with the Excalibur.

The Rogue Ohio bar is the bread and butter barbell from Rogue. Based on its design there also power bars and deadlift bars available. For a workhorse barbell, go with the basic model that sits around $200. You can spice it up in terms of colors and material for the sleeves if you wish so at a slightly higher price. The biggest pro of this barbell is that it is sourced and manufactured in the US.

The TITAN ATlas bar is the bread and butter model from TITAN fitness and comes in at a lower price than the competition. TITAN fitness also imports its barbells just like REP fitness does. The big difference is that this distributor also has sideshows to the fitness line in agriculture and therefore their resources are spread thinner. With REP fitness you will get a better service due to a higher focus on the fitness community which also comes at a slightly higher price.

Conclusion for the Rep Excalibur

The REP Excalibur only really makes sense if you buy into the lifetime warranty and see an added value to you. If that is not the case go for one of the MIxed or weightlifting specific barbells with a 5-year warranty to get better features for yourself. A commercial buyer might consider the Excalibur, a home gym buyer should maximize their features.