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REP fitness Excalibur stainless steel bar vs EZ barbell

Written by Pascal Landshoeft | Jun 4, 2021 4:00:00 PM

REP fitness Excalibur stainless steel bar vs EZ barbell

This is a comparison between the REP fitness stainless steel Excalibur bar and the REP fitness EZ barbell. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the REP fitness Rackabale EZ Curl barbell

This is an overview of the REP fitness Rackable EZ curl 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.

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Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell $169

 
The REP rackable EZ barbell is an EZ bar designed to be racked and is, therefore, longer than the usual EZ barbells you would find in most gyms. The EZ design is specially tailored to bicep curls and skull crushers. The wavy design makes these exercises easier on the wrist than a straight barbell. These are nice to have but not necessities for your home gym setup. I personally do curls and skull crushers with my Rogue Ohio barbell with a narrow grip and that works just fine. The full specifications of this barbell are:
 
  • Diameter: 30mm
  • Weight: 35lbs
  • Finish: Stainless Steel or Hard Chrome Coating
  • Knurl: 4x70mm sections of medium depth knurl
  • Length: 6'2"
  • Loadable length: 10"
  • Distance between sleeves: 4'3"
 
It does what it says on the tin if you fancy one.
 

Pros of the Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell

 
Pros of the EZ rackable Curl barbell are:
 
  • Rackable
  • Length
  • Easy on the wrists
 
The design and purpose of this barbell are fulfilled with this model. The quality is good and it is not that expensive that you would regret your purchase. Just be aware that the use you will get out of this barbell is quite limited, unless you want to curl like a berserker on a daily basis to make your bicep grow. I had phases like that in my teenage years, I have to admit.
 

Cons of the Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell

 
The cons of the rackable EZ Curl barbell are:
 
  • Hard to store
  • Limited use cases
 
While this barbell is easier to handle in the rack than a normal short EZ bar, it takes up quite a bit of space when it is not in use. If you don't want it on the floor you will need to get a gun rack mount or some other barbell storing device. These cost usual as much if not more than this barbell. So if you do not have the infrastructure in your gym yet to store a second full-sized barbell I would get a short EZ barbell or none at all.
 

Alternatives to the Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell

 
  • Rogue EZ bar
  • TITAN EZ barbell
 
Rogue as well as TITAN stock variations in short and long of the EZ barbell. The differences are minimal so it is really more about which vendor you like most and who can deliver the fastest depending on your needs.
 

Conclusion for the Rep Rackable EZ Curl Barbell

 
The REP fitness rackable barbell does what it says on the tin. Do you really ned it? Probably not, but it is nice to have if your barbell gun rack is not full yet. Better specialty bars to get are a safety bar or duffalo bar if your budget allows.

Overview and review of the REP fitness Excalibur stainless steel bar

This is an overview of the REP fitness stainless steel Excalibur 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 Excalibur Stainless steel $349

 
The Excalibur stainless steel barbell from REP takes one of their simpler designs and beefs it up with the stainless steel treatment. It is a solid barbell, but not my favorite option in the line up as I think it takes too many compromises at too high a price tag. The full specifications of this barbell are:
 
  • 28.5mm diameter
  • Length: 87.4"
  • 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
  • Stainless Steel
  • Medium/Deep Knurl
  • Dual Knurl Markings - Powerlifting and Weightlifting
  • 5 year warranty
 
This bar neither has an aggressive knurl or bearing sleeve construction for a better spin. More than $300 in the REP barbell portfolio is a good bit of money for a bar that does not really know what it wants to be. To top it off there is also no center knurl. You pay a premium for the stainless steel without actually addressing any specific Oly lift or powerlifting needs. 
 

Pros of the Rep Excalibur Stainless steel

 
The pros of the Excalibur Stainless steel barbell are:
 
  • Stainless steel
  • Price
  • Will not offend anyone
 
The main thing this barbell has going for itself is that it is stainless steel and therefore will not rust as quickly as other barbells which are not. Especially if you are training in a hot and humid climate you should look for stainless steel to get the most out of barbell's life span.
 
The price for this barbell is good considering that it is stainless steel. But this can also be said for the other stainless steel barbells out of the REP fitness portfolio which in my opinion provide a clearer profile of what needs they want to cover rather than not making a decision of whether they are going to be an all-round barbell, powerlifting, or weightlifting barbell.
 
A good thing about this barbell is that it will not offend anyone if you buy it in bulk for your gym. The knurling is mild, no center knurling means less rubbing off the back or shins and no bearing means that it won't spin too much for people who only use it for the squat, bench press, and deadlift.
 

Cons of the Rep Excalibur Stainless steel

 
The cons of the Excalibur stainless steel are:
 
  • No aggressive knurling
  • No bearing
  • Imported
  • No color options
 
For a barbell from a low price vendor for $300 i personally think you should not spend the money without deciding for a clear use profile of your bar. If you want an all-around barbell you can save yourself $100 to $150 by going for the sabre bar or the REP basic bar. In the $300+ range I would make a clear decision for whether you will be using the barbell mainly for powerlifting or oly lifting and then get either an aggressive knurl bar or one that goes all out on bearing and whip. Why compromise at the upper end of the price spectrum of a vendor?
 
One big con for patriots will be that this barbell is not being sourced and produced in the United States. If you have problems with that and want to keep the money and the jobs as local as possible then Sorinex and Rogue fitness are better options to do so. These brands also have overseas products in their portfolio but take pains to keep as much of their production and supply chain local to the United States.
 
Another thing that REP fitness has not figured out yet are color options. While Rogue fitness and TITAN fitness have applied Cerakote coatings to their Ohio bar and Blues city barbell lineup, REP fitness is lagging behind and only offers the Sabre bar in color for now. I am sure they will catch up, but if you want the most flexibility in terms of the material of the sleeves and which colors to go with then Rogue fitness is the better option. What REP fitness lacks in the color department for barbells they make up for in the rack department as here you have more options to choose and customize the color of each single upright.
 

Alternatives to the Rep Excalibur Stainless steel

 
 
If you like the middle of the road approach in the design of the Excalibur bar I would also make the price middle of the road and opt for the Excalibur bar as a non-stainless steel option. If you are outfitting a Crossfit gym in bulk, this is probably a good barbell to choose from as the design is reliable and works in many directions. For a home gym I would possibly not recommend it as ou can treat yourself for the only purchase you are possibly going to make for the next couple of years in the barbell department.
 
REP Gladiator MX barbell comes in at a similar price to the Excalibur stainless steel but makes a decision to be a better all-around barbell by providing bearing instead of bushing sleeves. If you will be mainly lifting overhead in your home gym or you are trying to build an oly lifting section in your commercial gym, then this is the better option than the Excalibur stainless steel.
 
The Rogue Chan bar is in my opinion the best hybrid bar between powerlifting and weightlifting that Rogue has to offer.  It beaks this up with high tensile strength and an interesting design to keep you motivated. The only downside is that it is rarely in stock and hard to grab. That is why I have a Rogue Ohio power bar at home instead.
 
The TITAN Atlas bar is the bread and butter barbell model from TITAN without any color options. If you are looking to optimize for the budget this is it. As it is a fairly simple bar you are less exposed to the risk of the looser quality controls which TITAN applies to their products to offer them at the lowest possible cost to you.
 

Conclusion for the Rep Excalibur Stainless steel

 
The Excalibur stainless steel bar is a good idea, but too Vanilla for my personal tastes for a bar in this price range. Get something specific to your needs when you shell out more than $300 on a barbell or try to drive down cost as much as possible for an all-around compromise in my opinion. Spending a lot of money on a compromise is usually not a good road to take for being happy with your equipment.
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