Titan Atlas bar vs Rogue IWF women bar [Article, Video]

This is a comparison between the TITAN Atlas bar and the Rogue IWF women bar. Follow the links for more details.

Rogue fitness vs TITAN fitness

Rogue Fitness is the current market leader when it comes to a functional home gym and commercial gym equipment. They have one of the widest portfolios including racks, barbells, benches, dumbbells, and apparel for the weekend warrior and dedicated athlete. The biggest downside of Rogue Fitness is their comparatively high prices to the competition.

TITAN Fitness is the clear cost leader when you want to build a home gym on a budget that is still similar to what Rogue offers in function, look, and feel. While you will save about half on the sticker price you will run a higher risk of inconsistencies in quality compared to a purchase from Rogue. The equipment will be safe but is more likely to have blemishes, quality issues with welds, or that pieces will not easily fit into place. That makes TITAN a good option for a DIY enthusiast who does not mind tinkering with their equipment, but not the first choice to get the best equipment and treat yourself.

Overview and review of the IWF Olympic women bar

Rogue updated their line up in 2019 with several IWF standard products so you can run weightlifting competitions. Here are the pros and cons.

The IWF Olympic women barbell is the IWF approved women bar from Rogue. The main differences to the men’s bar are the weight, the diameter and the price of $525. This bar meets the standards to be used by Olympians. I n addition rogue added a design with Cerakote which makes it one of the first barbells with IPF approval which is just not plain steel. The specifications of the bar are:

Made in Columbus, OH, USA with US and EU Steel
Women’s Bearing Bar (International Weightlifting Federation standards)
Bar Weight: 15KG
Shaft Diameter: 25MM
215,000 PSI Tensile Strength EU Steel
Olympic Knurl Marks (no center knurl)
Bar Length: 79.14"
Distance Between Sleeves: 51.50"
Loadable Sleeve Length: 12.50"
Black Cerakote Color Finish w/ Chrome Sleeves
Official IWF branding on center of shaft and endcaps

If you always wanted some an Olympic barbell with some extra design this one is for you.

Pros of the Cerakote IWF women bar

The pros of the Cerakote IWF bar are:

IWF approval
Price
Design

The Cerakote women bar is one of the few bars of Rogue which Cary the prestigious IWF approval. This means that it is build to the highest demands which live up to the bar being used by Olympians. The IWF has the strongest demands on sticking to their specifications with a minimum margin for error to keep competitions fair and comparable. Compared to Eleiko bars the Rogue bar is comparatively cheap to achieve the same goal.

Cons of the IWF Cerakote bar

The cons of the IWF Cerakote bar are:

Cerakote coating
Cost
Design

The Cerakote coating is not an ideal combination with steel plates. These bars also do not will with metal rack pins. Cerakote tends to scratch a lot faster than stainless steel on metal to metal contacts.

The cost of the Cerakote IWF women bar is considerable when you combine it to the lower Rogue ranges. If you are looking for an all-purpose bar for your home gym or CrossFit bis you can get more bars for the same money.

If you don’t look at this design it works against rather than for this bar. In commercial settings, you might also want to keel the colors and the design more neutral based on the clientele you would like to attract.

Alternatives to the IWF Cerakote bar

The alternatives to the IWF Cerakote bar are:

The Rogue Ohio bar is the workhorse option from Rogue. This is the all-purpose bar from where the entire Rogue production line started. A solid bet at a reasonable price.

The Rogue Pyrros bar has been finalized by Rogue and the finest Olympic weightlifter of all time to produce the finest Olympic weightlifting bar there is. If you want the household name of the Greek lifting god in your home or gym, this is the bar to go for.

The Rogue Thor bar is another option for someone who wants more than a plain design but leans more towards powerlifting. The Thor bar sleeves are longer and can there fit more plates.

Summary for the IWF Cerakote barbell

If you like the design over stainless steel for an IWF approved barbell this is the way to go. If you are looking for a CrossFit bar save yourself $200 and get the Rogue Ohio barbell.

Overview and review of the atlas bar

The Titan Atlas will put you back about $200. TITAN is well known for their very good prices compared to their competition and will get you started on your home gym. This review was originally posted in “which barbell to get from TITAN".

Overview of the Atlas bar

The Atlas bar is the all-purpose, middle of the road bar from TITAN for all your needs. Only available in steel color this is a nice piece of equipment at a very reasonable price for all purposes. If you want to weightlift and powerlift and don’t care about competitions or fancy colors, this is the one for you. The features and specifications of the Atlas bar are:

Atlas bar details:

20KG 28.5MM Olympic Weightlifting bar.
Medium knurl provides a full, not sharp pattern allowing the lifter to decide their ideal grip.
220,000 PSI tensile strength gives the right amount of whip or flex to the bar for Olympic lifts.
Dual knurl marks allow you to use the Atlas Bar for multiple lifts on and off your Rack.
Bar weight: 20KG (44 LB)
Bar Diameter: 28.5MM
Knurl: medium
Center Knurl: No
Knurl Marks: Dual
Bushing/Bearing: Combination
Tensile Strength: 220,000 PSI
Warranty: 1 year

This is a solid first bar to start your home gym or to buy in bulk for commercial purposes.

Pros of the Atlas bar

As with all TITAN equipment, it has a price advantage when compared to their direct competition. That this bar also has partly bearing is especially attractive at this price point. The 220K tensile strength and whip round off the picture. A solid choice for starters and equipping gyms.

Cons of the Atlas bar

TITAN is known for cutting corners on their finishes. This doesn’t make the equipment less usable but at times optically inferior. As this is a budget bar which does the job very well, I doubt that will be a problem unless you open a gym in LA or NY for the rich and famous. If you want to hold official IPF or IWF lifting competitions the Atlas bar is not approved.

Alternatives to the Atlas bar

The blues city bar is the alternative from TITAN which will give you the choice of color with the Cerakote coating. This is a type of coating technique which has been adapted from the weapons industry.

The bombshell bar is the female version of the blues city. It also has more whip and would be the choice for Olympic

weightlifters.

The Rogue Ohio bar is the alternative from TITAN’s direct competitor which is built for the same purpose in Columbus, Ohio.

Summary for the Atlas bar

The Atlas bar is a solid choice if you want to buy your first proper barbell to start your gym on a budget. Also, if you want to outfit a gym for the first time, this can be a good bulk buy as these barbells will last you longer than the York ones.