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Pros
- Best packaging of the barbells tested
- Lowest cost 20 kg (44 lb) barbell
Cons
- Nonstandard grip marks
- Low spin; not the best for Olympic lifts
The Bottom Line
With a price of $109, the Body-Solid falls in the middle of the budget barbells tested, and it is the cheapest “true” Olympic barbell, for those who need the 20 kg (44 lb) weight.
Our Rating:
Buy for $110 from Amazon (affiliate link)
Shipping and Packaging
Of the barbells ordered, Body-Solid had the most secure and best packaging. It comes in a cardboard tube within a box. The outer box was added by Amazon’s fulfillment center. The inner cardboard tube had plastic caps on the end to prevent damage (rather than just tape). These caps were secured with staples, preventing the barbell from slipping out and getting damaged.
Measured vs. Stated Specs
The Body-Solid bar weighs 20.292 kg (44 lb 11.8 oz), which is reasonable compared to the other barbells we tested. The stated weight is 44 lb.
The center portion of the bar measures 30.78 mm in diameter, while the diameter of the sleeve is 49.98 mm.
| Body-Solid Measured Specs | Body-Solid Stated Specs | Standard Olympic Barbell | |
| Length (m) | 2.18 | 2.2 (86 in) | 2.2 |
| Weight (kg) | 20.232 | 20 (44 lbs) | 20 |
| Center portion diameter (mm) | 30.78 | 28 | |
| Center portion length (m) | 1.320 | 1.3 (51 in) | 1.31 |
| Sleeve diameter (mm) | 49.98 | 50 | |
| Loadable sleeve length (mm) | 394 |
Finish
The bar can be finished in black or chrome. We chose the chrome finish, which does not have any deformities as far as we can tell.
Sleeves and Spin
The spin was poor on the Body-Solid bar. The spin was equal to the CAP Classic bar, which was worse than the other two barbells tested. It took 0.5 seconds for the sleeves to come to a complete stop, when spun. This will impact its ability to be used for Olympic lifts like the clean and jerk, and snatch.
The amount of give in the sleeve was the worst of the barbells tested (equal to the CAP Classic). There was a lot of slop between the sleeve and the center portion of the bar.
Knurling
The knurling on the Body-Solid was the least grippy of the bars tested, and it was equal to the CAP Classic. This puts it behind the Titan and the CAP “Boss” bars in terms of grippiness. The center and side knurling are equal in texture.
The Body-Solid has nonstandard grip marks, which are about three times as wide as the grip marks on a standard barbell. This is not good, as it could cause improper hand placement if you use it to practice for competitions. These grip marks were measured about 790 mm apart, which is close to powerlifting marks (810 mm) to check for legal grip width on bench press. Olympic bars have grip marks spaced 910 mm apart.
Load Test
We tested the barbell with a static load of 565 lbs of weights, on a rack with 20″ spacing. The bar did not break and the weights did not slip. However, the smooth sleeves made the weights feel less secure than barbells with ribbed sleeves.
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