Rep Fitness Thread

[Jason2459]

I never noticed the specs on the power speed bar included the yield strength. Hardly ever see that. The specs are really good if true. I've seen a couple 205k tensile strength bars have 165k yield which is good.

205k yield? That's awesome
20 kg, 215k tensile, 205k yield, 2000 lb rated
29mm, IPF markings
Very deep, aggressive knurl


Though pictures I've seen of the knurl I wouldn't consider it to be super aggressive but will find out soon enough.

[dukenukem7777]

Duke, status in the aggressive stainless? My birthday is coming up, trying to decide whether to hold out or maybe jump on one of those clearance bars...

They're in production, I'm actually going to that factory tomorrow to check them out, will post photos if I have something cool to share. We'd likely have them in-stock here in around 10-12 weeks.

[Murser]

Is there a comparison chart of the benches somewhere on the website that I cannot find, or at least some sort of comparison?

[thejosef]

Is there a comparison chart of the benches somewhere on the website that I cannot find, or at least some sort of comparison?

Not sure, but what are you looking for? Flat bench or adjustable? What's your budget? We're here to help..

[Murser]

Not sure, but what are you looking for? Flat bench or adjustable? What's your budget? We're here to help..

Ha. Adjustable. I could make any of them fit the budget, but don’t want to needlessly over spend. Thanks.

[RGrizzzz]

I was curious if I could build some sort of rig to bend it back into parallel as well. A long 2"x4" extended to one side and bolted on might have a chance. I have a few sledge hammers as well. I was worried about what might happen to the paint though. I had ideas if they didnt help.

Replacement came last week. Took a few days to get help to get it downstairs. Got it assembled and happy to report it's much more stable than the original.

[1651Naismith]

Not sure if folks noticed, but the FB 5000 got some nice upgrades recently. Plastic is now on the feet and the frames are available in colors.

I happened to be in Denver yesterday afternoon and swung by Rep just to see the new showroom. When I noticed the changes on the FB 5000, I had to take one home. Just glad I don't have enough space for the Panatta pieces. :-)

Net-net, I'm extremely impressed! Put it together in a matter of 10 mins. Very stable. Measures exactly to the specs on the website. This is a really nice compliment to my FID bench.

Some pics.

[JohnCuster]

Was going to post about the new feet myself, but I don’t have the new model yet, ordering tmw.

Had some issues w/the older model having crooked/undeveloped foot plates for the front, despite two or three replacements...still worked, but had a wobble at times.

Glad they addressed it and added rubber for those that have a wooden inset platform/

[Synthetickiller]

Rep Fitness DEAL Alert, looks like some PowerSpeed bar's on clearance with slightly shorter outside smooth areas. For $239 it seems like a hella good deal!

Duke, status in the aggressive stainless? My birthday is coming up, trying to decide whether to hold out or maybe jump on one of those clearance bars...

Looks like I'll have to review this bar....
Almost 20 years of lifting & I've never owned a 29mm, till now. This'll be weird.

[urbanlifter]

Looks like I'll have to review this bar....
Almost 20 years of lifting & I've never owned a 29mm, till now. This'll be weird.

Nice, congrats! I'm still trying to talk myself into pulling the trigger, the Mag Phos looks great and the knurling would fit my needs well. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the chrome plated sleeves, they kinda look cheap from some of the pictures. Also, I'm still debating on whether to wait for the stainless or to possibly even revert back to another Buddy Capps barbell.

[EricAtl]

Not sure if folks noticed, but the FB 5000 got some nice upgrades recently. Plastic is now on the feet and the frames are available in colors.

I happened to be in Denver yesterday afternoon and swung by Rep just to see the new showroom. When I noticed the changes on the FB 5000, I had to take one home. Just glad I don't have enough space for the Panatta pieces. :-)

Net-net, I'm extremely impressed! Put it together in a matter of 10 mins. Very stable. Measures exactly to the specs on the website. This is a really nice compliment to my FID bench.

Some pics.

Looks great.

[GamecockLifter]

Not sure if folks noticed, but the FB 5000 got some nice upgrades recently. Plastic is now on the feet and the frames are available in colors.

I happened to be in Denver yesterday afternoon and swung by Rep just to see the new showroom. When I noticed the changes on the FB 5000, I had to take one home. Just glad I don't have enough space for the Panatta pieces. :-)

Net-net, I'm extremely impressed! Put it together in a matter of 10 mins. Very stable. Measures exactly to the specs on the website. This is a really nice compliment to my FID bench.

Some pics.

Great stuff, man. Such a great bench.

[TunaGill]

Great stuff, man. Such a great bench.

Is it just me, or does the Rep bench look very similar to mech's thompson fat pad bench from a year or so ago?

[Synthetickiller]

Nice, congrats! I'm still trying to talk myself into pulling the trigger, the Mag Phos looks great and the knurling would fit my needs well. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the chrome plated sleeves, they kinda look cheap from some of the pictures. Also, I'm still debating on whether to wait for the stainless or to possibly even revert back to another Buddy Capps barbell.

Jason2459 also got one, so you'll have 2 perspectives on the bar soon.
I picked the mag as I really dislike slick bars. I am hoping I can squat with this bar. I have a weird problem with bars sliding down my back. Only my Iron Wolfe doesn't have this issue & that bar requires some decent pain tolerance.

[GamecockLifter]

Is it just me, or does the Rep bench look very similar to mech's thompson fat pad bench from a year or so ago?

Very similar, with the main difference being the front post on Rep is more narrow and the spine has a middle brace, whereas there isn't one on the Mech bench, IIRC. Not a huge deal though. The Mech bench looked awesome.

[chadsalt]

Is it just me, or does the Rep bench look very similar to mech's thompson fat pad bench from a year or so ago?

Just you.

My mech6 bench has top of the legs welded to the spine with bottom cross leg held on by T shaped plates front and back w/ 5/8" bolts. Feet have industrial rubber donut bumpers. And came with three handles for choice of angle, none of which was closed. No unnecessary brace in middle of spine, so if you can flex 1 1/2" of wood in the fat pad....good for you.

Clearly still light years ahead of every other bench available.

[GamecockLifter]

Just you.

My mech6 bench has top of the legs welded to the spine with bottom cross leg held on by T shaped plates front and back w/ 5/8" bolts. Feet have industrial rubber donut bumpers. And came with three handles for choice of angle, none of which was closed. No unnecessary brace in middle of spine, so if you can flex 1 1/2" of wood in the fat pad....good for you.

Clearly still light years ahead of every other bench available.

Thanks for the clarification. Pretty badass bench.

[thejosef]

Ha. Adjustable. I could make any of them fit the budget, but don’t want to needlessly over spend. Thanks.

1. This if you're trying to save a few pennies.. rock solid, proven design:
https://www.repfitness.com/strength-...-3100-fi-bench

2. This if you like really nice stuff.. it's their latest model with a smart zero gap design (sliding/locking seat) when flat benching. It's been getting excellent reviews:
https://www.repfitness.com/strength-...enches/ab-5000

3. Same bench as above, but without the zero-gap. Save $100 if you don't need/care about that feature:
https://www.repfitness.com/strength-...enches/ab-5100

Personally, I would buy #2, but I'm also in the "Buy once, Cry once" camp. I hope to add one this year at some point.

[TunaGill]

Just you.

My mech6 bench has top of the legs welded to the spine with bottom cross leg held on by T shaped plates front and back w/ 5/8" bolts. Feet have industrial rubber donut bumpers. And came with three handles for choice of angle, none of which was closed. No unnecessary brace in middle of spine, so if you can flex 1 1/2" of wood in the fat pad....good for you.

Clearly still light years ahead of every other bench available.

Thanks for the clarification.

[Mech6]

Is it just me, or does the Rep bench look very similar to mech's thompson fat pad bench from a year or so ago?

Well they obviously stole 3x3 tubing idea . Other than that no real resemblance, I don't like flanges connected to one side of tubing without some form of backing plate.
Handle and wheels look like a sorinex squat box.

[dparty82]

They're in production, I'm actually going to that factory tomorrow to check them out, will post photos if I have something cool to share. We'd likely have them in-stock here in around 10-12 weeks.

Have any idea what the price will be for the more aggressive knurled stainless power bar?

[Couloirman]

my no gap bench, db set and power bar arrive on monday and I couldn't be more stoked

[thejosef]

my no gap bench, db set and power bar arrive on monday and I couldn't be more stoked

Nice. What dumbbells did you go with?

[Couloirman]

Nice. What dumbbells did you go with?

i went with the 5-50lb urethane coated round set plus a few hex pairs for 2.5lb increments with the lower weights for the wife. I'm going to get the 120lb ironmaster add on kit for higher weights cause Im short on space (and money.....)

[Synthetickiller]

Got my bar in. I only had time to see how it felt on my back for squats & to do overhead pressing.
I'm on a deload week & really wanted to deload, so my review won't be immediate, unfortunately.

[thejosef]

Got my bar in. I only had time to see how it felt on my back for squats & to do overhead pressing.
I'm on a deload week & really wanted to deload, so my review won't be immediate, unfortunately.

[Jason2459]

Got mine in yesterday too. Haven't had a chance to use it either. Knurl feels nice. Slightly less bite then the Vulcan Absolute v2 which has less bite then the Absolute SS. The speed bar has more bite then the Ohio PB. Great price point for a nicely knurled powerbar.

[Synthetickiller]

Got mine in yesterday too. Haven't had a chance to use it either. Knurl feels nice. Slightly less bite then the Vulcan Absolute v2 which has less bite then the Absolute SS. The speed bar has more bite then the Ohio PB. Great price point for a nicely knurled powerbar.

I'm excited to see what bars you compare it to.
The "only" bars I can compare it to are the ohio deadlift bar, duffalo, Iron Wolfe squat bar & Ivanko OBX-20kg.

When I get more of a look at the bar, I will message you about a few things. I wanted to see if my bar is "unique" or certain things are common among all bars.

[Jason2459]

I'm excited to see what bars you compare it to.
The "only" bars I can compare it to are the ohio deadlift bar, duffalo, Iron Wolfe squat bar & Ivanko OBX-20kg.

When I get more of a look at the bar, I will message you about a few things. I wanted to see if my bar is "unique" or certain things are common among all bars.

Definitely looking forward to your thoughts as well. Funny thing is my gold standard for knurl is my cheap 32mm sub-$200 Jesup Gym 1500# powerbar. Best knurl I've ever experienced.

[Jason2459]

Some quick first impressions and pics to get them posted before I don't. The sleeves need to wear in and some light oil like 3-n-1 could help. They don't spin to well at first arrival. Same experience I've had with some other bars like the two Vulcan power bars I've received. Not something that's concerning. I've had some come with great spin out of the box like my Rep Fitness Excalibur v1 and Ohio Power bar. But for powerlifting type movements the spin is not a huge factor and shouldn't be to much.

The sleeves are smooth and some like that. I don't care. I really don't mind ribbed sleeves. The laser engraving on the inside of the collar is a nice touch. They have extremely little play side to side or up and down. Some play is normal. My Jessup power bar has the most side to side play and my Vulcan SS power bar has the most up and down play which is probably why it is quick to stop. None of it is a big concern. At least not to me. Some people hate any kind of play and will even shim their sleeves to remove it. To each their own.

Not a fan of the sticker but who cares about #endcapsmatter #amiright I feel like just ripping them off as they will most likely end up falling off anyway.
20190124_180834 by Jason, on Flickr


If having the knurl off the j-hooks is why you want this bar you don't want the clearance version. If it doesn't matter to you like it doesn't to me this is a great deal right now. And if you want knurling to the end because supposedly for snatch grip then get a nice 28mm needle bearing bar. Don't get a powerlifting bar. And many powerlifters that do "snatch grip" deadlifts don't hold it way out to the ends anyway. Maybe some do but also use straps so knurl don't matter anyway.
20190124_180636 by Jason, on Flickr


This knurl is nice and well defined. Making it aggressive. Definitely not super aggressive like a deep big diamond. It is peaked so if you're not used to that it will bite a bit until you get used to it. Though not as bad as the Absolute Power bar v2 or SS Power bar from Vulcan. It is very close to the Absolute PB v2 though. The Ohio Powerbar is not peaked but has an "edge" to the volcano like shape making it feel rough. My Westside v1 is the most aggressive bar I've experienced even more so then any deadlift or squat specialty bar it has deeper bigger diamonds. I'll do some more pics later to do side by side comparisons but that may be a few days out. Also, I'll have to get some time under the bar to really get a good feel for the bar. And as mentioned before my Jesup power bar is my all time favorite. Deep knurl but flat topped, not peaked at all or "edged." Though I also really like the okie deadlift bar's knurl too.

20190124_180738 by Jason, on Flickr

20190124_180656 by Jason, on Flickr

20190124_180645 by Jason, on Flickr


I'll have to get knurl comparisions between the bars I have.