The Best Olympic Barbells, Compared on the Specs (2026)

An Olympic (or all-purpose) barbell typically has a 28–28.5mm shaft and enough sleeve spin for mixed training, including the Olympic lifts on a bearing model. A powerlifting bar is stiffer (usually 29mm), grips harder (aggressive knurl, often with a center knurl), and is built for maximal squats, benches and deadlifts. If you do a bit of everything, buy Olympic; if you only slow-lift heavy, buy a power bar.

A men's Olympic barbell weighs 20kg (44 lb); a women's Olympic barbell weighs 15kg (33 lb) with a thinner 25mm shaft. Many budget bars are sold in pounds (e.g. 45 lb) and are close enough for home training. Specialty and technique bars vary — see our guide on whether all barbells weigh 20kg.

For squats, bench, deadlift and general training, bushings are completely fine and cheaper. Choose bearings only if you regularly perform cleans and snatches, where the sleeves must spin freely as the bar rotates in your hands.

Nearly every bar we list publishes a rating of at least 700 lb, and most 1,200–2,000 lb — far beyond what a home lifter loads. The exception is the ProsourceFit, which publishes a 160,000 PSI tensile figure but no capacity number; we say so in its spec box rather than invent one. Permanent bending comes from dropping a loaded bar on safeties or pins, not from lifting within the rating.

It is no longer sold on Amazon. REP's Amazon barbell listing — the Delta, Teton and Badlands bars — now shows as currently unavailable with no price, so we removed it from this roundup rather than leave a dead buy link. The ProsourceFit multipurpose bar took over the all-rounder slot, and our old Delta review stays up with the full story. REP still sells the Delta direct from its own site.