SSB, which do you prefer?

[Tommy J.]

As the title states, which one do you prefer?

obviously your opinion will be of more value the more safety squat bars you have used. But even if you have experience with only 1 brand of SSB I’m still interested to hear your take.

Finally settled on a SSB being the next addition to my home gym. Went back and forth for almost a year between an Ironmind axle and a TDL bar. And I think a good SSB would be of more use right now, and long term than the other 2 bars.

spill the beans please.

Edited May 11, 2020 by Tommy J.
Autocorrect bs

[Mike Rinderle]

The Elitefts Yoke bar is the Gold Standard out there.  It is bulletproof.  It is also very expensive.  I always try to buy from them when I can afford it.  Unfortunately for them, they didn't patent anything on this and the Titan version 2 is an exact replica for less than half the price when you take into account their free shipping.  I just couldn't afford the Elite Yoke at the time, so I went with the Titan.  It has been fantastic.  The other fairly popular one out there is the Rogue SSB, but it doesn't get as high of marks as the Elite or the Titan. 

I think the Yoke Bar is made in the USA (although I'm not 100% sure on that) and the Titan is made in China.  That might make even more of a difference to you now than before.  I know it would me. 

Edited May 11, 2020 by Mike Rinderle

[Mike Rinderle]

https://www.garagegymreviews.com/the-best-safety-squat-bar

[Tommy J.]

Word! Thanks Mike.

funny side note, I’m literally watching an Elitefts SSB vid right now. Lol!

been sort of studying a bit via YouTube reviews since I made this thread a few hours ago. So far one of the biggest take aways I’m getting is the width of the shoulder bars being a huge factor. Apparently the wider those bars the lower people rate them. That said, the Elitefts bar doesn’t have that issue.

in all reality, I will more than likely make one as apposed to buying one. Just trying to figure out which bar I should model mine after. Looks like the Elitefts bar is the one I should try to mimic. Although I can guarantee it won’t be as appealing to the eye. And more than likely won’t even have pads. Lol!

sucks that Elitefts didn’t patent the bar.. but they won’t have to worry about competition from me making mine! I have zero interest in manufacturing and selling equipment.

[climber511]

Tommy - when/if you do make it the super cheap "pool noodles" make good padding.  You can find a couple different diameters and a couple hole sizes that fit most sized bars for just a few bucks - they will break down over time (all the pads do) but at the price - just replace it.  And if you know someone who sews they can make you a vinyl cover just like the professional bars.  I owned an Elite bar but ended up selling it - the bar was fine I just found myself almost never using it.  For my squatting I use a cambered bar and like it better (but it is nothing like a SSB in the way it pushes you over).  I have tried the Titan bar at the gym and it seemed fine also but it did have a little different feel to it - it didn't seem to push me over quite as much.

Another piece of advice is to make the "width" of the shoulders bars custom to you - I would have prefered the bars closer to my neck personally.

Edited May 11, 2020 by climber511

[Shoggoth]

I've bought quite a bit of equipment from Black Widow Training Gear down there including my SSB which is great. https://www.blackwidowtg.com/

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by Shoggoth

[PaulFord]

I just sold my Elite SS yoke for $320. Previously I had listed it a couple times and couldn’t get any to bite for $200. If you don’t have to have it now, they don’t have much resell value. 
 

Elite has terrible customer service, I bought a belt from them and it was the wrong size. It was no fault of their own, it was a manufacturing error, a small belt mismarked as a medium. They wanted pictures of the belt sitting next to a measuring tape showing it was 6” too short, and told me that the length discrepancy was because I didn’t know how to use a measuring tape.  I had to do a charge back because Elite wouldn’t work with me. 
 

Normally I would say buy from someone other than Titan, but your putting up half the money for terrible customer service. 

[DAVE101]

I've used a few, everything keeps coming back to the Crepinsek or the EliteFTS SS Yoke. My crep has held up great, but I've thought about switching to the EFS a few times. The review Mike posted probably covers most of this, but in my experience:

Black Widow: The handles are really long and get in the way when squatting

Rogue: Thin padding and virtually non-existent camber angle (doesn't pitch the weight forward)

Crepinsek: Handles are an extra attachment (you can hold the pads instead, or not - the bar balances perfectly like all SSBs should) which makes it nicer for storage, but the vinyl covering sometimes comes apart and is often seen with duct tape. Here's a pretty good comparison thread on Crep vs EFS.

 

If brand loyalty isn't important to you, I'd probably go with the Titan. It has true 2" sleeves so you don't need specialty collars, and the chrome coating lasts a lot longer than EFS's clear powdercoat. For the record, EliteFTS does not make their products in house. I'm not sure if it's overseas or not, but they go though another company out of state.

Edited May 11, 2020 by DAVE101

[Shoggoth]

With the BWTG SSB you can adjust how far the handles stick out, angled grip rotation, etc. Getting in the way shouldn't be a problem if you set them for your squat mechanics.

[Lucasraymond]

I make one Tommy, I can give you the specs of it and how I make it if you want.

[devinhoo]

10 hours ago, Mike Rinderle said:

https://www.garagegymreviews.com/the-best-safety-squat-bar

I was just going to link this. I remember reading that and being super surprised that Titan came out on top (other than the upgrade pick up Kabuki). I'm a huge fan of sites like Garage Gym Reviews and The Wirecutter that have review products to take the guess work out for normal folks like me.

[Tommy J.]

Whoa! Great info guys! Thank you!

8 hours ago, climber511 said:

Tommy - when/if you do make it the super cheap "pool noodles" make good padding.  You can find a couple different diameters and a couple hole sizes that fit most sized bars for just a few bucks - they will break down over time (all the pads do) but at the price - just replace it.  And if you know someone who sews they can make you a vinyl cover just like the professional bars.  I owned an Elite bar but ended up selling it - the bar was fine I just found myself almost never using it.  For my squatting I use a cambered bar and like it better (but it is nothing like a SSB in the way it pushes you over).  I have tried the Titan bar at the gym and it seemed fine also but it did have a little different feel to it - it didn't seem to push me over quite as much.

Another piece of advice is to make the "width" of the shoulders bars custom to you - I would have prefered the bars closer to my neck personally.

Ah word! Pool noodle is a great idea! Ty

I'm thinking I’ll also prefer the closer width bars as well

6 hours ago, PaulFord said:

I just sold my Elite SS yoke for $320. Previously I had listed it a couple times and couldn’t get any to bite for $200. If you don’t have to have it now, they don’t have much resell value. 
 

Elite has terrible customer service, I bought a belt from them and it was the wrong size. It was no fault of their own, it was a manufacturing error, a small belt mismarked as a medium. They wanted pictures of the belt sitting next to a measuring tape showing it was 6” too short, and told me that the length discrepancy was because I didn’t know how to use a measuring tape.  I had to do a charge back because Elite wouldn’t work with me. 
 

Normally I would say buy from someone other than Titan, but your putting up half the money for terrible customer service. 

Oh wow that’s a bummer to hear.. thank you for posting tho! 

Not to make you repeat yourself, but you ultimately had to force them to remedy the situation? Via your bank?.. or to what lengths did you have to go to make it right?

sounds like a legit screw up on their end they all but refused to fix. Very uncool.

 

5 hours ago, Shoggoth said:

With the BWTG SSB you can adjust how far the handles stick out, angled grip rotation, etc. Getting in the way shouldn't be a problem if you set them for your squat mechanics.

I’ll check this design out!

 

6 hours ago, DAVE101 said:

I've used a few, everything keeps coming back to the Crepinsek or the EliteFTS SS Yoke. My crep has held up great, but I've thought about switching to the EFS a few times. The review Mike posted probably covers most of this, but in my experience:

Black Widow: The handles are really long and get in the way when squatting

Rogue: Thin padding and virtually non-existent camber angle (doesn't pitch the weight forward)

Crepinsek: Handles are an extra attachment (you can hold the pads instead, or not - the bar balances perfectly like all SSBs should) which makes it nicer for storage, but the vinyl covering sometimes comes apart and is often seen with duct tape. Here's a pretty good comparison thread on Crep vs EFS.

 

If brand loyalty isn't important to you, I'd probably go with the Titan. It has true 2" sleeves so you don't need specialty collars, and the chrome coating lasts a lot longer than EFS's clear powdercoat. For the record, EliteFTS does not make their products in house. I'm not sure if it's overseas or not, but they go though another company out of state.

Noted on the handle length of the black widow. Had not considered that!

 

2 hours ago, Lucasraymond said:

I make one Tommy, I can give you the specs of it and how I make it if you want.

Yes! Very cool of you! Please and thank you!

 

 

and again, excellent info guys! I’m super slow with home projects since I have so many of them going at any 1 time. But I will update this thread along with my rack thread as I make progress towards getting them done.

Edited May 11, 2020 by Tommy J.

[PaulFord]

2 hours ago, Tommy J. said:

Oh wow that’s a bummer to hear.. thank you for posting tho! 

Not to make you repeat yourself, but you ultimately had to force them to remedy the situation? Via your bank?.. or to what lengths did you have to go to make it right?

sounds like a legit screw up on their end they all but refused to fix. Very uncool.

I had to do a charge back through the bank. Here’s the picture I sent them.  I was told that i wasn’t using the tape measure correctly.  It’s one thing to demand proof from a customer, and it’s a whole other level of messed up to get it and be dismissive. There aren’t many flattering reviews of EFS customer service. 
 

I spent a lot of money with Elite, they wanted to fight to the death over a $100 belt.  

[Tommy J.]

4 hours ago, PaulFord said:

I had to do a charge back through the bank. Here’s the picture I sent them.  I was told that i wasn’t using the tape measure correctly.  It’s one thing to demand proof from a customer, and it’s a whole other level of messed up to get it and be dismissive. There aren’t many flattering reviews of EFS customer service. 
 

I spent a lot of money with Elite, they wanted to fight to the death over a $100 belt.  

Wow... sorry to hear this. Based off this story and the reviews I’m seeing, I’ll skip the headache and aim to never do any business with them. Again, thank you for the heads up!