Axle Bars

Name: Axle Bars
Brand: Bells of Steel
Rating: 4.48 (7 reviews)

Bells of Steel’s Axle Bars are a specialty grip-training barbell: a 50mm hollow steel shaft, noticeably thicker than a standard 28-29mm Olympic bar, with sleeves that stay fixed rather than rotating. That extra girth and lack of spin force the hands, fingers, and forearms to work harder on deadlifts, rows, presses, and squats, and prepares lifters for strongman-style events like continental cleans and axle deadlifts. Unlike some rival axle bars, it takes standard Olympic collars and clips rather than requiring specialty axle collars. It’s offered in two lengths – a long version (~85.8”) that GymRadar notes is the only one that fits correctly in a power rack, and a shorter (~61.8”) version for portability. Finish is black powder coat, which – per both the manufacturer and an owner review – marks up at the sleeve ends from plate contact over time, a wear pattern common to powder-coated bars generally rather than unique to this one.

Buying guide

Best Barbell for Your Home Gym — July 2026

Finish	Black powder coat
Sleeves	Fixed, non-rotating
Diameter	50mm (1.96")
Material	Steel, hollow construction
Length short	~61.8" (portable)
Manufacturer	Bells of Steel
Length standard	~85.8" (fits power racks)
Collar compatibility	Standard Olympic collars/clips -- no specialty axle collars required

What is a Barbell?

What a barbell is

The barbell is the center of a strength gym — the bar you squat, press, deadlift, and clean with. A men’s Olympic bar is 20 kg (44 lb) and 7.2 ft long (15 kg / 6.5 ft for women). The specs that matter: knurl (the grip texture — aggressive for pulls, milder for high-rep work), shaft diameter (28–29 mm for barbell lifts), sleeve rotation (bushings are fine for slow lifts; bearings spin fast for the Olympic lifts), tensile strength (~190k+ PSI resists bending), and coating (bare steel grips best but rusts; stainless and Cerakote trade grip for corrosion resistance).

Which one to buy

For general lifting, a multipurpose bar (28–28.5mm shaft, dual knurl marks, no center knurl) does squats, bench, deadlifts, and the occasional clean off one bar — this is the right first barbell for most home gyms. Choose a dedicated power bar (29mm, stiffer, aggressive center-knurl grip) only once you know you’re training squat/bench/deadlift specifically and want the stiffest, grippiest tool for that job. A dedicated Olympic weightlifting bar (needle bearings, more whip) is worth it only if you clean, snatch, or jerk regularly.

Beyond your main bar, specialty bars solve specific problems rather than replacing it: a safety squat bar shifts load off sore shoulders, a trap/hex bar takes stress off a cranky lower back on pulls, and a curl bar’s camber reduces wrist strain on isolation work. Add them once you know which problem you actually have.

How it compares

	Axle Bars	Hades™ Deadlift Bar	Monster Texas Squat Bar	Safety Squat Bar
GymRadar rating	4.48/5	4.48/5	4.48/5	4.48/5
Price	$108.99	$339.99	$499.99	$259.97
Finish	Black powder coat	Black Cerakote shaft, Duracoat® sleeves
Sleeves	Fixed, non-rotating
Diameter	50mm (1.96")
Material	Steel, hollow construction			Full chrome coating (shaft and sleeves)
Length short	~61.8" (portable)
Manufacturer	Bells of Steel	REP Fitness		Titan Fitness
Length standard	~85.8" (fits power racks)
Collar compatibility	Standard Olympic collars/clips -- no specialty axle collars required

4.5/5 · 7 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert	4.48/5	7 reviews
Retailer	4.9/5	29 reviews
Youtube	4.3/5	1 reviews

Bells of Steel’s Axle Bars are a straightforward, no-frills grip-training tool: a 50mm fixed-sleeve shaft that works with standard Olympic collars, sold in a full-length (~85.8”) version that fits a power rack and a shorter (~61.8”) version for portability. Its standout dimension is value – GymRadar owners rate it 4.71/5 on that axis specifically, and it’s priced well under $110 with no specialty collars required, undercutting bars like the Rogue Axle Bar that demand dedicated hardware. Its weakest dimension is durability evidence: the only owner-reported wear point is the powder coat marking up at the sleeve ends from plate contact, and both the manufacturer’s own copy and the one available unboxing review frame that as common across bars generally rather than specific to this one – but there’s no long-term ownership data beyond that single video to confirm how the finish holds up over time.

+Value: priced under $110 (standard length) with GymRadar owners rating value 4.71/5 (Bells of Steel; GymRadar)
+Functionality: works with standard Olympic collars, no specialty axle collars needed unlike some rival bars (Bells of Steel)
+Versatility: fixed (non-rotating) sleeves and 50mm diameter support deadlifts, rows, presses, and squats with an added grip-strength stimulus, plus strongman-style training (Bells of Steel blog)
+Functionality: reviewer confirms standard spring clips work fine, arrived well-packaged, and "works as advertised" (YouTube: Ryan Hadley Path Notes)
+Build quality: GymRadar owners rate build quality 4.14/5 across a small (n=7) sample (GymRadar)

−Durability: powder coat at the sleeve ends marks up from plate contact -- flagged as common across bars generally rather than a defect unique to this one, but still the sole wear point reported (YouTube: Ryan Hadley Path Notes; Bells of Steel)
−Build quality: no knurling or grip markings on the shaft, so there's no visual reference for hand spacing (YouTube: Ryan Hadley Path Notes)
−Durability: no sustained-use or long-term ownership review found -- signal is limited to one unboxing video and a small GymRadar sample (n=7)
−Functionality: only the long (~85.8") version fits correctly in a power rack -- the short version trades that off for portability (GymRadar)

$108.99

Buy Now