Technical specifications of the Helios Weightlifting Bar
• Length: 220 cm
• 28 mm diameter
• Weight: 20 kg
• Tensile strength: 240,000 PSI
• Knurling: Volcano type, moderate aggressiveness
• Olympic sleeves
• Needle bearings
• No centre knurl
• Finish: hard chrome
• Sleeve finish: hard chrome
- Discipline: Olympic weightlifting
- Bearings: 4 needle bearings per sleeve
- Steel: 240,000 PSI
- Use: club, commercial gym, home gym
A bar built to spin
In weightlifting, spin is not a comfort feature, it is a safety mechanism. When the bar rotates freely in its sleeves, the rotational inertia of the plates does not travel up into your wrists or your elbows at the moment you drop under the load.
The Helios carries 4 needle bearings per sleeve. That is the expected configuration on a weightlifting bar, and it is what separates it from a bushing power bar.
240,000 PSI steel
The 240,000 PSI tensile strength is what allows whip, the elastic rebound weightlifters use coming out of the snatch and the clean and jerk.
A bar that is too stiff gives nothing back. A bar that is too soft never returns. This steel rating puts the Helios in the useful window for the Olympic lifts.
Volcano knurling, moderate aggressiveness
The Volcano type knurling grips without grating. On snatch sets where the bar slides through the hands on every rep, knurling that is too aggressive ends up tearing the skin off your palms.
The bar has no centre knurl, as the discipline requires. Nothing marks the neck or the collarbone in the rack position of the clean.
Exercises and muscles worked
Snatch and clean and jerk (full chain), snatch and clean and jerk, heavy pulls, front squat, overhead press, power clean and power snatch.
The Helios is aimed first at the Olympic lifts and their variations. For bench press or heavy deadlifts, a power bar remains the better tool.
Usage and safety tips
- Use bumper plates and protective flooring, a weightlifting bar is made to be dropped from overhead.
- Never store the bar loaded, permanent bending deforms the steel over time.
- Clean the knurling after chalk sessions and lightly oil the steel.
- Check sleeve play and end cap tightness periodically.
Unique benefits of the Helios Bar
- 4 needle bearings per sleeve, the spin weightlifting expects.
- 240,000 PSI steel, usable whip on the Olympic lifts.
- Moderate Volcano knurling, grip without abrasion.
- Hard chrome on the shaft and on the sleeves.
