Titan Black Elite Bumper Plates Review (After 2 Years)
During the summer of 2020 I was in a desperate search for bumper plates. Any bumper plates. It was a crazy time to be searching for lifting equipment.
I happened to get lucky and got an order in for a pair of 25lb Titan Black Elite Bumper Plates. I normally would never buy bumper plates in pounds instead of kilos, but I needed weight and I needed it asap.
Unfortunately, my plates didn’t show up until around two months later. (I’ve since had great experiences with Titan’s shipping) In the meantime, I had scored a pair of Sorinex Bumpers that gave me the weight I needed to be able to Squat and Deadlift so the Titan Bumpers stayed in the box for a while.
I decided to finally break them out and give them a go. I’ve been training with them now for a few weeks now (UPDATE: A few years now). I’ve used them for a lot of Warmup Complexes that include exercises like muscle snatches, cleans, presses, overhead squats and snatch balances.
In this article, I’m going to share with you my experience with them thus far, what I’ve liked and what I’ve not. I’ll also supply you with as much research info as I was able to get my hands on. Finally, I’ll try to answer the ultimate question: Are they worth buying?
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| Titan Elite Black Bumper Plates Specs | |
| Diameter | 450 mm / 17.75 in |
| Width | 1.375 in |
| Collar Opening | 50.6mm |
| Insert Type | Chrome Plate Steel Disc |
| Durometer Rating | Titan doesn’t give the durometer rating for these plates, but it has to be high. I’d say at least 90 based upon how low the bounce is on these plates. |
Titan Black Elite Bumper Plates Review
Performance
For what they are, I think they’re a great bumper. I know that comes off sounding like an incredibly backhanded compliment so let me explain.
My other set of “Greens” are 10kg Uesaka Pro Series Bumpers. At the colleges I’ve worked at, we have had either Eleiko or Uesaka Training Bumpers. So, that is my current comparison point. Not exactly fair to these Titan Bumpers considering I think Uesaka makes the best bumpers on the planet. That’s also not to mention that there is over a $200 difference between these bumpers and my Uesakas.
However, for what they are – budget-friendly bumper plates designed for the casual lifter that likes to incorporate some Olympic Lifting and/or CrossFit workouts into their training program – they’re great.
They’re balanced and rotate well. Their bounce (which I’ll talk about much more in-depth in a minute) is very low which takes a little getting used to at first, but is fine. The final piece is how durable they end up being which I won’t truly know until they break down, which hopefully won’t be any time soon.
Update: I’ve now been lifting with these plates for over 2 years now. They are still holding up great. They still look and perform as well today as they did the first day out of the box. I’m still super happy with the purchase.
Bounce
The most startling aspect of these bumpers is the low bounce. In fact, these bumpers barely bounce at all.
Like I said at the beginning, it had been a while since I had actually purchased these bumpers. My first thought was I must have bought Urethane plates and not rubber weight plates. I’ve never trained with Urethane plates, but I’ve always read they have a really low bounce. I assumed that’s what these Titans must be because I’ve never lifted with plates that have low bounce like these.
Turns out they’re not Urethane, they’re just constructed to have a really low bounce. It does take a minute to get used to, but after a couple of lifts, it wasn’t an issue.
Balance and Rotation
The plates are well balanced and have a pretty good rotation. They definitely do not feel like ‘dead weight’ on the bar like another pair of budget bumpers that I have.
To be completely honest, here is the truth. If you’ve never trained on high-end elite bumper plates with a high-end Olympic barbell, then you’ll never even notice the areas where these plates are lacking. I know that may come off as sounding some type of way, but it’s just the truth.
It’s true with most things. If I’ve never driven a Ferrari (maybe one day), I can’t compare it to my Mustang which in some ways is probably a good thing.
Durability
I’ve now had these Titan plates for over a year now and they’ve held up great. I’ve had no issues with them whatsoever and they look and function just as well now as they did the day I pulled them out of the box.
I do Olympic lifts 3 to 4 times a week – cleans, snatches, jerks, etc – and these plates are heavily used in the rotation.Â
Price
I paid $159.99 for my pair of 25s, but that was over two years ago. They’re currently listed at 189.99 on Titan’s website (as of 2023). A set of 45lb bumper plates is currently listed at $279.98.
How does that compare to other ‘budget-friendly’ plates? Here are the Titan bumpers compared to a very similar comp. They are close to the same price point, steel disc center hubs and a high durometer rating (A high durometer rating means the plates have a low bounce.)
The Titan and Rogue bumpers are both predominantly black with slight colorings.
| Brand | Plate | Price | More Info/Purchase |
| Titan | Elite Black Bumper Plates | $189.99*/pair | Visit Titan |
| Rogue | Black Training LB Plates | $198.00/pair | Visit Rogue |
*Don’t forget to take into consideration Titan always offers free shipping.
Shipping
Was my shipping experience with these Titan Bumpers subpar? Yes, no doubt. I had to contact Titan 6 weeks after I ordered to check on my order. At that point I was told my item had gone on backorder and would be shipping soon. In their defense, I was offered a refund at that time if I wanted.
My plates finally showed up about two weeks later, making it about 8 weeks total from order to doorstep.
However, I gave Titan another shot when I ordered a wall mounted pull-up bar. The shipping that time was excellent. My item shipped the next day it was on my doorstep only a couple days later.
Finally, and most impressively, Titan ships everything for free. Everything. Every day. It doesn’t matter how much you buy or how big the item is. It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve come across when it comes to buying equipment for a garage gym.
So while this shipping experience with Titan wasn’t the best, I’ve become a big fan of their shipping overall.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a casual lifter that wants a pair of bumpers to do some CrossFit workouts or you like to incorporate Olympic Lifts into your Strength Training, but you don’t want to break the bank, these Titan Elite Bumpers are a great solution.
Or perhaps you’re just getting into Olympic Lifting and you want to give it a go for a bit before you make a big financial commitment. I’d recommend these plates for that purpose as well.
And even if you’re a bit snobby with your Olympic lifting equipment, but you need extra weights and don’t want to spend a ton of money – they’ve worked great for me in that respect too.
The plates are well made and for the price (especially with free shipping) they are a really good budget-friendly plate option.
Stay Strong!
