American Barbell California Bar
Overall
Summary
The American Barbell California Bar is an excellent all-purpose barbell that’s perfect for CrossFit and general Olympic lifts.
Pros
- Excellent Spin from composite bushings.
- Great tensile strength.
- Knurl is not overly aggressive.
- Plenty of loadable sleeve length
- Cerkote finish is impeccable.
- Chrome-plated sleeves are built to stand up to heavy use.
Cons
- Knurl might be too light for some users.
The American Barbell California Bar is a great option for CrossFit and Olympic style lifting. With a beautifully coated cerakote finish, it’s a contender for one of our favorite general purpose barbells.
This is American Barbell’s first dual-ring barbell for functional fitness and the 28mm shaft features collars with excellent spin thanks to some excellent high strength composite bushings. We really like a 28mm grip over a 28.5mm option, especially for lifts that require a stronger grip.
The bar was constructed using precision ground alloy steel which provide a 190,000 PSI tensile strength, the same strength as found on the Rogue Ohio Bar and many others.
We really love the look of each sleeve which have been machined to perfection and coated wiht hard chrome.
The cerakote is applied with excellence on the American Barbell California bar, providing a corrosion protection that will outlast chrome by 70x and even withstand a beating long after stainless steel has given up.
The knurling is not aggressive, which we like for general CrossFit routines while noting that heavier deadlifts and other movements might not provide the grip you’re seeking. With that being said, there are dual knurl marks, making it easy to grip properly every time you grab onto your bar.
The bars 16.38 loadable sleeve size also provides plenty of room to up your game as you increase your weight load.
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