Rogue Ohio Bar Review And Info

Rogue Ohio Bar Review
Photo Credit: Garage Gym Products
Rogue Fitness Ohio Bar
Overall
4.5
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Summary

A favorite among many CrossFit enthusiasts, the Rogue Ohio bar is a versatile barbell with excellent knurling, whip, and spin.

Pros

  • Excellent Knurling.
  • Strong 190,000 PSI Tensile Strength.
  • Excellent balance.
  • Quality Composite Bushings.
  • Lifetime Warranty.
  • Easy safety clip assembly for quick routine maintenance.
  • Cerakote version provides superior rust resistance on the shaft of the bar, even if it rubs off the collars fairly easily.

Cons

  • A bit pricey.
  • Cerakote finish wears off sleeves fairly quickly.
  • 28.5MM Diameter shaft is great for various types of lifts.
  • It’s close in functionality to the cheaper Rogue 2.0 bar.

The Rogue Ohio Bar is one of Rogue Fitness’ most popular products and an iconic bar within the CrossFit world.

Designed and manufactured at the company’s Columbus, Ohio headquarters, this bar is a mainstay of many home gyms and commercial facilities looking for a solid build factor, quality spin, excellent whip, and an all-around quality product.

For our Rogue Ohio Bar review we’ve focused on the cerakote option with a black finish, it’s a bar we’ve been using for several years in our garage gym and one of our favorites in a crowded market.

This review is the result of several years of Rogue Ohio bar use and that allows us to firmly stand behind the product’s overall build and utility.

Rogue Ohio Bar Design And Build

Rogue Ohio Bar Cerakote Finish Review
Photo Credit: Rogue Fitness

The Rogue Ohio bar offers a 20kg weight with 190,000 PSI tensile strength. It’s a very solid bar that won’t warp under pressure. Still, at 190K PSI, it also offers a good deal of whip, providing for sustained movements that won’t over-tax your body during various movements.

I will note that the whip on the bar isn’t going to provide the type of support you’d want for heavier clean and jerks and other similar movements. That said, for the average person who’s not powering through incredibly heavy movements, it’s still better than the typical gym bar and sufficient for most types of lifts at medium weights.

Along with an excellent amount of whip, the ease of spin found on the Rogue Ohio Bar also provides excellent feedback for CrossFit-type movements. The spin is owed largely to its high-quality bushings which provide excellent feedback.

The spin on the bar does exactly what it sets out to accomplish, reducing inertia caused by my weights. In response to the excellent spin, I feel less stress on my wrists and shoulders compared to the cheaper bars I have used in the past and the old worn down bars at my local gym.

The reduction in unnecessary force is largely responsible for my ability to set new personal records during my lifts. I also suffer from a constant shoulder strain and this bar has helped with my shoulder pain, reducing it to the point that my rehab efforts have been paying off in spades.

I clean my Rogue Ohio bar once every two months using the Rogue Barbell Cleaning Kit. It’s a simple product that has kept this particular bar in perfect working order for the past several years.

Barbell Cleaning Kit
The Rogue Barbell Cleaning Kit

Rogue Barbell Cleaning Kit

A simple but effective 3-in-on-oil with a bristle brush that makes cleaning Rogue Ohio Bar’s and other barbells a breeze.

Reducing dirt and other grime build-up is the best way to keep a Rogue Ohio Bar spinning like new and the company’s use of a snap-ring system makes taking apart its sleeves a very simple process. Simply purchase a pair of snap-ring pliers and the sleeve removal process will take all of 30 seconds. I recommend the Irwin Vise-Grip option on Amazon which will set you back less than $20.

Rogue Ohio Bar Snap Ring on Sleeves
Photo Credit: Garage Gym Products

I work out in a garage gym and that means I need to constantly clear my barbells to remove particulates and to avoid rusting caused by humidity.

Rogue has a simple-to-follow video that will show you how easily the barbell cleaning process is to complete.

Rogue Ohio Bar Knurling – Cerakote Finish

In my opinion, the Rogue Ohio Bar features the best multi-use barbell knurling on the market. I would go so far as to say Rogue has nearly perfected the machined grip points on the bar, providing excellent termination points.

Rogue Ohio Bar Review - Knurling
Photo Credit: Garage Gym Products

This means the knurling provides a smooth transition from smooth steel to grippy feedback. Rub your hand over the entire bar and it almost feels like the knurling isn’t there, grip down, however, and you quickly realize it’s surprisingly grippy for repetitive weight exercises and even some medium lifts in the 200 to 400-pound range.

The shaft’s 28.5mm diameter also feels great in my hand whether I’m lifting repetitive lower weights or attempting to set a new PR at heavier weights. The diameter sits right between a standard barbell and a power bar, making it perfect for all types of training purposes.

Throw in medium knurling and the grip on the bar is second to none when it comes to choosing an Olympic-style barbell. Not only does the knurling offer a decent grip, but it also feels surprisingly comfortable thanks to the Cerakote finish I chose for my bar.

I’m not going to recommend the bars grip over a Power Bar when it comes to heavy lifts that need more grip but for the average home or garage gym owner, it’s likely all you’ll need.

Rogue also produces the Ohio Bar in various builds including Stainless Steel, Cerakote, Black Zinc, and more. The bar is also produced in a multitude of colors which makes it an attractive set piece for any gym.

The sleeves and shaft on my Rogue Ohio Bar are all-black, although the company does offer a chrome sleeve option if you prefer to remove the Cerakote look from your bar’s sleeves.

The sleeves also offer 16.40 inches of loadable space, providing for plenty of weight, even for more advanced users and anyone using a thicker Mil-Spec bumper plate option.

Because we know it matters to make of our readers, the steel for these bars is manufactured right here in the USA, where the bar is also machined, assembled, and shipped, right from Columbus, Ohio, hence the name of the bar.

If you’re looking for a multi-purpose barbell and you’re still on the fence, check out the excellent Rogue Ohio Bar user reviews.

Rogue Ohio Bar

The Rogue Ohio Bar is a favorite among CrossFit enthusiasts. Check it out.
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Written by James Kosur

James is a 20-year veteran of the digital media industry, an avid gym builder, and a dad to four kids, three dogs, and two cats. He's a DIYer who loves building stuff with his hands and a gamer who enjoys all facets of gaming.