Am I crazy? Rogue Ohio Power Bar Stainless Steel vs. Starting Strength Bar

[Mr.T]

I just got the Buddy Caps All American bar. I found it to feel a bit lighter in hand compared to my 29mm B&R 2.0 bar.

Both bars are excellent. I wanted the All American bar for deads and power cleans. If you keep both bars you can use for dips in your rack.

[VNV]

I just got the Buddy Caps All American bar. I found it to feel a bit lighter in hand compared to my 29mm B&R 2.0 bar.

Both bars are excellent. I wanted the All American bar for deads and power cleans. If you keep both bars you can use for dips in your rack.

My third bar is an OB-86B, no center knurling, also for cleans and deads. I found it on Amazon for ~ $139 back in 2015, and it's still about the same price today:

Amazon.com

It has worn very very well.

[Zoso]

SS bar arrived. So far I’m liking it. A fresh bare steel bar is a beauty to behold. It’s got a bluish tinge that looks pleasing when compared alongside my stainless steel bar. I’m definitely a fan of the knurl. Honestly I was a bit taken aback by how passive it feels. I know it’s considered an aggressive knurl but compared to the OPB, it feels extremely passive.

That being said, grip feels great so far on my meager 185lb deadlift - definitely feels nice to get more of my thumb around the thinner bar. I also noticed it clanks less hitting the floor than the OPB. Makes it feel more polished and substantial. I know that’s not the case because the OPB is a very nicely built bar too but just something I noticed.

Remains to be seen whether someone at my strength at this point at this time can justify having two nice bars like these but will make that call seeing how well I stick with the lifting this time around.

Thanks all for the help. I’ll be brushing the bar after workouts for now with a brass brush I bought alongside and we’ll see how it fairs rust-wise.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I also noticed it clanks less hitting the floor than the OPB. Makes it feel more polished and substantial. I know that’s not the case because the OPB is a very nicely built bar too but just something I noticed.

Capps builds a tighter better bar than Rogue. This is why they are our manufacturer.

[Zoso]

Needless to say, you know your stuff, Rip. Out of curiosity, what was the reason for the move from the 29mm width which the B&R bar uses to the 28.mm width that the SS bar uses?

[Mark Rippetoe]

The SS bar is supposed to be 28.5 mm, but if you have a set of calipers you know that there are always variations in batches of bar stock from the mill that cannot be controlled by the shop. I wanted it at 28.5 so it would be a little whippier for cleans.

[Zoso]

28.5**.

Typo, sorry. And makes sense - thanks for the info.

[Jason Donaldson]

I wanted it at 28.5 so it would be a little whippier for cleans.

Every little bit helps those of us on Team Vietnamese Sausage Hands, as well.

[Shiva Kaul]

I also noticed it clanks less hitting the floor than the OPB. Makes it feel more polished and substantial. I know that’s not the case because the OPB is a very nicely built bar too but just something I noticed.

Rogue has good process management for producing large quantities of inoffensive, long-lasting equipment. And cheap shipping. But every piece of Rogue equipment I own - OPB, fat pad bench, squat stand, collars, straps, some plates - is functionally deficient relative to its counterpart from Rippetoe-adjacent manufacturers. The tradeoff in "crudeness" (whether bare steel or hard wood) seems worthwhile.