American Barbell

[Fermar23]

Anybody own any equipment or know anything about this brand?

Went to my local fitness equipment store today to see if they had any Rogue Power racks in stock. They only had the R-4s in but was recommended the 3x3 American Barbell Powerhouse Rack 48 instead. Surprisingly it was couple $100s cheaper than the R-4. Didn't end up buying anything that day because wanted to do a little more research. Now i'm stuck because I can't find any other info or reviews about the American Barbell rack other than a short description on there website. Prices were a bit different online being the R-4 was a bit cheaper.
Online ordering is not on option for me tho because the cost of shipping to Hawaii is ridiculous.

If anybody has any input, please let me know.

[daniel327]

I go with the Rogue simply because the American Barbell uses 3 x 3 uprights which have the effect of reducing the usable space between the uprights by 2 inches whilst adding nothing of benefit.

The Rogue also uses 5/8" hardware compared to the American Barbell's 3/4" hardware, so the Rogue gives a greater chance that your neighbor will have the appropriate sized wrench for you to steal out of his tool shed.

[Fermar23]

I go with the Rogue simply because the American Barbell uses 3 x 3 uprights which have the effect of reducing the usable space between the uprights by 2 inches whilst adding nothing of benefit.

The Rogue also uses 5/8" hardware compared to the American Barbell's 3/4" hardware, so the Rogue gives a greater chance that your neighbor will have the appropriate sized wrench for you to steal out of his tool shed.

Thanks for the input. Even tho the Rogue would cost me more, I like that they have more available attachments I can add on compared to the AB. Also came to find out that AB don't ship to Hawaii and Rogue does so thats a +1. Since my local fitness store has limited equipment, I can always order accessories online if they don't have any in stock. Atm, i'm leading more towards the Rogue even tho the sales guy made the AB sound better. But i guess thats his job right lol

[urbanlifter]

That's amazing timing, I almost made a thread on American Barbell yesterday. Seems like out of nowhere they have a full line of power racks, barbells (some pretty nice looking), conditioning equipment (I made a thread on the sled), Glute Ham Developer, specialty bars, and of course it appears that they bought GP's dumbbells and cable attachments.

[thejosef]

I have one of their competition stainless bearing bars and it is a work of art. Love it. I really only buy Rogue or American Barbell stuff these days. Both companies seems to really value making high quality products and customer satisfaction.

[urbanlifter]

AB likes the chrome look, how aggressive is the knurling on your bar? They look beautiful, and some of the prices are not to hateful compared to Rogue and York.

[thejosef]

AB likes the chrome look, how aggressive is the knurling on your bar? They look beautiful, and some of the prices are not to hateful compared to Rogue and York.

It's not aggressive, but it's built for Olympic lifting. I think it's perfect for that use. It's more grippy than a Pendlay I owned, and slightly less aggressive than my Rogue Castro Bar (bare steel Ohio bar). It seems to be right in the middle of the scale, you know.. I chalk up when I deadlift with it, but mostly b/c the spin is so good, it wants to spin out my hands. Ha. Stainless steel is so, so nice.

[rpark]

I'm a little confused.... OP walked into his local fitness dealer.... in Hawaii.... expecting to see a Rogue rack in stock?

[slashragnarok]

I just want to add here that I've had the pleasure of discussing at length, with Phil of American barbell, about their products & equipment in general and I have to say, they are willing to discuss anything and everything about workout equipment. So if in doubt, just shoot an email to Phil.

Likewise, Rogue customer support have also been very helpful. However I feel they are a bit protective about revealing too much info which is understandable taking into consideration intellectual property protection.

[Xone]

The American Barbell bars (certainly some of them, not sure if all are), a lot of the plates, the urethane dumbbells, and cable attachments are made by GP with the american barbell logo slapped on and are good stuff.

The racks look decent but I still think rogue is a better option for price/features.

[Fermar23]

I'm a little confused.... OP walked into his local fitness dealer.... in Hawaii.... expecting to see a Rogue rack in stock?

Before I went to the fitness store, I researched what racks people on this forum recommended. A lot of people seemed to like the Rogue so i came to see what models they had in stock. Guy at the store recommended a different brand which threw me off since I wasn't familiar with that brand Power Rack and it had a cheaper price tag. So I checked online to see if there were any reviews about it but cant seem to find any.

[Cleveland33]

I'm a little confused.... OP walked into his local fitness dealer.... in Hawaii.... expecting to see a Rogue rack in stock?

even moreso, they had some in stock. Just a limited selection

[Bench905]

Weird that AB uses 3/4" hardware. Seems like every other manufactuer uses either 5/8" or 1". This will most likely limit you to only AB add-ons/accessories. If you bought another brand (EliteFTS, Rogue, Sorinex, NL, Rep, MD, Mech, etc.), most of the accessories are interchangeable as long as you are matching lines (i.e. a 3x3 1" accessory from Sorinex will fit a 3x3 1" Rogue rack).