Rogue Barbell Club

[matrix563]

i picked up a rogue boneyard ohio bar, 190k psi. only 100, its pretty decent i think

[lsi1]

Loadable dumbbell handles in the boneyard now too. Anyone have a pair and can comment on how you like them? Might be a worthwhile addition to my garage gym.

I own these. the other guys here are right they are long and they are awkward but it doesn't take that long to become used to them. They aren't as fast as adjustable dumbbells to change weight but since I had a lot of 10lb plates and very limited space they work for me. They have a very quality feel just as most other rogue bars seem to. the sleeves are tight on the handles and do not make much noise which was not the case with the cheaper handles I used in the past. knurl is good. they have ribbed sleeves and I have just learned that this can be a deal breaker although anything that makes a plate harder to remove from a sleeve is a bonus on a db handle.

[Mizzoutiger26]

I own these. the other guys here are right they are long and they are awkward but it doesn't take that long to become used to them. They aren't as fast as adjustable dumbbells to change weight but since I had a lot of 10lb plates and very limited space they work for me. They have a very quality feel just as most other rogue bars seem to. the sleeves are tight on the handles and do not make much noise which was not the case with the cheaper handles I used in the past. knurl is good. they have ribbed sleeves and I have just learned that this can be a deal breaker although anything that makes a plate harder to remove from a sleeve is a bonus on a db handle.

I can imagine it would feel fairly weird using them for a lot of accessories since they are so long. I'd probably be using them primarily for heavy pressing though, so no biggie. How many 10's do you think you could stack on one with collars?

[Bench905]

First boneyard bar I'm not happy about. Big gouge in the sleeve through the plating and inside the gouge it's already starting to rust.

On the good side, the curl bar feels great - the bends are much more pronounced than my Body Solid curl bar. Knurling is light-medium. Body Solid is more aggressive...my Troy GOZ-74B rackable curl bar (now sold) had unnecessarily aggressive knurling for a curl bar.

[C123C]

First boneyard bar I'm not happy about. Big gouge in the sleeve through the plating and inside the gouge it's already starting to rust.

On the good side, the curl bar feels great - the bends are much more pronounced than my Body Solid curl bar. Knurling is light-medium. Body Solid is more aggressive...my Troy GOZ-74B rackable curl bar (now sold) had unnecessarily aggressive knurling for a curl bar.

After your and Synthetic's experiences I'm not going to even consider the boneyard offerings unless they are at least 50%. The original boneyard bars were totally fine in all the reviews. I don't want anything to do with these new ones outside a massive discount.

[thejosef]

Well, I sold the boneyard Russian bar this week. We had a nice three months together. The grooves on the sleeve really look awesome, but it's just not practical for everyday use. The included collars are somewhat of a pain to take off, and really don't add much over what a normal collar can do. Yes, the weights will NOT move once locked down, but a good set of collars pretty much accomplish this as well (talking with under 400 lbs. anyway). Also, getting your finger caught in a groove while sliding a 45 off SUCKS. I can still feel that one 3 weeks later. It's definitely the coolest looking bar out there, IMO, but just sharing my thoughts. I guess if you absolutely HATE it when weights move, it may be right for you, but I'd wait til you can get a really good deal on one.

As far as it being a boneyard bar, it was an acceptable boneyard bar, IMO. One 1/4" spot of messed up knurl, different shaft finish (bare steel), did not have center knurl (not mentioned at all anywhere, but I preferred this anyway), and one sleeve end had a minor cosmetic hit on it. I was happy with the $120 savings over a new one, but the bar is just too dang expensive overall. I doubt Rogue will continue to sell it once they all sell out, if I had to guess. For the same Oly bar price range, you could get an Eleiko Performance NxG, American Barbell SS Oly Comp, Rogue SS Oly, or a Rogue Euro bar. Those are four phenomenal bars that I would choose over the Russian.

[thejosef]

After your and Synthetic's experiences I'm not going to even consider the boneyard offerings unless they are at least 50%. The original boneyard bars were totally fine in all the reviews. I don't want anything to do with these new ones outside a massive discount.

I'm done with them too. They're just such a risk as to what you'll receive. I'm glad they offer them, but they're just not for me. Even a spot of messed up knurl just kinda ticks me off every time I see it. I'm know I'm not normal though.

[Bench905]

After your and Synthetic's experiences I'm not going to even consider the boneyard offerings unless they are at least 50%. The original boneyard bars were totally fine in all the reviews. I don't want anything to do with these new ones outside a massive discount.

This is my 4th boneyard I think and I've only had issues with this one. I would take the chance again. Curl Bar, Stainless Ohio, Euro Bar, OLY bar.

Don't let recency bias influence your decisions.

[C123C]

This is my 4th boneyard I think and I've only had issues with this one. I would take the chance again. Curl Bar, Stainless Ohio, Euro Bar, OLY bar.

Don't let recency bias influence your decisions.

I'm going to wait for more ups at a minimum. Being cynical a corporate strategy could be to "Test" the boneyard idea and get momentum with a relatively good batch of bars only to blow the others out later once you've drawn people in OR allow for lower tolerance levels in production (less expense) because you now have a market to absorb the errors. Notice the inventory of Boneyard offerings has increased substantially lately. Not saying it's so but something to watch.

If we continue to see a stream of bad bars...no dice. I had just started to consider them too based on previous good reviews. At the end of the day I'm a "forever" buyer so I'm not as sensitive to small discounts to take risk.

[Synthetickiller]

Something is clearly going on with QC over at Rogue manufacturing. A ton of bars are in the boneyard & have been rotating in and out for a while.


Getting off the topic of the boneyard...
I wonder if Rogue will ever make a circus dumbbell. These bumper plates for dumbbells are just retarded, considering the use. A circus dumbbell could be dropped, could be used in "the games' fwiw, and appeal to people who train for strongman events.
Do you guys want to see one?

[rpark]

Do you guys want to see one?

You mean like this? Slater Hardware already makes loadable monster dumbbells, so if anything maybe rogue tries selling the Slater version?

[Synthetickiller]

I should have specified that I meant a loadable circus dumbbell, but that could refer to lead shot, sand, water etc. I meant a plate loadable circus dumbbell like these...

[Cleveland33]

I'm going to wait for more ups at a minimum. Being cynical a corporate strategy could be to "Test" the boneyard idea and get momentum with a relatively good batch of bars only to blow the others out later once you've drawn people in OR allow for lower tolerance levels in production (less expense) because you now have a market to absorb the errors. Notice the inventory of Boneyard offerings has increased substantially lately. Not saying it's so but something to watch.

If we continue to see a stream of bad bars...no dice. I had just started to consider them too based on previous good reviews. At the end of the day I'm a "forever" buyer so I'm not as sensitive to small discounts to take risk.

The bars in the very beginning where more like this, then they had that string where people couldn't figure out the problem or it was just a little knurling issue. It is what it is.

[Cleveland33]

I should have specified that I meant a loadable circus dumbbell, but that could refer to lead shot, sand, water etc. I meant a plate loadable circus dumbbell like these...

I don't think the market is big enough for them, otherwise I can't see why they wouldn't have had them awhile ago.

[Synthetickiller]

I don't think the market is big enough for them, otherwise I can't see why they wouldn't have had them awhile ago.

My take on a loadable circus dumbbell is that it's a larger market if they are going to use it in Crossfit. The bumper plates for dumbbells see extremely niche by comparison. Crossfit vs Crossfit & Strongman?
I guess I don't see eye to eye w/ how they market Crossfit, lol.

[litljay]

When you have a 3rd party manufacturing your product, you get to reject the "out of spec" product that gets delivered to you and you never have to sell it. Now that Rogue is manufacturing their own stuff, there is no out other than to try to recoup as much $ as you can by offering a discount to your customers.

I would expect the supply of boneyard bars to stay high now.

[Cleveland33]

My take on a loadable circus dumbbell is that it's a larger market if they are going to use it in Crossfit. The bumper plates for dumbbells see extremely niche by comparison. Crossfit vs Crossfit & Strongman?
I guess I don't see eye to eye w/ how they market Crossfit, lol.

I don't think the DB Bumper plates were their idea. I think XFit HQ said they wanted a DB event in the games, they came up with a few design options, and those won. I assume they made a batch - some for the games, some for sale. I doubt they expect them to be a big seller.

[C123C]

The bars in the very beginning where more like this, then they had that string where people couldn't figure out the problem or it was just a little knurling issue. It is what it is.

Didn't know that. I saw a number of glowing reviews over the past year and nothing really bad.

[lsi1]

I can imagine it would feel fairly weird using them for a lot of accessories since they are so long. I'd probably be using them primarily for heavy pressing though, so no biggie. How many 10's do you think you could stack on one with collars?

I can get 5 10s per side and a oso collar but my 10s are all thicker grip plates with better plates you could probably get 6 or 7 per side.

[Cleveland33]

Didn't know that. I saw a number of glowing reviews over the past year and nothing really bad.

That's the risk you take on those things though.

I mean is that gash worth a $30 discount....probably not if you knew. But on the flip side, an inch of double track knurl might be completely unnoticeable

[EricAtl]

Boneyard Ohio bar, stainless with raw ribbed sleeves arrived. I bought this to bench with. I'm not a bar expert but it appears to be in excellent condition. I'll have to clean it up and inspect it better but do not see much wrong with it. Maybe a small ding on the collar and maybe some irregularities at the marks.

[MGM711]

Well, I sold the boneyard Russian bar this week. We had a nice three months together. The grooves on the sleeve really look awesome, but it's just not practical for everyday use. The included collars are somewhat of a pain to take off, and really don't add much over what a normal collar can do. Yes, the weights will NOT move once locked down, but a good set of collars pretty much accomplish this as well (talking with under 400 lbs. anyway). Also, getting your finger caught in a groove while sliding a 45 off SUCKS. I can still feel that one 3 weeks later. It's definitely the coolest looking bar out there, IMO, but just sharing my thoughts. I guess if you absolutely HATE it when weights move, it may be right for you, but I'd wait til you can get a really good deal on one.

As far as it being a boneyard bar, it was an acceptable boneyard bar, IMO. One 1/4" spot of messed up knurl, different shaft finish (bare steel), did not have center knurl (not mentioned at all anywhere, but I preferred this anyway), and one sleeve end had a minor cosmetic hit on it. I was happy with the $120 savings over a new one, but the bar is just too dang expensive overall. I doubt Rogue will continue to sell it once they all sell out, if I had to guess. For the same Oly bar price range, you could get an Eleiko Performance NxG, American Barbell SS Oly Comp, Rogue SS Oly, or a Rogue Euro bar. Those are four phenomenal bars that I would choose over the Russian.

How funny...I said last year when the Russian Bar was released that I thought Rogue picked a price point that was too high, and that I'd be surprised if many would sell, especially when one could purchase various Eleiko bar at the same price point and I got flamed. It will be interesting to see if this bar stays as a production bar.

[Synthetickiller]

Boneyard Ohio bar, stainless with raw ribbed sleeves arrived. I bought this to bench with. I'm not a bar expert but it appears to be in excellent condition. I'll have to clean it up and inspect it better but do not see much wrong with it. Maybe a small ding on the collar and maybe some irregularities at the marks.

Would it be too much to ask to get a closeup shot of the sleeve ribbing?

[MGM711]

I don't think the DB Bumper plates were their idea. I think XFit HQ said they wanted a DB event in the games, they came up with a few design options, and those won. I assume they made a batch - some for the games, some for sale. I doubt they expect them to be a big seller.

I actually think the reverse. I'm fairly certain that Rogue pushed for the loadable DB handles in the regionals and games for the very reason of drumming up sales. Once the loadable DBs were in games, the bumper seems like the next progression of increasing sales. I say this because fixed DBs have always been in the workouts, so there really is no reason to use the loadable DB handles for any other reason other than to increase sales.

[EricAtl]

Would it be too much to ask to get a closeup shot of the sleeve ribbing?

No trouble. Sleeve ribbing looks the same

[thejosef]

Boneyard Ohio bar, stainless with raw ribbed sleeves arrived. I bought this to bench with. I'm not a bar expert but it appears to be in excellent condition. I'll have to clean it up and inspect it better but do not see much wrong with it. Maybe a small ding on the collar and maybe some irregularities at the marks.

Beautiful bar bud. Nice pickup!

[EricAtl]

Thanks. I benched with it today and love it. The stainless steel is excellent and the knurl is perfect. The Ohio power bar by comparison really is a cheese grater. I almost bought a Matt chan bar instead of the opb, but pick d it up on the Black Friday sale and had read a few not great reviews of the chan bar. Probably if I had the chan bar it would have been perfect for my needs. But not stainless.

[Synthetickiller]

No trouble. Sleeve ribbing looks the same.

On spread, thanks bro!

Thanks. I benched with it today and love it. The stainless steel is excellent and the knurl is perfect. The Ohio power bar by comparison really is a cheese grater. I almost bought a Matt chan bar instead of the opb, but pick d it up on the Black Friday sale and had read a few not great reviews of the chan bar. Probably if I had the chan bar it would have been perfect for my needs. But not stainless.

Because I'd like to know where other people are coming from, what's the dislike of the aggressive knurling vs the medium knurl of the Ohio bar? It's just that you're not lifting so heavy that you need the grip and each set is more comfortable?
The stainless sounds great, btw.

[EricAtl]

On spread, thanks bro!



Because I'd like to know where other people are coming from, what's the dislike of the aggressive knurling vs the medium knurl of the Ohio bar? It's just that you're not lifting so heavy that you need the grip and each set is more comfortable?
The stainless sounds great, btw.

We are in a completely different category when it comes to numbers. My opinion is that there is the right amount, and then there is excessive. I stopped deadlifting, but that is where I needed every bit of grip I could get. No matter how aggressive the knurl, I could not grip the 29mm opb as well as my cap ob or old York which may be 28. Plus it did not have the flex that I needed. So despite all the wine I just drank, I'll say the stainless Ohio bar has the perfect diameter for me for bench along with the perfect knurl that won't chew up my hands. If it had a center knurl it would be just fine for squats, for me. If I could get anywhere close to your numbers the stiffer 29mm bar would probably be better for squats. But is an aggressive knurl really needed for squats since grip is not so essential.
One more thought, stainless trumps any type of coating. My wife came down and said why do you need all of those bars, so I guess I have the right amount.

[Hallowedlunch]

I love the power bars knurling, it feels great, once I got used to it. It didn't "hurt" my hands, but (at first) benching with it was annoying. But once used to it, the sharpness is cool.
But honestly, if Rogue put center knurling on the stainless Ohio bar, it would be great. Maybe perfect. It sticks to your hands, and isn't overly sharp. I'll say it is sharper than the American Barbell power bar, not quite as the B&R, and much less that the OPB. But for me at least the actual grip doesn't suffer at all.
OPB: https://i.imgur.com/iViu9ai.jpg
Stainless Ohio: https://i.imgur.com/C6m16yl.jpg