REP Health Colorado Bar Evaluation

Discovering a barbell that performs effectively for powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, and normal power coaching with out burning a deep gap in your pocket will be difficult. Fortunately, REP Health leveled up its barbell lineup in the summertime of 2023 with a high-quality mannequin that checks these bins (and plenty of extra): the Colorado Bar. Our Breaking Muscle crew of licensed private trainers, CrossFit fans, and power and conditioning coaches completely examined this multi-purpose bar’s skill to deal with conventional powerlifting actions like squats and deadlifts, in addition to dynamic lifts like cleans and snatches.  

Sturdy, reliable, and various, the brand new flagship barbell from one of the respected health gear producers delivers critical bang on your buck. On this REP Health Colorado Bar overview, we’ll dive deeper into what makes this mannequin top-of-the-line values in the marketplace by breaking down its specs, highlighting its strengths, and seeing the way it stacks up towards the competitors.

Key Takeaways

• The Colorado Bar checks in at an affordable value level of $319.99 to $329.99 for the 20-kilogram (44-pound) mannequin. There’s additionally a 15-kilogram (33-pound) model that prices between $269.99 and $279.99.
• You have got two end choices with this barbell: a tough chrome shaft with chrome sleeves, or a Cerakote shaft with Duracoat sleeves. Plus, the Cerakote model offers you the liberty to flex your artistic muscle tissue with 5 coloration decisions for the shaft.
• Whereas IPF knurl markings and a 1,500-pound weight capability give it an influence bar really feel, the inclusion of IWF knurl markings and the absence of a middle knurl additionally make the Colorado Bar well-suited for Olympic lifts. As well as, composite bushings make for an total quieter lifting expertise.

REP Health Colorado Bar Professionals

• The flexibility to buy a Cerakote model of the Colorado Bar ought to attraction to residence health club house owners who practice in a non-climate-controlled surroundings. As a result of such a shaft coating supplies superior safety from the weather than laborious chrome, those that practice outside or in humid garages will admire higher corrosion resistance courtesy of Cerakote.
• The Colorado Bar’s composite bushings not solely enable for a clean and regular spin but additionally give it a tighter tolerance. One other advantage of choosing composite over bronze bushings is much less noise when your weight plates hit the ground.
• Between its versatility and construct high quality, the Colorado bar can function the one barbell in your house health club. When you don’t have an enormous funds for health club gear, you’ll be able to cowl a number of bases by investing in a multi-use bar that’s able to dealing with a variety of lifts.

REP Health Colorado Bar Cons

• A scarcity of aggressive knurling and a solid-but-not-elite tensile power of 190,000 PSI make this barbell simply an okay alternative for powerlifters. In case your exercises primarily revolve across the squat, deadlift, and bench press, a specialty bar tailor-made to your coaching fashion could also be a wiser alternative.
• Paying north of $300 for a barbell produced exterior of the USA may stop some individuals from going the Colorado route. There are American corporations that supply related options at a extra tolerable value level.
• Though Cerakote shaft coating presents higher corrosion resistance than laborious chrome, it nonetheless falls wanting a stainless-steel end. Those that want the high-end look and distinct knurling of a stainless-steel bar ought to cross on the Colorado barbell. Nonetheless, be ready to pay a premium for these benefits.

REP Health Colorado Bar Specs

REP Health Colorado Bar Ranking

From specialty bars designed for energy racks to Olympic barbells made for extra dynamic actions, the Breaking Muscle crew has put numerous barbells by way of the wringer to find out what separates the very best from the remaining. Testing greater than 75 fashions utilizing a gauntlet of squats, cleans, presses, and different lifts, we developed a proprietary scoring system to rank them based mostly on a number of components, comparable to value, knurling, versatility, and sturdiness.

Right here’s how the REP Colorado Bar scored throughout every class.

REP Health Colorado Bar In-Depth Evaluation

The Colorado Bar might not be a real celebrity at one process, however its versatility is what makes it shine. With a number of end choices, high-quality construct supplies, and ample tensile power for many lifters, we imagine it’s a terrific possibility for anybody who likes to change up their sort of coaching. Most significantly, REP’s flagship barbell supplies wonderful worth since it may fulfill a number of duties.

Worth and Worth

The value for the Colorado Bar varies relying on what dimension and end you favor. The 15-kilogram (33-pound) mannequin, which is finest fitted to newbies, feminine lifters, and smaller athletes, begins at $269.99 for the laborious chrome end. For $10 extra, you’ll be able to select a black or pink Cerakote shaft coating with Duracoat sleeves.

However, the bottom value for the 20-kilogram Colorado Bar is $319.99. For a mixed-use barbell in a tough chrome end, the associated fee falls about according to the trade common. For instance, the Rogue Health Ohio Bar ranges between $275 to $415, relying on the end. Nonetheless, it might be value upping your funds a bit to get higher corrosion resistance and longevity. At $329.99, the Cerakote-finished Colorado Bar nonetheless brings loads of worth, particularly since you’ll be able to select between 5 shaft coating colours so as to add some artistic aptitude to your private home health club setup.

Furthermore, you don’t have to stress about freight prices. As of this writing, REP Health presents free delivery, which might prevent at the least $25. General, the Colorado bar packs a ton of customizable choices right into a well-priced piece of health club gear, making it our decide for the best budget barbell. We rated it 4 out of 5 stars for the worth.

Supply

Let’s simply say ordering a barbell on Amazon generally is a bit like enjoying with fireplace. After I ordered a budget-friendly one for my residence health club, the supply course of ended up being a significant dud, with a low-quality bar from a completely completely different model than I had chosen arriving in broken packaging that left the endcaps uncovered. For sure, that disappointing expertise left a bitter style in my mouth about having a barbell shipped to my entrance door.

Fortunately for our product testers, REP Health made positive the Colorado Bar arrived at our warehouse in Springfield, MO, with zero points. I used to be happy to listen to it suffered no harm throughout its journey. Effectively-packaged and well-protected, we gave REP 5 out of 5 stars for a clean, painless supply course of.

Building, Supplies, and Coating

With a 28.5-millimeter shaft, the 20-kilogram Colorado Bar comes near the 29-millimeter mark you’ll discover in most energy bars. A part of its attraction is that it has a shaft diameter that falls proper in between Olympic and powerlifting requirements.

REP offers you ample end choices with the Colorado Bar, together with Cerakote (which is available in black, blue, inexperienced, crimson, or white) or laborious chrome with laborious chrome sleeves. Nonetheless, needless to say chrome plating can scale back the longevity of a bar by 50 p.c, which isn’t perfect should you drop the bar so much. Primarily based on our collective data about barbells and the particular metal every model makes use of, we’d estimate that the Colorado bar can final at the least 30 years in a house health club setting.

In the meantime, the Cerakote bars have a lifespan of greater than 50 years due to their F2-R ranking. Not like the F1-R-rated chrome model, they function Duracoat sleeves that present larger ranges of scratch and corrosion resistance by way of a chemical course of that hardens the skin of the metal to create a clean black end.

Talking of seamless, the Colorado Bar’s clean sleeves make loading and unloading your weight plates a breeze. Whereas I benefit from the effectivity of clean sleeves, different Breaking Muscle workers members like our Critiques Editor Amanda Dvorak want ribbed sleeves for the reason that plates keep in place higher even with out collars.

Mix that with a cultured endcap design that has the corporate emblem, title, and weight of the bar laser-etched on the within of the sleeve, and you’ve got all of the makings of a premium bar at a non-premium value. General, the Colorado scored 4.5 out of 5 stars for development.

Knurling

As a mixed-use bar, the Colorado comes with twin knurl markings for Worldwide Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and Worldwide Powerlifting Federation (IPF) specs. This makes it straightforward to determine the place to put your fingers when bench urgent or performing different lifts, like snatches. On the similar time, the absence of a middle knurl permits you to comfortably carry out Olympic-style actions (like cleans) or high-volume overhead presses with out having to fret about scraping up your throat.

The knurling sample on the Colorado Bar isn’t fairly as aggressive as what you would possibly discover in an influence bar like REP’s Double Black Diamond Bar, which options deep mountain-style knurling that makes it perfect for deadlifting however not perfect for extra dynamic actions. As an alternative, REP went with a medium-depth, volcano-style knurling that also supplies sufficient grip with out tearing up your fingers throughout high-repetition coaching classes. For many athletes, volcano knurling works finest, because it supplies 4 factors of contact on every marking, resulting in a superior grip and fewer slippage.

Creating ample friction with out being too abrasive, the Colorado Bar’s medium knurling sample scored 4.5 out of 5 stars on our grading scale.

Rotation System

REP actually paid consideration to the main points of the Colorado Bar’s rotation system. Reasonably than following the trade customary of placing bronze bushings in a multi-purpose bar (like Rogue did with each the Ohio Bar and the extra economically priced Echo Bar), they went the additional mile through the use of composite bushings.

In addition to lasting longer than their bronze counterparts, composite bushings scale back the quantity of noise when dropping the bar whereas nonetheless offering good spin — one thing our product testers took notice of throughout their coaching classes with the Colorado. Plus, composite bushings additionally make for tighter tolerances, which means there’s much less wobble between the sleeve and the shaft. 

REP’s determination to make the Colorado Bar with bushings as a substitute of bearings caters on to followers of the massive three lifts. Energy bars often function bushings as a result of the sleeves spin extra slowly, which makes the barbell really feel extra balanced whereas performing deadlifts and bench presses. 

However, weightlifting bars sometimes use faster-spinning bearings that play a important position when the barbell is shortly altering instructions throughout snatches and cleans. As well as, the superior spin fee from bearings additionally helps scale back stress on the joints if you execute the “catch” portion of a clear or snatch. Nonetheless, most multi-purpose bars go away bearings behind for bushings for the reason that latter are extra versatile, quieter, and cheaper. 

Between a clean spin fee, enhanced sturdiness, and a quieter lifting expertise, the Colorado Bar earned 4.5 out of 5 stars for its rotation system.

Versatility

Particularly designed to accommodate quite a lot of exercise kinds, the Colorado Bar is the last word Swiss military knife. With a tensile power ranking of 190,000 kilos per sq. inch (PSI), you’ll be able to confidently crush PRs with none issues. In reality, the Colorado bar has the identical PSI ranking as rivals just like the TITAN Collection Cerakote Olympic Barbell from Titan Health and the Rogue Ohio Bar.

Additionally able to getting used for non-powerlifting workout routines like curls, overhead presses, and cleans, the Colorado Bar can deal with absolutely anything you throw its approach. It could not outperform a specialty bar, however should you’re in search of one barbell to rule all of them in your house health club, this all-around beast can actually stand as much as the duty.

All in all, we gave the Colorado Bar 5 out of 5 stars for versatility.

Sturdiness

As one among its newer fashions, the Colorado Bar has but to point out the way it can maintain up over time. However based mostly on the supplies and design, we’re assured it’s going to proceed to carry out effectively and look good for the lengthy haul.

That mentioned, the most secure route — at the least from a sturdiness standpoint — is to go together with the Cerakote model. Different barbells we’ve examined that function this end have lasted greater than six months with out rusting. Contemplating a lot of them are saved in non-temperature-controlled rooms, that speaks volumes in regards to the degree of safety Cerakote supplies.

And should you’re nonetheless involved about longevity, REP stands behind its barbells with a lifetime guarantee (extra on that under). In the end, we rated the Colorado Bar 5 out of 5 stars for sturdiness.

Guarantee

All REP barbells include a lifetime guarantee. Nonetheless, the coverage solely covers manufacturing defects. So, in case your Colorado Bar will get broken on account of negligent use (i.e., dropping it with iron weight plates loaded on it), you’re a bit out of luck. You’ll additionally run right into a roadblock should you retailer your barbell exterior, as it will robotically void your guarantee. 

In comparison with different producers, REP Health doesn’t provide fairly the identical degree of protection. For instance, Rogue’s lifetime guarantee additionally consists of bending that’s not on account of defective use or abusive dropping of the bar.

So, regardless that the Colorado Bar features a lifetime guarantee, the defect-only disclaimer led to a rating of 4 out of 5 stars on this class.

REP Health Colorado Bar vs. Rogue Ohio Bar

It’s clear REP had one among its rivals in thoughts when arising with the Colorado Bar. Not solely is it named after the situation of the corporate’s headquarters similar to Rogue’s Ohio Bar, but it surely packs related options right into a similarly-priced product.

Regardless of minor variations in dimensions (the Colorado bar is 0.15 inches shorter with 0.3 fewer inches of loadable sleeve size), each bars have the identical shaft diameters (28.5 millimeters) and tensile power ranking (190 KSI). Nonetheless, the Colorado Bar’s composite bushings give it a tighter tolerance and quieter sound than its competitor’s bronze bushings. Plus, our testers discovered it to have a bit extra aggressive knurling than the Ohio Bar.

However, Rogue presents a wider vary of end choices. The Ohio Bar is available in 5 completely different shaft coatings (black oxide, stainless-steel, black zinc, E-coat, or Cerakote) and 4 completely different sleeve coatings (chrome, proprietary black matte, vivid zinc, or stainless-steel). Because of this, the worth for this American-made barbell ranges from $295 to $465.

General, both bar will work effectively along with your squat rack and might stand up to loads of pounding. REP could manufacture their merchandise in China, however they’ve established a rock-solid status for high quality within the health gear trade. In the end, although, if you’d like a barbell produced within the USA that has a barely extra inclusive lifetime guarantee, Rogue’s Ohio Bar would be the method to go.

Rogue Fitness Ohio Bar

4.5

• Comes with a lifetime assure towards bending
• Weighs 20 kilograms (about 44 kilos) and has a 28.5-millimeter diameter
• 16.4-inch loadable sleeve size
• Twin knurl rings and no middle knurl

Check Price

REP Health Colorado Bar Buyer Critiques

There’s little doubt REP hit a house run by releasing the Colorado Bar throughout the summer season of 2023. Inside just some months, clients have discovered it to be a worthwhile funding for his or her residence gyms based mostly on the overwhelmingly constructive suggestions. With 4.9 stars based mostly on 75 opinions, lifters across the nation have fallen in love with the most recent addition to REP’s line of residence health club gear.

In addition to being impressed with the look and total end of the Colorado Bar, clients additionally admire the medium-aggressive knurling and clean spin fee courtesy of the composite bushings. One person famous that the oil out of your fingers reveals by way of on the black end, which can make going with one other coloration a much less nerve-racking different. 

Closing Verdict: Is the REP Health Colorado Bar Price It?

The REP Health Colorado Bar brings a premium really feel at a reasonably reasonably priced value. Whereas there are actually cheaper choices out there, residence health club fans who worth versatility and a spotlight to element shouldn’t hesitate to drag the set off on REP’s new flagship barbell.

For lower than $330, you will get a high-quality, Cerakote-finished bar that’s designed to deal with nearly any sort of exercise, comes with a lifetime guarantee, and might anchor your storage health club setup all by itself. Though the Rogue Ohio Bar is actually a worthy contender on account of its sturdiness, value, and efficiency, you’ll be able to confidently name upon the Colorado Bar that will help you obtain your strength- and muscle-building targets.

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