REP Health Colorado Bar Evaluation

Discovering a barbell that performs nicely for powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, and common energy coaching with out burning a deep gap in your pocket could be difficult. Fortunately, REP Health leveled up its barbell lineup in the summertime of 2023 with a high-quality mannequin that checks these packing containers (and lots of extra): the Colorado Bar. Our Breaking Muscle group of licensed private trainers, CrossFit fans, and energy and conditioning coaches totally examined this multi-purpose bar’s means to deal with conventional powerlifting actions like squats and deadlifts, in addition to dynamic lifts like cleans and snatches.  

Sturdy, reliable, and numerous, the brand new flagship barbell from probably the most respected health tools producers delivers severe bang in your buck. On this REP Health Colorado Bar overview, we’ll dive deeper into what makes this mannequin among the best values in the marketplace by breaking down its specs, highlighting its strengths, and seeing the way it stacks up in opposition to the competitors.

Key Takeaways

• The Colorado Bar checks in at an inexpensive 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 could have two end choices with this barbell: a tough chrome shaft with chrome sleeves, or a Cerakote shaft with Duracoat sleeves. Plus, the Cerakote model provides you the liberty to flex your inventive muscle tissues with 5 coloration selections 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 enchantment to house fitness center house owners who practice in a non-climate-controlled atmosphere. As a result of one of these shaft coating gives superior safety from the weather than onerous chrome, those that practice outside or in humid garages will respect higher corrosion resistance courtesy of Cerakote.
• The Colorado Bar’s composite bushings not solely permit for a easy and regular spin but additionally give it a tighter tolerance. One other good thing about 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 fitness center. In the event you don’t have an enormous price range for fitness center tools, you possibly can 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 energy of 190,000 PSI make this barbell simply an okay selection for powerlifters. In case your exercises primarily revolve across the squat, deadlift, and bench press, a specialty bar tailor-made to your coaching model could also be a wiser selection.
• Paying north of $300 for a barbell produced outdoors of the USA might stop some folks from going the Colorado route. There are American corporations that provide related options at a extra tolerable value level.
• Though Cerakote shaft coating gives higher corrosion resistance than onerous chrome, it nonetheless falls wanting a stainless-steel end. Those that desire the high-end look and distinct knurling of a stainless-steel bar ought to move on the Colorado barbell. Nevertheless, 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 group has put varied barbells by way of the wringer to find out what separates the perfect 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 primarily based on a number of elements, similar 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 will not be a real famous person at one job, however its versatility is what makes it shine. With a number of end choices, high-quality construct supplies, and adequate tensile energy for many lifters, we consider it’s an excellent possibility for anybody who likes to modify up their kind of coaching. Most significantly, REP’s flagship barbell gives wonderful worth since it could possibly fulfill a number of duties.

Value and Worth

The worth for the Colorado Bar varies relying on what measurement and end you like. The 15-kilogram (33-pound) mannequin, which is greatest fitted to learners, feminine lifters, and smaller athletes, begins at $269.99 for the onerous chrome end. For $10 extra, you possibly can select a black or pink Cerakote shaft coating with Duracoat sleeves.

Then again, 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 in keeping with the trade common. For instance, the Rogue Health Ohio Bar ranges between $275 to $415, relying on the end. Nevertheless, it could be price upping your price range 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 possibly can select between 5 shaft coating colours so as to add some inventive aptitude to your house fitness center setup.

Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about freight prices. As of this writing, REP Health gives free delivery, which may prevent not less than $25. Total, the Colorado bar packs a ton of customizable choices right into a well-priced piece of fitness center tools, making it our decide for the greatest price range 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 taking part in with fireplace. Once I ordered a budget-friendly one for my house fitness center, the supply course of ended up being a serious dud, with a low-quality bar from a wholly completely different model than I had chosen arriving in broken packaging that left the endcaps uncovered. Evidently, 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. Properly-packaged and well-protected, we gave REP 5 out of 5 stars for a easy, painless supply course of.

Development, 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 enchantment is that it has a shaft diameter that falls proper in between Olympic and powerlifting requirements.

REP provides you ample end choices with the Colorado Bar, together with Cerakote (which is available in black, blue, inexperienced, purple, or white) or onerous chrome with onerous chrome sleeves. Nevertheless, remember the fact that chrome plating can scale back the longevity of a bar by 50 %, which isn’t perfect in the event you drop the bar rather a lot. 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 not less than 30 years in a house fitness center 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 greater ranges of scratch and corrosion resistance by way of a chemical course of that hardens the skin of the metal to create a easy black end.

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

Mix that with a cultured endcap design that has the corporate emblem, identify, 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. Total, 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 establish 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 lets you 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 gives satisfactory grip with out tearing up your fingers throughout high-repetition coaching classes. For many athletes, volcano knurling works greatest, because it gives 4 factors of contact on every marking, resulting in a superior grip and fewer slippage.

Creating adequate 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 normal 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 by utilizing composite bushings.

Apart from 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. 

Then again, weightlifting bars sometimes use faster-spinning bearings that play a important function when the barbell is shortly altering instructions throughout snatches and cleans. As well as, the superior spin price 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 because the latter are extra versatile, quieter, and cheaper. 

Between a easy spin price, 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 a wide range of exercise types, the Colorado Bar is the final word Swiss military knife. With a tensile energy ranking of 190,000 kilos per sq. inch (PSI), you possibly can confidently crush PRs with none issues. The truth is, the Colorado bar has the identical PSI ranking as opponents just like the TITAN Sequence Cerakote Olympic Barbell from Titan Health and the Rogue Ohio Bar.

Additionally able to getting used for non-powerlifting workouts like curls, overhead presses, and cleans, the Colorado Bar can deal with absolutely anything you throw its manner. It might not outperform a specialty bar, however in the event you’re in search of one barbell to rule all of them in your house fitness center, 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 certainly one of its newer fashions, the Colorado Bar has but to point out the way it can maintain up over time. However primarily based on the supplies and design, we’re assured it’ll proceed to carry out nicely and look good for the lengthy haul.

That stated, the most secure route — not less than from a sturdiness standpoint — is to go along 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 gives.

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

Guarantee

All REP barbells include a lifetime guarantee. Nevertheless, the coverage solely covers manufacturing defects. So, in case your Colorado Bar will get broken as a result 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 in the event you retailer your barbell outdoors, as this may robotically void your guarantee. 

In comparison with different producers, REP Health doesn’t supply fairly the identical degree of protection. For instance, Rogue’s lifetime guarantee additionally contains bending that’s not as a result of defective use or abusive dropping of the bar.

So, though 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 certainly one of its opponents in thoughts when developing with the Colorado Bar. Not solely is it named after the situation of the corporate’s headquarters identical to Rogue’s Ohio Bar, nevertheless it 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 energy ranking (190 KSI). Nevertheless, 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.

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

Total, both bar will work nicely along with your squat rack and might stand up to loads of pounding. REP might manufacture their merchandise in China, however they’ve established a rock-solid status for high quality within the health tools 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 Health Ohio Bar

4.5

• Comes with a lifetime assure in opposition to 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

Test Value

REP Health Colorado Bar Buyer Critiques

There’s little doubt REP hit a house run by releasing the Colorado Bar in the course of the summer season of 2023. Inside just some months, prospects have discovered it to be a worthwhile funding for his or her house gyms primarily based on the overwhelmingly constructive suggestions. With 4.9 stars primarily based on 75 opinions, lifters across the nation have fallen in love with the newest addition to REP’s line of house fitness center tools.

Apart from being impressed with the look and total end of the Colorado Bar, prospects additionally respect the medium-aggressive knurling and easy spin price 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 hectic different. 

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

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

For lower than $330, you may get a high-quality, Cerakote-finished bar that’s designed to deal with nearly any kind of exercise, comes with a lifetime guarantee, and might anchor your storage fitness center setup all by itself. Though the Rogue Ohio Bar is actually a worthy contender as a result of its sturdiness, value, and efficiency, you possibly can confidently name upon the Colorado Bar that will help you obtain your strength- and muscle-building targets.

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