Austin Bar - 20kg

Was excited to get this bar - is an interesting mix of Olympic and power bars. The blue sleeves and grey ceracote plus very nice end caps makes it a looker! It feels good, easy on the hands. Wish the knurling wasn’t so passive! Identical to a REP Colorado, much lighter than a rogue Ohio bar. It is slightly less aggressive than the Midas bars, which also own but I do like lifting with it. Wish they offered a bar like the REP double black diamond which has perfect knurl or even something. Like a rogue aggro. Not bad, like to support Fringe, they are a good smaller company.

Given the end cap and name I only had one option for my first barbell since I had just moved to Austin. Great multipurpose bar. I would probably prefer knurl slightly more aggressive but I don’t oly lift much so it might be perfect balance. Does spin great. Stainless steel has held up well in non-conditioned Austin garage gym

I have the Cerakote Gunmetal version, and it looks and feels awesome! Most multi-purpose bars lean away from powerlifting ability, whereas this one can definitely be used for heavy pulls and presses. The outer knurl is grippier than the Ohio / Colorado bars, and greater TPI than the Ohio Power Bar, but not as sharp. The center knurl is definitely passive, so shirtless power cleans won't tear you up. It really is the perfect cross-training bar if you can get it on sale, and the cerakote hasn't chipped in 7 months of use. The sleeves can scratch and rust, though.

I really like this bar for my pressing movements. The sleeves are nice and keep the weight stable. The Knurl in perfectly adequate for pressing but may be limited for other types of movements for some. The bar is visually very nice being stainless steel. 28.5mm is my preferred diameter. I believe the list price is too high although I picked this bar up for a significant discount which made it a good value considering it’s SS. For full price I’d go a different direction.

I bought the Fringe Sport Austin Bar about 10 months ago thinking it was going to be my forever bar. I chose it because it’s a multi-purpose bar and stainless steel. It basically checked all the boxes for me. It feels well-balanced and solid in the hands. There’s no denying it’s a quality bar. The stainless steel finish is clean, low-maintenance, and feels premium. The knurling is advertised as “medium” (not too passive, not overly aggressive) but in my opinion it’s on the lower end of that medium range. It’s comfortable and definitely secure enough for higher-rep work though, but it doesn’t have that deep, locked-in feel you get from a power bar. As for the spin, it’s very smooth, but maybe a little too smooth for certain lifts. On Bench, I’ve actually had the bar rotate slightly during lift-off, which caused my wrist to shift. It’s not overly dangerous, just noticeable. For squats, overhead press, and any kind of pulls, it performs completely fine. In fact, that smoother spin probably benefits faster or more dynamic movements. Like I said, I thought I was buying my forever bar, but the amount of spin changed my mind. It’s still a very good bar, well-made and versatile, but it’s definitely not a power bar and not quite ideal for slower, heavy general strength training either. In my opinion, it probably shines most in a CrossFit-style gym where versatility and spin matter more. Note: I scored it lower on value mainly because of its limitations and the $425 price. I did get it cheaper during a Fringe sale, which definitely helped, but at full price it feels a bit steep for what it can be used for.