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Barbell Rogue Ohio or Texas Power Bar

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Steve Freides

Steve Freides

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Senior Certified Instructor Emeritus
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I've been enjoying using my old Texas Power Bar, and they're less expensive than the Rogue Ohio bars. Any reason you'd choose one over the other? I have one Rogue bar here for my deadlifts, but my not-so-tiny home gym has separate stations for bench press (power rack) and squat (squat stands) and I'm considering getting another Texas Power Bar to replace the deadlift bar I've been mistakenly using for BP. Or getting another Rogue.

Whatcha think?

-S-
 
As far as I can tell, the only disadvantage of the Texas power bar is a 2-4 week production time. I don't think I've ever heard a single criticism of the Texas bar unless someone was trying to use it for Oly lifts or something like that. I'm surprised at how affordable they are given the price of a lot of competitors' power bars.
 
You can consider Okie bar as well, not much difference in price vs Texas, and I love the quality. Though I used only their DL bar, but I was really impressed after Texas.
 
Thanks, @Chrisdavisjr. I'm not in a huge hurry so that won't be a show-stopper for me, but it's good to know.

@Alexander Halford, I had an Okie DL bar, which is pretty popular in some federations which is, in turn, why I got it in the first place. I used mine in my home gym a good amount and the bearings got kind of loose after a while - not a showstopper, and RDC is a legendary powerlifter and a good guy to communicate with, too, but my Texas Power Bar and Texas DL bar have held up better for me than the Okie bar did. At this point, I'm kind of leaning towards another Power Bar, though, although I might consider another Rogue, too, maybe a less expensive one than the stainless steel one I have.

-S-
 
I like Texas Power Bars. Every one I've ever used has been good, even the old beat up ones. The only reason to go different, from my perspective, is because you want it coated with something like Cerakote. Or, if you need more room for plates on the ends, but upgrading to calibrated plates fixes that issue for pretty much anyone. I see a possible SSB as good, a new log, and everyone should have an Axle or thick bar of some kind IMO, but as far as regular bars go it's pretty hard to do better than that Texas Power Bar.
 
I am also making the same decision. From what I've read it is a win-win scenario, both bars are great. I was actually leaning Ohio bar. They are the new kid on the block, and there are some articles on the internet that lend me to believe that this bar may actually be slightly superior (possibly splitting hairs here). But I understand one is more likely to come across a texas bar (vs Ohio bar) in a competition. So the advantage of the Texas bar is that if you compete, you got practice on that specific bar. Does this logic make sense?
 
william bad butt said:
But I understand one is more likely to come across a texas bar (vs Ohio bar) in a competition. So the advantage of the Texas bar is that if you compete, you got practice on that specific bar. Does this logic make sense?
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At the meets I've been to, Rogue everything is what I've seen.

And I don't see Texas Power Bars on the list of IPF-approved equipment, but Rogue is. I found this list online, says it's updated for 2021, link is IPF & USAPL Approved List of Gear (UPDATED for 2020) | Lift Vault. (I don't find Texas on the USPA list, either, so two strikes against TPB.)

Rogue Fitness (USA)
  • Ohio Power Bar (Black Zinc), $325 USD
  • Ohio Power Bar (Stainless Steel), $425 USD
Eleiko
  • Eleiko Powerlifting Bar, $1,071 USD
Leoko
  • Leoko Powerlifting Bar, 699,90 €
Uesaka
  • Uesaka Powerlifting Bar, $988
Titex
  • Titex Competition Bar, $399
Pallini
  • Pallini Powerlifting Bar (Price Unknown)
 
I haven't used the Texas bars, but compared to the Rogue bars I've used, I'd always rather use a Leoko or Eleiko.
 
Steve Freides said:
At the meets I've been to, Rogue everything is what I've seen.

And I don't see Texas Power Bars on the list of IPF-approved equipment, but Rogue is. I found this list online, says it's updated for 2021, link is IPF & USAPL Approved List of Gear (UPDATED for 2020) | Lift Vault. (I don't find Texas on the USPA list, either, so two strikes against TPB.)

Rogue Fitness (USA)
  • Ohio Power Bar (Black Zinc), $325 USD
  • Ohio Power Bar (Stainless Steel), $425 USD
Eleiko
  • Eleiko Powerlifting Bar, $1,071 USD
Leoko
  • Leoko Powerlifting Bar, 699,90 €
Uesaka
  • Uesaka Powerlifting Bar, $988
Titex
  • Titex Competition Bar, $399
Pallini
  • Pallini Powerlifting Bar (Price Unknown)
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Thanks Steve. This is helpful. I've only been to 2 meets (not IPF). 1 was WNPF (Bordentown NJ) and the other was WPC I think (I honestly cant remember off the top of my head). It was the opposite (no Rogue bars). I have aspirations to do a 3rd meet sometime in the 2nd half of 2021 (not sure what the federation I would choose). Honestly, the main reason I compete is because it gives me an opportunity to push myself with spotters. I think the observers and atmosphere also give me an extra shot of adrenaline. If I had a lot of friends interested in lifting, or belonged to a good gym, I would probably not compete. But I lift alone, in my basement, and afraid to push too hard with max attempts.

My bar is a B&R Bar. It's nice. I beat the hell out of this bar. It is a great, general, training bar. I also own a Elitefts SSB bar. I love this specialty bar. The wife bought me an Okie deadlift bar for Xmas (I've only used it once cause I'm currently mostly doing rack pulls and I dont want to damage the bar!). I have been entertaining the idea of investing in a 55 lb dedicated squat bar and a dedicated power bar for benching. And then just use my B&R bar as a beater bar for accessories and such. Owning 5 bars probably seems kind of silly for an amateur like me. But when I did that last meet, I could notice the differences in the bars (thickness, whip, etc...) and also the bench (height/width/pad/floor). I think training with the exact equipment would be best: However, I have no particular allegiance towards a federation, and they all apparently use slightly different bars/rules, etc...
 
WNPF is lifter-friendly to the point of using deadlift speciality bars in meets.

I have a USPA meet in Ramsey, NJ on April 17.

-S-
 
I gotta figure that the bars made by companies known for (Olympic) weightlifting supplies are going to have smoother rotating sleeves. The only knock I have on my Ohio bar is that the sleeves don't rotate as freely as the Eleiko bars I've experienced (and the Eleiko bars were all buttery smooth).
For my garage and because I'm not doing a lot of olympic lifts, the Ohio bar is great (and compared to the 300lb weight set standard piece of crap barbell that I used for years it is AWESOME), but if money was no object, I'd get an Eleiko.
In the late 60s, my father bought an Eleiko. He said it arrived in a specially made wooden box, like a box of fine wine or a piece of art. His eyes still get a faraway look when he talks about it.
 
Boris Bachmann said:
I gotta figure that the bars made by companies known for (Olympic) weightlifting supplies are going to have smoother rotating sleeves.
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My understanding is that the ideal PL bar doesn’t rotate as freely as the ideal Oly bar.

-S-
 
Steve Freides said:
My understanding is that the ideal PL bar doesn’t rotate as freely as the ideal Oly bar.

-S-
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It's a bit more complicated. A powerlifting bar with bushings will rotate very freely if it's sufficiently lubricated unless the weight on the bar is heavy enough to exert sufficient downward pressure on the sleeve to create additional friction on the bar.

A bar with bearings may not spin as freely with less weight on it as a certain amount of presure on the sleeve is required to 'engage' the bearings and will spin more smoothly with more weight on the bar (this is certainly true for my Eleiko hybrid bushing+bearing bar, which spins much more freely when loaded with heavier plates).

In either case, a heavily-loaded bar should behave exactly as you described.

For a lifter working with lighter weights in training, the use of either bearings or bushings on the sleeves will make a lot less difference than the knurling pattern and sharpness, the thickness and elasticity/'whip' of the bar in terms of suitability for purpose.
 
Texas Power Bar hasn't answered my emails, Rogue has been very responsive, and TPB seems not to be certified by either USPA or USAPL.

I went with a Rogue Ohio Power Bar, 45 lb, Black Zinc. It costs $140 less than my Rogue Ohio Power Bar, 20 kg, Stainless Steel, and I figure for $140, I can deal with the fact that it's 1 lb heavier and collars are slightly bigger, and the finish/color. 45 lb saves money, Blank Zinc saves money and is still a low-maintenance finish. It'll be a BP or SQ bar here, and because it's still 29 mm in diameter, and with the same knurling and markings, it'll be plenty close enough for my purposes.

-S-
 
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Steve Freides said:
Texas Power Bar hasn't answered my emails, Rogue has been very responsive, and TPB seems not to be certified by either USPA or USAPL.

I went with a Rogue Ohio Power Bar, 45 lb, Black Zinc. It costs $140 less than my Rogue Ohio Power Bar, 20 kg, Stainless Steel, and I figure for $140, I can deal with the fact that it's 1 lb heavier and collars are slightly bigger, and the finish/color. 45 lb saves money, Blank Zinc saves money and is still a low-maintenance finish. It'll be a BP or SQ bar here, and because it's still 29 mm in diameter, and with the same knurling and markings, it'll be plenty close enough for my purposes.

-S-
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Steve,

Let us know how you like it. I might be be doing the same thing in the near future.

Regards

Eric
 
Steve Freides said:
Texas Power Bar hasn't answered my emails, Rogue has been very responsive, and TPB seems not to be certified by either USPA or USAPL.

I went with a Rogue Ohio Power Bar, 45 lb, Black Zinc. It costs $140 less than my Rogue Ohio Power Bar, 20 kg, Stainless Steel, and I figure for $140, I can deal with the fact that it's 1 lb heavier and collars are slightly bigger, and the finish/color. 45 lb saves money, Blank Zinc saves money and is still a low-maintenance finish. It'll be a BP or SQ bar here, and because it's still 29 mm in diameter, and with the same knurling and markings, it'll be plenty close enough for my purposes.

-S-
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I had to check because I had forgotten specifically which Ohio bar I had - it's this one and I've been very happy with it. It sits in my garage, (dry but little insulation - today's high will be 3 degrees Fahrenheit), and has held up well to steady but moderate use now for almost 4 years now.
 
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