Fringe Sport Hybrid Bar

Fringe Sport Hybrid Bar

The Fringe Sport Hybrid bar is a 28.5mm multi-purpose bar with a slightly more aggressive knurl than some other bars in this class.

It also includes one interesting feature with the knurl that you can read more about below.

Features & Highlights

• Matte Chrome – Chrome is a cost-efficient plating that does a good-but-not-great job at fighting off oxidation. You won’t get the same feel as you would with a non-plated finish like bare steel, stainless steel, etc… but you get a nice blend of feel and rust resistance without the larger price tag. The matte finish is a cool-looking feature that is different from the standard hard chrome. 
• 28.5mm Shaft – The 28.5mm shaft on the Fringe Sport Hybrid Bar is comfortable in the hands and provides a nice balance between rigid and whippy, making it ideal for a variety of lifts.
• Grooved Sleeves – The grooved sleeves will tend to keep the plates on the bar better than a smooth sleeve when not using collars, but they will also be louder.
• Center Knurl – The bar does offer a center knurl in a lighter pattern than the outer knurl.
• Shorter Outer Knurl – Fringe Sport reduced the width of the outer knurl in order to make a more ‘shin-friendly’ bar on deadlifts
• Strong Warranty – The Hybrid bar comes with a lifetime warranty against manufacturer’s defects and bending.

From the Manufacturer

The Fringe Sport Hybrid barbell is a one-of-a-kind beast. Of course it’s a standard 20kg men’s bar, but built from the ground up for a powerful badass.

We started with 216,200 psi steel. We cut the shaft down to 28.5mm- slightly larger than the normal 28mm Olympic diameter. The extra width takes down the whip just a touch, and makes the barbell better for the slow lifts- your deadlifting, squatting, and benching.

Then we run that steel through aggressive knurling (the crosshatching), with marks (“rings”) for both powerlifting and Olympic movements. Plus we add a center knurl.

There’s magic in this knurling. Don’t tell anyone, but here are the secrets:

• The “hand” portions of the knurl are aggressive- but blunted. This is not a powerlifter “cheese grater” knurl- it’s a deep knurl that will leave your calluses happy.
• We backed off the knurl a few inches from the center. Ever seen someone pull deadlifts until their shins bleed? Not on the Fringe Sport Hybrid Barbell.
• Does that center knurl? We ran the lathe lightly over the center of the barbell- lightly kissing the steel and imparting a passive center knurl that helps with lining up for your lifts, lightly biting your shirt for heavy squats, and for sumo deadlift high pulls.
• And finally, the matte chrome finish mimics the unbeatable feel of bare steel, but with a high corrosion (aka rust) resistance.

Don’t think that we stopped innovating with just the knurl.

Each shaft is deflected to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds!) during the production process to ensure your bar will take any weight you decide to throw at it.

And finally, we added 4 high precision needle bearing cartridges for a wicked spin. You’ll be thankful for the spin during your heavy Olympic lifts, plus it’s nice to have while you WOD. And the bearings we chose will play nice with your slow lifts.

What They’re Saying at FringeSport.com

The Fringe Sport Hybrid Bar receives positive feedback from users. With an average rating of 4.8/5 at fringesport.com, here are some of the things they have said:

Positive

• “I do mostly powerlifting and do occasional like to throw in some Olympic lifts. Hybrid barbell is the master of all, stiff enough to do powerlifting and some whip when needed for Olympic lifts. The finish is better the I would have imagined. The knurl is better then most bars, but for me I could have done with a bit more aggressive like a Tx power bar. I did reach out to fringe about a issue and the customer service was super fast and more then helpful. I would recommend this bar to anyone whom is look for top quality bar, GREAT CUSTOMERS SERVICE, and great warranty.”
• “The bar was nicely packed and shipped and arrived promptly as predicted. Once I took it out of the box or used a paper towel to remove the protective oil. It’s a really nice bar in the knurling is very good.”
• “A great addition to my gym. Being a hybrid I feel confident that EVERY LIFT will be on point. One bar to rule them all. Buy Fringe. Don’t bother looking somewhere else. Just get it, and enjoy.”
• “I wanted an all purpose bar for my garage gym. I used a CAP OB-86B for several years. Didn’t want a whippy deadlift bar. Didn’t want a stiff powerlifting squat bar with knurling like spikes that tears up your traps, but I did want center knurling to help me line up and help the bar stay in place. A lot of other bars do not have center knurling (I think because of crossfit high rep olympic lifting which I do not do) except at high-priced competition levels. Do olympic lifting occasionally and I no longer can blame my barbell for my performance. Also like the material the bar is made of (seems rusr-resistant – they recommend 3-in-1 oil) The wider smooth section is great for your shins for deadlifting. The only tradeoff of this is that for pressing or closegrips you have to put your hands in the smooth section. Overall this is an excellent purchase and I wish I had bought one years ago!”

Critical

• “The reduced width out the outer knurls is just too much for me on deadlift. I’m 5’11” 205; with traditional stance I have to grip just a tiny bit wider than usual, but it’s not possible to comfortably grip the knurl from a sumo stance. Bottom line is that if you train sumo, this pattern will not suit you.”

Garage Gym Lab Review

Garage Gym Lab has not yet reviewed this bar.

Other Options

The below barbells were picked as alternatives to the Fringe Sport Hybrid Bar.