Fringe Sport Wonder Bar – Stainless Steel

Fringe Sport Stainless Steel Bearing Wonder Bar

The Fringe Sport Stainless Steel Bearing Wonder Bar is the premium version of the very popular Black Zinc Wonder Bar from Fringe.

In addition to a stainless steel shaft, the bar offers a 200k PSI tensile strength, a 28mm shaft, needle bearings, and a lifetime warranty.

Here are some further details about the bar:

Knurling

The knurling on the Fringe Sport Bearing Wonder Bar is a medium depth knurl that isn’t too passive and isn’t too aggressive. It strikes a nice balance that makes it great for higher rep/frequency training like CrossFit and the like. Compared to the black zinc version of this bar, you’ll get a better overall grip with this version given the uncoated finish. It will also take chalk very nicely, which may be needed on those heavier/PR attempts.

The bar does not offer a center knurl, which will further increase comfort when in the front rack position or in the high-bar back squat position.

Dual knurl marks make it easy to perform Olympic Style lifts as well as powerlifting movements.

Shaft

This bar offers a 28mm shaft, which is slightly thinner than the 28.5mm that you’ll find on most multi-purpose bars. This particular version of the bar will act more like an Olympic Weightlifting bar given its diameter and bearing system, but it’s made with dual marks to handle all types of lifts. Hook grip pullers and/or those with smaller hands may also prefer this diameter over the 28.5mm.

The tensile strength measures 200k PSI, which is right in the sweet spot – it’s actually higher than most multi-purpose bars. The 200k does lag behind the 205k on the black zinc version, but this is expected with a stainless steel shaft, and you won’t be able to feel any meaningful difference.

Fringe Sport also reports a yield strength of 160,000 PSI. The difference between the two is that tensile strength measures the point at which the bar will literally break and yield strength measures the point at which the bar will not return to straight.

The stainless steel shaft, aside from its grip benefits, provides outstanding oxidation resistance. If you’re training in a garage or a humid environment, this is a great option.

Sleeves

The sleeves on the Stainless Wonder Bar are lightly grooved, which helps keep the plates on the bar a little better than smooth sleeves when not using collars. The downside to grooved sleeves is that they’re louder when sliding plates on and off.

The sleeves are finished in hard chrome, which is fairly common, and this particular version utilizes four needle bearings per sleeve to spin the bar. Bearings create a faster spin than bushings, making them more ideal for Olympic-style lifts.

Aesthetics

Aesthetically, the Stainless Steel Fringe Sport Wonder Bar will be a very nice looking bar. Stainless steel has a beautiful look to it and, because of its resistance to oxidation, it will remain looking good for a long time.

The sleeves are hard chrome, which is an improvement over the black zinc sleeves on the other versions of the Wonder Bar. Hard chrome will be more resistant to rust and it won’t show the same imperfections as plates slide on and off.

The end cap has a clean design with raised lettering.

Features & Highlights

• Stainless Steel – Stainless steel is excellent at preventing rust and it provides a true raw feel. While it is one of the more expensive options, it is arguably the best one available. Aside from the oxidation resistance and excellent feel, stainless steel also looks fantastic. This bar offers stainless steel on both the shaft and the sleeves.
• 28mm Shaft – The 28mm shaft is a nice option for a multi-purpose bar since most of them have a 28.5mm diameter. If you like a thinner shaft or if you train the Olympic lifts more than the powerlifts, you’ll love the 28mm.
• 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.
• Bearing System – Four needle bearings per sleeve work to spin the bar quickly and smoothly. This is great for Olympic Weightlifting, CrossFit, etc… although it may require some additional maintenance (oil) over time.
• No Center Knurl – The Fringe Sport Stainless Wonder Bar does not offer a center knurl, which is useful on high rep training sessions and/or in cases where a lifter wants a more comfortable bar.

What They’re Saying at FringeSport.com

The Fringe Sport Stainless Steel Wonder Bar receives very positive feedback from users, although the sample size is low right now. You can read reviews from nearly 240 people on their other Wonder Bars. With an average rating of 4.5/5 from less than 10 people at fringesport.com, here are some of the things they have said about the stainless version:

Positive

• “Love the spin and in-hand feel of this bar. Knurling is just aggressive enough to want to come back to it time after time.”
• “Knurling feels really defined but not sharp or aggressive in hand. Finish is a really nice natural look, stroking it brings me so much joy.”
• “My GF got this bar for my bday. The gym I go to has a V1 bomba bar that was amazing to use for oly lifts. After using this thing I feel like I’m cheating on the other one. The wonder bar has such a smooth ride as you take the weight for a ride. It doesn’t matter if it is 95lbs or 200kg, it travels nicely. I would recommend this bar to anyone in the gym world. This is an all around great bar for picking weight up and setting it down.”
• “I wanted to feel the bar in hand before I made a purchase. It took a few minutes to pull one from the back, but it was worth the wait. First impression was that the bar was solid. The shaft and sleeves had no play. Knurl felt great. It isn’t aggressive, but it has grip. I don’t think the pictures on this website do it justice. The spin didn’t seem that special when I spun it without plates while at the store. After a week of lifting with it, I appreciate the spin more. The spin’s low drag really comes through when the bar is under load. With 325#s on the bar, I can roll my wrists back and forth while lifting the bar and the weights don’t spin. I don’t see a reason to test the spin by loading weights on the bar and spinning them. I don’t do any lifts where I need the weights to spin and the bar to hold still. For engineers that care, run out at the center of my bar is 1.2mm/0.047inches. It’s enough to see visually, but I can’t notice it when I lift anything over 135#s with it. At this price point, that works for me. Whip feels nice.”

Critical

• None Noted

Garage Gym Lab Review

Garage Gym Lab has not yet reviewed this bar, but stay tuned!

Other Options

The below barbells were picked as alternatives to the Fringe Sport Stainless Steel Wonder Bar.