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Bomba Bar V2 Review
The 15 kg Women’s Bomba Barbell V2 by Fringe Sport will soon become the latest addition to our garage gym. My wife and I have shared my old raw steel barbell for 4 years. I purchased it along with our rig from a friend who owned a regional fitness equipment company. I was never really content with this bar. But, it did the job while we still maintained our monthly gym membership. Now, after relocating too far away from the nearest Crossfit a single men’s bar is no longer sufficient.
She requested a new bar of her own for her birthday. After extensive research I settled on the Fringe Sport Bomba Barbell V2. I have recently placed the order and will be writing my full review as we run it through the paces. As of now my reasons for concluding that this is the correct bar for us are as follows:
+ 100% made in the USA
+ Tensile Strength of 206,000 lbs exceeds the standard baseline of 190,000 lbs as seen in the comparable Rogue Bella.
+ A Black Zinc finish on the Bomba Barbell V2 provides excellent corrosion resistance while being more affordable than cerakote options.
+ The moderate whip of the Bomba Bar V2 is more versatile for olympic lifts than the Fringe Sport Wonder Barbell which is considered stiff. (My runner up for my wife’s first bar)
+ Best of all it comes with a lifetime warranty against bends and a full year satisfaction guarantee
Fringe Sport has a ton of fitness related equipment including rigs, weights, barbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, bands and everything in between. Be sure and check out the rest of their options here Fringe Sports Best Sellers . I’ll post reviews of my favorites as I accumulate more equipment.
***UPDATE*** 6.26.19
Our Bomba Barbell V2 showed up at the house much quicker than I would have expected for a somewhat awkward and heavy item. Fringe Sport processed the order with efficiency and excellent communication. I placed it at 8:40 AM, by 11:50 AM they had printed the label and sent the tracking number via email. After reviewing the tracking info I found that our barbell had left the warehouse less than 12 hours after the order was placed and was intended to arrive 2 days later. Not bad for a Free Shipping offer! (Disclaimer: We live 2 states away, approximately a 10 hour drive)
Two hours prior to the arrival of our package I received another update from Fringe Sports, this time it contained specs for our barbell along with written instructions and a video explaining how to unpack the new barbell. Unpacking it was far more simple than I expected. It only required a screwdriver and a wrench used as a pry bar to remove the end cap.
My wife was especially enamored by the flashy all black look of the Bomba Barbell V2. Rightfully so, but I remind all that black finish in steel on steel contact doesn’t stay glossy black forever. There will eventually be rings on the sleeves where the bumper plates and collars touch. We are excited to now have a bar for our gym that will withstand the humidity in Missouri and resist oxidation and rust. The bare steel men’s bar we have had for years requires constant maintenance to prevent surface rust. It’s due for replacement if you ask me!
Bomba Barbell V2 – Initial Observations
We handled the barbell and inspected it closely but still haven’t put it through its paces because of the ongoing construction in our garage. The bushings had been packed with a white grease with small amounts still visible in the area. The greased bushings allowed the sleeves to spin moderately, but they do not continue to free spin.
The next feature I noticed was the knurling. This bar has what I would call a soft to medium knurl. It didn’t feel like it would tear up my hands but also could potentially require a little chalk. The knurl is broken by hash marks for both IWF and power lifting use. In addition, the lack of center knurl makes it more comfortable for higher reps of cleans or front squats. I used a bar with a center knurl for a workout once. I survived but will never make that mistake again. Another minor detail I noticed was that the knurling does continue all the way to the collar for better snatch or overhead squat grip.
I did have one small complaint about the knurling. Most bars have a very abrupt pattern change at the hash marks. The knurling pattern on the Bomba Barbell V2 appeared to change on each side of the hash marks.
****UPDATE**** 12.21.20
Functional Review:
The Bomba Bar has called our garage gym for a little over a year and I must say I am impressed with it. My wife has transitioned away from Crossfit and Traditional lifting. Instead she chooses to subscribe to Jen’s Get Fit Group on Facebook. They use dumbbells, bands, and bodyweight for most of her movements. Since barbells are difficult to come by due to the Covid-19 pandemic I offered to sell it for her but she declined and insisted we would regret it. She was right. I use this thing constantly.
Lack of creativity for programing my own Crossfit workouts has led me into more traditional lifting. I recently discovered Dr. Jim Stoppani and am in the middle of my first 6 week program. I chose Jim Stoppani’s Giant. This is a program that does giant supersets where you do a multi-joint movement and 3 accessory movements before resting. It’s brutal if done correctly. Initially I didn’t feel like it was working. Soon, I realized adjusting weights between every movement was too time consuming. To remedy this I commandeered my wife’s barbell for the barbell accessory movements. After a few workouts I have caught myself grabbing her bar off the wall if I only need one bar that day. The Bomba Bar is a really well built tool.
The finish on the bar has been extremely easy to maintain even in our non-climate controlled garage. I like to store my barbells horizontally using wall hooks. With this storage method I’ve only had to oil the Fringe Sport Bomba Bar once and it is still in nearly perfect condition. However, the black sleeves on the bar do show aesthetic wear from plates and collars sliding on and off the bar. Sleeves should look used so that doesn’t bother me. The bushings are tight with no rattle but have a smooth consistent spin to them. They are so smooth I grab her bar every single time my workout calls for barbell rollouts for abs.
If you can get your hands on a barbell from Fringe Sport I would highly recommend it, its probably even worth the wait if you have to Pre-Order.
Another torture device that I highly recommend is Adjustable Dumbbells. My PowerBlock Pro 50 Exp dumbbells are absolutely amazing check out my review here.