Rogue Chan bar vs Froning bar
This is a comparison of the Rogue Chan bar and the Froning bar including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details

Overview and review Rogue Ohio Bar Froning Edition
This overview of the Froning bar was originally published in my comprehensive guide on which Rogue barbell to buy. If you are currently considering to buy a Rogue barbell it is worth a read to get input on the latest models. I update the guide on a yearly basis depending on Rogue's new releases.
Price 375$
Overview of Rogue Ohio bar Froning edition
The
Rogue Ohio bar Froning edition pays tribute to all-time Crossfit legend Rich Froning.
Rich Froning managed to claim the title of "Fittest man on earth" four times. This makes him the most successful CrossFit athlete to date. The
Froning bar carries his logo. The logo is silver while the rest of
bar has been kept black.
Rogue uses its Cerakote finish combined with the base of the
Ohio bar to create another design dedicated to a
Rogue athlete.
The
Froning bar comes at 20kg and a diameter of 28.5mm. The sleeves are connected via bushing to the shaft. It can withstand 190K PSI Tensile strength with a good whip. The knurling is standard. This multi-purpose
bar has a loadable sleeve length of 16.40.
The Froning bar is a great option if you like the
colour back and want to connect to one of your
favourite CrossFit athletes. Other options you might want to consider are the
Fraser bar and
Matt Chan bar which is also multi-purpose bars with
Rogue athlete branding. This is a great
bar for any fitness enthusiast who wants to combine or contrast black with other
colours in their home gym.
Pros of the Froning bar
The
Froning bar is a single
colour bar in black which makes it less popping than the other athlete designs from
Rogue. If you like simple designs which do not make bold statements this is a good
bar to get. The
Ohio bar builds the base and delivers a solid base for multi-purpose barbell training. Connecting to the legend Rich Froning might also give your athletes a psychological boost while training. The low key design also makes it a more feasible option for gym outfits.
Cons of the Froning bar
As with the other Ohio bars with
cerakote finish make sure that it is mainly used with bumper plates instead of steel plates. Otherwise, wait until these bars become available with chrome sleeves. It should only be a matter of time until
Rogue makes this available. A black shaft can be more prone to show scratches of the underlying material. If you go heavy duty and don't care for the design you might want to go for the
Ohio bar,
Castro bar or
Operator bar instead.
Conclusion
The Rogue Froning bar will set your mind to the greatest of all times in the realm of CrossFit. If you are building a new CrossFit box with class get a set of the Rogue name branded barbells. Your customers will notice that extra bit of attention to detail.
Overview and review of the Rogue chan bar
This overview of the Rogue Chan bar was originally published in my comprehensive guide on which Rogue barbell to buy. If you are currently considering to buy a Rogue barbell it is worth a read to get input on the latest models. I update the guide on a yearly basis depending on Rogue's new releases.
Price: 395$
Overview of the Rogue Chan bar
The
Matt Chan bar was the first
Rogue barbell to be introduced with an athletes name.
Matt Chan and
Rogue have been working closely in the last few years. You can see this in the many equipment demos done by Matt.
Matt Chan is a former firefighter and finished multiple times in the top ten of the Crossfit games. Since
Rogue updated their Cerakote range they had another go at the
Chan bar design.
The
Chan bar is an
Ohio bar on steroids. You get a better design, a
centre knurl and a stainless steel shaft for 395$. If you want to spend the extra 100$ USD compared to the
Ohio bar this is the all-purpose
barbell to get. The design was created to fit Olympic and powerlifting needs alike.
The bar comes in at 20kg of weight, 200K tensile strength
and a Good whip. The diameter is 28.5mm and the sleeves spin via bushing.
Rogue offers two variations on the sleeves, one being
cerakote the other chrome. It seems that cerakote does not respond well to metal to metal contact. If you want to use
steel plates with the
chan bar maybe opt for the chrome sleéves. The loadable sleeve length is 16.5 which is a bit longer than the other standard bars.
Pros of the Chan bar
This bar has a lot of pros and only a few cons. You get a
stainless steel bar for 100$ USD less compared to the
oly options. The bit of extra knurling helps with front squats. This is
the best value for money bar you can get above 300USD from
rogue. In addition, you also get a cool design. If you want to do everything in your home gym, this is the one to go for.
Cons of the chan bar
If you have to fit out an entire gym with 10 - 20 barbells 100$ a piece does make a difference.
This bar is also too pretty to be used in military installations or with beginners. For these scenarios, you are probably better off buying the
Ohio,
Castro,
C-70 or
operator bar. The training bar might also be a better option if you only want to do Oly lifts, as it has a better whip at a lower price. The bushing might also not be ideal if you are a competitive weightlifter. The bars you will use in your competition have the bearing.
Conclusion
Matt Chan has been with Rogue barbell and CrossFit for years. If a bar is allowed to carry his name you can rest assured that it is the best you can get for CrossFit or all purpose barbell training. This bar is a good value for money option in the Rogue line up. If you have to buy in bulk there is always the Rogue Ohio bar.