Hydra Seven Ring Bar

I’m not a coach or terribly budget constrained. I chose the Hydra bar because I love carbon steel in all things from kitchen knives to bikes, thought it looked cool, and needed much more knurl than my Gladiator. And indeed, the knurling seems pretty perfect for my needs.

Don’t confuse “moderate” here with, say, the Bells 47” easy curl. This is significantly more aggressive. It is MUCH more aggressive than the silly "all around" bar, but not so aggressive that it seems impossible for my softer skinned partner.

The most important part of the experience for most anything are the bits you touch. Coated shafts just don’t feel the same. While stainless is practical, it doesn’t tug at my heart strings in the same way as bare steel nor does it seem as aesthetically ideal in the context of my black Bells rack. And at least in my Colorado climate, corrosion isn’t a big concern.

The looks are the biggest surprise. I was tempted by a smooth sleeved competitor and worried the chrome would be too shiny. But hard chrome sleeves have super fine grooves that greatly mute the shinyness without the deep ridges I dislike on the Bells EZ curl. (You can’t tell because the website pics are overexposed.) While I don’t really need seven rings, it makes the bar distinctive. I’m conflicted about the 60mm flanges and might prefer 30 or 40mm. But the combination of everything makes for an aesthetically interesting, muted by not “murdered out” bar with both vintage (flanges) and modern (seven rings)…