Opposite Lock bullbar range review

OPPY LOCK has more than 75 outlets across Australia and New Zealand and has been in the off-road aftermarket scene for more than 40 years, both manufacturing its own gear (and following that up with fitment services and a nationwide warranty/support program) and on-selling other brands’ equipment. This makes them well placed to offer some sage advice on fitment of accessories to your rig.

For most of us, fitting accessories starts with a bullbar up front; with the dual role of frontal protection plus a place to house your additional lighting, picking the right bar for the job is not as straightforward as you’d think.

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The frontal protection and good looks that a bullbar offers is the foundation for what other accessories or upgrades you may want to add, now or in the future, to your vehicle. Things such as underbody protection, suspension, wheels, tyres, lights and communication gear can all affect what type of bar you put on your vehicle.

Opposite Lock covers most of these options with its range of bullbars, starting with its own steel bars (and those made by Outback Accessories), and also alloy ECB bars and Smartbars. The company’s newest steel bar – the Urban Adventure Bar – is an Aussie-designed unit that is nicely styled and more than up to the job.

“When designing the Urban Adventure Bar we wanted to design a bar that would let a customer keep the look of the vehicle they love but still personalise it, whilst performing off-road if required,” said Adam O’Sullivan, General Manager of Opposite Lock.

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The Urban Adventure Bar is a full bumper replacement, meaning no cuts to your existing front bumper, and it includes 30W auxiliary flood lights as standard. Other standard kit includes extra auxiliary lighting mounting points and a matte black powdercoated finish.

The bar is built with off-road performance in mind and includes triple underbody plates, increased approach angles and a low-mount winch provision that fits to the vehicle’s chassis.

Like all Oppy Lock engineered and developed bullbars, the Urban Adventure Bar is ADR- and SRS-Airbag compliant and has a two- year warranty. Additional features that maintain the functionality of your vehicle include a tech pack and parking sensor compatibility, hinged number plate brackets, and optional colour coding.

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For those after an even tougher-looking bar, the Opposite Lock loop bar fits the bill. The single loop bar ups the frontal protection for your rig’s engine and radiator. Triple loop bars extend this protection to the entire front of the vehicle, including the headlights.

Opposite Lock premium and fleet bar standard inclusions include three CB aerial mounts, recessed LED indicator lenses, low mount winch provision, a matte black finish that can be optionally colour coded, and they’re ADR- and SRS-Airbag compliant. In addition to this, the premium bars include hi-lift jacking points, heavy duty overriders and underbody protection plates.

For the traditionalist, Opposite Lock’s premium steel post bar provides maximum protection qualities and provision for fitment of larger driving lights. For those looking at a bar that provides optimum approach angles for the more challenging driving conditions, John Mitchell, Oppy Lock Product Manager, reckons the Outback Accessories XROX bar is a top option.

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“They are aggressively styled, provide unrivalled approach angles and ground clearance with a lower weight than traditional bars, but may not protect the wings of the vehicle in the same way,” John said.

For those keen to avoid the added heft of a full steel bar on the front of their rig, the Oppy Lock teams highly recommends the Aussie-made-and-designed alloy bars from East Coast Bullbars. For the lightest option, the Smartbar roto-moulded polyethylene bullbar offers decent protection without the handicap of weight affecting fuel consumption or your suspension set-up’s performance.

Fitting a bullbar is a big investment for any off-road tourer, so having the advantage of being able to chat to retailers who actually live and breathe the lifestyle makes for a far higher chance of making that final smart choice.