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Available both stock/untouched and Heat Rolled with Progressive Pressure - choose your preference during checkout!
Loud. Proud. Firing on all cylinders. The Red Rider is the bat that launched Combat’s Steel Horses collection, and it wears the series tagline right down the barrel in white, so there’s no mistaking what it’s about. Everything on it is built to look like a machine that just rolled out of the shop: candy red from knob to end cap, Combat in red script across a cream panel, a red diamond-pattern grip, a red knob, and the Steel Horses emblem, a running horse with a lightning bolt, in red on cream near the knob and in white on red up the barrel. Catch the way the sun hits that paint job on a Saturday morning and you’ll want to let the throttle loose. Combat built it as a limited edition, individually numbered, in five sizes, and it’s the Steel Horses Spec A1 that most hitters picture when they hear the collection’s name.
Under the paint is the Spec A1, the one-piece alloy that put Combat back on the map and keeps landing at the top of all the BBCOR rankings! Independent bat labs have rated the Spec A1 the best bat they’ve tested in the category, and many call it one of the top bats of the year. SFX Barrel Technology is the reason: special engineering processes that give the Spec A1 a longer barrel and a bigger sweet spot than any other one-piece alloy, so more of the bat produces hard contact and a ball off the end still finds the outfield grass. The balanced swing weight keeps it quick through the zone without sacrificing any barrel performance, and testers note that a barrel this big draws some of the highest balance ratings they record, which is why contact hitters and power hitters both end up swinging it. Combat tuned the stiffness so the Red Rider hits with the direct, crisp feel of a one-piece and forgives like a two-piece on a jam shot. The Clinch Spec Grip comes pre-loaded with extra tack and just the right amount of cushion, and the sound at contact is the same unmistakable thwack that turns every head in earshot and has hitters barreling balls up just to hear it again. Fully BBCOR .50 certified for high school and college play, with Combat’s full twelve month warranty.
Combat’s stated philosophy is that it would rather be the best than the best known, so every bat comes out in small, limited batches, and the Red Rider’s run is no bigger than the rest. LongballBats.com has been the Bat Performance Experts since 2016, our staff touts more than 100 years of combined baseball and softball experience, and we’ve built one of the largest Combat Spec A1 selections anywhere, from the current drops to the Rare Finds section where we stock the sold-out and limited edition colorways you can’t get from Combat anymore. If you want the Red Rider in your size, grab it while we have it, and if you’re not sure which length to ride, just ask us. We’ll give you a straight answer and clear up any other confusion you may have, too! Bat performance is our specialty.
- Limited edition Steel Horses collection, the “Red Rider” colorway that headlines Combat’s motorcycle-inspired Spec A1 series, individually numbered
- Brand: Combat MFG
- Sport: Baseball
- Barrel Size: 2-5/8 inch, the largest allowed per stamp
- Certification: BBCOR .50 certified, legal for NFHS high school, NCAA college, and all BBCOR sanctioned leagues and tournaments
- -3 drop weight, the only drop currently allowed under the BBCOR standard
- One-piece alloy construction for a stiff, connected feel and direct energy transfer
- SFX Barrel Technology, Combat's special engineering process that creates a longer barrel and bigger sweet spot than any other one-piece alloy
- Balanced swing weight for ultra-fast swing speeds without sacrificing barrel performance
- Flex and forgiveness tuned to feel like a one-piece at contact and forgive like a two-piece on mishits
- Clinch Spec Grip pre-loaded with extra tack and just the right amount of cushion, in a red diamond-pattern finish
- Unmistakable sound at contact that Combat built into the design on purpose
- “Firing on All Cylinders” barrel graphic with the Steel Horses horse-and-lightning-bolt emblem
- Red and cream colorway with red script, a cream Combat panel, a red grip, and a red knob
- Available sizes: 31"/28oz, 32"/29oz, 33"/30oz, 33.5"/30.5oz, 34"/31oz
- Full twelve month manufacturer's warranty from COMBAT MFG
- Year Released: 2026
- Adding our Heat Roll with Progressive Pressure to your order may cause decertification, check with the governing body of your league for clarification
Manufacturing tolerances, performance considerations, and grip weight may cause variations from the listed weight/Mass Index.
See the rest of Combat MFG's limited Steel Horses series:
- 2027 Combat MFG Steel Horses LEATHER HORSES Spec A1 BBCOR Baseball Bat, One Piece, -3 Drop, CBB7A1BT3
- 2027 Combat MFG Steel Horses BLUE BIKER Spec A1 BBCOR Baseball Bat, One Piece, -3 Drop, CBB7A1BB3
- 2027 Combat MFG Steel Horses SHADOW RIDER Spec H1 Hybrid BBCOR Baseball Bat, Two Piece, -3 Drop, CBB7H1SH3
Want to read more about this release? Click here to read our full writeup on our blog!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
QUESTION: Should I order this bat stock/untouched or Heat Rolled with Progressive Pressure?
ANSWER: If you order your new bat Heat Rolled with Progressive Pressure, it will be delivered to you completely and evenly broken in. This process adds 20-40ft of distance to your solid hits, increases consistency, improves durability and adds 2-3 business days of lead time to your order. If you plan to use the bat in an official game or event, please verify the legality of our process with your league or sanctioning body before use. We (LongballBats.com) do not encourage the use of a Heat Rolled bat in any game or event where it is against the rules. Click here for details about our process!
QUESTION: What does “Firing on All Cylinders” mean on the Red Rider?
ANSWER: It’s the tagline for the entire Steel Horses collection, and the Red Rider is the bat that carries it on the barrel. The phrase comes from the garage: an engine firing on all cylinders is running exactly the way it was built to run, with nothing held back. Combat uses it the same way for a hitter. The Steel Horses series is built around bringing the feel of a well-tuned bike to the batter’s box, and the Red Rider, with its red-and-cream paint and the slogan in white down the barrel, is the one that says it loudest.
QUESTION: How is the Red Rider different from Combat’s Stang?
ANSWER: Both are red Spec A1 bats, and both come from Combat’s motorsports-themed drops, which is where the confusion usually starts. The Stang was part of the Performance collection, a candy-apple red bat with white racing stripes built around a drag-strip theme, and it sold out at Combat, which is why it lives in our Rare Finds section now. The Red Rider is part of the Steel Horses collection, a red-and-cream bat built around motorcycle culture, with the “Firing on All Cylinders” slogan and the Steel Horses emblem. Underneath, they’re the same Spec A1: one-piece alloy, SFX Barrel Technology, balanced swing weight, Clinch Spec Grip. Both bats respond very, very well to our ProMAX Heat Roll/Break-In Process with Progressive Pressure!
QUESTION: Is a red bat legal for college play?
ANSWER: Yes. The Red Rider is BBCOR .50 certified for NFHS high school, NCAA, and NJCAA play, and red doesn’t fall under the college bat color restriction that limits Combat’s orange Rodeo “Greatest Show on Dirt” to high school only. The same goes for the rest of the Steel Horses Spec A1 lineup, including the powder blue Blue Biker and the black Leather Horses. As always, confirm with your league or conference before game day, since a few organizations keep their own approved bat lists.
