  We present the BaLROG (Bars in Low Redshift Optical Galaxies) sample of 16
morphologically distinct barred spirals to characterise observationally the
influence of bars on nearby galaxies. Each galaxy is a mosaic of several
pointings observed with the IFU spectrograph SAURON leading to a tenfold
sharper spatial resolution (~100 pc) compared to ongoing IFU surveys. In this
paper we focus on the kinematic properties. We calculate the bar strength Qb
from classical torque analysis using 3.6 {\mu}m Spitzer (S4G) images, but also
develop a new method based solely on the kinematics. A correlation between the
two measurements is found and backed up by N-body simulations, verifying the
measurement of Qb . We find that bar strengths from ionised gas kinematics are
~2.5 larger than those measured from stellar kinematics and that stronger bars
have enhanced influence on inner kinematic features. We detect that stellar
angular momentum "dips" at 0.2$\pm$0.1 bar lengths and half of our sample
exhibits an anti-correlation of h3 - stellar velocity (v/{\sigma}) in these
central parts. An increased flattening of the stellar {\sigma} gradient with
increasing bar strength supports the notion of bar-induced orbit mixing. These
measurements set important constraints on the spatial scales, namely an
increasing influence in the central regions (0.1-0.5 bar lengths), revealed by
kinematic signatures due to bar-driven secular evolution in present day
galaxies.
