REP fitness black bumper plates vs TITAN wagon wheels
This is a comparison between the REP fitness black bumper plates and the TITAN wagon wheels. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the TITAN wagon wheels
This is an overview of the TITAN Wagon wheels including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which titan plates to get. Follow the links for more details.
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Overview of the TITAN Wagon wheel
Price: $223.99
The
Wagon wheel is an idea that I have first seen from Mark Bell who has perfected it with Rogue. TITAN than adopted it for its own portfolio. The idea is to have a deadlift pulling block that is easy to store and also easier to use. Pulling blocks can be tricky, especially for deadlifts. They are cumbersome to set up, have a single purpose use, and eat up quite a bit of space in your gym. The
wagon wheels to take care of most of these problems. The full specifications are:
A great substitute for pulling blocks, Titan’s
Wagon Wheel Pulling Blocks are larger in diameter (26”) than your standard Bumper Plates allowing for a partial range of motion deadlifts.
Makes loading and unloading your barbell a breeze without the need for a jack or wedge.
Perfect for taller athletes or powerlifters that are suffering from knee and lower back issues.
2” collar opening makes Titan’s
Wagon Wheel Pulling Blocks compatible with most standard Olympic barbells.
Titan Laser Cut Logo.
Weight: 45 LB Each | 90 LB Total
Diameter: 26”
Wheel width: 2”
Black Powder Coat
Sold in Pairs!
This is a good option if you have been deadlifting for a long time and need to get a lot of volume in without wrecking your back. It can also be used for block pulls that are often part of more advanced powerlifting programs to address weak points in the deadlift.
Pros of the TITAN wagon wheel
- Price
- Easy to store and handle
- Same weight as regular 45lb plates
As with all TITAN products, the price is very attractive. If you want to get
wagon wheels for the lowest price possible TITAN is probably a good bet. However, undercutting the competition by half usually comes with some corner-cutting on labor. TITAN products usually show this in the finish of their coating and/or their welds. That is nothing that keeps you from training, it is just disappointing when you buy something new and the finish is not perfect. Still, something has to fall short if you save yourself half the money.
Compared to pulling blocks these are easier to store and to handle. You can lean them against a wall which makes their footprint in the gym quite small. They will not fit on most plate trees or storage pins on a rack due to their bigger diameter. For the deadlifts themselves, they are also great as you do not have to worry too much about hitting the blocks on the way down. Attaching them to the bar is a lot easier than finding the right spacing between two blocks.
Another bonus is that they are almost the same weight as a regular 45lb bumper or
cast iron plate. With this, you do not mess too much with the weight distribution and the dynamic of your usual pulls in terms of symmetrical load.
Cons of the TITAN wagon wheel
- Inconsistent finish
- Can not be adjusted in height
- Not great for drops
You will usually find more reports about inconsistent finishes on the coating and welds of TITAN fitness than you will for Eleiko or Rogue. That is not the end of your world for your training but can be annoying when you decide to buy something new rather than used. With TITAN you save money but also take a little more of a gamble with getting something delivered that is not perfect. It happens on Rogue deliveries too, but it is less common.
Wagon wheels themselves have one big disadvantage compared to good quality pulling blocks. They can not be adjusted in height. A pair of good quality pulling blocks usually costs between $500 - $1000. These can usually be adjusted in height which makes some more user friendly when you have a lot of different athletes using them for different purposes. These can be hip belt squats, box jumps, or block jerks.
If you would like to do
Olympic weightlifting partials with blocks, the
wagon wheels are not an option. Dropping them from a height will damage the floor, barbell, and the
wagon wheels themselves. If you are looking for a more versatile tool for partial lifts, adjustable blocks are the way to go.
Alternatives to the TITAN wagon wheel
- TITAN adjustable metal blocks
- TITAN wood jerk blocks
The Titan adjustable metal blocks are an alternative to the
wagon wheels which are slightly more expensive. For about $100 more you get a tool that will eat up more space in the gym but has a lot more applications. This is the better buy for a commercial gym that has a lot of floor space and wants their equipment to do more than one thing. These blocks are still not for
Olympic weightlifting as they do not go high enough to start training from the front rack position.
Titan wood jerk blocks come in at $999 and for this, you get 3 pairs of blocks in various heights. If I was a professional gym owner looking into blocks for partial lifts i would bite the bullet and get these. They are good quality and apply to many of the partial movements required to address weaknesses in the
Olympic lifts. If you all you care about is your deadlift performance, these are overkill.
Conclusion for the TITAN wagon wheel
The
TITAN wagon wheels area good tool especially for home gym powerlifters who want to vary their training or give their backs a break. As this is a very specialized tool, it will probably not one of the first purchases for your home gym and especially is not essential. Prioritize change plates over
wagon wheels any day. A professional gym might consider there jerk blocks instead of the adjustable metal blocks or
wagon wheels. Especially if you have quite a bit of floor space. The wooden blocks are the best for dropping the barbell on without it jumping all over the place.
Overview and review of the REP fitness black bumper plates
This is an overview of the REP fitness black bumper plates including pros, cons, and alternatives. The original was published under which plates to buy from rep fitness. Follow the links for more details.
REP Black Bumper plates $49
The
REP black bumper plates are the standard option you can find from most vendors around. These plates have a good price per plate, can be used outdoors, and fit on most barbells. This is the workhorse plate for the home or in a commercial gym. If you are not sure what to buy, you can not go wrong with these. The full specifications are:
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160 lb - (2)Each 45-25-10
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190 lb - (2)Each 45-25-15-10
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210 lb - (2)Each 45-35-25
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230 lb - (2)Each 45-35-25-10
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250 lb - (4) 45 (2) Each 25-10
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260 lb - (2)Each 45-35-25-15-10
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370 lb - (6) 45 lb & (2)Each 25-15-10
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Superior craftsmanship and design. Steel inserts with hooks molded into the bumper plates increase durability versus older designs with brass inserts.
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Extra thick 10 lb plates are the best on the market, and highly resistant to bending
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Low bounce. Some recycled rubber bumper plates will bounce very high and make you chase the bar around. Not ours.
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Thin profile. With a good Olympic bar, you can fit 515lbs of our bumper plates on the bar.
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Factory tested to withstand over 12,000 drops from a height of 8 ft.
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Used in both commercial and home gyms all over the world
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3% Tolerance
Solid plates for any use scenario. Not too expensive and not too cheap to get you where you want to go with your fitness.
Pros of the REP Black Bumper plates
Pros of the REP Black bumper plates are:
Black bumper plates are always a safe bet. Especially for someone who is not incredibly strong or wants to break world records. They are reliable. If
Black bumper plates get dirty it is not that bad, as the dirt will not show up as much on the
black. A decent
black color also goes with most other equipment in any given gym as it is often
black or grey.
Bumper plates are also good as they can be dropped from overhead without damaging the plates, the lifter, floor, or equipment.
Bumper plates are very forgiving and ideal for any beginner or intermediate lifter. They can also be used outdoors as they take better to rain and sand than other, pricier plates.
Cons of the REP Black Bumper plates
The biggest con of
bumper plates is that they take up more space than
iron and
competition plates on the barbell. If you lift very heavy regular
bumper plates usually max out the sleeves of the barbell somewhere around 180kg to 220kg depending on how you stack the plates. If you are a serious powerlifter or want to save storage space in your commercial gym you are better off getting
iron plates.
If you use these plates mainly for Olympic lifting you have to keep in mind that they are louder and bounce more than
competition plates. If you want to get through a proper snatch workout in the least amount of time that can actually be quite annoying. A minor thing, but still worth considering.
These plates are also balanced differently compared to
competition plates. As they have no metal core ring they spin differently during Olympic lifts than
bumper plates. A good lifter will still lift heavy weight with these, but if you are entering micro differences you might want to for the
competition plates instead.
As they are black rubber they might not be the ideal plates to be used outdoors in a very hot climate. Again, something minor, but if you burn your hand on a very hot
bumper once you know what I am talking about. Higher quality plates take a little better to heat and do not absorb it as fast. Different color also helps.
These
bumper plates have a higher fault tolerance than the
competition and precision plates. This means it is more likely that the plate you are getting does not exactly weigh what it says on the plate. Calibrated plates are the best way to remedy this. Here the plates are weighed at the end of the production process and then adjusted with a little metal insert to be as precise as possible. This production step also makes them more expensive than
bumpers or regular
iron plates.
Alternatives to the REP Black Bumper plates
Alternatives to the REP BUmper plates are:
If you want something a bit more precise and with a color you can also get the
REP competition plates. These plates are made to
competition specifications and are therefore produced with a lower tolerance rate. They also have a little lip which makes them easier to pick up from the ground.
The
Rogue fleck plates are a nice hybrid between
black rubber plates and colored plates. The
black plates are being infused with color during the production process to make them look like checkered animals. If you want your gym to be hip and different, this is the plate to make that statement without reaching into the Avengers or food-themed weight plates.
Rogue's machined iron plates are a good option for someone who wants precise
iron plates for their ambitious home gym. These are a particularly good choice for any powerlifters that need to stack a lot of
iron on the plate to still make gains.
The
TITAN bumper plates are the cheap version between Rogue, REP, and
TITAN if you want to get the most weight for your buck from a decent vendor, then
TITAN is the way to go.
Conclusion for the REP Black Bumper plates
The
rep black bumper plates are a solid choice when you are confused and just want to get going. They are also a good choice for a commercial gym that wants to play things safe.