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Rogue Donkey vs TITAN cable crossover machine

Written by Pascal Landshoeft | Dec 30, 2020 5:00:00 PM

Rogue Donkey vs TITAN cable crossover machine

This is a comparison between the Rogue Donkey and the TITAN cable crossover machine including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

 
 

Overview and review of the TITAN cable crossover machine $459

This is an overview of the TITAN cable crossover machine including pros, cons and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which gym machine to get from TITAN. Follow the links for additional information.

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Overview of the TITAN Cable Crossover machine

 
The TITAN cable crossover machine is a take on a classic which you will find in most gyms. Usually this is part of a machine with weight stacks and an included pull up bar. This machine is great for cable pulls and chopping movements to strengthen your core and back. You can even use it for chest presses and other pressing exercises, given that you have a bench. The full specifications of this machine are:
 
- Fits and stores easily in your garage. 
- Unit fits in rooms with an 8 ft ceiling. 
- High-quality pulleys and cables used. 
- 4 Weight plate holders measuring 9.75-in each. 
- Includes 2 premium cable handles. 
 
- Footprint: 113-in W x 36-in D. 
- Overall Height: 83.5-in. 
- Clearance Height: 80.5-in. 
- Weight Holder Length: 9.75-in. 
- Weight: 110 lb.
 
This is machine that covers most of your pulley needs in one go if you can fit it into your gym. In my opinion it is still a makeshift and cheap solution to cover this need. If you can afford it, try to go with something more substantial like the TITAN functional trainer or the TITAN lat tower depending on the space you have at your command.
 

Pros of the  TITAN Cable Crossover

 
The pros of the TITAN cable crossover machine are:
 
  • Price
  • Plate loaded
 
This machine is all about getting a pulley system into your gym for a minimal amount of money. Everything about this has been optimized to achieve a low price, while still providing an industrial grate machine. If you want pulleys for your home and do not want to spend a fortune, this is the one to get.
 

Cons of the TITAN Cable crossover

 
 
  • No Pull up bar
  • Low own weight
  • Makeshift solution
 
Most of the Cable crossovers you will find in the industry will come with a pull up bar in the middle. That TITAN to choose to ship this one without a pull up bar already shows you how confident they are that this machine will stand by itself. If you are looking to get a fully functioning home gym for the lowest possible price, try to get a cable crossover machine that includes a pull up bar. If you look for it on Amazon, take a close look into how to anchor it to the ground and how much it weighs.
 
This stations has a low weight without plates and the construction is done in a way that it does not stand that well by itself. Be careful and do not climb on this, especially when there are no weights attached. It might fall over.
 
As with all complex assemblies from TITAN this pulley system makes no exception. The instructions are hard to follow and faulty and the end result does the job, but not very well. This whole station has a bit of a makeshift feeling about it, but you can also not complain a lot for less than $500 for such a big machine.
 

Alternatives to the TITAN Cable crossover

 
 
The TITAN lat tower is a clone of the Rogue lat pull machine. If you want to mainly use your cable crossover full vertical and horizontal pulls than this machine delivers it all. A seat, weight stack, beefy installation and proper pulley system. If you have the money and space beside a rack, this is a great option from TITAN to save money compared to the competition.
 
The TITAN wall mounted pulley tower is another option from TITAN for the low budget brigade. I would recommend this over the cable crossover if you are allowed to drill into the walls of your gym. It costs less, is safer as it is mounted to the wall and you can still use it in a very similar way. The money you save you can invest in a proper pull up station, as this also does not come with this cable crossover.
 

Conclusion to the TITAN Cable Crossover

 
I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of cable crossovers in general and the TITAN does a poor job of being one on top of it. For the low budget you still get an OK machine, but as it most likely to be used in a home gym you can also go for something smaller and really bolt it down. This saves you space and money, and is more secure. If you love cable work, go for the plate loaded functional trainer or the mounted pulley tower instead.

Overview and review of the Rogue Donkey

 
The Rogue Donkey is the ultimate machine from Rogue to address your lower back and core for $1945. You have everything in one place and with 500 pounds of weight, this thing is not going anywhere, just like any good old donkey. 
 

Overview of the Rogue donkey

 
The Rogue Donkey brings the reverse hyper and GHD space to a new level. Rogue thought about their designs again and combined the Z hyper and the Abram GHD into an all-purpose lower back machine.
 
The benefit of this is that you only need to buy one piece of equipment which fits both purposes. This means money and floor space saved. The dimensions of the Rogue Donkey aa followed:
 
  • Made in the USA
  • Color: Black 
  • Weight: 500LB 
  • Length: 73”
  • Width: 44”
  • Height:54.5”
  • 3x3 Gauge Steel
  • 73” x 44”
 
This is a great machine to have in a serious home gym or powerlifting establishment. Some CrossFit boxes might also want to consider getting one of these. 
 

Pros of the Rogue Donkey 

 
The Rogue Donkey has a lot going for itself, of you are interested in a machine for back extensions, reverse hypers and glute ham raises. I have yet to find a machine that is better thought through for these purposes and therefore saves space in your gym. 
 

Cons of the Rogue Donkey 

 
The price and weight might be off-putting for some. Not everyone wants to have a 500-pound piece of equipment in their home gym or get on one in a commercial gym. Reverse hypers and back extensions are also not the most popular movements, so watch out whether you are getting your money’s worth. 
 

Alternatives to the Rogue Donkey 

 
I think there are no better options than the donkey from Rogue for what it does. However, $2000 can be a hefty price tag, especially for first-time buyers. Here are some other options from Rogue for $2000:
 
 
The fortis rack is the best rack from rogue under $1000. Combined with an adjustable bench and with a little stretch of the budget an Ohio bar you have a fully functioning gym for the price of a donkey. The only downsides would be no color option and that you somehow have to take care of plate storage. 
 
If you prefer plate storage and a color option because you already have a bench you can go for the RML 690C and Ohio bar. The budget would even allow getting one of the fancy Cerakote bars. My favorite is the Fraser bar. 
 
If you want to build a garage gym with all of the things needed to do CrossFit you can also go for the 3WC and Alpha CrossFit package. This way you will have a foldable rack and everything including plates to get started with CrossFit. 
 

Summary 

 
If you already have the bases covered and you are looking into expanding your gym the donkey is a great option to be considered. It is not necessarily your first big purchase from Rogue. 
 
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