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Rogue neutral grip vs grandfather clock grip

Written by Pascal Landshoeft | Sep 25, 2020 4:00:00 PM

Rogue neutral grip vs grandfather clock grip

This is a comparison between the Rogue neutral grip and the grandfather clock grip including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

 

Overview and review of the Rogue Grandfather clock grip system

 

This is an overview of the Rogue Grandfather clock grip system including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

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Overview of the Grandfather Clock grip system

Price: $56.50 
 
The grandfather clock grip system is part of the grip system of Rogue. This system includes the Pinch blocks, cannonballs grips, grandfather clock, and globe. The grandfather attachments are one of the easiest out of the line up to master whereas the pinch blocks and the globe are at the harder end of the spectrum. The full specifications of this item are: 
 
  • Made in the USA
  • Length: 6"
  • Diameter: 1.875"
  • Steel tube with welded loop
  • Available to order with Rogue Grip System (straps and carabiners)
  • Color: Black
  • Knurling: None
  • Applications: Towel Grip Pull-Ups, Farmer’s Carries, and more
This is a great addition to any gym framed by the rogue grip system. Ideally, you get all components in the set. 
 

Pros of the Grandfather clock grip system

 
 
  • Versatile 
  • Easy to use 
  • Cheap 
 
Compared to other options to train your strength, the grandfather clock grip is relatively cheap. It can also be attached to various weights or racks using the strap and carabiner system from Rogue. This makes it easy to use, install, and transport. Not a lot you can do wrong with these. 
 

Cons of the grandfather clock grip system

 
Cons of the grandfather clock grip system are: 
 
 
The grandfather clock system is a great way to simulate rope climbs if you have low ceilings. Still, they are not a rope and therefore provide only a simulation and not the real thing. The grips will also be quite wobbly. If you don’t like this in your training go with an alternative that is attached to the rack like the spheres or the crown pull up bar. Apart from all of this, if you have a big gym, travel a lot, or have a lot of people using these grips, it is easy to lose them. 
 

Alternatives to the grandfather clock grip system

 
Alternatives to the grandfather clock grip system are:
 
 
The Rogue climbing cross-member simulates a climbing wall on your rogue rack. A couple of these will work best when installed on a longer rig or daisy-chained racks. This setup is only minimally more expensive at $85 and provides stable grips which will be more challenging for your finger strength. This is the better option when you want to train for actual climbing and you do not want to get every tool under the sun. 
 
A climbing rope is a classic tool to train grip and arm strength. A good rope climber always has a strong grip, too. When I used to do Judo semi-professionally we always ended the session with ten ropes in camp. They are a great tool as long as you have a high ceiling. If you do not have a high ceiling or want to avoid heights, then the grandfather grips are an alternative, but no replacement for the real thing. 
 
The crown pull up bar is the best pull up attachment you can get for your rack. In terms of value for money, you get many different grip variations for only $225. If you were to buy all the attachments to get to the same amount of variety you would pay more. You will get narrow, wide, and neutral pull-up setups and two different sized spheres.
 
The cannonball and pinch blocks are better options if you already have a climbing rope and want to save money. I see the pinch blocks, cannonball grips, and grandfather as a whole to be bought together and not separately. However, that can bring the bill to $300 -$500, which not everyone is willing to pay. If you get the whole set for your home gym, you will not regret it as it is versatile and keeps grip training interesting. 
 

Conclusion for the grandfather clock grip system

 
The grandfather clock grip system is the best option from rogue to compress rope climbing into a confined. Combined with the pinch blocks and cannonballs you get a powerful grip orchestra. If you have space, hang a rope from your high ceiling to get even better results. 
 
 

Overview and review of the Rogue neutral grip

This is an overview of the Rogue neutral grip including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

 

Overview of the Rogue Neutral grip 

Price: $65 
 
The rogue neutral grip is an addition to Rogue racks that come standard with the fat skinny bar. With this attachment, you can do neutral grip pull-ups for a small price of $65. Compared to other options it is probably one of the cheaper ones. The full specifications of the Rogue neutral grip are: 
 
  • Handle Length: 7"
  • Handle Diameter: 1.25"
  • Overall Height: 11"
  • Not compatible with Rogue monster 
This is a good quick fix if you do not mind some scratches on your equipment. 
 

Pros of the Rogue neutral grip 

 
Pros of the rogue neutral grip are: 
 
  • Fast 
  • Cheap 
  • Small 
 
This is an easy setup to quickly do neutral pull-ups on Rogue setup that otherwise would not allow for pull-ups or would need a wrench to swap cross members/attachments. Just throw them on and get going. With a little bit of tale attached to them, you can also avoid the scratching through the metal to metal contact. 
 

Cons of the Rogue neutral grip 

 
Cons of the rogue neutral grip are:
 
  • Unstable 
  • Metal to metal contact 
  • Not versatile 
 
These grips will go into your monster lite or infinity rack but will not be as clean and secure as a proper pull-up bar. It can shift a little and therefore also scratch your rack. In addition, it will be cumbersome to attach these hooks to any other weight to lift it which makes them pretty much single-use. 
 

Alternatives to the rogue neutral grip

 
Alternatives to the rogue neutral grip
 
 
The Rogue XM43 neutral grip rotating pull up attachment is a full specialized pull-up attachment for the monster lite and monster series. Compared to the neutral grips it can be wrenched onto a cross-member, has rotating handles, and several positions to work from. This is the professional tool from Rogue for a neutral grip from a rack rather than the makeshift pins for $60. with $445 it also costs more than seven times more than the simple grips.
 
The crown pull up bar is an attachment for the rogue monster lite and monster series that provides a neutral grip pull up setup amongst others. You will also get several other pull up setups and two different sized spheres. If straight pull-ups are your jam, this is a very good attachment to invest in. The crown would be an investment of $225.
 
A multi-grip cross-member is an option that can be attached at the top of your rack. With this, you have several grip width options for a neutral grip in a stable setup. As long as your ceiling is high enough and you want to neutral grip pull-ups this comes in at $182.50 and is, therefore, great value for money option as an alternative to the neutral grips. In this setup, you will also not scratch the existing rack
 

Conclusion for the rogue neutral grip 

 
The Rogue neutral grip is a good quick fix when you have quite a few of the parallel fat/skinny bars which Rogue used to deliver with their racks in the past. With the monster lite and monster racks series this item becomes shipped far less and therefore did not age well. The fact, that the neutral grips scratch the existing material does not make it a preferred option if you can invest a little more money. I would always prefer to attach a crown pull-up bar or XM 43M multi-grip cross member to achieve the same result.