Rogue Wagon wheel pair vs Change plates

This is a comparison between the Rogue Wagon wheel and the change plates including pros, cons and alternatives. Follow the links for more details

Overview and review of the Rogue Change plates

The Rogue change plates will set you back about $280 dollars. These plates are especially good to use for lifter who want to microload. This overview has originally been published in the article "Which rogue plates to buy" which you can find on this blog.

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the change plates

Change plates are a great addition to your gym to push your athletes or yourself for the next PR. They come in small increments to provide for maximum flexibility when going up in weight and establishing new PRs. The available options are:

Weight / Color / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair

0.5KG (White): 135MM diameter / 12.5MM thickness / $26.25
1.0KG (Green): 160MM / 15MM / $31.50
1.5KG (Yellow): 175MM / 18MM / $36.75
2.0KG (Blue): 190MM / 19MM / $42.00
2.5KG (Red): 210MM / 19MM / $47.25
5.0KG (White): 230MM / 26MM $95.00

Pros of the change plates

More options for you to push for your limits and a cool design.

Cons of the change plates

Easily lost or stolen because they are so small.

Overview and review of the Rogue Wagon Wheel Pair

The Rogue Wagon wheel plates will set you back about $425. These plates are especially good to use for powerlifters who are serious about competing. This overview has originally been published in the article "Which rogue plates to buy" which you can find on this blog.

Overview of the Wagon wheel plates

The Wagon wheel plates are a co-design between Mark Bell and Rogue. The basic idea is that a standard 45LB can be bigger than 450mm. The result is a pair of plates which have 660mm in diameter and are therefore called Wagon wheels. If you do not want to buy blocks save storage space for block pulls, this is the way to go. Specs of the wagon wheel plates:

Made in the USA
0.375'' thick laser cut steel construction
45LB
2% Weight tolerance
660mm Diameter
50.80mm width

This is a specialized tool when you get serious with your powerlifting to get more volume in without wrecking your lower back. They also cost less than proper pulling blocks. If you only need blocks for powerlifting purposes, this is a great option which is easy to store in your gym.

Pros of the Wagon wheel plates

The Wagon wheel saves space and time when you want to deadlifts from a block. They also cost less than their wooden or metal blocks which fit the same purpose from Rogue.

Cons of the wagon wheel plates

The Wagon wheel cannot be used for Olympic weightlifting style block pulls or jerking. For jerking, they are too low and for dynamic block pulls the metal is too hard on the floor and wrists of the lifter. For Olympic weightlifting, you are better off to buy proper jerk blocks.

Alternatives to the Wagon wheel plates

Alternatives to the wagon wheel are:

The metal jerk blocks from Rogue are adjustable in height and beasts to behold. These are space saving compared to their wooden counterparts as you do not need multiple of them to stack higher up.

Wooden jerk blocks take up more space in your gym than the metal blocks offer the same height options, but are in turn more modular. With one full set, several athletes can train from different starting positions.