TITAN wagon wheels vs Rogue Black training plates
This is a comparison between the TITAN wagon wheel plates and the Rogue black training plates including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which titan plates to get. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the Rogue Black Training plates
The Rogue black training plates will set you back about $985 dollars or $7.03 dollars per kg. These plates are especially good to use for all purposes in gyms 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.
What else to consider from Rogue
Overview of the black training plates
The
Rogue Black training bumper plates have a unique design with a color-coded stripe to identify the weight easily. All of Rogue's top engineering is combined in these plates. The little things do make a difference, even in something so simple as
bumper plates. These plates raised rubber around the center and at the outskirts. This makes them easier to pick up from the ground and avoids wear and tear at the middle metal discs. In addition, these plates are normed to the same diameter. This is great for weightlifting purposes. If you want a good, cheaper alternative to the official
competition plates, this is the way to go.
Based on the Durometer they score a 94, which means that they are pretty hard and have therefore less bounce.
Weight / Color / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair
25kg / Red / 450mm / 66mm / $275
20kg / Blue / 450mm / 55mm / $225
15kg / Yellow / 450mm / 42mm / $190
10kg / Green / 450mm / 29mm / $140
Available sets
90kg, 2x 10-15-20kg $655
110kg, 2x 10-20-25kg $770
120kg, 2x 15-20-25kg $825
140kg, 2x 10-15-20-25kg $985
The
black training plates will be an eye-catching feature for your gym which enables you to train Olympic weightlifting at a lower cost per station than the official
competition plates. You will have all of the quality and luxury of competition and a well thought out design which is user-friendly.
Pros of the black training plates
The extra features of these plates make them less prone to get wrecked than the
competition plates. They will also continue to lock nicely even if they get abused. The hard bounce will make you train like a champ. On top of that, you will save a little money compared to getting the full-blown
competition plates.
Cons of the black training plates
These plates have a pretty high price tag for a piece of equipment that will be thrown around in your gym on a daily basis and abused. If you specialize in
powerlifting these plates will also take up more real estate on the
bar for the same amount of weight.
Alternatives to the black training plates
The
black training plates are also available in LBS denominations. If you run a gym where people prefer to calculate their weights in LBS and you still want to provide the best bumper plates there are, this is the way to go.
The
Rogue competition plates are what is being used on the platform in official competitions. The main difference to the
black training plates is that their colors run through the entire plates. They are also more prone to get broken when abused, as they do not bear all of the extra features that the training plates have to protect them from harm.
If you want to save money and know that your clientele does not care that much,
bumper plates are your go-to option. These are a lot cheaper than the
black training plates and can also be dropped from overhead. If you train outdoors or in a wet dungeon/cellar, I might get these as the plates well get wrecked anyway.
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.
Related articles
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.