TITAN wagon wheels vs Rogue Steel calibrated plates

This is a comparison between the TITAN wagon wheel plates and the Rogue calibrated steel 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 Calibrated steel plates

The Rogue calibrated steel plates will set you back about $885 dollars or $5.56 dollars per kg. 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.

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the calibrated steel plates

The Rogue calibrated steel plates come in KG and LBS nominations. They are popular for powerlifting purposes as they can fit a lot of weight onto a bar. They are also approved by the IPF and therefore be used for official powerlifting competitions based on their high level of precision.

In the manufacturing process, each plate will vary in weight when it is finished. The cheaper the plate, the more variance you will have. Calibrated plates are made with better quality machines and add one production process at the end which is the calibration. What happens here is that the plates are weighed and then there will be a disc placed into little holes at the back of them to adjust to within 10grams of the desired weight.

Further specifications for the Rogue Calibrated steel plates:

Weight / Color / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair

50kg / black / 450mm / 50mm / $386.50

25kg / red / 450mm / 27mm / $225

20kg / blue / 450mm / 22.5mm / $182

15kg / yellow / 400mm / 21mm / $140

10kg / green / 325mm / 21mm / $99.50

5kg / white / 228mm / 21.5mm / $82.00

2.5kg / Black / 190mm / 16mm / $55

1.25kg / Chrome / 160mm / 12mm / $42.50

0.5 kg / Chrome / 134MM / 8mm / $35

0.25kg / Chrome / 112mm / 112mm / $25.75

Available sets

159kg, pair of each plate except 50kg $885

459kg, pair of each plate 0.25kg to 20kg & 7 pairs of 25kg $2060

Calibrated steel plates are very good when you want to fit as much weight in as little space as possible. As long as you do not want to drop your weights this is great.

Pros of the calibrated steel plates

Calibrated steel plates are the ones you will use in competition in a powerlifting meet. They will also take up less space in your gym than bumper plates for the same amount of weight. The color coding looks cool and gives any gym a little extra feel of being professional when it comes to getting results. With these, you can train like a real champion.

Cons of the calibrated steel plates

Steel plates are not ideal for overhead lifts. They spin differently than competition bumper plates and behave differently when you switch direction during the lift. They also suffer from dropping or heavy use a lot more. Especially the calibration discs can come loose and start to rattle or fall out over time altogether.

Alternatives to the calibrated steel plates

Alternatives to the calibrated kg plates are:

Calibrated steel plates with LBS nominations are the same plate style but take out the thinking for you when you prefer to lift in pounds. If you do not want to compete this might be an option, as the international standard for the IPF is to measure the weight lifted in kilograms.

Competition bumper plates can be a good alternative if you focus more on weightlifting than powerlifting in your local gym. These plates are specially designed to be used in Olympic lifts. Dor this purpose they have a metal core and bumper surroundings. The only downside with these plates is that you can not fir as much on the bar as with steel. But you were not planning on overhead pressing 400kg soon, weren't you.

The most durable and high-quality plates you can get from Rogue are the Urethane plates. Therefore, they are also the most expensive. You can basically think of these as the steroid version of the competition bumper plates which last longer. If you will drop your plates often and use them outside for overhead lifts, this might be the way to go.

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.

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

Pros of the TITAN wagon wheel are

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

Cons of the TITAN wagon wheel are:

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

Alternatives to the TITAN Wagon wheel are:

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.