TITAN wagon wheels vs Rogue wagon wheels
This is a comparison between the TITAN wagon wheel plates and the Rogue wagon wheels including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which titan plates to get. Follow the links for more details.
Rogue fitness vs TITAN fitness
Rogue Fitness is the current market leader when it comes to a functional home gym and commercial gym equipment. They have one of the widest portfolios including racks, barbells, benches, dumbbells, and apparel for the weekend warrior and dedicated athlete. The biggest downside of Rogue Fitness is their comparatively high prices to the competition.
TITAN Fitness is the clear cost leader when you want to build a home gym on a budget that is still similar to what Rogue offers in function, look, and feel. While you will save about half on the sticker price you will run a higher risk of inconsistencies in quality compared to a purchase from Rogue. The equipment will be safe but is more likely to have blemishes, quality issues with welds or that pieces will not easily fit into place. That makes TITAN a good option for a DIY enthusiast who does not mind tinkering with their equipment, but not the first choice to get the best equipment and treat yourself.
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.
What else to consider from Rogue
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
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.
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.