Does anyone have a ROGUE R-3 POWER RACK

[Accutron]

Just wondering if anyone here has bought one yet, or has seen one first hand.

Thanks.

This is the rack I mean:
http://www.roguefitness.com/store/rogue_r3.php

ROGUE R-3 POWER RACK

[urbanlifter]

I have wondered about those racks as well. I probably would have considered getting one letely since I have been searching for a new rack, but I think I read somewhere they shuold be bolted down to the floor. I'm not sure if thats just for added stability or if because of how the base is it requires bolting. Good looking rack though, and I really like the hole spacing!

[cm45]

The Crossfit community really raves about this rack, and yes it should bolted down because if you do pull ups it will wobble, and maybe tip over because of how the base is structured.

[Jimbo.]

Yeah that rack would need to be bolted down for anything, it sure has a narrow base.

[shaddixboggs]

It has to be bolted because it has band pins

I'm about to buy one myself in a week or so. Gonna bolt it to lifting platform

[Keetman]

Accutron....I've touched the very rack in your picture.....not one like it...that one.



Felt good man.


Seriously, well...I actually did touch that one as its in their warehouse...it seemed like a nice piece of equipment. I didn't do squats or lift in it, but it was nice. It was bolted to the ground and I don't think I'd want to have a rack like this that wasn't.

I was more impressed with their next bigger rack though (R4) http://www.roguefitness.com/store/rogue_r4.php.

This was a fantastic piece of equipment; I think you could park a car in it. I did do some pullups on it and it was solid. I wouldn't buy it though because the safeties are chains and I don't understand why they do it that way. I guess because its so deep, but who knows. Heck when I visited their store, the employee told me it was new and when I asked where the safeties were....he looked at me like "huh??".....said it wouldn't come with any!!! I saw the ad on their site later that explained it comes with chain safeties.

Anyway, both are thick steel, well built, solid/stable, and need to be bolted. The one you are looking at did seem a little on the shallow end, but that's not an issue for some.

[jshpark]

I know the types of safeties you are talking about. I've seen them on the Sorinex racks. I'm not sure why they use those either.. I'm guessing if you do a bench press, wouldn't the bar roll down to your stomach?

Anyways, I'm always impressed with rogue's equipment.. Those racks look sweeet

[Wildtim]

I wouldn't buy a rack with the chain safeties either. I can just picture being shoved off my feet after failing a squat by the bar finding the center. I can't concieve a single thing they would be better for.

The R-3 needs the bolts because there are no crossmembers on the bottom. load it hevily and that would be the weak spot allowing an off center load to crea a lot of torque on the bolts/welds at the top possibly colapsing the rack at far less than its safe working load. A simple bolt in each corner and all of a sudden it would become a rock that won't move for anything.

[Accutron]

THANKS SO MUCH KEET FOR THE REVIEW!

Im really glad to get your feedback here.

Today I found out this rack is locally available in Canada for a good price, plus cheap shipping, so its jumped into my mind to get one. Sell my current rack, and some other stuff I don't use to help offset the price.

Anyway, I agree about the chains...Ive seen the chains and the nylon strap safeties on other racks but prefer regular type safety bars.

R-3 is 2x3 which is larger than 2x2 for whatever thats worth, and it comes with the band pegs which are extra $ on the efts racks.

Downside to me is it only comes in a matte back and I really wanted a gloss red. So Ive got to think about that...

Another thing is that the JHooks look kind of short. Id hate the bar to catch on the top when you rack a bench and slide the bar down the posts, but they must have thought about this point...still I like the EFTS hooks which look taller.

[Accutron]

I guess because its so deep, but who knows. Heck when I visited their store, the employee told me it was new and when I asked where the safeties were....he looked at me like "huh??".....said it wouldn't come with any!!! I saw the ad on their site later that explained it comes with chain safeties.

Yeah I dont know whats up with that......Maybe youre right its due to length probably so the pins wont be too bouncy.

[Accutron]

The one you are looking at did seem a little on the shallow end, but that's not an issue for some.

Your right Keet, I emailed them to confirm the inside depth and its actually 24", as its 30"-3"-3" for the posts.

But it should be okay...

[oxbeard]

I have really been looking at this rack also for my next purchase. Of course the shallow nature of this one is one of the bonuses for me. I don't have a problem lifting in a shallow rack especially since this one doesn't have the bottom crossmember so bench placement will be easier to make full use of the space. It was also leave me greater floor space outside the rack since my gym is on the narrow side. Will be bolting to platform as well when that time comes.

I've never understood the chain safeties on the R4 either although I did notice a rep from Rogue on another site mention at one time that there would be standard safeties available. Don't know if anything ever came of that or if you have to call to order those.

[Accutron]

So I cant get the rack after all, after putting it on a platform it will be too tall for in my basement (only by a couple of inches, but still...)

I wish they made a 7ft one

Other than that the rack would have been perfect, I kind of like black now, LOL.

[dumb.bell]

So I cant get the rack after all, after putting it on a platform it will be too tall for in my basement (only by a couple of inches, but still...)

I wish they made a 7ft one

Other than that the rack would have been perfect, I kind of like black now, LOL.

You could probably add a rear crossmember and avoid bolting it down. You would probably want to offset the rear support so that it doesn't interfere with the placement of the bench.

Another option would be to cut the platform (plywood) so that it fits inside the rack and then use L brackets to fasten it to the base without adding height. I think that would be the best option.

[Keetman]

If you're comfortable drilling into your floor, you could always just anchor it. Its really not that big of a deal. The anchors can be had at any big box/hardware store....I think they're called "redhat" anchors, but I could very well be wrong. You just drill a hole, drop the anchor through the rack, put a nut on it, and tighten. As the nut tightens, it expands a piece of metal surrounding the bolt in the hole and secures the rack in place. If you ever move you simply take them out and epoxy the hole. The hole only needs to be a couple inches deep, so its not going through your concrete.

I did this to secure a wall in my basement..........needed a very "secure" wall......and it has been fine for 7 years.

Sounds harder than it is if you're not sure about drilling into your basement.

[kbdub]

For those who don't know me, I work at Rogue and had a hand in the design of this rack. I prefer the shallow depth of the R3. Louie has some very large lifters and they all fit inside the R3 just fine.

1) The basis for this rack was the classic 2x2 rack that Louie had made a few decades ago. We took that basic designed and improved on a few points. Louie has 2 of his old racks at Westside and one R3.

2) We went 2x3 over 2x2 to make it beefier. The 2x3 gives you an extra 2" inside the rack vs. the 3x3. This extra space is noticeable and is needed by Louie to set up for wide stance movements and to set a wide grip.

3) We have 2 styles of Jcups. We refined our old style jcup and the new design is actually what I prefer for this rack since it doesn't stick out as much. Both types have a UHMW plastic insert so the knurling on your bar doesn't get jacked. We are phasing out the old style but if you prefer a longer Jcup I can get it for you. Here are the dims on the two styles of jcups:
Old style height 6" length 5"
New style height 6" length 3.5" approx (don't have one in front of me right now)

4) Safeties The R3 uses a rod and pin design similar to Louies original racks. I had some nylon strap made for the R3 a while ago and Louie really like these. These will be an option soon.

We use 1" hole spacing through the bench region. This limits the hole diameter for the safety rod and as a result a similar rod and pin is too weak (by our standards) to span the extra R4 distance. We currently have two options available: 1) chain w/ sleeve 2) nylon safety strap. I prefer the nylon strap since it is very on the barbell. We are working on a standard safety bar for the R4, but the nylon strap is a lot more versatile.

5) Bolting to the floor The R3 needs to be bolted down. We have all of the racks in the Rogue gym bolted directly to concrete. You can use a 3/8" x 3.5" concrete wedge anchor that you can pick up from any hardware store. We actually use these:
http://www.simpsonanchors.com/catalo...-hd/index.html
These anchors are removable and actually hold better than traditional wedge anchors due to the greater contact area (wedge anchors have a very small point contact area at the end of the anchor and the Titen anchor has an even contact area across the entire length of the thread)

Louie bolts all of his racks directly to plywood. Glue and screw 3 sheets of 3/4" plywood together and bolt the rack down. I was skeptical about bolting to wood but he uses over 500LB of band tension for deads with his R3 bolted to plywood with no issues.

We are getting ready to release some add ons to these racks including a dip attachment, plate storage, spotter arms, safety arms etc.

Email me kris@roguefitness.com if you have any more questions.

Kris

[Wildtim]

THanks Kris. I do like the R3 and using the titals or tapcons is probably easier than the wedge type too, good advice.

[Accutron]

Thanks for the comments, and thanks Kris for the good description online.

I was the guy who emailed you the other day.

Id like to get the rack, unfortunately at 7'6 its just too tall.

Will you make a 7ft version?

[kbdub]

Thanks for the comments, and thanks Kris for the good description online.

I was the guy who emailed you the other day.

Id like to get the rack, unfortunately at 7'6 its just too tall.

Will you make a 7ft version?

Let me talk to our fab shop and see what we can do.

Kris

[kbdub]

We are going to do a shorty version of this rack. I will leave it up to you guys to let me know how much to cut it down.

kris

[jshpark]

Thanks for the comments, and thanks Kris for the good description online.

I was the guy who emailed you the other day.

Id like to get the rack, unfortunately at 7'6 its just too tall.

Will you make a 7ft version?

your prayers are answered!

[Accutron]

We are going to do a shorty version of this rack. I will leave it up to you guys to let me know how much to cut it down.

kris

Thanks Id like a 7ft version, I sent you an email...

your prayers are answered!

For sure, Im a lucky guy, LOL!

[Jimbo.]

Now I am curious about this rack. I'm looking forward to seeing the new add ons.

[Keetman]

I liked them, liked them a lot actually when I saw them in person at the Rogue Store. Captmorgan was there too, so he should be able to vouge for their awesomeness as well . I reeeeeeeaaaalllly liked the R4. If they had more traditional safeties and didn't cost around $2000, I'd be interested in one.


Awesome construction yes.....odd safety design and expensive, no.

Hopefully they can get you hooked up though Accutron.








EDIT: They cost $960, not sure where I got the 2 grand from......sometimes I'm illiterate . One grand is obviously more tolerable!

[Accutron]

I liked them, liked them a lot actually when I saw them in person at the Rogue Store. Captmorgan was there too, so he should be able to vouge for their awesomeness as well . I reeeeeeeaaaalllly liked the R4. If they had more traditional safeties and didn't cost around $2000, I'd be interested in one.

Awesome construction yes.....odd safety design and expensive, no.

Hopefully they can get you hooked up though Accutron.

EDIT: They cost $960, not sure where I got the 2 grand from......sometimes I'm illiterate . One grand is obviously more tolerable!

The one Im looking at is a regular R-3, the price is pretty good in Canada, 840CAD, then something like 180CAD shipping. Now CAD and USD is about at par...

1 grand is still a lot of money for sure, but Im kind of frugal in other areas (dont own a tv), so it would be a nice thing to have...

Ive already sold my C2 which I never really used, I can sell my current rack, some spare plates Ive picked up cheap, and its easier to justify...

The only thing is that I dont like to order big things right in the middle of Christmas, so probably I will order in Jan after I talk with Bill and Kris now...I will keep you guys updated for sure...

[Accutron]

Heres one pic...the racks feet look different/slimmer vs the pic in the first post and below, they always change little things here and there with these types of racks...

[Accutron]

Here is another very plain and boring looking pic...LOL

[Keetman]

The one Im looking at is a regular R-3, the price is pretty good in Canada, 840CAD, then something like 180CAD shipping. Now CAD and USD is about at par...

1 grand is still a lot of money for sure, but Im kind of frugal in other areas (dont own a tv), so it would be a nice thing to have...

Ive already sold my C2 which I never really used, I can sell my current rack, some spare plates Ive picked up cheap, and its easier to justify...

The only thing is that I dont like to order big things right in the middle of Christmas, so probably I will order in Jan after I talk with Bill and Kris now...I will keep you guys updated for sure...

Sounds good. Hope you didn't think I was implying it was a waste of money. I like the cages that are in this category and I'd get one if I was in a different place. Several guys here have them and I really like them. However, with all the flipping I've done, the excess of equipment I have in general, and my own rack setup....I just think it would be more than I want to jump into.

I'll never rule one out and someday I may make a thread showing my new awesome cage. But for right now its just too much for me.

I'm jealous every time I see somebody get a new one though.......

[kbdub]

Heres one pic...the racks feet look different/slimmer vs the pic in the first post and below, they always change little things here and there with these types of racks...

This pic is of a prototype.

[kbdub]

Here is another very plain and boring looking pic...LOL

This pic is of the R-3 inside Westside Barbell. It is bolted into 3 sheets of 3/4" plywood.