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An audio review can be listened to on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts on the Home Gym Tips and Reviews Podcast by GGE.
Introduction
The Titan Wall Mounted Pulley Tower is a tempting home gym addition for those looking to add a cable system/functional tower. Cost-effective cable systems are typically rack-attached, and they are unable to change handle locations like your traditional functional trainers. The Titan Pulley Tower is less expensive than nearly all cable systems of its kind, allows you to change the handle location between 18 different settings, and it’s also plate-loaded. For those and many other reasons, many people are wondering if it’s worth the money.
This review of the Titan Wall Mounted Pulley Tower will talk about:
Functional Trainers and Towers
Functional Trainers are different than lat pulldown/low row towers in that they allow the user to adjust the handle/pulley position on the tower. You are stuck pulling from a top or bottom position with your typical DIY pulley system or lat pulldown pulley. This is great for pulldown or pushdown movements or movements starting from the floor. Still, you cut out a load of accessory movements that you might miss from the commercial gym setting by not being able to adjust the pulley position.
Traditional functional trainers are expensive, and they take up a large footprint. The footprint can be addressed by adding a functional tower. Full-sized functional trainers use a two-sided pulley system, while functional towers use a single tower with an adjustable handle height.
Some of these functional towers allow you to use two handles from the single pulley, adding some additional versatility.
Whether you are inquiring about a functional trainer or a functional tower, both are typically expensive. Most options for any functional trainer/tower are selectorized with only a few plate-loaded options.
Titan Fitness Wall Mounted Pulley Tower
This functional tower from Titan fitness is an inexpensive, plate-loaded option. As the name suggests, it is also wall-mounted, meaning you will have a dedicated wall space to secure it. The pulley tower allows you to adjust the handle between 18 different settings, and it comes in two other height options if ceiling height is an issue in your space. The height for the tall version is 84.5 inches, while the height for the short version is 4 inches shorter.
Here are the details:
As far as total footprint, you’ll need space on either side for loading weights, but the stabilizing feet stand 26 inches wide and sit 30 inches from the mounting wall to the tip of the pulleys. It has a decently small footprint, but it is still an obstacle bolted to your wall that you must maneuver around.
Both the 2×2 post that you adjust the pulley handle from and the 2×2 post that the weight travels on are chrome plated. The rest of the piece is finished with a smooth black powder coat. The 2×2 chrome plate is an upgrade for this v3. Titan states that this version is smoother than the dual rod system they had in previous versions. The front 2×2 post is where you adjust between 18 different height settings. Titan uses a tightening spring pin to quickly and easily adjust the settings.
There are two side-by-side swiveling connecting points from the post that can be used independently at a 2:1 ratio. If you connect a rope/handle/bar to both simultaneously, you will have a 1:1 ratio on the pulleys.
This pulley tower is plate-loaded. The arms that receive the plates are 1″ diameter sleeves, and they come with spring clips to match. Your 2″ Olympic-style plates will work fine on the sleeves, but they will hang on with plenty of sag. You do have the ability to convert to 2″ diameter with something like these BodySolid Adapter Sleeves.
Diving Deeper
Those are the specs you could pull off the product page or get from a picture, but here is what there is to say about it after using it for a couple of months.
What is there to like about it?
The wall-mounted pulley allows you to have the versatility of a functional tower for a fraction of the cost. It is also one of the few plate loaded standalone pulley options out there which allows you to use a weight you already own to load your lifts. The two pulleys in the same position can allow you to accomplish moves that a single pulley wouldn’t. And though you can’t do cable flies with a single wall-mounted option, you could buy two and space them far enough apart to use as a full functional trainer.
What is there to not like about it?
The major drawback is the plastic pulley wheels that Titan supplies. They are cheap and cause the implement to have quite a bit of friction. Using only one pulley with the 2:1 ratio, the weight moves better with less friction. Connecting both pulleys and using them with a 1:1 ratio causes more friction. Using both pulleys independently but simultaneously (a separate handle on each connection) gives it the same feel as using a single pulley only.
There are 13 pulley wheels that are used with this piece of equipment, and the plastic ones given by Titan are cheap and cap your weight capacity at 350 lbs. You can upgrade to aluminum pulley wheels which you can pick up from Amazon, but that can get pretty expensive as aluminum wheels are around $10-$20 each. That can nearly double the cost of this piece of equipment.
You need to have the same amount of weight on each side of the loading sleeves since the Titan Wall Mounted Pulley is plate-loaded. Not a huge deal as most people have at least two of each weight plate, but something you need to keep in mind especially if you’re considering two towers spaced apart to play the role of a full functional trainer.
Is this recommended?
That depends. While it would be nice to definitively say that this is something to consider or the opposite, stay away. It’s not so easy. The price is at a point where if you can’t afford a functional tower and you want one, you have to consider it. If you bring this into your space expecting to have a smooth cable experience, you may be disappointed.
This buy may serve you best as a stand-in as you continue to save towards a more quality functional tower. The second-hand market is still active, and the resale should still be there on this piece when you are ready to sell.
Another way to use this tower is as an accessory to some of your DIY adventures. As an example, Kaizen DIY Gym used the Titan Wall Mounted Pulley and turned it into a belt squat, among other things.
Like most things from Titan these days, the cost of the tower has continued to climb. Though many items from Titan regularly go on sale, you can expect the price of this item to keep going up. For example, in particular, this one is the tall version and was purchased in December for just under $200. It is now priced at $250.
Conclusion
The Titan Wall Mounted Pulley Tower offers something that few other options can at the price it is currently listed for. While it can be a tempting option, it lacks the feel of a traditional functional trainer. If you are not a stickler for something like this to have the perfect sense, the price is almost too good to be true.
Great review but I would like to correct one thing in your assessment in that you can easily do cable flies off of one machine. I bought long strap handles and route them over the back of my triceps and forearms and grip the handles. In doing this it is quite easy to do cable flies without having two machines. I also bought a piece of metal from Home Depot that has three holes (the two side holes are 5 inches apart) which allows me to then hook a curl bar from the center hole. This allows for a smooth simultaneous pull on the two pulleys – with a bit of ingenuity this equipment can do just about anything an expensive gym system can do.