Rogue CTM-1 Functional Cable Tower

So I was very excited to finally get my new gear, including the CTM-1. Directions were great and everything went smoothly until I Installed all of the cables and gave it a test run. It wasn’t gliding smooth at all as if it was rubbing somewhere. The weight stack rod was rubbing against the weights so bad that it wouldn’t return back to its original position with low weights. When I pulled it to pull extension I could see the rod veering lateral. I investigated and found that the guide tubes wouldn’t spin freely. The weld of the center trolley was angled just far enough that the nut was pushing the cylinder and therefore preventing the whole thing from gliding smoothly. I had to get the nut off and cut out a notch to make the nut clear before it would glide smoothly (pictured). Just a little bummed that I’d have to “modify” things for a high end piece of equipment. Other than that, everything seems great and it would be 5 stars. It’s a newer product so just something that I think should be looked at.

I purchased the rack attached version and converted my RM-6 into a Frankenstein monster cave using the CTM-1 as a wing out. The distance is 43inch but may leave or get a 70/72 inch crossmember to add more space not sure yet. I chose to get the CTM-1 instead of the FMR series and not have it built in and I love my decision especially the lat pull down with the multi use seat it makes doing pull downs amazing especially for a at home gym. I’ve been playing around with all the different ways I can use the seat and I do love it. For me going the CTM-1 is the best option makes being able to set up the rack for barbell movements and immediately jump into cable movements so versatile and going vice versa. Not having to worry about the trolly being in the way is the best. It does limit to single are movements mostly unless you use certain attachments but for now that’s fine by me. For the seat when adjusting the rollers the pin does not pull all the way so it scratches us the hole adjustment slider all over which brings sadness every time I use it. When assembling I did run into a few hiccups with the labeling arrows that were miss placed so routing the cable took me a bit longer to figure out due to them being in the wrong place. I attached pictures showing the mistakes. Overall the directions were straightforward and easy to follow as long as you don’t rush and take your time to read. Off of mind there was only 2 instances where the directions don’t mention exactly how to install the top cross member and the shrouds, so I had to watch the video to see how it looked, so that is fine. My issue was when looking at the crossmember it should mention that the front upright slides into the crossmember while the back does not go into the rear upright but bolts onto it from the outside. The shrouds don’t mention exactly what holes to use to make sure they are level so I had to adjust a few times to get them perfect. Other than that assembly was easy as pie. I did it by myself and took me about 2/3 hours with just help to lift the top crossmember since it was heavy. Everything came packaged great and the shroud did get scuffed up with almost a foot long scratch and the top crossmember was a bit damaged on the rear. But overall great packaging. I do wish the front 2 bolts for the low row and bottom crossmember came with washers so it would protect the paint and I was missing a washer for one on the top bolts. The dual pin safety is nice but the small pin should be coated to protect the paint might have to add a rubber cap on it since using I have scratched it 2 times so I have to be extra careful when sliding the trolly up or down which can be annoying. The pin for the weight stack when using the lowest weight has no storage to place it so it just hangs and on the way down always gets smashed. I did see in a form that rouge solved this for the FMR series racks so I might have to reach out to see if I can get one. They is almost no sway unless you are actually trying to move it side to side but when in use like your supposed too it’s built like a tank. Overall great equipment and over built

The CTM-1 is a very solid machine with excellent build quality. I am currently experiencing the common issue where the top plate doesn't seat all the way down at low weights, along with a slight noise halfway up as if it's hitting something. I have already contacted support, but I haven't been able to resolve it yet as I am still waiting for the adjustment instructions. It’s a great piece of equipment, and I’m looking forward to having it 100% functional soon.

Great machine and goes together ok. But would have been a lot better if i had (or if order information said i needed) another foot of ceiling beyond the 91.5 inches it says you need to help with assembly.

I waited awhile to write this review but in the end I could have wrote it after my first workout with it. It’s very nice, very smooth and built to last. Everything came packed well. There was only a small scratch on one of the back brace brackets. It took about four hours to put together. I only needed a 2nd set of hands to install the top crossmember. It’s heavy and up high so I didn’t want to risk dropping or scratching it. My only complaint is the lack of a mount for the seat. It would be very easy (and cheap) for Rogue to include a small offset bracket that mounts to the stabilizer tube to mount the included half strip. With this you could bolt the half strip to either side and store the seat easily since it’s wasted space between the legs and shrouds. Overall I do 100% recommend this. I have an RM-3 and was planning on building a functional trainer off that. In the end I wanted to keep my rack clean and uncluttered and went with the CTM-1 and I’m glad I did.

I recently purchased the Rogue CTM-1 cable tower as part of a major upgrade to my home gym. It replaced a plate-loaded cable tower. After using it for a few weeks, here are my impressions: * The packing was great. I ordered a few other Rogue items and they all showed up on two pallets. Everything was well packaged and arrived without damage. * The installation instructions were exceptional. The installation guide is 36 pages, with detailed diagrams and instructions, and walks you clearly through step by step. There are color-coded, numbered arrows to show you how to route the cables. All needed tools are included. There's even a YouTube video now that walks you through it. What a contrast with every other exercise machine I've purchased. * The cable tower is as heavy duty as they come, almost over-built. The design is very refined and thoughtful. Adjustment is precise and operation very smooth. Everything just works well. Compared to the plate-loaded tower, the pin selector is such a joy to use for quick adjustments or progressions. * For the number of movements you can do on the tower, it takes up very little floor space in my small garage gym. I got the free-standing version and it is very stable. I do have a few minor suggestions for improvements: * It would be nice if you could store the removable bench on one of the support legs. I'm fortunately in that I have space behind the tower to attach the bench to the rear upright when I'm not using it. Most people will have the tower up against a wall or in a corner and will have figure out a different way to store it. The tower does come with a Monster Strip if you want to store the bench on a wall. * The logical place to store cable attachments is on the side shrouds, but there isn't any integrated storage. I solved this by getting heavy duty magnetic hooks. * Each weight plate is 10lbs. Some cable towers/functional trainers come with a 5lb plate you can add to the stack so you can go up in 5lb increments, but this tower doesn't have that. I solved this by getting a 5lb weight stack pin extender that I can put into the stack when needed. It will also let me add additional weight plates if for some reason I max out the 250lbs stack. It was expensive, but I'm very happy with my choice of the Rogue CTM-1.

This is the best piece of equipment I’ve ever used. I’ve been to a lot of gyms over the years and this tower beats every lat pull down, seated row or cable machine I’ve ever used hands down. The machine is smooth and so quiet my wife asks if I’m actually hitting a workout. Hats off to Kahle K for helping me through a couple of issues. Kahle’s responsiveness was outstanding.

Let me first start off by saying that the other reviews complaining about the assembly aren't wrong but I think you need to focus on the end product. Set your expectations that the assembly process will be a full day of pain but then you'll have a lifetime of fantastic usage from an outstanding product. Just mentally toughen up and get past that first day. The end result is a cable tower that is better than any cable tower I have used in any mainstream commercial gym. The cable travel is SMOOTH. It is a joy to use. Make sure you get a few different cable attachments to add variety. The default ones are good but you'll want more and you might as well ship it all together to save on shipping. The build quality is impressive and I know this is something I will be passing down to my children, though they will never be able to move it from its current spot. If you have the money and the space, then this is an excellent investment into your future health and fitness. If you are buying this, you are probably an enthusiast anyway. Pro tip: Go to amazon and enter "magnetic hooks" and buy a few cheap ones to pin to the side of the tower to hold your attachments nearby.