Rogue CTM-1 Functional Cable Tower

Well I received my ctm-1 functional tower about a month ago, but didn’t want to review until I worked out a few kinks and had an opportunity to use it a little. Suffice it to say I am 100% happy with the addition of the tower to my studio gym. First, I ordered with a 6-8 week lead time and sure enough got my shipment notification right at the 6 week mark. Shipping was uneventful, although bc it is shipped freight they will only deliver it to the sidewalk out front so I needed to be prepared to move it piece by piece indoors. This was all explained beforehand so I was ready for that. I hired assembly done and was very happy with the assembly- it took one guy about 3 1/2 hours to assemble and he did a great job. That being said I had a similar problem as others in that at a low weight the plate wouldn’t go all the way down- I contacted Rogue and they responded with a video explaining how to make a quick adjustment- I did, and it has been perfect ever since. The cables are smooth and quiet. I have since ordered several mag grips and am really loving the performance. I did not get the seat attachment and am not sure yet whether or not I’d want it. I put a bench right up to the tower for lat pulldowns etc and it works just fine without having to attach and move the optional seat. I 100% recommend this functional tower as it has added so many options to my training programs for my clients.

Overall impressions and day to day experience is excellent! Classic Rogue build quality - this thing will last a lifetime. Pros: - Cables and attachments feel awesome, pulling is smooth and consistent. - Unit is heavy and stable, no swaying or movement when in use. - Seat is comfortable and heavy duty. - Fit and finish is top notch. Cons: - My upper pulley assembly arrived with a stripped bolt hole, Rogue customer service was awesome and shipped a new one overnight express though. - The top weight of the stack has a hole in it, but the hole is not large enough to fit the stack pin, so you have to either let it dangle or place it somewhere less secure when only using the first plate for lighter movements. - The cable length is slightly off, if you leave attachments connected the top weight in the stack does not sit flush against the rest of the stack when at rest. This has gotten slightly better over time but still does not sit flush even after repeated use. Rogue has suggested letting the heavy stack slam against the unit to fix this. - I wish the unit had built in storage holes for the seat when not attached to the main upright.

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.

First of all this tower is rock solid to the core, it looks gorgeous and the pulley system is smooth and locked in just right! It took me 2.5 days to assemble because I was mostly doing it by myself. I had a few snags along the way but that was completely due to my errors. I was able to communicate during this process with Alex Z at Rogue. He described for me the steps to take to correct the issues I was having. I am very thankful for all of his help and the fact that Rogue has excellent customer service! This tower is now sitting in my garage gym completed and magnificent! I love it!