Solinco Tour Bite Review.

[Matchball]

Originally Posted by tennisnut09

IMO, the tour bite doesn't work well in hybrid. I've tried it with gosen ship micro before. Please let us know how it goes.

Worked really nice on a 18x20 pattern with Titan in the crosses for me. On one of my Dunlops Bio 200. (1.20 gauge for Solinco, 1.25 for Titan, obviously strung higher)

[Ennismt]

I am going to hybrid Tour Bite 17 with Typhoon grey. I will be trying Tour Bite mains/Typhoon crosses and vice versa.

I have played both in full beds. I like the control of Tour Bite but the power and comfort of Typhoon, and probably more importantly, I have a lot of both strings and want to use them. I could probably adjust tension and use one or the other...but since I have both I thought I'd experiment a little.

Should be interesting. I'll string Typhoon at 56 and TB at 51.

[tennis_enthusiast]

I've been playing with Tour Bite 16L for the last 5 months or so. I'm almost through my reel of 16L and will be using 17 gauge next. This is the best string that I've ever used. I love to hit heavy topspin and this string makes it very easy. I use the Pure Storm GT leaded to about 11.6 ounces and string up tour bite at about 52 lbs. I love the set up, and a fresh set feels amazing. I'm planing on using this string for a long time.

[Chace]

The first time I tried tour bite was in a pog mid at 57lbs. I did not really care for it. I think I may have strung it a little too high. I have since changed from the pog mid to the tec 320. I strung teh tec 320 with 17g tour bite at 52lbs and it feels great. Great bite and good pop for a poly. Honest string bed.

[rst]

it doesn't do much once it goes dead......

what is a dead poly string??

if it isnt broken is the string stretching more than when new???

what does dead mean??? tension loss??? something else???

[rst]

i put 18g tourbite on a oversize wilson racket at 60lbs.


it gave excellent bite on top and slice backhands but seem to stick in the strings a bit long on forehands and go long. my attempts to adjust on forehands put the ball short with little power but still plenty of spin.

and after maybe ten hours of play time (not all at once) forehands popped loudly and generated some spin but poor accuracy.

additionally, do poly string recover?? does it go soft for a bit after hours of play and then return do a tighter state??

[rst]

i recently purchased an alternative racket.

it is a discount oversize wilson racket called a hyper hammer 6 hybrid.

the racket says it is 10.8 ounces and 7hh. it does feel very head heavy and i can generate very good baseline pace with it.

it has factory 16g strings...they appear to be syn gut wilsons of some type....no tiny filaments at all.

is it likely that a (quality) 17g syn gut put a tad tighter on this hh racket would give me even batter control??


i can understand more spin but i am wondering teh the ball would stick to the racket a bit longer because the thinner strings would cut in the ball surface easier...or...would the thinner strings flex more (especially on a 110 sq in) thus creating a softer/more stretch stringbed and less-controll and nearly equiavlent power?????


thanks

[rst]

my goal is to keep the good pace and power but to have that coupled with additional spin for better depth after ground contact.

[Lambo]

Originally Posted by rst

it doesn't do much once it goes dead......

what is a dead poly string??

if it isnt broken is the string stretching more than when new???

what does dead mean??? tension loss??? something else???

dead poly generally loses the freshness and the bite they had when first strung. also the qualities of that string (what it is known for) goes away when they are dead. One clue. Also does not snap back.

[Winners or Errors]

OK, so I slammed Tour Bite earlier in this thread, and I stand by the fact that I hate it in my 4D100s, but of course I try it in a different racquet, the M-Fil 200, and it works wonderfully. Same setup, Tour Bite mains and Dunlop Hexy crosses, but in the heavier racquet with the denser string pattern it simply worked as advertised and expected. I guess the lesson here is that the racquet has a lot to do with how the string performs, something I knew but was not expecting to experience so dramatically. YMMV.

[Pickle9]

Originally Posted by J011yroger

I was hoodwinked into trying this string, so I figured I might as well review it.

Short version: It sucks.

Long version:

Warming up hitting topspin half court, the string felt ok, bit nicely, ball went about where I wanted it to go, kind of a softer muted feel, but you could easily feel the ball catch on the string.

Moving back to the baseline, and hitting some easy groundstrokes, the ball flew off at a much higher angle than I expected. If I were to play this string again, I would string it 5lbs tighter.

But the looseness and softness of the string didn't cause much problem hitting at a slow comfortable pace, it was a fairly easy adjustment to make. This string felt like a poly for people who want to say they use poly, but don't like the stiffness of it.

Stepping up the swingspeed to match pace, the string was very ... unrewarding. There was no reward to swinging faster, no pop, no extra bite, there was just no incentive to swing fast. At faster swingspeeds the ball no longer bit on the strings, and it seemed like you were putting in more than you were getting out.

After the initial hit I mostly used it in practice of my S&V, hitting slow spinny serves, and coming it, and it was ok, just for practice.

I used it in another groundstroke practice session, right near the end of its miserable existence, and it did absolutely nothing. I just didn't get out nearly what I put in, and ended up just hitting pedestrian strokes until I could come in and volley.

It lasted longer than most polys last me, because there was just no reason to swing fast with it, so I didn't.

I really don't understand the point of this string, it is soft, and plays ok if you swing slow, but if that is what you are going to do, just play with a multi which will have more zip and more bite, and if you decide to put a charge into one somewhere along the way, will likely respond to the call better.

J

and that'll be last time you tell me to "string it with whatever" muahhahaha

surprised about the big hitter rough though