Prince Tricomp 90 - unappreciated

[Don't Let It Bounce]

I believe the OP must be right about the Tricomp being unappreciated. If it can't get out from under the mighty shadow of the Spectrum Comp even in its own thread, it has to be the Rodney Dangerfield of Prince 80's racquets!

It is indeed odd today to consider a 22 mm beam a "widebody", but believe it or not the Tricomp was regarded that way when it was introduced. It wasn't the width alone (which the Dunlop Max 200G and its siblings already had, IIRC); it was the the hollow construction and beam cross section shape (a long, thin oval, like that of the more obvious widebodies like the Profile and T-Stick and like most racquets today) that separated it from forebears that occupied a similar place in the Prince line-up.

... And if white racquets are automatically chicksticks, I'm ready to turn in my Y chromosome so I can keep using 'em.

[mctennis]

I've got one of the TRi Comp O/S racquet that my wife used some years ago. In fact at one time was three of my family members were using these racquets. I may need to restring this and try hitting with it. I had it for sale. I may to re-think it now.

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by mctennis

I've got one of the TRi Comp O/S racquet that my wife used some years ago. In fact at one time was three of my family members were using these racquets. I may need to restring this and try hitting with it. I had it for sale. I may to re-think it now.

i've got a tricomp OS that i haven't tried hitting w/ yet, but i also have a tricomp 90 that i pull out to hit w/ occasionally. it's a very nice, solid stick compared to many of today's sticks. easy access to spin w/ the open 14 x 18 string pattern. decent feel, but not quite as communicative as the 4 stripe POG mid.

[mctennis]

Originally Posted by mad dog1

i've got a tricomp OS that i haven't tried hitting w/ yet, but i also have a tricomp 90 that i pull out to hit w/ occasionally. it's a very nice, solid stick compared to many of today's sticks. easy access to spin w/ the open 14 x 18 string pattern. decent feel, but not quite as communicative as the 4 stripe POG mid.

Thanks Med Dog for this info. I know when I tried to get them to just buy the 90 they ( my family) wanted to buy the OS version. I was hoping at least ONE would get the 90 so I could hit with it as well. I've never hit with the OS this whole time. It may be time now. I'll re-string it and hit a few sets just to see how it plays. Those older racquets really played a lot better IMHO.

[jimanuel12]

Originally Posted by pshulam

After many failed attempts to sell my mint condition Tricomp 90 with brand new Head Rip Control string for a cheap price (below $20), I have decided to take it out for a spin. I was pleasantly surprised that the racquet has a very crisp, solid feel. It has plenty of power, control, spin potential and stability. I was able to stir the ball with precision. The only gripe is that the maneuverability is not great as it is heavy. Anyway, the Tricomp seems to be an unappreciated racquet. The moral of the story is that do not just go after racquets that are in the Greatest Racquets of All Times (GROT) as there are many great racquets available for cheap.

i found a sweet deal on a prince tricomp 110. i took it out yesterday for the first time, and man, what a sweet baby. this baby has power for a 12 oz racquet, i was quite surprised even though Virgina had stated that in an earlier post.
it may look like a girly racquet but that baby can power drive the ball. i served up 4 aces in one set yesterday against my tennis buddy and i am not know for a big server.
i love this racquet - as i said - i picked it up for a steal.

[joe sch]

Tricomp was and still is very unappreciated. Its very true that players in that era believed that 22 mm beam widths were for hackers without strokes. Its soo ironic the the babolats are now for players and very similar to those "girly" rackets The Prince Spectrum and even CTS Blast were also unappreciated rackets with similar good playability. I recommend buying some for steals and keeping them in your player bag for some surprising good performance for cheap.

[jimanuel12]

Originally Posted by joe sch

Tricomp was and still is very unappreciated. Its very true that players in that era believed that 22 mm beam widths were for hackers without strokes. Its soo ironic the the babolats are now for players and very similar to those "girly" rackets The Prince Spectrum and even CTS Blast were also unappreciated rackets with similar good playability. I recommend buying some for steals and keeping them in your player bag for some surprising good performance for cheap.

yeah, i know what you mean - i bought 2 prince spectrum's last year for almost nothing - think i gave $10.00 each for them.
i bought 2 POG last year - one for $14.50 and one for $8.50, man i love a bargain.

[jimanuel12]

Originally Posted by joe sch

Tricomp was and still is very unappreciated. Its very true that players in that era believed that 22 mm beam widths were for hackers without strokes. Its soo ironic the the babolats are now for players and very similar to those "girly" rackets The Prince Spectrum and even CTS Blast were also unappreciated rackets with similar good playability. I recommend buying some for steals and keeping them in your player bag for some surprising good performance for cheap.

i meant to ask - do you happen to know the specs for the tricomps?

[joe sch]

Originally Posted by jimanuel12

i meant to ask - do you happen to know the specs for the tricomps?

These are all I have for the Prince rackets:

Prince Boron Longbody 338/11.92/58/338
Prince CTS Lightning 110 355/12.52/63/333
Prince Graphite Pro 110 351/12.38/49/335
Prince Graphite Tour 321/11.32/72/341
Prince Mono 349/12.31/62/326
Prince Precision Graphite 640 360/12.70/61/332
Prince Spectrum Comp 90 368/12.98/67/345
Prince Woodie 376/13.26/35/335

Maybe Dino has some additional stats ? Would be nice to get some more the the Prince graphites ...

[pshulam]

Originally Posted by jimanuel12

yeah, i know what you mean - i bought 2 prince spectrum's last year for almost nothing - think i gave $10.00 each for them.
i bought 2 POG last year - one for $14.50 and one for $8.50, man i love a bargain.

The spectrum comp are definitely bargains. I hold on to two of them. One of the racquets still has a price tag of $189 (back then) inside the case. They are so solid and precise.

[jimanuel12]

Originally Posted by joe sch

These are all I have for the Prince rackets:

Prince Boron Longbody 338/11.92/58/338
Prince CTS Lightning 110 355/12.52/63/333
Prince Graphite Pro 110 351/12.38/49/335
Prince Graphite Tour 321/11.32/72/341
Prince Mono 349/12.31/62/326
Prince Precision Graphite 640 360/12.70/61/332
Prince Spectrum Comp 90 368/12.98/67/345
Prince Woodie 376/13.26/35/335

Maybe Dino has some additional stats ? Would be nice to get some more the the Prince graphites ...

thanks, i think Virgina said the specs for the spectrum are close to the tricomp.

[deco0028]

Took the Tricomp 90 for a hit some days back. I have only been playing for just over a year, so take my experience with that in mind. I find I am late a lot on my strokes with this racquet, it is probably my timing/footwork, but I seem to have less of that problem with my regular racquet(Dunlop Aerogel 4D 200 Tour), which is my go-to racquet. The balance must make the Tricomp seem heavier than it is. Curiously for a racquet with 14 x 18 string pattern, I find topspin hard to generate with the Tricomp. May have to do with racquet head speed. It hits a better flat ball, at least as far as I am concerned.
Have hit with a friend's Yonex RD-7, which I really liked for its topspin potential and sublime feel. My timing was better with that racquet.

[leroy_sunset]

I saw one of these at my local Goodwill, $8. I passed. The balance wasn't for me (I prefer very headlight) and the beam width sealed my 'no' vote.

[Hannah19]

I've got one in n.o.s. condition.
Maybe I'll string it up and have a go with it.
I love the Spectrum so the wider beam on the Tricomp puts me off a bit too.