Bio 500 Tour

[acura9927]

Can someone suggest a better string for the 500t than what it came with? It's strung mid tension with silk and my elbow feels it on first serves with power. Looking for a better multi with more comfort and more spin, power level I'm happy with the stick as is.

[acura9927]

I sold the Bio 500T on the site starts with E.
Me and the stick didnt connect somehow, the SW and balance to me were under par compared to the 300T and 400T.
I know you guys said it swung light but I didnt feel that, it felt heavy and swung like a Juice Pro to me.
I may buy a 2nd Bio 300T as it is by far the best stick I've tried all year and I've tried probably 12-15.

[un6a]

I had few more sessions with this beautifull baby with full poly job. Here are my thougs.

Pros:
- Great feel. It have one of the best feel at contact i have experienced. Great pocketing due to very open string pattern.
- Serving. It is really good racquet for serving, both flat and even more notably kick serves.
- Nice weight and balance. It is only 2-3 headlight, but it feels manuverable yet solid at contact.
- It is pretty stable for its weight, i didn't experienced any vibration or torque like with 400 Tour in stock form.

Cons:
- Depth control. I was hitting long more than usuall. From forehand i could keep ball in when i put enough spin on the ball, but i could not find confidence with my flatter 2HBH.
- Small sweetspot for 100 inch head size. Sweetspot is narrow and probablly smallest from all 100 inch head size racquets i tested so far.
- String durability. It is string shredder. With so open string pattern there is much bigger stress on strings and they lose tension faster, start to move faster and they are more notched than usual.

As for spin, i don't think my shots jumped higher than with other frames with tighter patterns. I can get decent spin with all string patterns, but i noticed
that my shots were heavier with added power and hitting partners which are used to my game had more problems with my forehand shots.

I like hitting with this frame, but in training sets with my hitting partners i had worse results than usual, just because of more unforced errors. I'm just not as confident from baseline like with 400T for example.

I will give it one more chance and i will string it with thicker gauge a little bit higher next time. I like some aspects of this frame, but need to fix depth control issue.

[LeeD]

500's benefit from thicker strings....less bounce, more control, longer lasting, softer feel.
String at 52, swing out at every stroke...don't bunt the ball.
Stiffness can hurt your elbow/shoulder/wrist with tiny grips, but if you hit center, it's no problem. I use 5/8th with an overgrip, medium hands.

[SteveI]

Originally Posted by LeeD

500's benefit from thicker strings....less bounce, more control, longer lasting, softer feel.
String at 52, swing out at every stroke...don't bunt the ball.
Stiffness can hurt your elbow/shoulder/wrist with tiny grips, but if you hit center, it's no problem. I use 5/8th with an overgrip, medium hands.

The 500 Series are frames designed for full, fast and the more modern game. They are as LeeD states, are not for short bunting strokes. The only way to get the best out of this series is to take full rips at the ball. The sweetspot is somewhat narrow and rewards clean ball striking. Outside of sweetpot can be somewhat harsh and jarring. The RA being quite high can cause arm pain and soreness if you string too high. I had some nice results using 16G softer co-polys just over mid tension. If you plan is to string high with a stiffer poly to obtain better control than you are in for a possible sore arm, wrist or shoulder.

[un6a]

My current string job is SP Hyperion (1.24) at 53/51. I plan to string it with with SP Tornado (1.29) at 55/53 next time.
I hope that thicker gauge will also holds tension better.

[SteveI]

Originally Posted by un6a

My current string job is SP Hyperion (1.24) at 53/51. I plan to string it with with SP Tornado (1.29) at 55/53 next time.
I hope that thicker gauge will also holds tension better.

A string that works nice in that frame is the IsoSpeed Baseline 16G

[LeeD]

Should be fine.
I find bigger gauge strings hold tension AND last longer, but don't provide as much spring or trampoline effect.
55 can be quite stiff a tension, as that racket tends to play on the stiff side and the ball leaves the strings VERY quickly even at 50 lbs. for me.

[acura9927]

I hated this racquet. I had the same feeling you guys had, small sweetspot and harsh feel outside of the sweet spot.

[LeeD]

Different strokes (or racket's) for different strokes.
I like the 10 oz 500 better than the Tours, and took all the weight I added to my 500's off and play them stock with an OG.
I still hit better with my 200's.
I play points better with the lighter 500's. The two are not the same.

[SteveI]

Originally Posted by LeeD

Different strokes (or racket's) for different strokes.
I like the 10 oz 500 better than the Tours, and took all the weight I added to my 500's off and play them stock with an OG.
I still hit better with my 200's.
I play points better with the lighter 500's. The two are not the same.

The sweetpot is fine if you string about mid tension and with a softer/thicker poly with nice ball pocketing. Another string I used was Gosen OG ProForm Ruff 16G.. very low power and easy on the arm and wallet

[LeeD]

Point noted.
All 3 have some form of Lux16 at 52 lbs., and seem a little tight overall.