Volkl Cyclone Tour Playtest

[tyu1314]

Originally Posted by Centerforward71

I know I could provide quality feedback on string test. How does one get on the play testers list ? Also is it too late for this one ?

There is no play tester listS, you just have to email them your shipping adress when they just opened a playtest thread and request people to play test string.
I think its too late now because they already sent them out, but correct me if i am wrong.

[EastAngels2014]

Originally Posted by tyu1314

There is no play tester listS, you just have to email them your shipping adress when they just opened a playtest thread and request people to play test string.
I think its too late now because they already sent them out, but correct me if i am wrong.

It is closed, keep a look out i bet there will be another one soon for a different string

[tyu1314]

Yea, thats what i thought ,reason why i say i am not 100% sure its close because they usually anounce it when they are close,but i dont see that any where on this thread.

[wrxinsc]

Got mine today and strung it up today. Definitely soft according to the stringing. I hit dubs with it tonight and will continue to play some singles and training in the week ahead and report back in detail. So far it is OK but not about its touch. Also needs some more time to break in. It was cold tonight too.

[EastAngels2014]

Originally Posted by tyu1314

Yea, thats what i thought ,reason why i say i am not 100% sure its close because they usually anounce it when they are close,but i dont see that any where on this thread.

its the very first post but maybe they changed it but it did say it was closed a few days ago

[djNEiGht]

Originally Posted by Centerforward71

I know I could provide quality feedback on string test. How does one get on the play testers list ? Also is it too late for this one ?

keep an eye out for play test threads and follow instructions on the 1st page...and yes

[pvaudio]

Where it now says "Strings have shipped" it used to say "Spots are now filled" or something of the sort.

[pvaudio]

Got mine today, pics incoming.

[pvaudio]

Sorry for the color balance, I was trying to get the most out of the macros as I could. Nonetheless, you can see that this isn't any ordinarily twisted poly:

[mad dog1]

i received the 16g version and strung it up. because it's a softer poly, it's fairly easy to weave. due to the twisted profile, it does have a bit of coil memory, but it's not too bad. based on Chris' and Andy's review of the 17g where they commented on the high power level and ultimately settled at a tension 3-5#s higher than usual, i increased my usual poly tension by 3#s. just bouncing the ball on the ground w/ the stick, i can already tell this string is soft and has alot more power than i expected. will know more when i hit w/ it later, but i have a feeling i should've gone higher.

so just a heads up y'all might wanna plan to string 4-5# higher than your usual poly tension.

[purple-n-gold]

^^thanks md, I'm gonna string it up at 60 then. I received the 17g today. I'm currently trying out Black Magic 16g @ 57lbs for the stringforum and it's pretty stiff, really liked the 17g version last summer, had better feel and pocketing.

[Doubles]

I strung my 17g set at 47 lbs. I'll report back in a few days as to how it plays.

[Andyroo10567]

Picked up the string in my mailbox. In my preferred gauge as well! Will be looking forward to how this would compare to my other strings.

[mad dog1]

hit with it and it felt good for the first 10 mins or so then the tension started dropping as the string settled in. after that, it was WHOA, NELLIE!!! definite lack of control. if i were to do it again, i would string this up +5 to 6#s higher for sure instead of the +3# that i strung it at. it's definitely soft and comfortable enough that increasing tension some won't be too stiff.

[Andyroo10567]

Originally Posted by mad dog1

hit with it and it felt good for the first 10 mins or so then the tension started dropping as the string settled in. after that, it was WHOA, NELLIE!!! definite lack of control. if i were given a 2nd try, i would string this up +5 to 6#s higher for sure instead of the +3# that i strung it at. it's definitely soft and comfortable enough that increasing tension some won't be too stiff.

Did you prestretch?

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by Andyroo10567

Did you prestretch?

i strung it on an electronic CP machine and leave the string tensioned for 10 secs to let the tension stabilize before clamping off.

both chris and andy mentioned the lack of control as well in their review. i can definitely see why. this is not the best control string which are the strings that work best for me.

[pvaudio]

Frame is ready to be strung, time to playtest.

[purple-n-gold]

Initial impressions are good, has more of a muted feel, good spin, everything was nice and controlled strung at 60lbs on a LO.

[Tmano]

so last night i tried/tested for a couple of hours the volk cyclone tour 1.25 mainly fromthe baseline.

my usual strings Tour bite 1.25 strung at 46lbs and scorpion 1.22 47lbs
racquet used: microgel prestige MP
string tension: 49lbs
set up used: full bed cyclone tour
stringing machine; gamma progression 2 drop weight

first impression: by just looking at it due to the twisted gear i thought it look like BHS rough.
Stringing it: i'm not the most expert stringer here but i really thought i was not hard at all weaving the string all thought it has some coil memory that can bother a little but it was not too bad. it's definitely softer than cyclone which i strung a few times.also i noticed that once the racquet was strung i had way more string left on the table than with mostly of other strings. TW suggested because softer than the original cyclone to string it 3/4 lbs tighter but because of the 18/20 string pattern of my racquet i went up to my usual tension a couple of lbs only.

hitting session

first 10 minutes the string bed felt a bit stiff, not like cyclone but a comfortable stiffness, then some how or it lost some tension right away or it was only the break in time. after the 10 minutes i really noticed the difference when hitting the ball. i could almost feel the ball sitting for a fraction of a second on the string bed( like it was a pillow) kind being wrapped by the string bed and coming off nicely.
i can tell for sure that these string would be a good fit for flat hitters. I hit top spin and flat on bought wings and i got to say that the balls coming off flat were traveling with a lot more power and penetration that when i use tour bite. spin is very nice too but i did not notice it had more than the original cyclone but it is still a very good amount of spin.
i did have any complain about the control at all, i could do anything i wanted hitting any area of the court.
when hitting the FH the balls coming off were pretty deep heavy and i was constantly pushing back my tennis buddy and i really thought it was very easy to change direction to the ball.
slice back had was great! ball was traveling really close to the net, deep and once bouced it sliced away. Also the side spin was very good as well.
i had some issue at the beginning with the double hands back hand, i could not really feel the ball on the string bed as when using the FH. however, after a little i got used to it softness and i had no more issue. my friend said that i could generate some nice power and the ball was pretty deep and heavy.
initial final thought are that it's for sure a softer string and with some more power that cyclone, but controllable even though some times i thought it was a bit springy. i really enjoyed flatting balls out which i believe it's the main quality of the string in my opinion. after my hitting session the gear in the middle of the string bed was gone.....little disappointed.


i will get back to you guys with more about the string especially serve, volley and feel..

however, if i had to string my racquet again i would not go higher than 50lbs with a 18/20 string pattern

[mad dog1]

Include the following in your review:

Gauge of playtest string: 16G

Tension used for playtest: 53# strung on an electronic CP machine

Regular string set up: Discho Iontec salmon 1.25 @ 50# or Solinco Tour Bite 16L/Iontec Hexa 1.20 @ 48/50#

Racquet brand and model used for test: Vantage BC20

Power of test string:Very high, especially for a poly. It was very elastic and springy.

Feel: Cyclone Tour offered good feel. I could feel the stringbed pocketing the ball.

Spin: Average. Here’s where I was really surprised. Given the twisted gear shape of the string, I was expecting some good action on the ball. I didn’t get any more spin with this string than any other typical round poly. I get A LOT more spin w/ Tour Bite.

Comfort: Excellent! VERY comfy. I was a bit concerned that stringing up a full bed of poly 3# higher than usual would result in a very stiff and uncomfortable string bed, but was very surprised how plush this was. In fact, I probably should have increased the tension another 2-3#s.

Durability: No issues w/ string breakage.

Playability Duration (share thoughts on if/how the playability changed over time) : After the first few strokes, I realized that I should have strung this higher. My groundstrokes were all landing very deep. After 10 mins, the string bed had settled in and the tension felt a bit lower and the string bed got launchy. Everything was going long. I tried closing the angle of the racquet face but that didn’t help much. Nearly everything was either long or into the net. Basically after the first 10 mins, the string bed wasn’t playable for me. I did try to hit with these strings 2 more times and it wasn’t any better. After what was maybe a total of 60 mins of hitting, I looked at the strings around the sweetspot and noticed that the gears had worn down. Very surprising given the little amount of play time I had on this string bed.
Control (predictable trajectory? performance on different strokes and swing speeds?): I had issues with directional and depth control. Felt ok for the 1st 10 mins and after that, I couldn’t hit with any sort of consistency. I have 2 BC20s. I strung one w/ Cyclone Tour and the other w/ Iontec. I would go back and forth between the two sticks. Hit with the Cyclone Tour for 10 mins and couldn’t control the ball. Then I’d switch to the one w/ Iontec and the control was back. The ball would go exactly where I was hitting it. I’d switch back to Cyclone Tour and the control was gone. Because it was lacking in control I never felt confident swinging out due to fear of hitting long.

Tension recommendations (after hitting it, would you recommend a different tension? Why?): in an attempt to improve control, I would try this string at 56# or I would try it in a stiffer racquet. Given the low stiffness of the BC20 (50RA) and the elastic nature of Cyclone Tour, I wasn’t shocked that control was poor for me. Had I known Cyclone Tour was this soft and stretchy, I would have playtested this in a stiffer frame.

Compare to the string you use most often: Compared to Discho Iontec salmon 1.25 and Kirschbaum Super Smash Orange 17, Cyclone Tour was softer and more comfortable but at the expense of control. With the lack of control, I was unable to swing confidently and was not able to generate as much spin, pace, and heaviness to my shots.

If you have played with the original Cyclone, please compare.: I have not tried the original Cyclone string before.

Thanks TW for this playtest opportunity!