Mikeler's Multis

[colan5934]

Mikeler, I apologize if this has been asked before. I'm battling some shoulder tendonitis, and I'm looking for a cross string that will soften the bed and still provide a little bit of spin. I'll be using Tour Bite 1.20 mains. I'm thinking of keeping the tension the same at 56 all around. I've tried stringing lower with a syn gut cross, and the control doesn't remain the same, and with a syn gut cross at 56, I still have a good deal of pain after matches. I don't want to drop a lot of cash on gut, but I'd like a softer multi. I was thinking maybe Thunderblast or MCS? Any other suggestions? I'm using a Pure Storm with a leather grip and 2 overgrips and lead at 3 and 9. Total weight is 11.6 oz.

[dkt]

Having battled tendonitis in both shoulder and elbow, I don't think you will be helping your shoulder cause appreciably as long as you have poly in your mains. That said I have enjoyed Biphase X1 (very soft), it just doesn't last long enough to say it is an economical solution. Really hated giving up the poly, but I can't argue with the results, pain free is a good place. Currently I have enjoyed NG mains and Biphase crosses.

[colan5934]

Yeah, I can't exactly use a multi in full. I play 6 days a week at a Division 2 college. I'd be restringing 3 or 4 times a week. Just looking to reduce the soreness afterward. Natural gut would be ideal, but I don't have the budget for it.

[Ronaldo]

Originally Posted by colan5934

Yeah, I can't exactly use a multi in full. I play 6 days a week at a Division 2 college. I'd be restringing 3 or 4 times a week. Just looking to reduce the soreness afterward. Natural gut would be ideal, but I don't have the budget for it.

Does the team provide string?

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by colan5934

Mikeler, I apologize if this has been asked before. I'm battling some shoulder tendonitis, and I'm looking for a cross string that will soften the bed and still provide a little bit of spin. I'll be using Tour Bite 1.20 mains. I'm thinking of keeping the tension the same at 56 all around. I've tried stringing lower with a syn gut cross, and the control doesn't remain the same, and with a syn gut cross at 56, I still have a good deal of pain after matches. I don't want to drop a lot of cash on gut, but I'd like a softer multi. I was thinking maybe Thunderblast or MCS? Any other suggestions? I'm using a Pure Storm with a leather grip and 2 overgrips and lead at 3 and 9. Total weight is 11.6 oz.

First off, how about trying the new Tour Bite Soft that just came out? Second, I would suggest lowering the tension of your poly quite a bit. If you are D2, I'm sure you are hitting harder than me but I think it is still worth a shot. When I used the Pure Storm Tour, it seemed like high 40s was a good tension for me.

As for the cross string question, MCS will be the softest but Tour Bite is pretty sharp from what I remember just feeling it. It may chew through the MCS too quickly for your needs. The white Thunder Blast is softer than the black, so that might be "the one" to try.

My favorite multis are listed in order in Post #1 of this thread, so any of those top ones may also be candidates, I have just never tried them as crosses. I was hoping to try out Babolat NvY and Discho Microfibre crosses with Weiss Cannon B5E mains but I'm starting to get some tennis elbow again so that may have to wait.

[colan5934]

Thanks for your input. I strung one up this morning with Tour Bite mains and PPA crosses at 50 all around. Feels better. I've played low tensions before, so that's a minimal adjustment. My coach doesn't have Thunder Blast in the shop, so I might have to order a set to try. I feel like this soreness is going to persist for awhile.

To your Tour Bite Soft question, I tried it, and it just wasn't the same. Just not crisp enough for me when compared to the regular tour bite.

My coach does provide string, but only Kirschbaum Super Smash (insanely stiff) and Prince Synthetic Duraflex

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by colan5934

Thanks for your input. I strung one up this morning with Tour Bite mains and PPA crosses at 50 all around. Feels better. I've played low tensions before, so that's a minimal adjustment. My coach doesn't have Thunder Blast in the shop, so I might have to order a set to try. I feel like this soreness is going to persist for awhile.

To your Tour Bite Soft question, I tried it, and it just wasn't the same. Just not crisp enough for me when compared to the regular tour bite.

My coach does provide string, but only Kirschbaum Super Smash (insanely stiff) and Prince Synthetic Duraflex

I have not tried either version of Tour Bite. My B5E/Thunder blast hybrid never seemed all that stiff and I got crazy spin with it. Might be worth trying a half set of that.

[mikeler]

Just ordered a set of Solinco Tour Bite Soft 17 1.20 and Yonex Tournament Super 850 Pro 16 at Morten's suggestion. I tried the non-Pro Yonex version a few years back and was not impressed. I looked up the Pro version reviews and many were positive.

[parasailing]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Just ordered a set of Solinco Tour Bite Soft 17 1.20 and Yonex Tournament Super 850 Pro 16 at Morten's suggestion. I tried the non-Pro Yonex version a few years back and was not impressed. I looked up the Pro version reviews and many were positive.

Let us know how it compares to Yonex Poly Pro Tour. I think one of these two polys will go perfect as a cross with natural gut mains. I have tried the Yonex and love one but wondering how well Tour Bite Soft compares.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by parasailing

Let us know how it compares to Yonex Poly Pro Tour. I think one of these two polys will go perfect as a cross with natural gut mains. I have tried the Yonex and love one but wondering how well Tour Bite Soft compares.

The Yonex is a multi.

[mikeler]

I retested tensions on my setups. Isospeed Control Classic has now lost over 25% tension. PPA is at 7.7% and prestretched X1 is at 7%. I have not hit with PPA or X1 yet.

[parasailing]

Originally Posted by mikeler

The Yonex is a multi.

So are you going to hybrid the two? I was wondering why you posted about the Tour Bite when this is a multi thread .

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by parasailing

So are you going to hybrid the two? I was wondering why you posted about the Tour Bite when this is a multi thread .

I'll probably play the Yonex full bed. Not sure what I'll cross the Tour Bite Soft with. Man people get uptight when I talk about polys here!

[mikeler]

I hit on the wall for 5 minutes today to assess my elbow. It was a little tender on some shots with the Isospeed Classic Control. So I switched over to the X1 setup and did not feel a thing which means the Isospeed will most likely get the scissors and I'll probably post a review tomorrow.

[Ronaldo]

Originally Posted by mikeler

I'll probably play the Yonex full bed. Not sure what I'll cross the Tour Bite Soft with. Man people get uptight when I talk about polys here!

Painful memories when polys are mentioned

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Ronaldo

Painful memories when polys are mentioned

I know, I'm probably going to have to delay any "p" testing until my elbow gets a little bit better.

[parasailing]

Originally Posted by mikeler

I hit on the wall for 5 minutes today to assess my elbow. It was a little tender on some shots with the Isospeed Classic Control. So I switched over to the X1 setup and did not feel a thing which means the Isospeed will most likely get the scissors and I'll probably post a review tomorrow.

X1 is the best and nothing like it unless Laserfibre SNPSG comes back, sigh always wanted to try out what I was missing .

[sstchur]

Originally Posted by parasailing

X1 is the best and nothing like it unless Laserfibre SNPSG comes back, sigh always wanted to try out what I was missing .

I never had a chance to try Laserfibre, but I've heard so many people rave about it.

X1 is alright, but it's not as good as Gamma Professional.

[2handsbothsides]

I have played Laserfibre SNPSG years ago when it was sold by TW. Yes it was one of the better multi's of the day, but no better than current premium multi's. I would compare it with Prince Premier LT for its soft somewhat muted feel but I would rank Babolat Xcel better than SNPSG as it has equal feel but better tension maintenance. X1 is great for an initial hard hit but losses its crisp play by the 2nd time out and very quickly becomes inconsistent for my game.

[mikeler]

I played 2 sets of singles with the prestretched X1 last night. The good news to report is that the tension loss according to RacquetTune is that it only went from 7.1% tension loss to 7.7% which is quite impressive. The bad news is that it does not feel like the X1 without the prestretch. That free almost gut like power on demand is nowhere to be found. It still plays pretty well especially on touch shots and still produces some of the best spin of any of the multis.

Tennis is cruel. Just as my tennis elbow went away, I got a wrist injury. Then when the wrist healed, on 1 shot last week my TE came back and is worse than ever. Time to hang up the rackets for a few weeks.