Diary of a Racketaholic

[Power Player]

That tennis .com link is amazing. Wow. The video, everything is just perfection.

[Ross K]

Big,

Well, I am curious re the new APD, no denying that, absolutely. But I'm even more curious actually re the Steam.

I doubt I'll be looking at them for a while though here in the UK. So, in the meantime, the Juice has kind of won me over. I just want to focus on this for a bit, check out a few different string jobs, tweak a few different mod set ups.


Gads,

I have a very similar POV to your good self re my TGK 238.5. Something about the lay up, the build quality, the string-bed feel, the performance, etc, does seem to elevate the frame and raise it above its retail YT PP brother.

That said, the 'normal' ones must be 80% of what the p/stocks are (though I do now wish the retail was a bit lighter.) There's no way I'd want to get into the costly scenario of trying to hunt down two, or ideally, 3 of these racs. There's the whole mega-hassle business of customization, continual prizing on and off off CAP grommets, messing around with glue and even hair-dryers (no thanks).

Side-note: I seem to have long forgotten something I've only just picked up on in the last 24 hours... my TGK was half an inch longer in length than the retail YT PP... (Er, I think this right???)... This fact alone throws up a few things for me. "CONTEMPLATES"

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by PED

Ross, I've def got the shoe thing going on

I'm lucky enough to play frequently and almost always on HC so I burn thru most shoes in three months or so.

I just messed around swinging them didn't get a chance to play.

Hey PED,

Well, they say the first step is recognizing you have a problem, so congrats there my friend. To be honest though, I have known about this issue of yours for a little while now.

In fact, I can finally reveal to you that it was during the summer of 2010 that a concerned friend of yours sent me the below picture of himself after shortly opening your shoe cupboard. You may as well know, he was almost fatally asphyxiated and crushed in the avalanche.

May your addiction be quelled. Peace be unto you.

[JGads]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Side-note: I seem to have long forgotten something I've only just picked up on in the last 24 hours... my TGK was half an inch longer in length than the retail YT PP... (Er, I think this right???)... This fact alone throws up a few things for me. "CONTEMPLATES"

Dude, your comment got me thinking for a second about my own TGK's extended length and how I'd mentioned yesterday or the day before about how - while it's perfecto from the baseline - the one issue that crept up every now and then was getting jammed on shots inside the baseline and even sending some serves a tad long... Which had always been confusing to me since I'm used to the 7G and rarely ever feel I get jammed with it. So I thought, Hmm, went over to my bag, put my frames up beside each other and.. lo and behold, I realize that my tgk is actually about 27.75, not my 7G-like 27.5 like I'd thought. So, lightbulb.

Knowing this, I'm going to try to choke up a tad on some of those approach shots inside the baseline and on serve and see if it makes a difference for me there. If I can either adjust to this by wielding it full time, or make it work by choking up a tad on approaches (just hope this doesn't get too 'mental') then I'm good. If I can't make this work, then I may try to shorten this thing. Hmm.

[PED]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Hey PED,

Well, they say the first step is recognizing you have a problem, so congrats there my friend. To be honest though, I have known about this issue of yours for a little while now.

In fact, I can finally reveal to you that it was during the summer of 2010 that a concerned friend of yours sent me the below picture of himself after shortly opening your shoe cupboard. You may as well know, he was almost fatally asphyxiated and crushed in the avalanche.

May your addiction be quelled. Peace be unto you.

Notice that's just my Nike closet, I have another one for my Adidas

[bad_call]

Originally Posted by PED

Notice that's just my Nike closet, I have another one for my Adidas

and here i thought that addiction was confined to my feminine friends.

[PED]

Nice one,

I'm a rank amateur though. The guy who is really afflicted is the son of feds coach, Nick annacone, I follow him on twitter and it helps that he gets a constant supply of swag from Fed.

[Dags]

Originally Posted by JGads

Interesting idea. But one of the best things I love about the frame is that the extended length is there in the extra long handle, which makes two-handed backhands feel so so good. I'm clueless when it comes to grips and 'pallets' and such.. If this frame is extended with a Head grip/pallet on there now, could I get a Wilson pallet that's extra long as well, or am I getting a Wilson grip pallet (or that '82' Head Pallet that's like the more Wilson-like round shape) that would just leave a bit of the hairpin (I think that's what it's called) beneath exposed?

Just asking this for future reference because I know nothing about it, but the truth is, I'd be too afraid to mess with anything on this frame at the moment. Playing as is for the foreseeable future and will see where it takes me.

There are two current Head pallets that are available through retailers at the moment (and when I say 'available', I mean you have a chance of finding a proper outlet selling them, rather than having venture down some back alley).

TK82 is the regular Head grip shape. TK82S (that's the letter S, not a number 5) is the squarer one that you find on the Speed range. You can use either on your TGK. If you buy the pallets new, they are longer than a standard handle - you usually have to cut them down to fit. Be cautious buying second hand for your extended frame, as chances are the last bloke will have lopped off the end.

If you're curious as to what lurks under the pallet, there are a couple of pictures of a naked hairpin undergoing surgery on the first page of this very thread!

[Dags]

Originally Posted by Power Player

I hear you man..i just took advantage of the BFTW sale and grabbed some GR4s for $99 shipped. Just in time as i have worn down these babolats. I went a half size down as well.

PP, did we discuss the fit of the Speed Solutions? I have a feeling it was... if so, could you compare the GR4s to them when you've played in them? I've also had the GR3, Gel Game 3 and GR2 if a wider comparison is relevant.

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by Dags

PP, did we discuss the fit of the Speed Solutions? I have a feeling it was... if so, could you compare the GR4s to them when you've played in them? I've also had the GR3, Gel Game 3 and GR2 if a wider comparison is relevant.

Good question. The gr3s fit me true to size (i have a wider foot). The speed solutions hurt when i played tennis in them at first. It took weeks of break in by running or just wearing them around before they fit me, but now they fit rather well. If i get the gr4s i will post, but i am trying to go with vapor 9s as they are the best, and the sales were undeniably good yesterday.

[sansaephanh]

power player, hit up some nike outlets! I see some clean pairs of vapor tour 8's for 60$ normally. I would buy em, but my paycheck isnt in yet =P

[Power Player]

9s are so much better though..wider..more comfortable..they took the shoe to a much better level for my feet with the 9.

[sansaephanh]

Just had a hit with the good ol pro staff 6.0 95... God that thing is butter. It had BM@57lbs and I was playing like it was magic. Maybe I was wrong to go to a larger headsize. 93-95s seem to have everything i need (other then fitness and mental stability) to hit every shot in the world I want.

Okay, I may have lost a 4-0 lead in a dubs match to lose the next 6 games, but I blame fitness, mental stability, and the sun was that bright white light that blinds the world. That and I failed as a net man today.

Do they still sell the 95s? I dont think I want the BA's anymore. Nuuuu RHS strikes again!

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by sansaephanh

Just had a hit with the good ol pro staff 6.0 95... God that thing is butter. It had BM@57lbs and I was playing like it was magic. Maybe I was wrong to go to a larger headsize. 93-95s seem to have everything i need (other then fitness and mental stability) to hit every shot in the world I want.

Okay, I may have lost a 4-0 lead in a dubs match to lose the next 6 games, but I blame fitness, mental stability, and the sun was that bright white light that blinds the world. That and I failed as a net man today.

Do they still sell the 95s? I dont think I want the BA's anymore. Nuuuu RHS strikes again!

don't worry you'll be back as soon as the honeymoon period w/ the PS 6.0 95 is over. rackaholics can never be completely cured of this insideous disease. it's highly infectious and very contagious.

[JGads]

^^
Speaking of which, my fellow RHs, we may have lost another sweet soul to the darkness of Cortex. Mad Dog's digging the new APD, hitting extremely well with it. I haven't been able to find the same groove myself, it's just not the right frame for my stroke, am still digging the closed patterns and especially the tgk. But I will say this APD seems better to me than the previous two I tried for sure. I think MD described it the other day as being a more 'refined' APD and I have to agree.

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by JGads

^^
Speaking of which, my fellow RHs, we may have lost another sweet soul to the darkness of Cortex. Mad Dog's digging the new APD, hitting extremely well with it. I haven't been able to find the same groove myself, it's just not the right frame for my stroke, am still digging the closed patterns and especially the tgk. But I will say this APD seems better to me than the previous two I tried for sure. I think MD described it the other day as being a more 'refined' APD and I have to agree.

Great stuff, so, we have an RH convert already maybe?... but how about other diary holics?... post it up here guys!

[mad dog1]

yeah, i think i've spent more time with JGads' 2013 playtest APD than Gads himself. it's still got that signature "hollow, toylike" feel at contact that i'm not crazy about because i love racquets that offer great "feel", but i can't deny that i'm hitting really well w/ this stick. when Gads is hitting w/ any other stick, i do fine w/ my BC20, Black Ace 95, TT Rad OS, Yonex RDS001 MP, etc but once he switches to the TGK, it feels like he shrinks the court in length. groundstrokes off of the TGK come at me with more pace, the ball has more action. it kicks up and is on me before i'm set so i feel pressured. when the TGK is in play, Gadsy is dictating play. only with the APD GT do i feel like i'm on equal footing where i can turn defense to offense. when Gads pulls me wide, the APD is able to get defensive shots back deep enough with enough pace that it's harder to attack so i can reset the rally. and if i play aggressive 1st strike tennis, i can rip winners because the APD seems to have limitless power in reserve that i can dial up whenever needed. and the easy spin is at my fingertips allowing me to keep the ball in play. with my players sticks, i can hit the same shots, but i have to try harder so i make more UEs. i don't have to try to so hard to rip a winner w/ the APD. i just swing freely and the ball just zips off the stringbed. bh slices seemed to float on me on the 1st time, but i got it sorted out this time. i was having some trouble w/ the extra pop last time that was causing some of my shots to go long last time. i had less trouble this time.

the only thing that has me hestitating is that my shoulder and wrist are feeling sore now which could be due to playing too much w/ the stiff APD, or it could just be the result of playing 7 nights over the past 9 days. also JGads planted a poisonous seed in my mind mentioning how the TW playtesters seemed to like the APD GT+ version over the APD GT so now i'm conflicted enough that i may just need to demo the 2 sticks side by side so i can know for sure. damn that Gadsy!

[JGads]

Double it up and invite me to the DoubleAero test! (see how my evil works?)

Not much I can add to MD's very good above summation. My own hitting with the APD -- my trajectory is too loopy, can't seem to make the slices stay low and too many forehands spring off the bed and end up going just long instead of clipping the line... But I will say, from the other side of the net, in MD's hand, the APD does create a nasty nose-diving ball that can be so tough to handle when it's nailed just right, because as MD says, the power on tap is just so easy and huge.

Another finding of the last two nights, unrelated to racquets: it seems I need approximately two hours of warm-up hitting. After that, it's Go Time.

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by JGads

Double it up and invite me to the DoubleAero test! (see how my evil works?)

Not much I can add to MD's very good above summation. My own hitting with the APD -- my trajectory is too loopy, can't seem to make the slices stay low and too many forehands spring off the bed and end up going just long instead of clipping the line... But I will say, from the other side of the net, in MD's hand, the APD does create a nasty nose-diving ball that can be so tough to handle when it's nailed just right, because as MD says, the power on tap is just so easy and huge.

Another finding of the last two nights, unrelated to racquets: it seems I need approximately two hours of warm-up hitting. After that, it's Go Time.

gadsy has a diesel motor that just takes some time to warm up and get going!

[Ross K]

@ mad dog

So much of what you day MD is precisely why I've liked the APD Original for so long. A unique frame from the b-line. But just to play devil's advocate for a second, ever considered the Juice 100? For me it's (as has been said before) like a cross between the APD and PD.

It hits a similarish basic topspin g/stroke to the Aero (okay, maybe I slightly prefer the APD here, but I prefer the APD to everything in this very particular regard!) - I'd say the J hits more of a stinging ball, whereas the APD hits more of a booming blasting ball. Whatever. For trajectory/loop I find it marginally APD>J100>with PD a way behind these 2. I do think J has better control and accuracy, plus the spin is at least equal to APD. In terms specifically of responsiveness, I find it also better than the Aeropro, equal to PD (this is one area I really thought the PD 2012 shone) - coming in off the backcourt a bit, hitting more angles, nailing winners I'd say Juice/PD tied, APD a bit behind.

It serves, for me, more effectively than the APD (never could quite find my groove with the APD in this dept), and is close up there with the PD (a frame I rank just about at the top for serving). Still formulating serve impressions. Great pop and action.

In my recent dallying with the PD 2012, I found it still to be ultimately a bit jarring and uncomfortable. The Juice 100 however, seems just a bit softer, a bit plusher, the vibes are filtered out a bit better. I found the PD to be to be very solid, a very solid hammer of a frame. But that undoubted solidness doesn't take away from the jarring impact. Feel-wise then, J is softer than the PD, a tad stiffer than my APD Originals. There's also a certain crisp quality that I'm liking more and more. Yes, it's still a tweener absolutely, but the Juice has a bit more of that feeling of 'body' or support or whatever, as with, say, a PST - I think the PWS has something to do with this perception.

Another thing (PED mentioned this recently): the J100 swings very, very fast, faster than the APD Original. It really tears into the ball. I felt the PD also swung mega-quick. Obviously SW/static weight being lowish on these racs has a lot of bearing.

It is also (especially with one of the lead set ups I was looking at last week) surprisingly good for more all court, up in the air stuff - and I'm talking to the extent a reg. hitting partner commented on Friday during a particular drill, he'd never seen me get back so many volleys before... FWIW I've also noted a better conversion rate re droppers with the J (I say "FWIW" as all court isn't really my game).

Anyhow, you get the picture. As was said to me for ages by TTers, if you like the APD, it's seriously worth consideing the J100.