What can I expect from this?

Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
IMG_20180704_183925.jpg


IMG_20180704_183934.jpg


IMG_20180704_183951.jpg




Aside from the billions of paint scraps and chips, the rotten grip held by a rusted staple, the dust mixed with rust, the missing trap door and being left in the open for days and days on end, it's not in that bad of a place... purely structurally speaking. The bumper even seems usable! Obviously it has seen some much better days...

This Flexpoint Prestige MP was left in my club's equivalent of a racquet bin, where usually you only find kids' racquets for the school activities held by the club for the city. Well it sure stood out like a sore thumb!

Advertised specs are as follow, unstrung of corse: 98in², 320g (11.3oz), 310mm balance (10.5HL), 18*20 string pattern and standard length. The code on the pallet reads "TK82".
 
Last edited:
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
CopolyX said:
inspect the frame totally once the grommets are off. clean it...
replace the grommets
Click to expand...
I removed the grommets: no obvious sign of any kind of structural damage to be seen.

EDIT: And obviously, trying to put the grommets that held the knots is no picnic. So much so that I cant get them back in place at all!
 
Last edited:
esgee48

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
The Wise One said REPLACE the grommets, not REUSE. :rolleyes:

If you are adamant about REUSE, getting flared grommets back thru the frame is almost impossible. Better to UNFLARE them or cut them off and use FITTEX replacements where they once were.
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
esgee48 said:
The Wise One said REPLACE the grommets, not REUSE. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I did not want to try to chase after a new grommet set for a long discontinued racquet I don't know anything about besides its reputation based on forum reviews, hence the thread. At least I tried. :p Didn't have that much trouble putting back flared grommets back on my other frames...
EDIT: The only hits I'm getting on grommet sets on €bay are from overseas. I'd want to avoid that: not only the international shipping but paying 20 to 30€ for a set of grommets...
 
Last edited:
Zoolander

Zoolander

Hall of Fame
Lukhas said:
I did not want to try to chase after a new grommet set for a long discontinued racquet I don't know anything about besides its reputation based on forum reviews, hence the thread. At least I tried. :p Didn't have that much trouble putting back flared grommets back on my other frames...
EDIT: The only hits I'm getting on grommet sets on €bay are from overseas. I'd want to avoid that: not only the international shipping but paying 20 to 30€ for a set of grommets...
Click to expand...

I have trimmed just the flared end off grommets and got them back in a few times, if they arent too bad. Might end up with just enough grommet to clear the hole.
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
Zoolander said:
I have trimmed just the flared end off grommets and got them back in a few times, if they arent too bad. Might end up with just enough grommet to clear the hole.
Click to expand...
I ended up with just NOT enough to clear the hole. With the difficulty of finding grommets, I suppose this frame will go in the closet. I went to my local generalist sports goods shop to see if I could order some, but no luck.
 
Zoolander

Zoolander

Hall of Fame
Lukhas said:
I ended up with just NOT enough to clear the hole. With the difficulty of finding grommets, I suppose this frame will go in the closet. I went to my local generalist sports goods shop to see if I could order some, but no luck.
Click to expand...

Bummer! If you string poly I would think it should be fine and not snap there on the frame..... or you could cut that particular grommet out of the strip and use tube for just that hole, or you could cut a similar grommet out of another grommet strip for a different frame that you can get cheap, and use just that one?
 
J

jxs653

Professional
esgee48 said:
The Wise One said REPLACE the grommets, not REUSE. :rolleyes:

If you are adamant about REUSE, getting flared grommets back thru the frame is almost impossible. Better to UNFLARE them or cut them off and use FITTEX replacements where they once were.
Click to expand...
It was no wise advice at all to take off the grommets without an extra set of grommets.


To OP: what can you expect from this?

Wawrinka used to use the same racquet and if you cannot play his level it's your fault not racquet's ;)
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
Zoolander said:
Bummer! If you string poly I would think it should be fine and not snap there on the frame..... or you could cut that particular grommet out of the strip and use tube for just that hole, or you could cut a similar grommet out of another grommet strip for a different frame that you can get cheap, and use just that one?
Click to expand...
I suppose I should look into tubing, or be lucky enough to find a cap Flexpoint grommet set at an affordable price. The grommets are quite small and short, way shorter than the ones on my (now decommissioned) Response 97, my RF97 or and especially my X Fast Pro. That, or cutting some grommets off my leftover Response 97 grommets, but I don't feel comfortable cutting from something brand new to try to hack old material. We shall see.
jxs653 said:
To OP: what can you expect from this?

Wawrinka used to use the same racquet and if you cannot play his level it's your fault not racquet's ;)
Click to expand...
Wawrinka also uses RPM Blast... Let's say that I would consider using braided dental floss before Babolat's offering. :p
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
vsbabolat said:
I have YT Prestige grommets on mine
Click to expand...
mhkeuns said:
If it’s a MP, any Prestige MP grommets will fit.
Click to expand...
That's interesting. I thought other Prestige grommets wouldn't fit because of the Flexpoint groove. I suppose it should be easier to find YT or IG Prestige grommets than Flexpoint ones. Do you know if first generation Graphene Prestige MP grommet fit? TWE seems to have some in stock.
 
Last edited:
mhkeuns

mhkeuns

Hall of Fame
Lukhas said:
That's interesting. I thought other Prestige grommets wouldn't fit because of the Flexpoint groove. I suppose it should be easier to find YT or IG Prestige grommets than Flexpoint ones. Do you know if first generation Graphene Prestige MP grommet fit? TWE seems to have some in stock.
Click to expand...

I had the IG Prestige MP anniversary version that I put on the black Yutek MP grommets, as well as the red Graphene Prestige MP grommets. I think it should fit without a problem.
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
IMG_20180711_154841.jpg


I did need some help from the hairdryer to get them through, but apparently I can put Graphene XT Prestige MP grommets in a Flexpoint Prestige MP. However, I would've preferred for the grommets to be red; should've picked Graphene Prestige MP grommets and not Graphene XT, but whatever.
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
I eventually managed to play a practice match with it. Pros: very predictable. I think the word that came to my mind was "linear" for some reason (aside that I'm not a native English speaker). Cons? Well... 12oz/340g strung without OG and yet neither the power nor the stability to match the weight. The upper hoop has very little in it; at least it isn't brassy, the hoop flexes, but I wouldn't say it's comfortable due to very average stability. It takes effort to do anything with it; at least the sweetspot isn't pea sized. But since the hoop is so narrow, hitting out of the sweetspot means shanking anyway... :p

I liked playing with it because it is a very predictable and precise feeling racquet, one you can really swing with a lot of confidence, not thinking about any hot spot or anything like that. That said, it has a hard time justifying its weight. I experienced most of the drawbacks of higher static weight without most of the usual advantages. I suppose this why the Prestiges were so liked.
 
SpinToWin

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
Lukhas said:
I eventually managed to play a practice match with it. Pros: very predictable. I think the word that came to my mind was "linear" for some reason (aside that I'm not a native English speaker). Cons? Well... 12oz/340g strung without OG and yet neither the power nor the stability to match the weight. The upper hoop has very little in it; at least it isn't brassy, the hoop flexes, but I wouldn't say it's comfortable due to very average stability. It takes effort to do anything with it; at least the sweetspot isn't pea sized. But since the hoop is so narrow, hitting out of the sweetspot means shanking anyway... :p

I liked playing with it because it is a very predictable and precise feeling racquet, one you can really swing with a lot of confidence, not thinking about any hot spot or anything like that. That said, it has a hard time justifying its weight. I experienced most of the drawbacks of higher static weight without most of the usual advantages. I suppose this why the Prestiges were so liked.
Click to expand...
Needs weight at 3/9 unfortunately. My XL’s have it and play wonderfully now! Try a few grams, maybe it helps you, I find you suddenly get a way more stable experience and a pretty heavy spin-laden ball interestingly enough.
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
SpinToWin said:
Needs weight at 3/9 unfortunately. My XL’s have it and play wonderfully now! Try a few grams, maybe it helps you, I find you suddenly get a way more stable experience and a pretty heavy spin-laden ball interestingly enough.
Click to expand...
I'd need to measure the swing weight with the TW tool, but I though I was heading towards long strips at noon. While I prefer how 3&9 swings, I also understand why long strips at 12 o'clock are so popular nowadays.
 
SpinToWin

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
Lukhas said:
I'd need to measure the swing weight with the TW tool, but I though I was heading towards long strips at noon. While I prefer how 3&9 swings, I also understand why long strips at 12 o'clock are so popular nowadays.
Click to expand...
Or do both. My regular IG Prestige MPs have like 13g in the hoop in total lol
 
SpinToWin

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
Lukhas said:
Was that the one you had extended yourself?
Click to expand...
No. Those extended myself didn’t last unfortunately, it’s need something stiffer to hold it together. The Flexpoint Prestige XL hit the floor hard after slipping from my hand on serve... and the upper hoop caved :(
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
Lukhas said:
I'd need to measure the swing weight with the TW tool, but I though I was heading towards long strips at noon. While I prefer how 3&9 swings, I also understand why long strips at 12 o'clock are so popular nowadays.
Click to expand...
Now that's interesting. I felt there wasn't much weight in the hoop, but with the TW SW calculator, I found an average swingweight out of 5 measurements of 331 for 342g with OG and 32.4cm balance (roughly 6pts HL). So there is weight... somewhere. Every three grams of weight at noon adds 10 SW points. Every 3g at 3 & 9 o'clock add 5 SW. I most likely won't add weight at noon, even if it wouldn't bring the racquet anywhere near my X Fast Pros. That said, I've tested weight at noon vs. weight on the sides in the past on other racquets: I prefer how weight on the side swings, but I also think that long strips at noon is the way to go for racquet performance when actually on court.
 
Last edited:
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
Maybe as a (not so) final note: aside from a few things I'd want differently (as always with tennis racquets!) this Prestige FXP MP is shaping to be my favourite racquet that I own. Ironic considering it was found laying into essentially a scrapyard...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top