I unfortunately wasn't on the boards back when this thread was started, so I never really had a chance to have in-depth discussions with RossK but hear great things about him from some older members here like you and MD. Hoping he logs in a bit more regularly and I get a chance to interact a bit with him. Did he have some injury hence the hiatus or just life got in the way?
They are great frames but having a bit of a tough time adjusting at the moment. Still, now that I am giving them my undivided attention after my Clash, I am slowly starting to figure them out better. Doesn't help that specs were off on both of mine and I need to figure out what to do with what frame to get most out of it for me. Either way, I see a lot of guys loving them and it is a great frame for whoever can wield it properly.
Woo.. there are a few racquets you may want to try then.... the good old PT57A for an example
One of the teaching pro in my club has a silver protype Radical Pro I saw yesterday. Had some orange string in it, probably new Lynx I am guessing. Looked so fantastic. I didn't get a chance to try it but the two people who tried it said it was amazing and played softer than you would expect.We'll see about that...not going to demo the new Radical Pro?
We'll see about that...not going to demo the new Radical Pro?
I think there is a new color coming for lynx tour which is that red or orange color.
Different weight distribution. So the xl is listed at 300 gram, 32 cm like the standard but due to the added length it will be 2 points more head light and likely has less actual mass in the hoop (assuming the SWs are similar). My APDOs were XL and I had some of my best competitive results with that frame actually
. Sorry if things just got a little murky, the standard is still a great stick!
Lol. Not sore how to interpret your answer. Have you heard this as well. Wouldn’t this be just about impossible ? 140 mph plus serves ??
Custom layup and weight distribution. Example - my BP is 302 grams but has 310 SW so that’s roughly 340 SW strung when the total strung weight with overgrip is 324 grams.
I was under the impression that no matter how you distributed the weight. An 110z stick. And I do mean 11oz. Not 11.5. Not 11.3. 11 oz. would not be possible. No matter how you distribute. That’s what I would’ve thought so have you heard this as well?
This is a thing I feel like I didn't understand when I first joined here, but I'm pretty sure nobody "prefers" thick beams
Do they actually change the frame? I thought Babolat just tacked an extra half inch onto the hairpin.Different weight distribution. So the xl is listed at 300 gram, 32 cm like the standard but due to the added length it will be 2 points more head light and likely has less actual mass in the hoop (assuming the SWs are similar). My APDOs were XL and I had some of my best competitive results with that frame actually
They “change it” in the sense that the weight is distributed differently. Same base materials as far as I know.
Life. Had a chance to meet him in person when I was in London on business. Never had a chance to hit though. Nice chap.
Lol.. radical is getting pretty good reviews.. i am actually eyeing mp..We'll see about that...not going to demo the new Radical Pro?
I agree... the tester PJ seems cool in silvery grey with a splash of orange/coral.
I think there could be untapped value in stealth switching. Sometimes, I will start out a match winning, but then after half a set my opponent starts playing better after adjusting and grooving to the type of ball I am hitting. Then when I switch to a racquet that produces a different type of ball (either more or less spin for the same stroke), it can throw off my opponent’s game even if I’m not actually playing better.
A hitting partner that has a much higher level will achieve the same though.
I actually find that to be a great way to really test racquets, particularly high static weight/SW ones. Half an hour all out against the wall to see if it you can swing it consistently very quickly without your arm falling off
I've been playing the Graphene 360 Extreme MP for the last few months and lately kind of switched to the new Extreme Tour, but I've always liked Pure Drives – my favourite so far being the black 2012 one – and always give their latest versions a try. There's something inherently beautiful about a racket that you can just grab off the shelf and play, and to me the Pure Drive is the very definition of a pick up and go racket. No mods needed, at least for a certain style of play. Plus its got heritage. So of course I had to buy the new one.
I used the TWE matching service when I ordered and of the 12 frames they specced, 9 frames were measured at 68 RA, 2 had 67 RA and 1 had 69 RA. Curious, as the official Babolat spec lists the frame at 72 RA unstrung. I've asked TWE if their RA is an estimate for the strung frame or if the frames indeed measured that low and will hopefully receive an answer on Monday. Or maybe it's just their RDC that's off.
Anyway, the new paint job is cool and all, alright, but what's more interesting to me are the new, longer bumpers that are slightly widened at 3 & 9, a tiny bit similar to the original Pure Drive.
I got it strung with Hyper G 1.25 (due to @JGads vouching for it and from reading @Power Player's glowing posts about the PD/HG combo – thank you both, as I never played HG before) at 23kg.
First impressions, straight from the honeymoon: this is seriously one of the best and most enjoyable rackets I've played in quite a while. Better feel and touch than any Pure Drive in recent history, easy power and spin as you'd expect from a PD and surprisingly comfortable.
As with all Babolats, especially the power frames, you have to commit to your shots. A half hearted stroke will more than likely result in a flyer. Been there, done that. What really surprised me is the stability of this new Pure Drive. It lets you take the ball super early, half volleys are a dream. It just doesn't wobble or twist. It packs quite a bit more power than my Extreme Tour, 80% balls can be 50% balls with the PD, saving energy. Control is as expected – not pinpoint, sure, but more than sufficient for my game on clay courts. Touch is very good, but I can not say how much of that is due to the frame or the strings, as I've never played Hyper G before. Anyway, PP nailed it – HG 1.25 is an excellent fit for the new PD.
Woofer grommets – always a hot topic if not a bit overblown IMO on these boards – never bothered me much, to be honest. So the new one does not have woofers and that's ok, I guess. The response of the new PD is more traditional, yes, resulting in maybe a few less fliers, but I need more time with it to really gauge it.
The sweetspot is generous. Whats really interesting is that even on balls outside the sweetspot, like say a mistimed overhead I hit way high in the stringbed, there is basically zero bad vibration in the frame. It's really very well muted in this regard. Serves are not on the level of my Extreme Tour just yet, but that's to be expected on the first few outings. Nevertheless I can see great potential, especially for slice serves. Kickers worked well right away and flat serves clicked towards the end of the first session. Very pleased with that.
To sum it up I think both the Extreme Tour and this new PD will stay in my bag in the foreseeable future. The ET is just so versatile while the PD is just so much fun and easy to play with. Thing is legit.
New PD is so goodI've been playing the Graphene 360 Extreme MP for the last few months and lately kind of switched to the new Extreme Tour, but I've always liked Pure Drives – my favourite so far being the black 2012 one – and always give their latest versions a try. There's something inherently beautiful about a racket that you can just grab off the shelf and play, and to me the Pure Drive is the very definition of a pick up and go racket. No mods needed, at least for a certain style of play. Plus its got heritage. So of course I had to buy the new one.
I used the TWE matching service when I ordered and of the 12 frames they specced, 9 frames were measured at 68 RA, 2 had 67 RA and 1 had 69 RA. Curious, as the official Babolat spec lists the frame at 72 RA unstrung. I've asked TWE if their RA is an estimate for the strung frame or if the frames indeed measured that low and will hopefully receive an answer on Monday. Or maybe it's just their RDC that's off.
Anyway, the new paint job is cool and all, alright, but what's more interesting to me are the new, longer bumpers that are slightly widened at 3 & 9, a tiny bit similar to the original Pure Drive.
I got it strung with Hyper G 1.25 (due to @JGads vouching for it and from reading @Power Player's glowing posts about the PD/HG combo – thank you both, as I never played HG before) at 23kg.
First impressions, straight from the honeymoon: this is seriously one of the best and most enjoyable rackets I've played in quite a while. Better feel and touch than any Pure Drive in recent history, easy power and spin as you'd expect from a PD and surprisingly comfortable.
As with all Babolats, especially the power frames, you have to commit to your shots. A half hearted stroke will more than likely result in a flyer. Been there, done that. What really surprised me is the stability of this new Pure Drive. It lets you take the ball super early, half volleys are a dream. It just doesn't wobble or twist. It packs quite a bit more power than my Extreme Tour, 80% balls can be 50% balls with the PD, saving energy. Control is as expected – not pinpoint, sure, but more than sufficient for my game on clay courts. Touch is very good, but I can not say how much of that is due to the frame or the strings, as I've never played Hyper G before. Anyway, PP nailed it – HG 1.25 is an excellent fit for the new PD.
Woofer grommets – always a hot topic if not a bit overblown IMO on these boards – never bothered me much, to be honest. So the new one does not have woofers and that's ok, I guess. The response of the new PD is more traditional, yes, resulting in maybe a few less fliers, but I need more time with it to really gauge it.
The sweetspot is generous. Whats really interesting is that even on balls outside the sweetspot, like say a mistimed overhead I hit way high in the stringbed, there is basically zero bad vibration in the frame. It's really very well muted in this regard. Serves are not on the level of my Extreme Tour just yet, but that's to be expected on the first few outings. Nevertheless I can see great potential, especially for slice serves. Kickers worked well right away and flat serves clicked towards the end of the first session. Very pleased with that.
To sum it up I think both the Extreme Tour and this new PD will stay in my bag in the foreseeable future. The ET is just so versatile while the PD is just so much fun and easy to play with. Thing is legit.
Yeah, Hyper G Soft just started to become available a few days ago at TWE. I will likely try that in the future, but regular Hyper G in the PD wowed me so much that I ordered a reel yesterday.
Yeah, I remember when I was a wee little kid with a Puma Becker Junior in hand seeing these newfangled Kübler frames with their crazy thick beams pop up everywhere while only the most hardcore still clung to their standard-size adidas rackets of old. What a trip it's been.
I've been playing the Graphene 360 Extreme MP for the last few months and lately kind of switched to the new Extreme Tour, but I've always liked Pure Drives – my favourite so far being the black 2012 one – and always give their latest versions a try. There's something inherently beautiful about a racket that you can just grab off the shelf and play, and to me the Pure Drive is the very definition of a pick up and go racket. No mods needed, at least for a certain style of play. Plus its got heritage. So of course I had to buy the new one.
I used the TWE matching service when I ordered and of the 12 frames they specced, 9 frames were measured at 68 RA, 2 had 67 RA and 1 had 69 RA. Curious, as the official Babolat spec lists the frame at 72 RA unstrung. I've asked TWE if their RA is an estimate for the strung frame or if the frames indeed measured that low and will hopefully receive an answer on Monday. Or maybe it's just their RDC that's off.
Anyway, the new paint job is cool and all, alright, but what's more interesting to me are the new, longer bumpers that are slightly widened at 3 & 9, a tiny bit similar to the original Pure Drive.
I got it strung with Hyper G 1.25 (due to @JGads vouching for it and from reading @Power Player's glowing posts about the PD/HG combo – thank you both, as I never played HG before) at 23kg.
First impressions, straight from the honeymoon: this is seriously one of the best and most enjoyable rackets I've played in quite a while. Better feel and touch than any Pure Drive in recent history, easy power and spin as you'd expect from a PD and surprisingly comfortable.
As with all Babolats, especially the power frames, you have to commit to your shots. A half hearted stroke will more than likely result in a flyer. Been there, done that. What really surprised me is the stability of this new Pure Drive. It lets you take the ball super early, half volleys are a dream. It just doesn't wobble or twist. It packs quite a bit more power than my Extreme Tour, 80% balls can be 50% balls with the PD, saving energy. Control is as expected – not pinpoint, sure, but more than sufficient for my game on clay courts. Touch is very good, but I can not say how much of that is due to the frame or the strings, as I've never played Hyper G before. Anyway, PP nailed it – HG 1.25 is an excellent fit for the new PD.
Woofer grommets – always a hot topic if not a bit overblown IMO on these boards – never bothered me much, to be honest. So the new one does not have woofers and that's ok, I guess. The response of the new PD is more traditional, yes, resulting in maybe a few less fliers, but I need more time with it to really gauge it.
The sweetspot is generous. Whats really interesting is that even on balls outside the sweetspot, like say a mistimed overhead I hit way high in the stringbed, there is basically zero bad vibration in the frame. It's really very well muted in this regard. Serves are not on the level of my Extreme Tour just yet, but that's to be expected on the first few outings. Nevertheless I can see great potential, especially for slice serves. Kickers worked well right away and flat serves clicked towards the end of the first session. Very pleased with that.
To sum it up I think both the Extreme Tour and this new PD will stay in my bag in the foreseeable future. The ET is just so versatile while the PD is just so much fun and easy to play with. Thing is legit.
I admit that I do not pay as much attention to strings as I probably should. My go-to string is plain old Alu Rough and Hyper G is the first new string I've tried in more than a year.
Awesome, thanks!
