C10 or Becker V1? Oh my...

Guys from TT:
I love my current stick (Becker V1 MP) and play good with it since 2007.
My string broke and while my stringer makes his job, I played today with a
C10 Pro from Volkl.
What can I say? kind of heavy in my arm but I found A LOT OF GOOD THINGS over my current racquet.
Just to mention some:
1. Great control for ground strokes and at the net.
2. Better volleys under control and stability
3. Very stable at the net
4. I feel I can hit more precise angles
5. A heavier serve.
Now what? to be honest I feel confused because this new discovery. After a three hours playing doubles my arm felt tired, I thing because of the weight; but with no pain in my joints and this is a great indicator for me. Specially for someone like me who suffered some pain in my elbow.
After this long and bored story I´m considering to give a change to this new racquet (or something similar). In that case I have two specific questions:

1. Should I have to fortify my arm to handle this new weight? (I have no too much time for gym sessions, maybe at home)

2. Do you know a racquet with very very similar specs but with a lower weight?

I really appreciate your advices to avoid a stupid decision.:shock:

There is no racquet similar to the C10 pro, it has a feel and a flex that can't be compared to any other frame. The swingweight is around 323 which is rather moderate and people have reported the new ones (black/yellow 2008 cosmetics) to have a slightly lower swingweight.

Obviously you liked the racquet so I'd say go for it. You will get used to the weight.

HappyLefty said:

Guys from TT:
I love my current stick (Becker V1 MP) and play good with it since 2007.
My string broke and while my stringer makes his job, I played today with a
C10 Pro from Volkl.
What can I say? kind of heavy in my arm but I found A LOT OF GOOD THINGS over my current racquet.
Just to mention some:
1. Great control for ground strokes and at the net.
2. Better volleys under control and stability
3. Very stable at the net
4. I feel I can hit more precise angles
5. A heavier serve.
Now what? to be honest I feel confused because this new discovery. After a three hours playing doubles my arm felt tired, I thing because of the weight; but with no pain in my joints and this is a great indicator for me. Specially for someone like me who suffered some pain in my elbow.
After this long and bored story I´m considering to give a change to this new racquet (or something similar). In that case I have two specific questions:

1. Should I have to fortify my arm to handle this new weight? (I have no too much time for gym sessions, maybe at home)

2. Do you know a racquet with very very similar specs but with a lower weight?

I really appreciate your advices to avoid a stupid decision.:shock:

Click to expand...

Ahhh the honeymoon phase......first thing to discover is what strings and tension are in the c10 as that is pretty impt

The C10 has that heavy/headlight combo that makes it a solid option for doubles work, plus it delivers some nice feel. The 6.1 line from Wilson has always had that sort of layout, too, but the Volkl is a softer option for a player that might prefer more flex. I'll bet you a nickel that once you get comfortable with that hefty frame and the stability that comes with it, you may never want to give it up.

I'm not exceptionally strong, but I get along great with racquets that are even heavier than the C10. It's no surprise to me that your arm was tired after that long doubles outing since you went out to play with a heavier frame with no adjustment period - if you can get out for another session with that racquet, I think that will be very revealing in terms of just how well you get along with it. You'll probably just need to adjust your timing since you're swinging a little more racquet that also has a different balance than your current frame. That adjustment can take more than just a day or two, but you may find that once you routinely get the racquet to the ball on time, it will do more work for you.

A couple of other frames that might be alternatives to the C10 include the Tecnifibre TFight 335 or the lighter 320 model, the ProKennex Redondo in midplus headsize, or the Fischer M Pro #1 98. If you try other racquets that are lighter than the C10 though, you might also see a diminished level of that stability that you enjoyed in that long doubles match. I'd recommend a little more of a trial period with the Volkl and if it turns out that the weight isn't a good fit for you, sample something else that has a similar balance with just a little less heft.

Oh yeah - you can enhance your strength and endurance at home with a simple routine of a few pushups, crunches, etc. a few times a week. Just come up with a basic set of exercises that you can do a couple times a week... but make the effort to stick to it. You can make a difference without a needing a huge chunk of time or the investment of joining a gym. We're talking only twenty minutes to a half hour including some stretching. Cheers.

NoBadMojo said:

Ahhh the honeymoon phase......first thing to discover is what strings and tension are in the c10 as that is pretty impt

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Pues si amigo. I´m in honeymoon. My current setup is a Signum Pro Poly Plasma (SPPP) #17 @55lbs.
Remember, long time ago you recommended me the Becker, and as a consecuense, my wife and I use this stick. This Becker saved my arm.

fuzz nation said:

I'm not exceptionally strong, but I get along great with racquets that are even heavier than the C10. It's no surprise to me that your arm was tired after that long doubles outing since you went out to play with a heavier frame with no adjustment period - if you can get out for another session with that racquet, I think that will be very revealing in terms of just how well you get along with it. You'll probably just need to adjust your timing since you're swinging a little more racquet that also has a different balance than your current frame. That adjustment can take more than just a day or two, but you may find that once you routinely get the racquet to the ball on time, it will do more work for you.

A couple of other frames that might be alternatives to the C10 include the Tecnifibre TFight 335 or the lighter 320 model, the ProKennex Redondo in midplus headsize, or the Fischer M Pro #1 98. If you try other racquets that are lighter than the C10 though, you might also see a diminished level of that stability that you enjoyed in that long doubles match. I'd recommend a little more of a trial period with the Volkl and if it turns out that the weight isn't a good fit for you, sample something else that has a similar balance with just a little less heft.

Oh yeah - you can enhance your strength and endurance at home with a simple routine of a few pushups, crunches, etc. a few times a week. Just come up with a basic set of exercises that you can do a couple times a week... but make the effort to stick to it. You can make a difference without a needing a huge chunk of time or the investment of joining a gym. We're talking only twenty minutes to a half hour including some stretching. Cheers.

Click to expand...

Very clever your advice and thanks for your time!
I think my arm got tired more than expected because I tried to swing at the same speed I´m used to with my Becker.
Also, my coach says my game is a bit accelerated and I need to slow down, specially during rallies when I need to build the point. Maybe this C10 could help me to facilitate it.

HappyLefty said:

Pues si amigo. I´m in honeymoon. My current setup is a Signum Pro Poly Plasma (SPPP) #17 @55lbs.
Remember, long time ago you recommended me the Becker, and as a consecuense, my wife and I use this stick. This Becker saved my arm.

Click to expand...

hola....meant what string and tension was in the c10 you hit? glad i could be of help before..you could have opted for the advice of people suggesting heavy demanding frames and you would have been in a sling ;O

HappyLefty said:

.
Also, my coach says my game is a bit accelerated and I need to slow down, specially during rallies when I need to build the point. Maybe this C10 could help me to facilitate it.

Click to expand...

does your coach recommend any changes in gear to you? alternatively you could add just a little lead to your BV1 and that might could (southernspeak) smooth you out a bit. The V1's are set up very neutral...as a quick experiment, try wrapping some lead around the grip collar cuff and see what that does for you since you seem to have liked the vewry headlight balance of the c10

NoBadMojo said:

hola....meant what string and tension was in the c10 you hit? glad i could be of help before..you could have opted for the advice of people suggesting heavy demanding frames and you would have been in a sling ;O

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OK.
I´m using the same setup in the C10. SPPP #17 @55lbs.

NoBadMojo said:

does your coach recommend any changes in gear to you? alternatively you could add just a little lead to your BV1 and that might could (southernspeak) smooth you out a bit. The V1's are set up very neutral...as a quick experiment, try wrapping some lead around the grip collar cuff and see what that does for you since you seem to have liked the vewry headlight balance of the c10

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My coach didn´t recommend me any change in my gear. Just to calm down a little bit with my tempo.
I´m going to experiment with lead in the collar cuff. Any idea how many lead?

HappyLefty said:

My coach didn´t recommend me any change in my gear. Just to calm down a little bit with my tempo.
I´m going to experiment with lead in the collar cuff. Any idea how many lead?

Click to expand...

sorry..no idea..i go by feel rather than measurement. if you have the narrow lead, you could start w. 8-10" of the stuff. wrap it around the grip collar cuff and cover it up w. the rubber thingy. i've been recommending this to many guys over the years w. v1's and many of them love it that way..it will smooth you out just a little and may ramp up your serve and volley just a bit.

NoBadMojo said:

sorry..no idea..i go by feel rather than measurement. if you have the narrow lead, you could start w. 8-10" of the stuff. wrap it around the grip collar cuff and cover it up w. the rubber thingy. i've been recommending this to many guys over the years w. v1's and many of them love it that way..it will smooth you out just a little and may ramp up your serve and volley just a bit.

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This is the one I have:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageACGAMMA-LEAD.html

HappyLefty said:

This is the one I have:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageACGAMMA-LEAD.html

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try 5.43588 inches................

NoBadMojo said:

try 5.43588 inches................

Click to expand...

I´ll do my best...

No Bad is definitely the guy for all things Volkl. You can also try chatting up Rabbit, as he's been using this frame for a long time.

I'm currently (I'm a big idiot who changes all the time) playing the C10, and we're really starting to click. It's an unusual combo with the weight, flex, and feel. Matchmaker was right on the money about nothing else feeling like the C10.

My shoulder was getting tweaked a while back, and since using these pretty much exclusively for the last month or so, I haven't had even the slightest issue.

Glad you're enjoying it, and it's definitely worth working out for.

HappyLefty, I´m switched from BB V1 to a B Becker 11 light and I´m glad for done this. The reasons are the same of yours.
As a former c10 user, I´m recommend: give to BB 11 light a chance. Try it.

Sorry, I didn't quite understand NoBadMojo's post above re lead tape (only on the grip?) Therefore I would be curious to hear some more of ppl's views on power-boosting the c10 with lead tape - this is as regards the serve specifically, because it was the one area that I was a little disappointed with this otherwise very unique racquet.

CBORNANCINI said:

HappyLefty, I´m switched from BB V1 to a B Becker 11 light and I´m glad for done this. The reasons are the same of yours.
As a former c10 user, I´m recommend: give to BB 11 light a chance. Try it.

Click to expand...

Very interesting point of view. Why are you glad? Control?, Feel?, Comfort? Spin?. I appreciate if you elaborate more your experience. Very interesting to hear from you.

Ross K said:

Sorry, I didn't quite understand NoBadMojo's post above re lead tape (only on the grip?) Therefore I would be curious to hear some more of ppl's views on power-boosting the c10 with lead tape - this is as regards the serve specifically, because it was the one area that I was a little disappointed with this otherwise very unique racquet.

Click to expand...

He´s not talking about lead a C10. He refers to wrapping some lead around the grip collar cuff of a Becker V1.

HappyLefty said:

Very interesting point of view. Why are you glad? Control?, Feel?, Comfort? Spin?. I appreciate if you elaborate more your experience. Very interesting to hear from you.

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HappyLefty, thank you for this words.
I do not elaborate more my experience caused by my poor English
Besides, NoBadMojo told me good things about the low swingweight in a player´s racquet, and he is right.
About this frame, I´m glad because I found everything on it. Control, feel, confort (now I´m playing with poly again ) and spin. Most of all, the fast racquet head speed is awesome.
C10 is a incredible racquet, but the BB 11 L is very interesting frame, in all respects. If is possible, give it a try.

CBORNANCINI said:

HappyLefty, thank you for this words.
I do not elaborate more my experience caused by my poor English

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Poor english? never mind. Are you a spanish native speaker?. If so, shoot me an email and feel free to write in spanish all the way you want.

Ola, amigo.
Sadly, I´m not a spanish native speaker... Portuguese is my mother language, but it is similar to spanish.
If you speak spanish, I will try to write in this language, about Boris Becker 11 light, OK?

Yo te recomendo esta raqueta, yo usava a BB V1, mas esta me parecia muy ligera (light) y dura (stiff), poderosa (powerful) y yo juego en el nivel 4.0 como vos!
Es una raqueta de jugador, profissional, como la C10 (too demanding for me) pero mas ligera, mas facil (easy) de jugar, sin la potencia de la V1. Spin, voleys y fondo de quadra son quasi lo mismo en las duas, mas la Becker 11 tiene mucho mas controle, lo que te permite mas velocidad y seguranza en lo movimiento.
Te digo para provarla, testar, que vas a gustar de el.
Coloque la signum poly megaforce (full job) con 51 pounds, y voilá!
Si hablas portugues, te escrevo mejor y mas, OK?

Best regards, cbornancini

CBORNANCINI said:

Ola, amigo.
Sadly, I´m not a spanish native speaker... Portuguese is my mother language, but it is similar to spanish.
If you speak spanish, I will try to write in this language, about Boris Becker 11 light, OK?

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Go ahead, I understand portuguese also.

Wow, congratulations, happyLefty! So, here we go in portuguese:

Eu troquei a BB V1 pela BB 11 Light por causa da potência da BB V1. Coloquei uma tensão baixa nas cordas (SPPP) da BB11 - 51lb, e ela ficou mais confortável e adequada para um jogador 4.0 como eu e você.
A BB 11 tem mais controle, spin e melhorou o meu saque, em potência e direção. O toque é muito melhor na BB11. Eu tive problemas no braço - tennis elbow - no passado, mas nenhuma das duas raquetes me trouxe dores.
Como você gostou da C10, eu penso que a BB11 light fica bem próxima a esta, mas sem o peso. Claro que a estabilidade da BB11 é menor que a da C10, também por causa do peso. De qualquer modo, você poderia colocar lead tape e ajustar essa questão.
Acho que vais concordar comigo, quando testar a BB11.
Se você quiser perguntar algo mais, sinta-se à vontade para isso!
Um abraço.

Update: My honeymoon with C10

NBM and others,
I´ve been playing with C10 and every day I confirm this is a better stick than my current Becker V1.
Today I played a guy whom I used to loss and this time I won 6/3, 6/3. He told me that my game is more consistent and with few unforced errors.

Some aspects I´ve found during this time:

PROS:
1. Better returns from the baseline, specially from hard hitters.
2. A more consistent and predictable shot.
3. Better performance at the net (volleys and smashes)

CONS:
1. I need to rebuild my serve. It's out of tune, I guess because of the new weight and balance.
2. My arm gets tired after 1,5 hours on the court. (Gym is calling me..!)
3. Less maneuverability for last second shot. Not a stick for lazy players.

Any comment/critic/advice is welcome!