UK TT racquetaholics and tennis bums
- Thread starter Dave M
- Start date
Dave,
Seems you have no choice but to take the bloke to the 'resolution centre'.' Follow the procedures to the letter. Research the process and cover yourself. Along with actually getting ripped off, it's another of the pain in the a*** aspects of transactions of fboy. Sometimes though, it has to be done, and it looks like it's one of those times for you, unfortunately.
Coincidentally, I have a PD Team, which was bought off fboy a few years ago, with a similarish crack around upper throat. Firstly, though I think the racket plays actually quite soundly, the frame makes a distinctive unhealthy, sharp, pingy, twang noise that is definitely related to the crack. But, secondly, the seller warned me of the defect in the listing, and I got it for next to nothing.
All,
Anyone notice anything? Er... have some posts/pics or whatever been deleted from this thread recently? Anybody?
R.
Seems you have no choice but to take the bloke to the 'resolution centre'.' Follow the procedures to the letter. Research the process and cover yourself. Along with actually getting ripped off, it's another of the pain in the a*** aspects of transactions of fboy. Sometimes though, it has to be done, and it looks like it's one of those times for you, unfortunately.
Coincidentally, I have a PD Team, which was bought off fboy a few years ago, with a similarish crack around upper throat. Firstly, though I think the racket plays actually quite soundly, the frame makes a distinctive unhealthy, sharp, pingy, twang noise that is definitely related to the crack. But, secondly, the seller warned me of the defect in the listing, and I got it for next to nothing.
All,
Anyone notice anything? Er... have some posts/pics or whatever been deleted from this thread recently? Anybody?
R.
^^^IGNORE! :roll:
This is actually wrong I now realize immediately... sorry, not another 'night of the long knives' type purge of our UKRH thread after all!:twisted:
R.
forthegame
Hall of Fame
I hope Dave doesn't mind: phoenixproducts
Dave, let me know if you want me to remove the seller's name.
jazar
Professional
Another nice day for tennis; probably better than yesterday. Yesterday was too bright and sunny really; plus half the court I was playing on was shaded so it was difficult to pick up the ball sometimes due to the change in light. Just want to get back on court, hit some balls and hit my groundstrokes better than the last few times I've played.
No it's true and only fair in case they re appear sometime!
He's emailed me back saying he got them when clearing his Mums house and didn't notice the cracks when selling them
Shall see if he offers a refund but thanks for the support everyone and i'll keep you informed!
jazar
Professional
Played better today. Groundstrokes were nearly back on form. I think my grip had slid around a little too much the past couple of weeks, which would explain why I've not been hitting as clean as I would like.
On another note, the Prince Tour is quite a decent poly. Think I probably strung it a touch tight, as yesterday the sweetspot felt a bit small. Could have gone 25/26 instead of 25.5/26.5.
On another note, the Prince Tour is quite a decent poly. Think I probably strung it a touch tight, as yesterday the sweetspot felt a bit small. Could have gone 25/26 instead of 25.5/26.5.
forthegame
Hall of Fame
Does 0.5kg make a big difference?
I've finished my testing, so a mini ball review. A recap of balls I'd already tried:
Dunlop Fort: very heavy, lack of bounce, like hitting bricks when it was cold.
Slazenger Wimbledon: decent bounce, fuzzy up very quickly, didn't retain pressure too well.
Wilson Championship: lighter than premium balls, pretty rubbish after one outing.
Tecnifibre X1: retain pressure well, don't fuzz too badly, expensive.
And the three I play-tested:
Wilson US Open: didn't have that uncontrollable 'just open' feeling when they'd just been opened. The felt stayed nice and tight for the first session, then started fuzzing up. Have retained pressure well.
Wilson Australian Open: as with the US Open, not too bouncy when fresh. Fuzzed up very quickly. Good pressure retention.
Head ATP: bounced a lot initially, didn't fuzz too badly. Had lost a lot of pressure before their second outing, far more so than either Wilson ball.
All three had a decent price point when buying in bulk, being over a pound per tube cheaper than the Tecnifibre. I've got a few tubes of Tecnifibre left, so will open one of them as a final test: right now it's either stick with them or give the US Open a run. I'm also tempted to switch to 3-ball tubes and open them more frequently: 3 is plenty when playing sets, and there are only a couple of people who will drill with me.
All of this was on carpet.
Dunlop Fort: very heavy, lack of bounce, like hitting bricks when it was cold.
Slazenger Wimbledon: decent bounce, fuzzy up very quickly, didn't retain pressure too well.
Wilson Championship: lighter than premium balls, pretty rubbish after one outing.
Tecnifibre X1: retain pressure well, don't fuzz too badly, expensive.
And the three I play-tested:
Wilson US Open: didn't have that uncontrollable 'just open' feeling when they'd just been opened. The felt stayed nice and tight for the first session, then started fuzzing up. Have retained pressure well.
Wilson Australian Open: as with the US Open, not too bouncy when fresh. Fuzzed up very quickly. Good pressure retention.
Head ATP: bounced a lot initially, didn't fuzz too badly. Had lost a lot of pressure before their second outing, far more so than either Wilson ball.
All three had a decent price point when buying in bulk, being over a pound per tube cheaper than the Tecnifibre. I've got a few tubes of Tecnifibre left, so will open one of them as a final test: right now it's either stick with them or give the US Open a run. I'm also tempted to switch to 3-ball tubes and open them more frequently: 3 is plenty when playing sets, and there are only a couple of people who will drill with me.
All of this was on carpet.
I'm curious as to why you choose to string in kg rather than lbs. Given than 0.5 kg is 1.1 lbs, unless you use smaller increments than that then the jumps in tension are less precise. Is it because you're so young you think in metric? Is it because more pros use kg than lbs and so you're more used to it? Or is it for no particular reason?
Q for jazar...
Mate, you routinely handle frames of the pros... what, off the top of your head and 'guess-timating' a bit or whatever, but... what would you say would be an average strung weight figure for the pros/their rackets these days?
BTW I'm presuming it's somewhat lower than about ten years ago, but quite how much lower... hmm, I'm curious.
Ta
R.
Mate, you routinely handle frames of the pros... what, off the top of your head and 'guess-timating' a bit or whatever, but... what would you say would be an average strung weight figure for the pros/their rackets these days?
BTW I'm presuming it's somewhat lower than about ten years ago, but quite how much lower... hmm, I'm curious.
Ta
R.
jazar
Professional
0.5kg obviously doesn't sound a lot and it isn't really, but I think it does make a difference to me when I'm hitting. It might not be a huge difference, but I think the string certainly would have played better the first time out if I had done it 0.5kg looser.
I'm curious as to why you choose to string in kg rather than lbs. Given than 0.5 kg is 1.1 lbs, unless you use smaller increments than that then the jumps in tension are less precise. Is it because you're so young you think in metric? Is it because more pros use kg than lbs and so you're more used to it? Or is it for no particular reason?
On my Star V the increments in kilos are 0.1, while the increments in lbs are 0.5.
The fact that there is so much variance and that a lot of players are using "custom" frames makes it pretty hard to give an average. You still get some players using incredibly heavy rackets, but at the other end of the scale you get players using rackets you would think are perhaps too light for a hard hitting pro. The vast majority of the top pro players I've strung for have leaded up frames; but I have strung for a few top 100 women who just appear to use stock frames. If I had to guess I would say for the men between maybe 330 and 340g and for the women between maybe 310 and 320g (that would be for like top 100/200 players).
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Aggro
Rookie
Not as match fit as i used to be!!
Our team didn't win a set yesterday and worse of all i got a crack in my racket!!! a guy swung a slice out wide on the duece side and i slightly misjudged where the post was
THEN broke a string on my other racket so had to borrow another players spare racket - microgel radical mp. Is it bad i wanna change back to a radical all ready ?? stupid heavy racket!!
played their firsts and lost 6-0, 6-4 - they are ranked 4.1 and 4.2 so i didnt think the 2nd set was a bad result!! The courts had dried up by that time and the balls were bouncing at a reasonable height.
Lost to the 2nds 6-4, 6-4 just one break from my partners serve each set.
By the time we got to the 3rds we were both shattered and lost 6-2, 6-3 being 3-1 in the second!!
Might see if i can grab a radical or 2 in the next few weeks :s
Our team didn't win a set yesterday
and worse of all i got a crack in my racket!!! a guy swung a slice out wide on the duece side and i slightly misjudged where the post was THEN broke a string on my other racket so had to borrow another players spare racket - microgel radical mp. Is it bad i wanna change back to a radical all ready ?? stupid heavy racket!!
played their firsts and lost 6-0, 6-4 - they are ranked 4.1 and 4.2 so i didnt think the 2nd set was a bad result!! The courts had dried up by that time and the balls were bouncing at a reasonable height.
Lost to the 2nds 6-4, 6-4 just one break from my partners serve each set.
By the time we got to the 3rds we were both shattered and lost 6-2, 6-3 being 3-1 in the second!!
Might see if i can grab a radical or 2 in the next few weeks :s
Meaghan
Hall of Fame
do you think a lot of men are dropping their weight whilst keeping a high SW with lead at 12 ???
Higher weights and depolarised set ups of the past compared to lower weights and polarised these days.
I did this last year and it had a dramatic affect on my game. I went from 360g to 340g (ive since settled somewher in the middle) and added a larger amount of lead at 12 whilst extending my frame to balance).
Heard back froom my e bay friend, described the problems and gave links to the photos i put on here, he seems suprised as he doesn't know about tennis racquets that there was a problem, asked me to email the photos so he could check them against the listing one as that was taken by a professional photographer.....then announced his boss told him to fly out of the country tonight.I've escalated the dispute to p pal and e bay.
Here's hoping it goes ok.............
Here's hoping it goes ok.............
jazar
Professional
Not necessarily. Like with weight, there are some players who have massive swingweights and some players who have really low swingweights. I guess it also depends on what you consider a high swingweight.
0.1 kg? And to think you called Ross sensitive a page or so back!
forthegame
Hall of Fame
Mrs Brown's Boys on iPlayer.
Rich, Rob, all,
A year and more back, the penny seemed to finally drop me with me after my RD7 experiences, and I realized that lighter, whippier, polarized frames was the way to go for me, my game, etc. It was all going pretty well too... a long flirtation with the APD, lead to a move towards the very excellent PP frames... and then I hit with that PC+! :roll:
I still need to play with it a lot more to get a more accurate impression (as well as string up my PPs with Tour Bite of course :wink: .) Must say though, despite how I seemingly appear to play a better b-line with the hefty Bab than the the slightly more lower powered and all court suited PP, I keep thinking about a particular fact...
:idea: What's an aging, moonballing, rec hacker like me, complete with a dodgy knee, doing even entertaining the notion of maybe wielding a 350 +g frame when the esteemed likes of Murray, Roddick, Tsonga and Nadal all play with LIGHTER frames??!!
R.
A year and more back, the penny seemed to finally drop me with me after my RD7 experiences, and I realized that lighter, whippier, polarized frames was the way to go for me, my game, etc. It was all going pretty well too... a long flirtation with the APD, lead to a move towards the very excellent PP frames... and then I hit with that PC+! :roll:
I still need to play with it a lot more to get a more accurate impression (as well as string up my PPs with Tour Bite of course :wink: .) Must say though, despite how I seemingly appear to play a better b-line with the hefty Bab than the the slightly more lower powered and all court suited PP, I keep thinking about a particular fact...
:idea: What's an aging, moonballing, rec hacker like me, complete with a dodgy knee, doing even entertaining the notion of maybe wielding a 350 +g frame when the esteemed likes of Murray, Roddick, Tsonga and Nadal all play with LIGHTER frames??!!
R.
Meaghan
Hall of Fame
I know Thats off Greg raven but im not so sure. I think the original spec given....360g is closer to the truth......i think dropping 50g is pushing it imo. I don't see how he can make the spec of 32cm which is rather hl on an extended frame and get that SW.....I think he's a few days short of April 1st.
As for the SW with an extended frame its usually in the 340-350 region you only have to add about 8g to reach Gasquet's SW. I add 6g and it comes in around 360+
origmarm
Hall of Fame
I would have thought that Gasquet spec wouldn't have been possible with that static weight for that swingweight. I can't imagine how custom weighted the racquet you started with would have to be to get that.
After much tinkering with the BLX Opens I think I'm heading back to the Prestiges. Just feel like I've got a powerful shotgun at the moment, the power is great but it's a bit "spray and pray"
After much tinkering with the BLX Opens I think I'm heading back to the Prestiges. Just feel like I've got a powerful shotgun at the moment, the power is great but it's a bit "spray and pray"
Meaghan
Hall of Fame
not live Ash.... matches that have already been played etc
A year and more back, the penny seemed to finally drop me with me after my RD7 experiences, and I realized that lighter, whippier, polarized frames was the way to go for me, my game, etc. It was all going pretty well too... a long flirtation with the APD, lead to a move towards the very excellent PP frames... and then I hit with that PC+! :roll:
I still need to play with it a lot more to get a more accurate impression (as well as string up my PPs with Tour Bite of course :wink: .) Must say though, despite how I seemingly appear to play a better b-line with the hefty Bab than the the slightly more lower powered and all court suited PP, I keep thinking about a particular fact...
:idea: What's an aging, moonballing, rec hacker like me, complete with a dodgy knee, doing even entertaining the notion of maybe wielding a 350 +g frame when the esteemed likes of Murray, Roddick, Tsonga and Nadal all play with LIGHTER frames??!!
R.
I shouldn't over-think it Ross. You could just as easily ask why an ageing, moonballing rec hacker would use full poly. The reality is that we're so far removed from the pros that we barely play the same sport, so over-analysing what they're using isn't going to be too much help.
Everything I know about you tells me that you get most enjoyment from trying out various racquets in a non-stop conveyor belt. You'll have certain favourites, but I doubt you'll ever find one frame and stick with it for any discernible length of time. But so long as you're having fun, more power to you!
Meaghan
Hall of Fame
not seen it for a while tbh and i keep checking the only wh smith i know that sells it.....i am constantly amazed at the kind of minority sports magazines on our shelves and no tennis mags, i mean come on Tiddlywinks Weekly is taking the proverbial!
Best in the UK by a street IMO is tennis head ... excellent photographic quality, a bit of technique analysis, profiles of players (liked a recent one about Stosur,) nice features generally, and even actual racket reviews last year - and any tennis mag that not so long ago carried a review of the VT 221 can't be all bad eh?!
R.
Ash_Smith
Legend
I think Ace is now a quarterly? Tennis Life was a good mag in terms of the content and editorial but the page layout/design was hideous!
We used to do a lot of work with Tennis Life and got to know the UK publisher very well, sadly however, I think they are now out of circulation, the website hasn't been updates since RG last year and the subscription link is dead. Shame, had good content and was totally independent of the LTA, which meant the editorial could speak its mind!!!
Tennis head is pretty good - girl I used to teach works for them now!
Cheers
Ash
We used to do a lot of work with Tennis Life and got to know the UK publisher very well, sadly however, I think they are now out of circulation, the website hasn't been updates since RG last year and the subscription link is dead. Shame, had good content and was totally independent of the LTA, which meant the editorial could speak its mind!!!
Tennis head is pretty good - girl I used to teach works for them now!
Cheers
Ash
Meaghan
Hall of Fame
Yeah tennis head is good but its a bit cosmo don't you think. Too many big pics with very little info. I think they did a string theory piece not long ago. It never went into detail just a filler for the players that don't understand and who will soon forget what was said.....
What we need is a UK racketaholic quarterly with different sections with great info from the stringing room from Jaz and skip, tennis on the go from orig and marv, rossy's editorial enthusiasm, Dave on babs, coaching with ash etc etc. I always thought this would make a good book but now a tennis zine is the way to go.
Patrons needed...........
What we need is a UK racketaholic quarterly with different sections with great info from the stringing room from Jaz and skip, tennis on the go from orig and marv, rossy's editorial enthusiasm, Dave on babs, coaching with ash etc etc. I always thought this would make a good book but now a tennis zine is the way to go.
Patrons needed...........
forthegame
Hall of Fame
Ha ha ha, tennis on the go... Orig certainly takes top billing!
Actually, off to the States soon :twisted:, does anyone need anything from TWUSA?
jazar
Professional
I can't really remember much about it as the last time I read an issue was over a year ago. My main problems with it were that it was just a rehashed version of an American magazine and that the articles were generally uninformative and of poor quality. I even told them it was terrible when I was at the Tennis Show last year.
Meaghan
Hall of Fame
What a lovely day for some tennis ! Unfortunately the tennis that i speak off was 6 mini tennis groups. Bloody hyper they were today because a fire engine decided to turn up to the school and show off.
I did get a go on the hose though
haha great stuff...........
Interesting, might explain why i haven't seen it in a while or if it is now 4 times a year.
Yes i used to buy SI, tennis life and a couple of other tennis mags at orlando airport whenever i got there on holiday, tennis life here i noticed even had us adverts some months.I also liked that it was independent of the LTA
I guess we need our own and "serve and volley" to come back?!
RHs,
Not everyone's cup of tea I know mentioning this stuff here, but 1000s marching through London tomorrow at the impending cuts and devestation about to be or presently being wrought by this horrendous 'Thatcher in disguise', coalition government. Now, I really should be attending, but... best mate's wedding stag do tomorrow and family trip tonight out of London is making it all very difficult... riiiiight... hmmm... BLX!
R.
Not everyone's cup of tea I know mentioning this stuff here, but 1000s marching through London tomorrow at the impending cuts and devestation about to be or presently being wrought by this horrendous 'Thatcher in disguise', coalition government. Now, I really should be attending, but... best mate's wedding stag do tomorrow and family trip tonight out of London is making it all very difficult... riiiiight... hmmm... BLX!
R.
origmarm
Hall of Fame
RHs,
Not everyone's cup of tea I know mentioning this stuff here, but 1000s marching through London tomorrow at the impending cuts and devestation about to be or presently being wrought by this horrendous 'Thatcher in disguise', coalition government. Now, I really should be attending, but... best mate's wedding stag do tomorrow and family trip tonight out of London is making it all very difficult... riiiiight... hmmm... BLX!
R.
Had a chat with one of people on the way to this march today on the tube (neighbour). Long on indignation, a sense of self-righteous injustice but short on solutions and the reality of the government having run out of money.
Lives in the 1.5mill pound house on the same street as our flat with his 4 children. Was very angry that he will have to move as his housing benefit will be cut and ranting about "Kosovo style social cleansing of London". Failed to provided an explanation as to why he was more entitled to live there than all the people who are working (and don't get the benefit) who also have to move because they can't afford to buy a house there (myself included) but finance his "right" to live there.
Also seemed unable to explain why his benefit level, which would still be capped at a limit leaving him better off than 30% of working taxpayers in London, should make him better off than a third of the people contributing towards it.
Also angry that his wife is going to lose her local government funded arts grant as (and this is not a joke) the local council have diverted (and ringfenced) the money for art grants to the local hospital's child burns unit. Apparently burnt children pale into insignificance compared to his wife's need to (in his words, no joke) "bare her soul to the nation".
If this chap is in any way representative of the people marching today, I think you'll be glad you missed out Ross!
Leaving the twisted logic of this individual aside, this type of social largesse is possible if you have the money for it. The reality is that we just don't without significantly raising taxes.
The borrowing of the last government is on a scale that dwarfes anything in British history and before anyone mentions bankers, the totality of all cash and finance extended by the UK government (including the EUR countries bailout financing element) is equivalent to 0.02% of the total debt requirement. 0.02%. This situation is entirely based on spend > take for an extended period.
I'm going to stop discussing after this post before I make myself very unpopular. The reality is that any current government (be in "Con-Dem" or other) would have had to make these cuts or similar. Greece, Ireland and now Portugal are the tip of the iceberg. If a AAA state gets downgraded, and it spirals (as it may very well do in the case of a UK, Germany or France downgrade), the resulting credit crunch and the massive cuts in government spending it will force will make the last 5yrs and the 5 to come look like a party boomtime. We are wedge-thin close to a Moody's outlook downgrade. Wedge-thin. That's the beginning.
As a rough guide, Portugal (who chose this week to adopt the ostrich approach and force semi-bankruptcy on their nation) has to raise a minimum of 9 billion EUR by June. Britain has to raise the equivalent of 12 billion EUR a month at the going rate of expenditure. To be clear, this is just the amount the UK government goes to the market to borrow every month, like clockwork. A process that for 2yrs as a govt auction broker I pretty much helped to run. Currently we are paying 1.5% to 5% on this debt depending on structure. Portugal is now looking at paying 15% without a bailout. If the UK moves to 7-10% we would basically be bankcrupt in 5-7yrs. Our total tax take wouldn't be able to finance the interest gap effectively enough to allow for any kind of public expenditure.
Anyhow, if you've read this far, sorry for the ear bashing
/* rant
Orig
Meaghan
Hall of Fame
That is why i choose to live as a hermit holed up in my costly but reassuringly warm refuge i call a studio only popping out for a game of tennis now and again with my middle class friends.
Seriously tho i agree with your comments about your neighbour. My brain won't allow me to process what followed......
Seriously tho i agree with your comments about your neighbour. My brain won't allow me to process what followed......
Good read orig, the worst thing you have written there is that it's true.In times such as this it's a sad thing to say that the arts etc should loose grants as traditionally our country has a long history of such things but the money should be used in better ways.We don't get much info on housing in London down here in the coun'ry but was at GOSH last week and caught a bit on what you were saying how many people are living in houses in areas that people working 50 hours plus a week couldn't dream of being able to buy purely because they are on benefits.
Hard to see what can be done now though, no benefits for non UK nationals? SOme sort of minimum working period before benefits can be collected?All seem a bit too insular but they are the ideas i've heard banded around.All a bit worrying!
Hard to see what can be done now though, no benefits for non UK nationals? SOme sort of minimum working period before benefits can be collected?All seem a bit too insular but they are the ideas i've heard banded around.All a bit worrying!