Updated Pure Drive with Lighter SW

srvnvly · Jan 13, 2012

They're on Racquet Finder here, and on TW Europe: http://www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com/descpageRCBABH-BPD11.html

Head Size:
100 sq. in. / 645 sq. cm.
Length: 27 inches / / 68.58cm
Strung Weight: 11.1oz / 314.68g
Balance: 4 pts HL
Swingweight:308
Stiffness: 72
Beam Width: 23.5mm / 26mm / 22.5mm
Composition: Graphite / Tungsten
Power Level: Low-Medium
Stroke Style: Medium-Full
Swing Speed: Medium-Fast
Grip Type: Babolat Syntec
String Pattern: 16 Mains / 19 Crosses
Mains skip: 8T,8H
Two Piece
No shared holes
String Tension: 50-66 pounds

Yourtenniscoach · Jan 13, 2012

308... yuck. Whats with all these new racquets with the low swingweights? The new Wilson Prostaff 95 is 308 SW I think too.

bluetrain4 · Jan 13, 2012

If the new Pure Drive Roddick specs are accurate, I absolutely love them.

11.9 oz is a pretty big increase from the PDR GT's 11.5 or 11.6. Even 11.7 or 11.8 oz for the new version would be nice (I always thought the PDR was slightly insbustantial), 5 pts HL is the same, and the SW of 328 is perfect for me. PDR+ specs also look great.

Though, IMO, the regular Pure Drive specs is a move the wrong direction. Pure Drives were almost always 11.3 oz and the new 306 SW seems really, really low.

LOVE the new black PJ on all the frames.

[Note: I guess the PDR GT is listed at 11.8 oz, so not quite the change I thought, but I've definitely seen it listed lighter, and the one I owned was lighter, around 11.6 oz.) Can anyone explain how the PDR GT can be 11.8 oz and 5 pts HL (published TW specs), the new PDR is 11.9 oz and 5 pts HL, but the SW goes down from 334-328?]

JDMasFCK · Jan 13, 2012

Really digging the PDR specs

Yourtenniscoach · Jan 13, 2012

bluetrain4 said:
If the new Pure Drive Roddick specs are accurate, I absolutely love them.

11.9 oz is a pretty big increase from the PDR GT's 11.5 or 11.6. Even 11.7 or 11.8 oz for the new version would be nice (I always thought the PDR was slightly insbustantial), 5 pts HL is the same, and the SW of 328 is perfect for me. PDR+ specs also look great.

Though, IMO, the regular Pure Drive specs is a move the wrong direction. Pure Drives were almost always 11.3 oz and the new 306 SW seems really, really low.

LOVE the new black PJ on all the frames.

[Note: I guess the PDR GT is listed at 11.8 oz, so not quite the change I thought, but I've definitely seen it listed lighter, and the one I owned was lighter, around 11.6 oz.) Can anyone explain how the PDR GT can be 11.8 oz and 5 pts HL (published TW specs), the new PDR is 11.9 oz and 5 pts HL, but the SW goes down from 334-328?]

I have one of the new PDRs. It weighed in at 11.8 strung w/ dampender (no overgrip). Beautiful stick.

bluetrain4 · Jan 13, 2012

Yourtenniscoach said:
I have one of the new PDRs. It weighed in at 11.8 strung w/ dampender (no overgrip). Beautiful stick.

Sounds perfect. Are you a teaching pro or college student sponsored by Babolat? How did you get the frame already?

Ashanti · Jan 13, 2012

loving the pure drive roddick plus specs. top racket imo so far this year

surfvland · Jan 15, 2012

How do you think this will effect the possibility of tennis elbow with this stick.. Lighter weight... Stiffer???

djdannyj25 · Jan 15, 2012

anyone hit the with the new PD yet? if so does it feel like 308 sw? is their absence of plowthru?

Nostradamus · Jan 15, 2012

Are you sure that's not unstrung swingweight ? Also, TW europe specs are not as accurate as american TW specs, i was told. Is this true ?

DEH · Jan 15, 2012

Nostradamus said:
Are you sure that's not unstrung swingweight ? Also, TW europe specs are not as accurate as american TW specs, i was told. Is this true ?

I pretty sure that is correct on the swingweight. Here is the TW page. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpage-BPD11.html

Nostradamus · Jan 15, 2012

DEH said:
I pretty sure that is correct on the swingweight. Here is the TW page. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpage-BPD11.html

That link has no name or what that racke is. it saids julia uses it.

Yourtenniscoach · Jan 15, 2012

bluetrain4 said:
Sounds perfect. Are you a teaching pro or college student sponsored by Babolat? How did you get the frame already?

I have a friend who works for Babolat. He hooked me up.

Nostradamus · Jan 16, 2012

It's been confirmed. New SW on this 2012 pure drive is 308, strung per TW website.
to all you math geniuses, how does SW go from 327 to 308 from previous GT version while keeping the static weight and balance point of 4 pt head light.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Babolat_Pure_Drive/descpageRCBAB-BPD11.html

surfvland · Jan 16, 2012

Nostradamus said:
It's been confirmed. New SW on this 2012 pure drive is 308, strung per TW website.
to all you math geniuses, how does SW go from 327 to 308 from previous GT version while keeping the static weight and balance point of 4 pt head light.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Babolat_Pure_Drive/descpageRCBAB-BPD11.html

More weight distributed in the handle and less in the head.

bluetrain4 · Jan 17, 2012

surfvland said:
More weight distributed in the handle and less in the head.

But wouldn't that change the balance as well? It's still 4 pts headlight.

I think it's simply that the static weight is lighter. GT Pure Drive was is listed on TW at 11.2 oz (and on other sites at 11.3 oz). New Pure Drive is only 11.1 oz. But, still, it doesn't seem like enough to make the SW drop from 327 to 308.

Bartelby · Jan 17, 2012

You can get a high sw by putting weight at the tip and at the butt and as the weight is at the polar ends of the racquet it's called polorized.

It sounds like the new one has more weight around the middle and hence the same balance. Its more depolarized.

Cengusiento · Jan 17, 2012

Bartelby said:
You can get a high sw by putting weight at the tip and at the butt and as the weight is at the polar ends of the racquet it's called polorized.

It sounds like the new one has more weight around the middle and hence the same balance. Its more depolarized.

Exactly, more mass distributed under 3-9

Cup8489 · Jan 17, 2012

Bartelby said:
You can get a high sw by putting weight at the tip and at the butt and as the weight is at the polar ends of the racquet it's called polorized.

It sounds like the new one has more weight around the middle and hence the same balance. Its more depolarized.

This.

These new specs seem to lend even more racquet speed, as if we needed to generate more spin from these frames..!

ollinger · Jan 17, 2012

"the new one has more weight around the middle and hence the same balance"?? Seems likely it has the same weight in the middle but less at both ends, since it seems to be a little lighter than its antecedent.

Bartelby · Jan 17, 2012

It weighs three grams less and is 19 swingweight points less, so if it lost 3 grams at the tip that would explain roughly 10 points loss only.

So half the loss could be explained by the lighter weight but it would have to lose 1 1/2 only at the tip because it needs to lose the same at the butt to balance at 4hl which both do.

So weight redistribution has to be involved and not simply weight reduction.

In any event, I'm not an expert but from the point of view of explaining the effects of weight distribution its best to keep weight constant.

There's been some instructive threads on this written by experts, including some using balance beams for illustrative purposes.

MAXXply · Jan 17, 2012

^^^Keep up the swingweight demos and analyses everyone - I find the current (now superseded) version a fraction head heavy/sluggish and can't wait to check this one out.

Power Player · Jan 17, 2012

I believe these new Babs are going to be stiffer, so yes they will swing lighter, but there is a price to pay if you have any arm issues.

li0scc0 · Jan 17, 2012

Other sites (not TW) had the 'old' Pure Drive with a Swingweight of 308-315. I hit with a few different Pure Drive GT's, and it seemed, to me at least, that the Swingweight was closer to 310 than it was 327!!!
So, the new Pure Drive is likely very similar to the old.

surfvland · Jan 17, 2012

bluetrain4 said:
But wouldn't that change the balance as well? It's still 4 pts headlight.

I think it's simply that the static weight is lighter. GT Pure Drive was is listed on TW at 11.2 oz (and on other sites at 11.3 oz). New Pure Drive is only 11.1 oz. But, still, it doesn't seem like enough to make the SW drop from 327 to 308.

It's probably TW's RDC Machine.

surfvland · Jan 17, 2012

li0scc0 said:
Other sites (not TW) had the 'old' Pure Drive with a Swingweight of 308-315. I hit with a few different Pure Drive GT's, and it seemed, to me at least, that the Swingweight was closer to 310 than it was 327!!!
So, the new Pure Drive is likely very similar to the old.

I like your theory, but how did it "seem to you". Did you put it on an RDC machine?

li0scc0 · Jan 17, 2012

surfvland said:
I like your theory, but how did it "seem to you". Did you put it on an RDC machine?

Well, my theory is simply that, since other machines registered the old Pure Drive at, say, 307 (see this link http://www.********sports.com/cgi-bin/product?product=101425), (BirdaHole

) the new one being 308 is right in line.

My take? The old Pure Drive GT was typically around where the new one would be. Likely with significant variation from one racquet to the other.

And the one Pure Drive GT I had tested was with a Swingweight of 310 with dampener.

surfvland · Jan 17, 2012

li0scc0 said:
Well, my theory is simply that, since other machines registered the old Pure Drive at, say, 307 (see this link http://www.********sports.com/cgi-bin/product?product=101425), (BirdaHole ) the new one being 308 is right in line.

My take? The old Pure Drive GT was typically around where the new one would be. Likely with significant variation from one racquet to the other.

And the one Pure Drive GT I had tested was with a Swingweight of 310 with dampener.

Yes you are right. It's listed at 308.

Globa · Jan 18, 2012

Just talked to a tennis store owner in my area. He showed me the official specs for the 2012 PD. They are EXACTLY the same as for the older version. Both rackets have the following specs (unstrung):

Weight: 10.6 OZ
Balance: 7 pts HL
Stiffness: 72

With identical weight and balance, it is impossible to have differing swing weights. So I guess TW has wrong specs for the older version of PD.

WhiteStripes · Jan 18, 2012

Just like many racquet manufacturers, there's going to be some variance between the sticks (sometimes significant) despite what the target specs the manufacturer lists it. For the longest time, the unstrung specs given out by Babolat for the Pure Drive has not change -- why would they given how successful it is? The only thing that's changed are new "technology" that's incorporated without affecting the base specs like Cortex and GT.

I used to have a bunch of Pure Drives. They all played pretty similarly to each other, but I could still identify each stick individually just based on hitting feel (all other variables... i.e., strings, overgrip, etc. are the same). Some may be a tad heavier, some may feel a tad more headlight and thus feel whippier or have a lower swingweight, some may feel a tad stiffer or flexy, some may just feel more solid for some reason. I just think TW coincidentally measured up a bunch of sticks that ended up having a bit lower swingweight. Doesn't mean if you buy one randomly that the swingweight won't feel higher.

Nostradamus · Jan 18, 2012

Bartelby said:
It weighs three grams less and is 19 swingweight points less, so if it lost 3 grams at the tip that would explain roughly 10 points loss only.

So half the loss could be explained by the lighter weight but it would have to lose 1 1/2 only at the tip because it needs to lose the same at the butt to balance at 4hl which both do.

So weight redistribution has to be involved and not simply weight reduction.

In any event, I'm not an expert but from the point of view of explaining the effects of weight distribution its best to keep weight constant.

There's been some instructive threads on this written by experts, including some using balance beams for illustrative purposes.

Bart, i hit with the pure drive for like 1 minutes today. I was just stopping by the club and somebody just happened to have the demo. He was demoing it so all i could do was just swing it around some and hit 2-3 shots. I have to tell you one thing with this lighter SW. It sure didn't feel like it had lighter SW. Maybe i was too tired from work and didn't hit enough. but after 1 minute, it really didn't feel like it had lighter SW.

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