mawashi
Hall of Fame
LOLOLOL!!!! Who's the one who didn't want to use MSV hex blue in the first place lol?
**The PURE DRIVE 2012 Forum (club)**
- Thread starter BC1
- Start date
LOLOLOL!!!! Who's the one who didn't want to use MSV hex blue in the first place lol?
GarryClarke
Semi-Pro
lol and just thought it might clash with the smooth looks of the PD
lesson learnt and next time i would even go with bright fluro pink if it was the only colour they had left :shock: lol
mawashi
Hall of Fame
lol and just thought it might clash with the smooth looks of the PD
lesson learnt and next time i would even go with bright fluro pink if it was the only colour they had left :shock: lol
Maybe not... yellow ball, racquet face pink... too distracting lol!
Pink skirts on the other hand....
GarryClarke
Semi-Pro
you perv lol
Last edited:
JackB1
G.O.A.T.
lead at 12' usually benefits serve....assuming your swingspeed doesn't slow down.. Lead at 3/9 is mostly to improve stability. I have no stability issues with the PD.
Also, Gary, if you need more power on serve, switching the MSV will actually lessen your overall power.
Last edited:
JackB1
G.O.A.T.
not true...playing with dead poly isn't wise either.
GarryClarke
Semi-Pro
Great advice jack
I'm on a try and see if things work mode at the moment,and u no when you have a mission u want to explore all avenues.
I'm loving this forum and all the info it provide,s,maybe too much info at the moment as I'm like a child in a sweet shop lol.
The lead at 3/9 seems fine but will take it off on my next outing and add lead to 12 to see if it improves my serve!!!!!!!.my swing speed isn't all that to honest but I'm working on it for my F/H Topspin.
henryshli
Semi-Pro
Hi guys, I've given in to the dark (or black) side! I went to my local racket shop for a browse two days ago and came out with a pure drive! It was a bit of an impulse purchase. I actually wanted to have a look at the pure drive roddick but they didn't have any.
Had a hit with the pure drive today and I must say I am very happy with the serve, both in terms of pace and placement. However I'm a little bit disappointed with the plow I'm getting on the ground strokes. Although the racket has a nice pop, the ball just isn't heavy.
I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience. Is the pure drive roddick very different? I'm thinking the extra weight should make the difference but want to find out first hand from someone who has played with both sticks. Would I be able to lead my PD up to play like PDR?
Many thanks.
Had a hit with the pure drive today and I must say I am very happy with the serve, both in terms of pace and placement. However I'm a little bit disappointed with the plow I'm getting on the ground strokes. Although the racket has a nice pop, the ball just isn't heavy.
I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience. Is the pure drive roddick very different? I'm thinking the extra weight should make the difference but want to find out first hand from someone who has played with both sticks. Would I be able to lead my PD up to play like PDR?
Many thanks.
Yourtenniscoach
Banned
Guess I'm in the club now too.... check the sig.
GarryClarke
Semi-Pro
welcome to the darkside and i hope you enjoy it
LanEvo
Hall of Fame
On the PDR the ball is much more heavy and stable with a lot more plow. Although you will suffer from more weight, slower swing, and not as much control. I have one of each in the plus versions and rotate between them. And no lead will not help as even the frame structure itself differ between the two frames.
JackB1
G.O.A.T.
You don't necessarily need a heavy racquet to hit a "heavy" ball. A "heavy"
ball is a combination of pace and spin. If you already have enough pace, work on adding more topspin to your shots.
You could also try adding lead to the PD, but it will never be EXACTLY the same as the PDR. You can make the specs identical with lead, but weight from lead isn't the same as weight from the overall frame by itself (like Lan Evo said) But you've got nothing to lose by trying. Lead up your PD and compare it yourself to a stock PDR and see if they feel and play similar.
Yourtenniscoach
Banned
Agree 100%
I tried the new Roddick frame and couldn't control my ground strokes or serve, but with the Pure Drive I can swing away and still have lots of control (& Spin).
JackB1
G.O.A.T.
Agree 100%
I tried the new Roddick frame and couldn't control my ground strokes or serve, but with the Pure Drive I can swing away and still have lots of control (& Spin).
I was quite shocked at the amount of control I had with the PD when I first tried it. It has a reputation as a powerful cannon of a racquet, but the PD12 leans more towards control than power IMO. I have full multi on mine at 56 lbs and can still swing for the hills without launching rockets.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
The PD is marketed by Bab as a control stick believe it or not.
I may be forced to go to softer racquets..shoulder pain caused from weightlifting is aggravated rather easily by the stiffer sticks. Even the vcore 95 is hurting me a bit. I am pretty mad because IMO, the PDR 2012 is one of the best racquets out there. I don't even think it is that bad on the arm, but if you have an injury it will aggravate it..that is just the nature of stiffer racquets.
I may be forced to go to softer racquets..shoulder pain caused from weightlifting is aggravated rather easily by the stiffer sticks. Even the vcore 95 is hurting me a bit. I am pretty mad because IMO, the PDR 2012 is one of the best racquets out there. I don't even think it is that bad on the arm, but if you have an injury it will aggravate it..that is just the nature of stiffer racquets.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Yes for sure. If your arm is healthy you should be fine.
Yourtenniscoach
Banned
As long as you're not a bone head using poly, the PDR should be fine on the arm (assuming you know how to hit a tennis ball)
Yourtenniscoach
Banned
I was quite shocked at the amount of control I had with the PD when I first tried it. It has a reputation as a powerful cannon of a racquet, but the PD12 leans more towards control than power IMO. I have full multi on mine at 56 lbs and can still swing for the hills without launching rockets.
When you use a soft multi like excel or a syn gut the PD really plays like a soft racquet. Babolat really did a great job making this a softfeeling controllable frame!
Just bought three leather grips for my Pure Drive Standards. Having played with the PD+ for 10 years or so, I missed the extra head-light feeling that the plus has (and the standard lacks). I'm shooting for 6-7 points headlight. By my calculations, taking the syntec grip off (~15g) and adding a 32 g leather grip should get me pretty close, especially after throwing an overgrip on.
For my question, I've never experimented with lead on any of my frames. I've made it to playing open without it, but so many of my friends that played high level D1 college have lead all over their frames. How much lead do I need to add at 12 to increase power without dramatically increasing swingweight; or would adding weight at 3/9 be better? The PD has no stability issues in my book, so I was leaning toward trying lead at 12 rather than 3 and 9. Lead tape aficionados please chime in. This is not intended to be a counter balance for the leather grip as I know that will defeat the purpose of my adding leather. I am just curious as to what the minimum amount of lead I need to actually feel a difference for experimentation purposes.
For my question, I've never experimented with lead on any of my frames. I've made it to playing open without it, but so many of my friends that played high level D1 college have lead all over their frames. How much lead do I need to add at 12 to increase power without dramatically increasing swingweight; or would adding weight at 3/9 be better? The PD has no stability issues in my book, so I was leaning toward trying lead at 12 rather than 3 and 9. Lead tape aficionados please chime in. This is not intended to be a counter balance for the leather grip as I know that will defeat the purpose of my adding leather. I am just curious as to what the minimum amount of lead I need to actually feel a difference for experimentation purposes.
henryshli
Semi-Pro
I was more concerned about the lack of plow I get from the PD. Had another hit with it today and the balls were falling short, felt like the strings have had it. Switched back to my PB10 for the rest of the session and I really appreciated the extra weight. Going to add some lead and new strings and see how it goes.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Danman, add 2-4 grams at a time to 12.
dgoran
Hall of Fame
You can make pure drive a soft arm friendly racket by using softer strings it really is true what above poster said. Go full gut or hybrid or cheaper solution synth gut if you want to restring often.
If you like boardier feel put copoly or poly but its only for people who hit the sweet spot 100% of the time in other words for pros.
I think what happens in 95% of the cases is that people with old school flexier rackets want to see what is babolat pure drive hype all about and they put the same tension poly in pure drive as they would in their 95 sq inch prestige or radicals and than they say that's an arm killer of course it is you cannot hit consistent enough to use that setup especially while still adjusting to a new racket. You will hit the tip of that pure drive and you will feel it all the way to your balls unlike with prestige the racket will bend and absorb the impact.
Toss in some gut or good multi in that pure drive and the sweet spot will be nearly the size of prestige entire head while providing pop that prestige users can only dream about
If you like boardier feel put copoly or poly but its only for people who hit the sweet spot 100% of the time in other words for pros.
I think what happens in 95% of the cases is that people with old school flexier rackets want to see what is babolat pure drive hype all about and they put the same tension poly in pure drive as they would in their 95 sq inch prestige or radicals and than they say that's an arm killer of course it is you cannot hit consistent enough to use that setup especially while still adjusting to a new racket. You will hit the tip of that pure drive and you will feel it all the way to your balls unlike with prestige the racket will bend and absorb the impact.
Toss in some gut or good multi in that pure drive and the sweet spot will be nearly the size of prestige entire head while providing pop that prestige users can only dream about
Last edited:
mawashi
Hall of Fame
Adding lead can be a bit trickly but here goes add 2-3 g which is 4 - 6 inches of lead.
Since, this is an experiment stick 4" at first and add another 1" on each side. You can easily peel off the extra 1" if it's too much cus 3g can easily affect sw by 6-10 pts.
Look at this post
Last edited:
ChicagoJack
Hall of Fame
DANMAN -
No problemo. I can figure this out for you, at both 12:00 and 3:00 + 9:00 positions, but I would need to know which generation (year 2012?, PD Standard Cortex?) Pure Drives Standards you have.
Jack
Last edited:
Jack,
I really appreciate it. I'm using the 2012 Pure Drive Standards. I will be removing the syntec grips and installing the TW label 25mmx1.3mm, which they state as 32g. I play with full poly and just estimate that the strung weight is 0.5 ounces higher than the unstrung weight (15 g is the usual quoted number for strings as far as I know). Any insight you could give me would be appreciated.
Daniel
LanEvo
Hall of Fame
Can I get them old Syntec grips?
Is that a serious question? They are like $6 on TW.
ChicagoJack
Hall of Fame
Yeah that sounds about right. I've weighed the pacific overgrip and gamma head tape i have at home. given you added the exact same stuff to both sticks, it's possible your PDR is 4 grams over average, but still within the manufacturers spec range of + or - 7. That's my rough guesstimate fwiw.
2012 PD+
318.... Average Strung, +or -7
10......Two Over Grips
3........14" Head Tape
Estimate = 331 grams / 11.68 oz
PDR
335....(Average strung, Plus or - 7)
10......Two Over Grips
3........14" Head Tape
Estimate = 351 / 12.33 oz
Hope this helps.
Jack
Last edited:
ChicagoJack
Hall of Fame
Hi Daniel
Sure, no problemo. just check back here late tmoro night. I'll have a range of location options for you, all will get you the balance point you want, but will differ in overall mass, estimated SW, and stability.
Jack
Last edited:
LanEvo
Hall of Fame
Oh, I forgot too, I have dampeners on both. So that adds another 2-3g on.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
I used Babolat lead tape at 12. Cut it in half and put a strip on each side so they lined back up and the logo on the lead was still intact.
Start with 1 strip or section.it will add 9 SW points.
The better setup for me was 1/4 tape at 3 and 9. I used 6 inches per side, so 24 inches total. It may be easier to wield in the standard. In the PDR it got to my shoulder, but it was an amazing setup.
Start with 1 strip or section.it will add 9 SW points.
The better setup for me was 1/4 tape at 3 and 9. I used 6 inches per side, so 24 inches total. It may be easier to wield in the standard. In the PDR it got to my shoulder, but it was an amazing setup.
Last edited:
PED
Legend
It's personal taste really, I've done alot with both styles: longer strips and also the layering method.
Depending on the amount of lead needed, I've gotten to prefer the longer strips as it adds a bit more stability since it covers more surface area. Nowadays, I use somewhere between 1 and 3g so the length is not really a problem.
I will add that my old setup for my apds was 7g of lead at the tip. That works out to be 28" total of lead so I ended up layering some with that setup.
The only drawback for the babolat lead for me is that it's thicker and I hide my lead under the bumper.
Since they are thinner, I've found it's easier for me to use gamma or unique lead to slide it under the bumper with 2 screwdrivers.
Federerkblade
Hall of Fame
JackB1
G.O.A.T.
How long is one strip? I already have the Gamma 1/4" tape where 4" = 1 gram.
ChicagoJack
Hall of Fame
Hi Daniel,
Yeah, your guesstimate is similar to mine. you'd be pretty close to your intended 6-7 points head light just by a leather grip replacement and an additional over grip. Here's what my scratch pad looks like:
315 ... Average Stock PD Standard Strung (+ or - 7g) (308 SW)
+11 ... 32g Leather TW grip, after install and trim =26g minus the 15 grams of the syntec = difference of 11g
+5 ... Overgrip
So that would be +16 grams spread evenly from 1"-7"
So that would bring the balance to 7.5 points headlight.
After the grip and OG changes you'll still have a little room to add some lead in the head and get the 6-7 points HL that you like:
Option 1: Lead at 12, 3 Grams total
- Estimated SW increase: +10 to ~318
- Final weight: 315 + 16 + 3 = 334g / 11.78 oz
- Balance 6.5 HL
Option 2: Lead at 3:00 + 9:00, 5 grams total
- Estimated SW increase: +9.5 to ~317.5
- Final weight: 315 + 16 + 5 = 336g / 11.85 oz
- Balance: 6.5 Head light
My reco would be option #2. My view on adding lead is to squeeze the most stability benefit, out of the price you pay in decreased manuverability. Since the SW are identical with either option, and the overall mass dif would be just a few grams, why not go with the choice which would provide a much more stable frame on off center shots, thus a larger (wider) sweet spot. You'd def feel the dif on 5 grams at 3+9 on volleys. The dif is like night and day. You feel the benefit of the 3+9 location mostly on impacts like the volley, where the fast moving ball is beating up on the mostly stainonary racquet during the collision much more than during a groundstroke, when the racquet is beating up on the ball, due to the momentum of the swing.
When you start to feel like the ball is beating up on the racquet during a volley, that often sets in motion a very bad chain of events in your technique. You feel like you have to have a bigger volley motion, which is not good. It gets harder to hit the sweet spot when you are trying to do more / swing more / punch more, you loose confidence because you start framing balls, so you tighten up.. and so on and so on... never finding a rythym. I have 6 grams at 3+9 and all I have to do is hold firm, track the ball to the center of the strings, and think about depth control. The racquet does all the work. If you want help with depth control, mass in the pallet right near the buttcap is a big help. I have my PD up to 12.6 oz. That seems like crazy heavy on paper, but most of that is located in the handle for that very reason, and to get the very head light feel that I like.
Hope this helps.
Jack
Last edited:
I have been using tecnifibre multifeel 16g the last couple of weeks at 62lbs and it plays awesome for me. It really softens up the racket and plays lively. Good spin, comfort, and minimal string movement for a multi. Plenty of power even when strung this high. The price is nice too.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Not long..I want to say 2 or 3 inches. The 1/4 inch tape I would do this:
4 inch strips on each side at 12..it will really be from 11 to 1 or something like that, but if you look at pro lead setups with 1/4 tape they do the same thing.
start with 1 per side and see how it feels then stack another 2 for 4 grams total at the top.
Just watch your balance. This is what got to my shoulder. Unfortunately I don't really jive with these racquets stock. I like them 2-3 pts HL, which is bad for me.
GarryClarke
Semi-Pro
GarryClarke
Semi-Pro
16g 1.30
thanks Korso
are you using the PD or PDR and what tensions have you gone with??????
am just adding as much info as i can get into my little black book
thanks garry
That's incredibly helpful. Thanks so much. I have Babolat lead tape where 1" equals 1g. I'm going to try adding 5g as you suggested at 3 and 9. I'll definitely report back.
I am using the PDR in stock wieght. I have only used the multifeel at 62lbs, I do not see any reason for me to tweek it. Other setups that I have tried include, PLII Evolutions at 48/46 I loved it but a bit scared of using full poly all the time. I tried some LTec at 50/48 (ouch my shoulder). I have tried a few different poly/multi hybrids at 52/56 that played decent.
I have some natural gut and cofocus that I am about to put in. I have been eager to try gut/poly in this racket for a while. Probably going to string it at 53/50. If this setup does not blow me or away I am going to be sticking with the multifeel as my go to string for this racket.
Last edited:
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Korso..try a little higher..56/52 or so..the tension will drop on that setup to around 51 and that's what you want.
GarryClarke
Semi-Pro
Thanks for that
Have only used Excel @56 so far and all,s good,
The stock string it came with "addiction" was great but lasted 3hrs of playing time till it went dead.
I'm getting my own stringer so I'm up for playing around with different setups.
Cheers Garry
henryshli
Semi-Pro
Jack you are a genius. I'll also try lead at 3&9 and see if it'll improve the plow issue I'm experiencing on the 2012 PD.
