Best croses for shaped poly mains?

Chico

Chico

Banned
Best crosses for shaped poly mains?

What would you recommend as best crosses for shaped/textured poly mains (Black Code, ALU Power Rough/Spin, RPM Blast, Tour Bite, ...). I am not sure what to use to be honest.

Full bed of such polys does not give you much IMO, while using multis does not really work, since mains cut trough them too quick which affect main's movements and snapping back.

Also using Natural Gut as crosses is probably too expensive for what you get.

Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
 
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Lately I've been hearing that the "smart" cross for a shaped poly is a smooth poly. I steer clear of that string type myself, but the combo seems to make sense.

If that layout sounds potentially too firm for your needs, maybe Gosen OGSM could work. As a cross, this string seems to have better durability than most syn. guts and I'd definitely expect it to outlast a multi.
 
fuzz nation said:
Lately I've been hearing that the "smart" cross for a shaped poly is a smooth poly. I steer clear of that string type myself, but the combo seems to make sense.

If that layout sounds potentially too firm for your needs, maybe Gosen OGSM could work. As a cross, this string seems to have better durability than most syn. guts and I'd definitely expect it to outlast a multi.
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That is what I was thinking as well. Using smooth polys as crosses, but didn't hear many people recommend it so wanted to check what people think here.

Shouldn't be too firm for me at reasonable tensions.

Thanks.
 
Smooth and very slick poly crosses.

Generally, such string are the best for the crosses, as they inhibit string movement the least and maintain a consistent response longer than most other cross strings.

Also, by dropping the tension in the crosses you can add some forgiveness, spin and power to the stringbed.
 
SpinToWin said:
Smooth and very slick poly crosses.

Generally, such string are the best for the crosses, as they inhibit string movement the least and maintain a consistent response longer than most other cross strings.

Also, by dropping the tension in the crosses you can add some forgiveness, spin and power to the stringbed.
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So which ones would you recommend? I see you use Luxilon 4G? How about ALU Power (regular one not rough nor spin)?
 
I would recomend Solinco Outlast/ Head Hawk / Isospeed Black fire. Super slick and round and great tension maintenance and durability.

Outlast and black fire are quite cheap, outlast isn't great in a full bed but Black fire is good in a full bed too.

Head hawk is one of the best strings out there.
 
I've had good luck crossing shaped poly with Prince Premier Control - in 16g it's a very long lasting string for a multi and it makes stringbed more arm friendly wo too much downsides. My 2 cents.
 
Chico said:
So which ones would you recommend? I see you use Luxilon 4G? How about ALU Power (regular one not rough nor spin)?
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Agree with Aretium below. I bought some 4G since it was on sale and I wanted to see how it plays, but I find it worse than Head Hawk for example, as 4G dents quite easily, which tends to hold the strings in place more than I like. Once I break the current setup, I am switching the crosses to Head Hawk or another string for testing purposes.

Aretium said:
I would recomend Solinco Outlast/ Head Hawk / Isospeed Black fire. Super slick and round and great tension maintenance and durability.

Outlast and black fire are quite cheap, outlast isn't great in a full bed but Black fire is good in a full bed too.

Head hawk is one of the best strings out there.
Click to expand...
 
i am using the gamma moto full bed but i am thinking i should try gamma moto mains and gamma iO crosses. Should they be the same diameter? I usually use the 1.24 gamma moto lime version.
 
Thanks everyone.
I will definitely try smooth polys as crosses - one of your suggestions (based on what is available at my local stringing store) and let you know what I think.
 
I would consider prestretched Ashaway Zyex Monogut as slick cross which will not notch against the poly main.
 
yharzu said:
i am using the gamma moto full bed but i am thinking i should try gamma moto mains and gamma iO crosses. Should they be the same diameter? I usually use the 1.24 gamma moto lime version.
Click to expand...

can no one answer my question regarding the diameter?
 
jaspert said:
I would consider prestretched Ashaway Zyex Monogut as slick cross which will not notch against the poly main.
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Yes, this notching resistance is THE most important thing for a good cross. If the crosses notch under the pressure, it'll totally inhibit the mains from moving.
 
Zyex is dent resistant as a cross string, but not slippery-slick for some reason. I would suggest much cheaper Gosen OGSM instead. Or some "hard-coated" poly
 
SpinToWin said:
Same diameter would be fine. Some prefer a thinner string in the crosses, but that's up to you (and neither option is inferior).
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Wouldn't a thicker gauge be more resistant to denting? Since crosses don't affect the feel so much, maybe it'd be better to use thick crosses, and as thin mains as possible?
 
torpantennis said:
Wouldn't a thicker gauge be more resistant to denting? Since crosses don't affect the feel so much, maybe it'd be better to use thick crosses, and as thin mains as possible?
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We don't have any objective data on this unfortunately and there are vastly contrasting opinions in this regard.
 
SCRAP IRON said:
Let us know how that set up plays. These are great strings and it could be a winning combo. What racket are you using?
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I'm with my trusty Dunlop 3hundred.
gonna try 52/50 and hope I'll get good spin and control with a better feel than a full BHB7
 
Rozroz said:
I'm with my trusty Dunlop 3hundred.
gonna try 52/50 and hope I'll get good spin and control with a better feel than a full BHB7
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Sounds good. I do like the softer, powerful feel of bhb7, but a little more control would be beneficial.
 
SHAPED MAIN POLY:
BHB7 17 (52)
SMOOTH CROSS POLY:
Black Zone 17 (50)

fresh from the stringer,
i'm extremely happy to report that FOR ME,
this set up is ideal.
i had a problem with each of these when in full bed:
BHB7 felt too plasticky, really was not very comfortable for me,
but it had good control and spin for a decent amount of time.
BZ is nice and soft, but tends to be a bit poppy and sometimes somewhat unpredictable.

so i'm glad i just mixed them up :D
it's perfect (again, FOR ME).
it turns the BHB7 plastic feel to a warm buttery impact.
i had a 100% control, almost no long balls when trying to hit harder.
plenty of access to spin.
slices got extra byte, etc.

so that's why i don't understand how these shaped/smooth poly hybrids don't get a lot more love here.
i INSIST to anyone who wonders on this, just try whatever combo pops up in your mind, or any reels laying around that might be of use ;)
 
I'm going to try out bhb7, one of the roughest polys, in 17 gauge, with solinco outlast one of the lowest friction polys in 16 gauge. The outlast will help the bhb7 snap back easier and the bhb7 will regrab the ball as it's snapping back. I don't think full bed outlast would get nearly as much spin because it is too slick to regrab the ball when it starts to SnapBack.
 
If there is any "regrabbing" of the ball during snapback you'll be reducing your spin. If anything the movement of the strings imparting spin on the ball is a one-way thing, snapback just allows your stringbed to do it all over again.

If Physics really allowed the string to "regrab" the ball during snapback, and it doesn't, the spin imparted would be the reverse of the original rpms.
 
Maybe I didn't explain it well. The regrabbing that I'm talking about is after the strings get displaced out of position. As soon as the strings start to return to their original position, they need to "grab" or more accurately clip the ball. If this didn't happen the SnapBack would be useless as the energy from the SnapBack wouldn't be given off to the ball. I believe the bhb7 would excel at this action because of it's sharp sides that will clip the ball much better than the slick, round solinco outlast would. Hope that explains it well.
 
I thought you explained it well, but I still contend you don't want any grabbing during snapback. I also think you will find just as many people here who will contend that non-shaped poly will spin the ball just as well as a shaped poly.

I use Solinco Tour Bite Soft mains with BHS smooth crosses and I do get the spin and snap back I want. The biggest positive for me though is not having to straighten my strings constantly as I did with multis and synguts.
 
STBite16, around lower 40's.
Shape gives bite, but the square strings are shiny smooth to allow sliding and returning.
 
LeeD said:
STBite16, around lower 40's.
Shape gives bite, but the square strings are shiny smooth to allow sliding and returning.
Click to expand...

I've had enough of this square shape myth for a while now:

Dragan said:
Solinco tour bite is not square shaped, but pentagonal shaped. I examined a small slice under magnifying glass and it is definitely not square but pentagon.
Click to expand...
 
Shape itself doesn't give the bite, but the sharpness of each edge does.
It's square, I have to admit, after thinking it was pentagonal for a full year.
I have 3 racket's string with STBite16.
The sharp edges does little to enhance bite or spin, but the string at lower tensions that I use seems to give resilence and comfort.
38-47 lbs.
 
gkamieneski said:
I thought you explained it well, but I still contend you don't want any grabbing during snapback. I also think you will find just as many people here who will contend that non-shaped poly will spin the ball just as well as a shaped poly.

I use Solinco Tour Bite Soft mains with BHS smooth crosses and I do get the spin and snap back I want. The biggest positive for me though is not having to straighten my strings constantly as I did with multis and synguts.
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Why don't you use a full bed of Solinco Tour Bite? Perhaps you have and if so, can give us your feedback?
 
Full bed of STBite 16 is excellent. Gotta lower tension for sure.
Slides easily and snaps back into place, so no string adjustment with fingers is ever needed.
Most rackets, 33-45 lbs.
OS rackets, maybe 38-50 lbs.
Don't go higher, or you'll hate it.
 
I actually enjoyed TB (17g) as a full bed strung at 53/50 in a Pacific racket. Perhaps it was comfortable because that particular frame (X Feel Tour 100), has a flex rating of 57. I can't imagine stringing any racket under 50 lbs! I know that there has been discussion, but I believe I would lose some serious control.
 
SCRAP IRON said:
Why don't you use a full bed of Solinco Tour Bite? Perhaps you have and if so, can give us your feedback?
Click to expand...

Used to use BHSR 17 mains and BHS 17 crosses, but had some TE. Exercises and going to TBS 17 mains with syngut crosses allowed me to get better and keep playing. Next I was able to replace the syngut crosses with the BHS 17.

I don't have a reason to try full bed TBS, because 1. I like how smooth the BHS 17 allows snapback (never have to straighten strings). 2. Cheaper than a full bed of TBS. 3. Play-ability, tension maintenance and durability have been real good. 4. I always liked the BHS crosses before with the BHSR mains, so now I am just substituting TBS for the mains.

Have not used regular TB as TBS saved my TE. This is my go-too setup now and I don't anticipate changing or trying anything else. That said, if I ever do have a TE problem again, I have no issue using Babolat N.vy in the crosses as it plays well and softens up the TBS mains even more.

Should mention that I am using a Head MP Speed 16x19.
 
Before anyone complains about strings hurting their arms. String it below 40. Trust me, if it is too powerful then you have been misusing poly. String it low and take a good month adjusting and your game will improve.
 
+1 for me on that.....
But string tension is like Mr. George Washington. It's individual, it's old school, it's memory driven, and it's resistant to new ideas.
 
Gosen OG Sheep Micro for the crosses. Brings down the cost of a hybrid dramatically and performance for that price simply cannot be beat.
 
Aretium said:
Before anyone complains about strings hurting their arms. String it below 40. Trust me, if it is too powerful then you have been misusing poly. String it low and take a good month adjusting and your game will improve.
Click to expand...

Quoted for truth!
 
Chico said:
What would you recommend as best crosses for shaped/textured poly mains (Black Code, ALU Power Rough/Spin, RPM Blast, Tour Bite, ...). I am not sure what to use to be honest.

Full bed of such polys does not give you much IMO, while using multis does not really work, since mains cut trough them too quick which affect main's movements and snapping back.

Also using Natural Gut as crosses is probably too expensive for what you get.

Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
Click to expand...

round/slick synthetic gut would be my suggestion
i liked poly mains in the higher end of the racquet tension recomendation
i liked soft crosses a couple lbs higher than the mains
ohh, rpm and black.code are not as hard/sharp on the cross strings as alu.ruff.spin or tourbite..
i remember looking for 7 or 8 sided poly strings to make sure it did not cut into the soft cross strings, for durability reasons..
 
I'm with LeeD on stringing TB low like in 30's. It's been my go to string for a few years and had no arm problems at all.

Control wise, if you're a flat ball hitter it's not the best choice. But we're talking spins here, right ?
 
Just dropped off one of my DunlopAero500's to the stringer.
35 lbs., STBite 16, on a 16x19, 100 sq.in., 68 flex racket.
 
c_hari_c said:
Gosen OG Sheep Micro for the crosses. Brings down the cost of a hybrid dramatically and performance for that price simply cannot be beat.
Click to expand...

That's almost my exact setup. I have a Head Youtek IG Radical Pro, and I use Volkl Cyclone 18g (orange) and Gosen OG Sheep Micro 18g at 46/49. Have been loving it so far (have ~8hrs of use so far). Before that, was using 18g Cyclone and Prince Premier Attack (Control) 17g in the crosses. Also phenomenal, but only lasted about 2 months (~14-16 hrs of hitting).

Everyone who has said using a slick synthetic (multi or mono) for the crosses is spot on. I've been getting the best results with those after trying out various strings.
 
I highly recommend Black Widow 1.31 mains with MSV Focus hex 1.23 at the crosses. It works much better than full bed of one.
I currently use this hybrid in a Yonex ezone ai100, but surely it will work in any similar racquet ie. APD or PD.
For me it is a perfect blend of comfort, spin and touch. Power level is just right at 52 lbs.
For me most polys are too harsh. Black widow is one of the softest. And focus hex very slippery. This makes it a nice hybrid.
I dunno... this might be the best setup of all. I have used many polys, gut/polys, multis and other hybrids.
 
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