Confusing strike specs/reviews

[mawashi]

Hi guys,

I have recently tried the Strike tour but for some reason, the 2 I played are almost completely different, One feels a lot stiffer then the other even though both are strung w pro hurricane at 60/58 lbs and have similar usage on them.

The reviews of the Pure Drive 2012 & Roddick 2012 were rather consistent in that the Roddick is slightly more powerful and stiffer, as explained by more carbon in certain areas however, the reviews of the strikes are just all over the place.

1. Some claim the stiffness for strung retail sticks are anywhere from 61-65 and the 2 I played with seem to be similarly different.

2. The twist weight of the standard strike 18x20 is more then the tour version.
Babolat Pure Strike (18x20) 14.39
Babolat Pure Strike Tour 14.35
From http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-bin/twistweight.cgi

3. The power of the STD18x20 to the Tour version is just too wide to seem possible. 76 vs 88?
At 88 the tour is more powerful then a PD Roddick 2012!

For some reason the strike & tour have some of the most confusing reviews of any racquet I've seen.

Consistent/Inconsistent string bed, huge/tiny sweet spot, differing ra ratings,
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/reviews/BPS18/BPS18review.html http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/PST/PSTReview.html
How is it possible that 2 racquets from the same basic pin be so different and why?

I'm looking to replace all my racquets with the strike as it was so fun but what I've read about so far isn't giving me confidence that the frames are consistent.

Please help

 

[TW Staff]

As far as the power ratings between the two, I wouldn't recommend using the review numbers to compare them. The set of reviewers is different, and so you can't do a side by side comparison of the scores. Instead, if you want numbers to compare, I recommend the TWU Power Potential data. Looking at those numbers, the data show a much closer comparison between the Tour and the 18x20.

If you're worried about consistency from racquet to racquet, you could use either our racquet matching or customization service. Both come with a fee but will give you peace of mind that your racquets are to your spec.

Thanks,
Tiffani, TW

 

[mawashi]

As far as the power ratings between the two, I wouldn't recommend using the review numbers to compare them. The set of reviewers is different, and so you can't do a side by side comparison of the scores. Instead, if you want numbers to compare, I recommend the TWU Power Potential data. Looking at those numbers, the data show a much closer comparison between the Tour and the 18x20.

If you're worried about consistency from racquet to racquet, you could use either our racquet matching or customization service. Both come with a fee but will give you peace of mind that your racquets are to your spec.

Thanks,
Tiffani, TW

Hi Tiffani,

Thanks for your reply however, the twistweight measurement is not a subjective, individual measurement is it? Either way, how can a lighter racquet be more stable then a heavier one?

I have used your matching services and am very pleased with it .

 

[TW Staff]

Hi Tiffani,

Thanks for your reply however, the twistweight measurement is not a subjective, individual measurement is it? Either way, how can a lighter racquet be more stable then a heavier one?

I have used your matching services and am very pleased with it .

The twistweight would be measured in the lab, so it is not subjective. I would have to defer to the TW Prof on any questions regarding his lab data. I wouldn't feel comfortable making any projections regarding twistweight.

Thanks,
Tiffani, TW

 

[TW Staff]

Hi Tiffani,

Thanks for your reply however, the twistweight measurement is not a subjective, individual measurement is it? Either way, how can a lighter racquet be more stable then a heavier one?

I have used your matching services and am very pleased with it .

Hi mawashi,

I'll give this a shot as the TW prof is busy. First, the twistweight numbers for these racquets are within the margin of error, so our data does not suggest one is more torsionally stable.

Second, twistweight is not merely a function of weight but the distribution of weight. So if the lighter racquet has a higher concentration of weight further from the longitudinal axis, than it could have a higher twistweight, e.g., higher concentrations around 3 & 9.

Hope this helps,
Jon

 

[mawashi]

Hi Jon & Tiffany,

Thanks again for all your replies and hard work on making this a great tennis resource site.

Please look into the twist weight no if possible cus it's strange if the reviewers say it needs more stability and the sweetspot is smaller yet the twist weight is even higher then the tour. Most confusing indeed.