Fischer Pro Classic 98 and VT 98 -- 1/8" short?

[Mickey Finn]

I've really enjoyed hitting with a Fischer Pro Classic 98 and VT Pro 98 in practice. Both are TW Bosworth's from a friend. I noticed that they measure about 1/8" short of standard racquets in effective length, because of the odd butt cap shape.

Anyone know why Fischer made these racquets a bit shorter? Also, did Kafelnikov's odd "hockey butt cap" extend his Fischer racquets?

 

[jayserinos99]

IMO it all adds to the distinct Fischer feel; I bought 2 VT Pro 98s from TW recently. As an experiment, I decided to extend the buttcap out by removing the staples and then changing the position of the buttcap. The new length is 27". The one thing I noticed was that the end of the handle was indented so that the buttcap fit flush. Once I extended the buttcap, I put in balsa wood to get rid of the indent in the handle. I don't know if Kafelnikov's 'hockey butt cap' extended his racquets but I know that I tried to play with my unmodified VT Pros by gripping the racquet at the end of the buttcap and I was afraid it would slip out of my hand.

 

[Mickey Finn]

Some good ideas. I suppose you could play around with lead tape and really fine tune the racquet. The racquets I used have 3 grams at 3 and 9 and Babolat overwrap on the grips which made holding the racquet at the end of the handle viable.

Where on the handle you grip a racquet is an overlooked factor. There is a huge variance among pros (check out still shots). I grip the end of the racquet (I copied Borg in this regard when I learned the game). Many men and women choke-up on the racquet (e.g. new Roddick backhand). Lendl also really choked-up on his forehand.

There is a lot of information on the VT Pro 98, but not many seemed to have used the Pro Classic 98. I'd be interested to know the flex rating on both. I noticed that you can still buy the Pro Classic 98, but the VT Pro 98 has sold out. Any reason for this regarding playability?

 

[Keifers]

IMO it all adds to the distinct Fischer feel; I bought 2 VT Pro 98s from TW recently. As an experiment, I decided to extend the buttcap out by removing the staples and then changing the position of the buttcap. The new length is 27". The one thing I noticed was that the end of the handle was indented so that the buttcap fit flush. Once I extended the buttcap, I put in balsa wood to get rid of the indent in the handle. I don't know if Kafelnikov's 'hockey butt cap' extended his racquets but I know that I tried to play with my unmodified VT Pros by gripping the racquet at the end of the buttcap and I was afraid it would slip out of my hand.

I did something similar with my M105, but instead of balsa wood, I used a couple of layers of cardboard, inserted into the butt cap. Did not need to re-staple the butt cap -- it stayed on fine after I put the grip back on.

That 1/8" diff was pretty noticeable to me. Glad I made the mod.

 

[Keifers]

Btw, very nice removable pallets in the M105. Held in place with two large plastic screws (the kind you use a nickel to turn).

Impressed.

 

[PackardDell]

anyone got a link to a page from TW about the pro classic 98 ?