head speed pro graphene stringing issue

[ten11]

This racket has shared holes. I want to make sure we are talking about the same thing to start with. on one side, string will cross between outside of 8th and 9th holes. I mean cross, the cross string will cross over the main. Make the problem worse, the bump guard is lower than the string. The player broke the string when he scratched the ground on that spot.
Today before stringing, I studied the holes and noticed it is unavoidable to cross. between holes, seems prefabricated two channels to go two strings. very smart idea but the two channels is uneven. So the main string, the first one to install always go cross between the shortest distance.(once tensioned, it has to.) When I install the cross, it has to ride over the cross string. (Sorry this is the best way I can explain, otherwise I have to input other language or draw a picture to explain it. )
As I see it, this racket has design flaws. 1. the bumper guard did not protect the string at all. 2. the channel design. 3. it makes wonder, do you have to use shared holes.

By the way, I noticed this graphene speed pro and the other radical pro graphene deform like crazy on my stringing machine. I never able to see deform in most other rackets but head racket let me see it and make me worried about if I should wear extra protection when stringing.

Anyone has idea/suggestion how to avoid the cross?

 

[tennytive]

I agree, it's a design issue. I noticed when I wove the cross through the 8th hole (shared) I could not get the string to lay flat above or below the main that was already occupying that same channel. Both times I strung that racket I ended up with a crossed over string in the channel. Looks wrong, and is subject to breaking easier if you scrape your racket on the court like you mention. A deeper or wider channel might help, or maybe another more experienced poster here has an idea for you. You do have to use the shared holes or you won't get the 18 x 20 pattern.

As for the deforming comment, I had no issue with that. In fact the racket held it's position almost perfectly, maybe because it was new.

 

[Clintspin]

Doesn't this racquet have the super thin bridge? Several racquets have the thin bridges and it seems like a bad idea. Not much support as you start to string and could be even more of an issue on a 6 point mount where one thin support is the first bracing against a racket with a thin bridge.

 

[esgee48]

I do not seem to have this issue. I always use the bottom channel for mains and the top channel for crosses. I do hold the string in place until some tension is applied, then let go and it seems to stay in place. 2 cents.

 

[lionel_101]

All of the top end Head racquetball racquets for the past 5-6 years have the upper and lower channels at the top of the racquet. You need to do what esgree48 mentioned above to keep them from crossing one another. It is very very easy to feed them into the wrong channels without knowing it. Double and triple check when tensioning that they are indeed in the right channels before clamping and moving on. I had to cut strings out and redo it, just because I was not paying attention and trying to get it done to fast.

 

[ten11]

Thanks. I need to be very careful in my next stringing job.

 

[am1899]

A scrap piece of string can also help...

Let's say you've just tensioned one of the 8th mains. Take that string, feed it through the low hole of the shared grommet, through the low part of the channel, and then to the low hole of the grommet for the 9th main. Run the 9th main completely through, and pull all the slack...but don't tension it just yet. Grab a scrap piece of string, and run it through the top holes of the same 2 grommets you just fed your main string through. You should now have your main string that you're about to tension running through the bottom of the channel....and your scrap string running through the top of the channel. Now tension 9th main. Should be good to go, as far as not creating a cross-over. Sorry, just not that easy for me to explain...hope it makes sense.

 

[tennytive]

Great tip.