Just found my perfect set-up!!!

[In)SpiRe]

I recently bought some Dunlop AeroGel 200's stright off like a 30-60 min demo. I liked it so much i bought two at once. I tried to play with it in stock form, but it was wayyyy too light, so I began to test on it.

Changes:
1. Took off the original grip and replaced with a Babolat Leather Grip.

2. Took four 6-inch [1/4 inch width] strips and put two on each side on 3 & 9. I'm not sure how many grams it is but if someone does know can you plz tell me, thinking its one and a half grams for each 6-inch strip [correct me if I'm wrong]??

3. Added the same 6-inch [1/4 width] strips but this time I put seven strips under my leather grip. Making it more headlight.

4. Put a Babolat Head Tape on the top of the head to keep my baby safe .

It took alot of experimentation with different amounts of lead but I found this set-up to give me the perfect swightweight, the perfect pop [even though I don't really like the strings], good maneuverability due to its headlightness, it increased my serves by tenfold, I'm hitting winners from all over the court, and I haven't really been able to get net points off rallies, but when just hitting back and forth, my volleys were crisp, deep and putaways were always an easy option. I don't know what else to say except I'm in love with this racquet and I don' think I'll be switching anytime soon. Hopefully when I put in my CyberFlash, it'll be even better!

Just wanted to share this with yall, since I normally switch racquets alot, but I don't think I'll be switching anytime soon. Any comments, thought and questions will be appreciated and answered. Thx!

 

[brianR2193]

hey inspire are you getting good topspin with your aerogel? If so with what strings?
I'm extremely frustrated with mine because i can't just hit with somebody anymore it's either hit it hard and flat and try extremely hard every shot or a frame or mishit.

I think it might just be too heavy and hard for me to use. I'm not that bad of a player about 4.0 #1 high school player but that's not saying much. I really think a 11 oz 100 sq inch racket would benifit me a lot more in baseline rallies and give me more headsize for block back of serves and volleys because these have been driving me crazy.

any thoughts?

 

[user92626]

Congratulations,

What do you mean by " Put a Babolat Head Tape on the top of the head to keep my baby safe" ??

Do you have link for such a tape sold?

 

[In)SpiRe]

hey inspire are you getting good topspin with your aerogel? If so with what strings?
I'm extremely frustrated with mine because i can't just hit with somebody anymore it's either hit it hard and flat and try extremely hard every shot or a frame or mishit.

I think it might just be too heavy and hard for me to use. I'm not that bad of a player about 4.0 #1 high school player but that's not saying much. I really think a 11 oz 100 sq inch racket would benifit me a lot more in baseline rallies and give me more headsize for block back of serves and volleys because these have been driving me crazy.

any thoughts?

Truthfully, even with a dense string pattern I can generate good spin if I really want to or if I want to change the pace, but it isn't so dependent on the racquet, nor the the string, it's all about form. But yea, I'm getting good spin when I want, and I'm using Pro Supex Blue Gear 17g ATM, which is known for its good spin making.

Hmm, does it seem like your swinging too late or are you swinging too fast? Do you feel like your not making contact at the right moment? If so, maybe just hitting normally without trying too hard to hit a good shot can help, LOOK AT THE BALL, and FOOTWORK is extremely important. Also, your grip can help alot. I use an extreme eastern grip, so I have the option to really flatten the ball out or if I want, I can brush up on the ball for good spin. But yea, same situation here with me as I normally hit hard and flat. I don't think I've been mishitting at all now that I've gotten accustomed to it, but maybe your just not used to it. How long have you been using the racquet? When you do hit a "good" shot do you feel like it landed shorter than you wanted? If you feel like it too heavy for you, I suggest you either:
A. Start "working" your muscles out. Not to a point where they are just huge, but enough so that you feel like your can whack the ball with that racquet for a good amount of time and not get tired.
b. Try playing with it everyday that you can to get accustomed to its weight.
C. Demo other racquets.

IMO you should stay with the racquet and just try to get your arms stronger by just playing with it. You don't know, maybe one day you'll find it to be your holy grail. Anything you wanna ask, then just let me know.

 

[In)SpiRe]

Congratulations,

What do you mean by " Put a Babolat Head Tape on the top of the head to keep my baby safe" ??

Do you have link for such a tape sold?

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageACBAB-BHT.html

It keeps the bumper guard and the head safer.

 

[brianR2193]

i've had it since about august.

i probably know the problem, all my life playing tennis i've used an oversize and didnt need to get into as good of a position as with the aerogel and i'm not very fast, not fat though, 6,0 150.

One probably big problem is that i've had the same strings on there since i got the durn thing since i have no one really to string for me, but i've just found someone who can. I think new fresh strings maybe wilson nxt 17 would help with a lot of things. (i use dunlop max comfort 16 now.)

 

[In)SpiRe]

i've had it since about august.

i probably know the problem, all my life playing tennis i've used an oversize and didnt need to get into as good of a position as with the aerogel and i'm not very fast, not fat though, 6,0 150.

One probably big problem is that i've had the same strings on there since i got the durn thing since i have no one really to string for me, but i've just found someone who can. I think new fresh strings maybe wilson nxt 17 would help with a lot of things. (i use dunlop max comfort 16 now.)

Yea, you cant be lazy in tennis, especially with a low-powered players racquet as good as the the AeroGel 200. You gotta move into position an. Also, I agree on your strings, it better to get them replaced if they are pretty much dead and give no feedback. Hope everything goes well for you though :].

 

[Tennisguy777]

Glad to hear you found your setup. Wish me luck still playing with mine.
on 1 /4 inch lead tape : 4 inch = 1 gram
So you added a total 24 inches = 6g to the head

and 7.5g to the handle. So your 200 just gained almost 14g in leadtape. Which is = almost exactly half an ounce.
I am doing the same exact experiment with 2 new aerogel 300s.

 

[In)SpiRe]

Glad to hear you found your setup. Wish me luck still playing with mine.
on 1 /4 inch lead tape : 4 inch = 1 gram
So you added a total 24 inches = 6g to the head

and 7.5g to the handle. So your 200 just gained almost 14g in leadtape. Which is = almost exactly half an ounce.
I am doing the same exact experiment with 2 new aerogel 300s.

Ah, thx that really helped!

 

[VGP]

Don't forget to add the weight of the headguard tape....