Le Coq Sportif Thunder 2

[d-quik]

Does anyone know anything about the specifications of this French racquet? I can not find any information at all

So many of the midplusses from the 1990s with 18 mains all came with 330+ swingweight it seems!

@Sanglier @Tranqville

Logo makes it looks like Fischer, but isn't!

 

[kevin qmto]

The graphics are so similar to late 90’s Wilson’s you could almost accuse them of plagiarism, especially those red logos at 10-2.

Sorry I know nothing about the frame though.

 

[d-quik]

The graphics are so similar to late 90’s Wilson’s you could almost accuse them of plagiarism, especially those red logos at 10-2.

Sorry I know nothing about the frame though.

I mean the the logo is a tad fischer-ish too.

Do you thing the shape of the racquet shows that it is a pro-staff clone of some kind? Or are there enough structural differences other than the PWS to make it distinct?

 

[kevin qmto]

I mean the the logo is a tad fischer-ish too.

Do you thing the shape of the racquet shows that it is a pro-staff clone of some kind? Or are there enough structural differences other than the PWS to make it distinct?

Either pro staff or a Hammer of some sort if it’s HH at all.

 

[Chairman3]

Not everyone can handle the immense power of the sport c0ck.

 

[teachingprotx]

I LOVE THAT STENCIL MAN ..to me it doesn’t get much cooler than the coq sportif triangle.
I love the Older stencil , and the one OP has on the Thunder 2 .
Brilliant design..

 

[Sanglier]

Does anyone know anything about the specifications of this French racquet? I can not find any information at all

So many of the midplusses from the 1990s with 18 mains all came with 330+ swingweight it seems!

@Sanglier @Tranqville

Logo makes it looks like Fischer, but isn't!

Sorry I can't shed any light on this one. My interest in LCS is limited to that period where they were forcibly married to Adidas, from whom they were given the triple shaft design (itself a revival of the Donisthorpe/Hazell idea). LCS's company trajectory is so full of dramas and twists and colorful personalities that a whole miniseries can be made from it.

This model looks like a Wilson, but has those Prince Triple-Threat-like windows at the top exposing (or illustrating) the braided layup underneath, as well as long grommets at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions reminiscent of string-boosting/dampening gimmicks found on Völkl products and others. If this was designed and produced during the Olivier Jacques era, then the confluence of all these features taken from multiple competitors sort of makes sense... For specs, I would add Wilson specs to Prince specs to Völkl specs and divide by three.

 

[d-quik]

I would add Wilson specs to Prince specs to Völkl specs and divide by three.

Lol no apologies needed mate. This was a good LOL read.

 

[retrowagen]

I can’t use this racquet without hearing a certain AC-DC song in my head.

 

[Tranqville]

Unfortunately, I do not know anything about this racquet.

 

[teachingprotx]

Looks ( face on ) eerily similair to the wilson
Pro staff 6.6 titaniums. Sans PWS.
Im gonna guess the specs:
11.3 strung
3 pts HL
Ra 67

 

[Shaolin]

The graphics are so similar to late 90’s Wilson’s you could almost accuse them of plagiarism, especially those red logos at 10-2.

Sorry I know nothing about the frame though.

Not the first time they copied a racquet.

 

[kevin qmto]

Not the first time they copied a racquet.

Oh wow that’s even worse lol. Later LCS was just shameless eh?

 

[d-quik]

eerily similair to the wilson
Pro staff 6.6 titanium

You are right! The only thing that casts doubts on my pro-staff impression is the fact that it has 19 crosses (not 20) but I think that can be changed easily

 

[Sanglier]

Oh wow that’s even worse lol. Later LCS was just shameless eh?

If these racquets were made between 1999 and 2003/2004 during Olivier Jacques' brief but rather eventful reign, then copying stuff was the least of LCS' worries.

In 2010, Jacques was convicted in abstentia of selling unauthorized Adidas and Nike products during that time frame, and sentenced to two years in prison, plus damages to Adidas and Nike. He denied wrongdoing through his attorney, who insisted those products were completely legitimate, and blamed the charges on earlier litigation they were engaged in against those vendors. At the time of the trial, Jacques had already emigrated to Argentina (a preferred destination for Europeans in search of grass-fed beef, and a clean break with their past), reportedly to raise horses, which must have been less risky than hawking sporting goods. There is no report of him ever going back to France to face the music.

 

[Shaolin]

Oh wow that’s even worse lol. Later LCS was just shameless eh?

Yeah pretty sad really. Such a great brand, they didn’t have to do that.

 

[Grafil Injection]

The OP racket looks like the Donnay Comp Pro, which was like the Academy Pro without the cross-bar. And the orange one above looks like the Donnay Ti Comp. All made in the same factory of course.

 

[d-quik]

looks like the Donnay Comp Pro

Did that ever come with 18 mains?

 

[kevin qmto]

The OP racket looks like the Donnay Comp Pro, which was like the Academy Pro without the cross-bar. And the orange one above looks like the Donnay Ti Comp. All made in the same factory of course.

So the frames probably weren’t half bad actually? They just weren’t confident enough in their own aesthetic dept to go with their own stylings?

 

[Grafil Injection]

Did that ever come with 18 mains?

Not sure about the Comp, but there are various other in the Wide-Section series that do, like the Volley and the Infinity, and the Rusedski Tour of course. Bit different moulds though. The paint-job is very Donnay late 90s.

 

[Grafil Injection]

So the frames probably weren’t half bad actually? They just weren’t confident enough in their own aesthetic dept to go with their own stylings?

I doubt LCS had their own designers in the late 1990s, having been acquired. They just selected amongst 'Colour 1, Colour 2, Your Logo Here' rackets. Like Pro Supex too at that time.