Playtest: Yonex Ultimum RD TI80 vs RDS 002 tour

[basil J]

I have and the only other yonex frames I have tried are the 002 tour and the rds100MP. I liked the tour, but struggled with control, hated the RDS 100 mp. too light and stiff.

 

[fuzz nation]

Basil, any chance in hell that you can note any comparisons between the RD Ti80 and the Volkl C10?

I've had that same sort of experience where I can get great performance from my LM Prestige mids, but only when I'm at my sharpest. The C10's are generally more steady and civilized for me, but maybe not as superlative as some other frames in one aspect or another.

Either way, great write up. Your experience with the RDS 002 Tours sounds exactly the same as my go 'round with those racquets. I'll definitely try to give an RD Ti80 a home as soon as I can.

...and just for the record, you're not the only one who loves your avatar...

 

[markwillplay]

I actually found the becker 11 mid easier to play with than the 002 tour for some reason. Had better control for me which is the reason I went to it. Balls would not fly quite as much on me with the becker.

 

[db379]

same here. I found it easier to keep balls in with topspin on the BB11 mid. the 002 T however has a larger sweetspot. Both volley very well, and serve with plenty of heat.

 

[basil J]

I couldn't agree more. The BB 11 was like a fine tuned 002T. Just a smaller hoop which sometimes gave me a challenge returning high kickers on my BH side, but other than that, I know quite a few who migrated from the 002T to the BB11 mid and never looked back.
I never used a C10 so I cannot make a comparison.

 

[Buckethead]

Man,
I love the new paint jobs that Yonex brought to the market.SFIT5,URD Ti 80,RDiS 200,RDiS 100.
If they brought back the RDX mid or RDS mid a little more comfy with the URD Ti 80 paint job that would be a huge seller.People would buy those rackets like we buy water.

 

[royroy85]

Anyone still swinging these??

Anyone out there still swinging these? I was using the Rdis 200 for about a year and I just could not get the groove of this racket, inconsistent stringbed response mainly. Tried playing around with lead and it became too powerful. I am thinking of getting these but have read that the stringbed towards the tip is dead. I use rounded, circular drives so I do use that area when going for angles. Any advice will be welcome..

 

[basil J]

2 of my buddies that used to use an 002 tour now use a BB melbourne, including myself. One pal I have switches between the 002 tour and redondo MP and has not found anything else he likes enough to switch to. He liked the melbourne, but cannot find any so he is staying with his yonex and PK. I know of no one who I play tennis with now, uses a TI -80. My few yonex playing buddies all happily use the V 98 series. I myself used the RDIs 200 last summer for about a month, and it played well with a little lead tape on the hoop, but I like the Melbourne much. much better. transition from Yonex to Volkl IMO is easy. many shared traits, except for the grip shape.

 

[royroy85]

2 of my buddies that used to use an 002 tour now use a BB melbourne, including myself. One pal I have switches between the 002 tour and redondo MP and has not found anything else he likes enough to switch to. He liked the melbourne, but cannot find any so he is staying with his yonex and PK. I know of no one who I play tennis with now, uses a TI -80. My few yonex playing buddies all happily use the V 98 series. I myself used the RDIs 200 last summer for about a month, and it played well with a little lead tape on the hoop, but I like the Melbourne much. much better. transition from Yonex to Volkl IMO is easy. many shared traits, except for the grip shape.

Interesting.. Basil, I recall you play tested the rd ti 80 a bit a couple of years ago, if not more. I am particularly interested in the stringbed response towards the tip. Did you notice any jarring effect in that area of the racket? I am pretty much wanting to get this racket as their are going cheap. I am a 5.0 mainly baseliner with a lot of spin and 1 hbh. The Rdis was, unfortunately, disappointing.

 

[Sander001]

Interesting.. Basil, I recall you play tested the rd ti 80 a bit a couple of years ago, if not more. I am particularly interested in the stringbed response towards the tip. Did you notice any jarring effect in that area of the racket? I am pretty much wanting to get this racket as their are going cheap. I am a 5.0 mainly baseliner with a lot of spin and 1 hbh. The Rdis was, unfortunately, disappointing.

From my memory, all my Yonex racquets are a bit dead in the upper hoops. I think Yonex delete mass from there to compensate or else you'd have higher swingweights comparable to other manufacturers[due to the isometric headshape].
Having said that, in some examples the upper stringbed is no less usable than oval racquets[because you're substituting mass with leverage].
But I think you may be disappointed with the ti-80 in this regard because it's too flexible to overcome that loss of mass. I could be wrong though; it's been months and months since I last used it[and much longer since I used it on a regular basis].

 

[royroy85]

From my memory, all my Yonex racquets are a bit dead in the upper hoops. I think Yonex delete mass from there to compensate or else you'd have higher swingweights comparable to other manufacturers[due to the isometric headshape].
Having said that, in some examples the upper stringbed is no less usable than oval racquets[because you're substituting mass with leverage].
But I think you may be disappointed with the ti-80 in this regard because it's too flexible to overcome that loss of mass. I could be wrong though; it's been months and months since I last used it[and much longer since I used it on a regular basis].

Thanks for the input. Yes, the lower flex (60) worries me a bit. I usually like my rackets flexy (I have two og rebels which are my doubles sticks) and the Rdis which is pretty flexy too). Can a bit of lead at 12 or 11 and 1 solve this issue? I normally add 4-8gr because I like the SW to be at least 340 on my rackets.

 

[Sander001]

Thanks for the input. Yes, the lower flex (60) worries me a bit. I usually like my rackets flexy (I have two og rebels which are my doubles sticks) and the Rdis which is pretty flexy too). Can a bit of lead at 12 or 11 and 1 solve this issue? I normally add 4-8gr because I like the SW to be at least 340 on my rackets.

I'd bet that would be plenty.

 

[royroy85]

I'd bet that would be plenty.

Thanks Sander, how long did you play with it and what were your impressions? What are you using now?

 

[fuzz nation]

Thanks for the input. Yes, the lower flex (60) worries me a bit. I usually like my rackets flexy (I have two og rebels which are my doubles sticks) and the Rdis which is pretty flexy too). Can a bit of lead at 12 or 11 and 1 solve this issue? I normally add 4-8gr because I like the SW to be at least 340 on my rackets.

I generally appreciate more flexible frames, so that motivated my grabbing up a pair of Ti-80's off the classifieds here a while back. I wouldn't say that these frames are any more dead in the upper hoop than other racquets, but I usually play with the Volkl C10 - that frame is more "tip dead" than most for sure.

The thing with the Yonex (for me) is that its sweet-spot seems wider than a typical oval shaped hoop. It's also heavy and quite stable - I added a little lead tape to the handles of my 80's to give them just a bit more HL balance and the familiar handling that this gives me. Stiffer frames like my old ProStaff 6.1 Classics are certainly no less jarring when I catch the ball up high on the string bed, but my Volkl C10's give me a more flexible feel than these Ti-80's with similar string layouts.

Spin potential? This Yonex is bananas for me and I also LOVE it for doubles and serve & volley singles action. Maybe because of its heft though, it's a little hot in the sweet-spot and much more difficult for me to produce a consistent stroke if I dwell at the baseline with it.

The 002 Tour was more spin anemic for me than my C10's, which are acceptable, but not spin standouts in my book (I'm enjoying more spin with a Volkl Organix 10 right now). The 002 Tours were also sort of hot in the sweet-spot, but only fun for me in a doubles match. If you like hefty 'n soft, the Ti-80 could be a strong performer. Just be ready to do the trial and error process with some string setups.

 

[corners]

Fuzz, have you tried the new Vcore Tour 97?

Also, how is the feel of the Organix 10 compared to your C10 Pros?

 

[Sander001]

Thanks Sander, how long did you play with it and what were your impressions? What are you using now?

Played with it for over 2yrs+ and I loved it because it has the forgiveness of a Mid+ but a bit more control due to lower power.
It's a fantastic all around frame that has no weakness. It's no wonder they're still in production after 10yrs.