Was wondering if removing the bumper guard at top of racket results in any meaningful lower swing weight? My racket has a 320 swing weight and is about 5 pts head light. Would removing the bumper possibly get it down to a 315 swing weight and make it perhaps 6 or 7 pts HL? Thanks.
Question about removing Bumper Guard
- Thread starter McEnborg
- Start date
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
It would. But it will feel flimsy, flutter when you hit near the top of the hoop and just plain suck. Trust me.... you don't want to do that. Just buy a frame that suits your desired specs.
2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
Don't they weigh 10 or more grams? That would be close to 30 sw lost.
Wow, didn’t realize that. I actually want thr racket to swing a bit faster, so that could help a decent bit.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
The racket would swing faster but you probably won't be able to get the ball over the net.
And if someone like me hit a ball at you it would knock the racket out of your hand.Steve Huff
G.O.A.T.
If you have to rely on removing the bumperguard to make it feel right for you, you are playing with the wrong racket. Plus, you would still have to use individual grommet as you couldn't string it with the string up against the graphite, so you might find the weight loss minimal anyway.
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
Removing the bumper guard removes not only plastic, but also a considerable amount of weight @ 12, which reduces your SW a lot - much more than you wanted to.
As @jdx2112 said above, I’d try a thinner gauge string - if you’re using 1.25 mm, I think that you should try going down to at least 1.20-1.15 mm to get your SW around the what you want.
Another option would be to shave/trim your bumper…
Curious if you know by how much thinner gauge strings reduce SW? I'm asking b/c while I love the feel of the Gravity Pro, the SW (demo'd usually with 16 gauge) feels just a tad beyond me at times. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
TennisHound
Legend
It would be better to trim the head guard instead if remove it all the way.
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
Unfortunately, I’m afraid I don’t.
Going 1 gauge lower will reduce weight and SW, but how much depends on your racquet‘s head size (smaller head = less string required = will remove less weight; bigger = grater reduction), on the stringing patter (18x20 uses more string than a 16x19 and hence going down 1 gauge will reduce SW more) and also obviously on the string itself. Some poiys weight 3-5 grams than others in the same gauge; this might be not only due to the string composition itself, but also due to the imprecise nature of “gauges” - 17 gauge might be 1.22 mm from a string, 1.20 mm of another and even 1.25 mm (examples: YPTP 17 = 1.20 mm; RPM Power 17 = 1.25 mm).
Specifically for your case, I might be able to help a little: Element 1.30 weights 2 grams more than 1.25 mm and that weight added 3-4 to the Gravity Pro’s SW, if I recall correctly. Note that this is specifically for this string on the Gravity Pro - your results may vary according to the string and gauge you’re using...
Thanks for the insight. Really appreciate it.
Vicious49
Legend
if you like the GPro but want something a little lighter, why not check out the Gravity Tour? I believe it’s 10 grams lighter so That may be just what you’re looking for.
Oh yeah, I already play with it. And love it. Just curious how the gap in SW can be reduced. It's a minor quibble.
