Round version of tour bite soft with good feel?

[Paleo.F]

I recently tried and have been loving your bite soft, especially for the ease of my serve and the awesome kick, but I’ve been dealing with some draw backs to a shaped strung as well…For reference I’ve been using alu power @48# before tour bite soft( but I struggled with a having a little too much juice later on in the strings life for me personally.) my problem is the tension maintenance alu. I believe alu has the best feel for me and I love the responsiveness freshly strung but the control drops of a cliff once you play with it for a hour or two. I wanted to try to control the power especially when the tension drops off hard, so I tried your bite soft. They for me have similar pretty feel, enough that I could feel the ball and adjust my shots accordingly and that’s honestly enough for me as long as I get good feedback. I put Tour bite soft @48# on my psX and blade 98 16/19 and it resulted in a very forgiving and bigger feeling sweet spot. I really enjoyed the feel and performance of the string but I’m looking to try to find a round string that’s super similar to it’s performance (aka I want a nice large sweet spot and nice responsive feel from the string bed).

My shots have been a little too loopy with the strings instead of my usual flatter style of hitting. I noticed this was a problem using a shaped string specifically on my return of serve. I was changing my penetrative deep shot just turning into a super spiny short return.

Any help would be appreciated. Btw I’ve tried hyper g round and hated how muted the strings felt. I know “feel” is a personal preference but for the people who have tried alu power silver, that my preference for feel, if that helps to clarify at all lol.

Thanks -Paleo

 

[coolbh6]

1. Why not Tour Bite instead of the TB Soft Version I find it is the closest feeling thing to Alu after the initial drop (my own opinion)

2. I would suggest you use regular TB + 2-4 lbs IF needed to dial down launch angle

3. Take some time to let your swing and technique adjust to get back flat and spinny shots they way you like them.

4. Beyond that you can increase cross string thickness...

 

[TwinCinema]

I recently tried and have been loving your bite soft, especially for the ease of my serve and the awesome kick, but I’ve been dealing with some draw backs to a shaped strung as well…For reference I’ve been using alu power @48# before tour bite soft( but I struggled with a having a little too much juice later on in the strings life for me personally.) my problem is the tension maintenance alu. I believe alu has the best feel for me and I love the responsiveness freshly strung but the control drops of a cliff once you play with it for a hour or two. I wanted to try to control the power especially when the tension drops off hard, so I tried your bite soft. They for me have similar pretty feel, enough that I could feel the ball and adjust my shots accordingly and that’s honestly enough for me as long as I get good feedback. I put Tour bite soft @48# on my psX and blade 98 16/19 and it resulted in a very forgiving and bigger feeling sweet spot. I really enjoyed the feel and performance of the string but I’m looking to try to find a round string that’s super similar to it’s performance (aka I want a nice large sweet spot and nice responsive feel from the string bed).

My shots have been a little too loopy with the strings instead of my usual flatter style of hitting. I noticed this was a problem using a shaped string specifically on my return of serve. I was changing my penetrative deep shot just turning into a super spiny short return.

Any help would be appreciated. Btw I’ve tried hyper g round and hated how muted the strings felt. I know “feel” is a personal preference but for the people who have tried alu power silver, that my preference for feel, if that helps to clarify at all lol.

Thanks -Paleo

I like the same feeling strings as you do (I’ve got tour bite and alu rough in 2 of my rackets currently) and I think if you want a round poly with a great feel, good liveliness, and access to spin, then go with razor code. The white color plays best for me and it’s probably my favorite overall string. If you want a softer version, razor soft is a winner for a lot of people. Both have very good tension maintenance; better than Alu for the same money.

 

[dr. godmode]

High recommend looking into Grapplesnake Tour Sniper or Tour M8. Both are shaped, but the edge is significantly more mild than Tour Bite. The guy who makes the strings is very into "tour-level" performance and minimizing string-related inconsistencies for the player, the edges are only there to provide enough ball-grip for feel, but not enough to lift the ball to much.

 

[EggSalad]

Toroline Enso Pro might be worth trying.

 

[J D]

Yes, regular TB gets a little lower launch angle than Soft, but not that much, and it feels much stiffer. Higher tension will lower launch angle but you will definitely lose some power and depth. A thicker gauge of TB Soft will have a bit lower launch angle and spin.

If you can stand the color, you could try try Hyper G Round.

BTW, I string ALU Power at 55 lbs. It helps with the tension loss some. Any tighter and it seems to lose its magic sauce for me.

You could try a hybrid of ALU Power in the mains and a different smooth poly in the crosses that has better tension maintenance (like Hyper G Round). You may end up with the best of both worlds - the playability and feel of ALU with the durability of other poly.

 

[Paleo.F]

High recommend looking into Grapplesnake Tour Sniper or Tour M8. Both are shaped, but the edge is significantly more mild than Tour Bite. The guy who makes the strings is very into "tour-level" performance and minimizing string-related inconsistencies for the player, the edges are only there to provide enough ball-grip for feel, but not enough to lift the ball to much.

I’ve actually tried m8 and I hated the feel lol it was personally very muted. Maybe it was the gauge but I think it was 125. I wouldn’t try any lower in gauge for tension and cost sake for having to restring more often lol. What’s your sniper play like? Is it similar to m8? Also I love your vids man you’re a goat!

 

[maksp]

High recommend looking into Grapplesnake Tour Sniper or Tour M8. Both are shaped, but the edge is significantly more mild than Tour Bite. The guy who makes the strings is very into "tour-level" performance and minimizing string-related inconsistencies for the player, the edges are only there to provide enough ball-grip for feel, but not enough to lift the ball to much.

Which has less edge?

 

[Paleo.F]

Which has less edge?

From my experience I would say that the m8 was almost/very close to round but I haven’t tried your sniper

 

[ChipReturns]

Hyper g round is honestly a good shout. The feel is more dampened and less crisp than alu and TB but the playability is much more well rounded than reg HG. The launch is consistent (unlike HG), it has good power, controlled, and I think the spin is better than alu. Downside is a little bit of feel loss but that’s subjective

Does anyone know if TB round will ever make it to market?

 

[DropWideShot]

I heard TB round is in the pipeline...can't believe how little ALU lasts though, I doubt any of these other brands would have come up if they had figured out the tension maintenance issue in time...the price is just a double whammy unless you are sponsored.

 

[TwinCinema]

I heard TB round is in the pipeline...can't believe how little ALU lasts though, I doubt any of these other brands would have come up if they had figured out the tension maintenance issue in time...the price is just a double whammy unless you are sponsored.

TB Round seems like kind of an oxymoron - like, for me the whole point of TB is that it’s shaped and grabs the ball for max spin and control. If I wanted a round poly then there are plenty of options in that arena. I suppose if TB Round can become a razor code competitor then it would be cheaper (one huge benefit to Solinco over TF) but they already have Hyper-G Round for that.

 

[Recoveringhobo]

ALU Power Soft.

 

[ChipReturns]

TB Round seems like kind of an oxymoron - like, for me the whole point of TB is that it’s shaped and grabs the ball for max spin and control.

I get what you mean but it’s the same story with hyper-g’s sharp edges and I think HGR is a fantastic release. I like it better than HG. If I’m looking for a more crisp HGR at the same price or lower, then Tour Bite Round would be a nice option to have. Alu and Alu soft are the best options, but I (and I think many others) don’t want to get addicted to Lux due to price.

 

[Trip]

@Paleo.F - Have you tried hybriding TBS mains with a round, slick, longer-lasting cross? If not, then such a p/p hybrid might give you exactly what you're looking for: less grab, flatter ball flight and more playable longevity.

Crosses that would be good compliments to TBS:
- MSV Co-Focus Aqua 1.23
- Toroline Enso Pro Carbon

If you're just looking for a single string to play full-bed, then Beckett's suggestion of Tour Sniper is a good one. Stiffness and feel are similar to TB Soft, but less edgy grab. String at similar tension.

Another oldie but a goodie would be Genesis Typhoon Grey. It's one of the most Alu-like strings out there. Five-sided, twisted. Good grab, but less than TB.

 

[maksp]

@Paleo.F - Have you tried hybriding TBS mains with a round, slick, longer-lasting cross? If not, then such a p/p hybrid might give you exactly what you're looking for: less grab, flatter ball flight and more playable longevity.

Crosses that would be good compliments to TBS:
- MSV Co-Focus Aqua 1.23
- Toroline Enso Pro Carbon

If you're just looking for a single string to play full-bed, then Beckett's suggestion of Tour Sniper is a good one. Stiffness and feel are similar to TB Soft, but less edgy grab. String at similar tension.

Another oldie but a goodie would be Genesis Typhoon Grey. It's one of the most Alu-like strings out there. Five-sided, twisted. Good grab, but less than TB.

I use thicker round cross to tame shaped mains.... 1.20mm hyper g mains ,1.25 hyper g round cross

 

[DropWideShot]

TB Round seems like kind of an oxymoron - like, for me the whole point of TB is that it’s shaped and grabs the ball for max spin and control. If I wanted a round poly then there are plenty of options in that arena. I suppose if TB Round can become a razor code competitor then it would be cheaper (one huge benefit to Solinco over TF) but they already have Hyper-G Round for that.

The thing is, with HG I think there is something to be said about the feel and characteristics of the base material that just work. I see the base material as the lowest common denominator for any string so as long as that is good whether its shaped, round, soft, or rough it almost shouldn't matter (save for player preference). What's the use of something that feels 10% better across 1-2 categories but degrades 60% faster than even its most modest competitors? If I had to guess that is why solinco is probably releasing the TB round, I think they are taking their shot at the ALU since HG doesn't really fit in that category of feel imo. HG is muted and while it is a bit crisp in the round version I dont think it can be as "crispy" as a TB round based on what I remember about TB when I first tried it.