Solinco Tour Bite

Gene1994

Rookie
It's an awesome poly. The tension maintenance great. I like to describe it as a softer, more spin potential version of ALU Power with better tension maintenance.
 

davidahenry

Professional
Thanks for that review. So it might be worth switching from ALU?

Definitely worth trying. Tour Bite is a great string.

Alu is awesome stuff from a playability perspective. Nothing better IMO. But... Alu loses tension/playability rather quickly and is fairly expensive.

While I don't know the price of Tour Bite, I am willing to bet it is less than Alu.

Take care.

DH
 

babolat15

Hall of Fame
Yeah, priced lower than Tour Bite and it retains its playability longer...i'd say its one of the best 5 polys out there
 

JMcQ

Rookie
Just strung my Pure Storm GT Ltd. with Tour Bite 17 (46 on the mains, 48 on the crosses). Simply awesome. Tons of spin, feels soft for a poly, etc. Even better, I didn't have the shoulder pain I typically have when I string with poly...
 

genius24

Semi-Pro
Definitely worth trying. Tour Bite is a great string.

Alu is awesome stuff from a playability perspective. Nothing better IMO. But... Alu loses tension/playability rather quickly and is fairly expensive.

While I don't know the price of Tour Bite, I am willing to bet it is less than Alu.

Take care.

DH

Agreed. Def worth trying the tour bite at the very least. I am using the revolution (another very popular solinco poly) which is very similar to the tour bite and am in love with it. Pricing is much more reasonable than the ALU and i agree that it holds tension better as well. Give it a try and let me know how you compare the two.
 

babolat15

Hall of Fame
Just strung my Pure Storm GT Ltd. with Tour Bite 17 (46 on the mains, 48 on the crosses). Simply awesome. Tons of spin, feels soft for a poly, etc. Even better, I didn't have the shoulder pain I typically have when I string with poly...

yeah it is quite a bit softer
 

davidahenry

Professional
Agreed. Def worth trying the tour bite at the very least. I am using the revolution (another very popular solinco poly) which is very similar to the tour bite and am in love with it. Pricing is much more reasonable than the ALU and i agree that it holds tension better as well. Give it a try and let me know how you compare the two.

Will do. As you may have seen in the pic from my blog post, I have a set of Revolution, so I'll give it a try soon.

I will be play-testing another new (not released yet) poly from SOLINCO soon, so I'll probably try Revolution after that.

Take care.

DH
 

Racer41c

Professional
Has anyone tried Tour Bite and Spiky Shark? I played the Shark last night and will give TB a go this weekend. Looking for a nice spin string, low power, good control.
 

Tennis_Crazed

Semi-Pro
ive hit with the vanquish tour bite hybrid...its pretty much like if you just took lux and nxt

That was my impression of it as well when i played with it once (i actually wrote a review)...just curious to hear what dh had to say given he provides very detailed reviews... also on the outlast
 

genius24

Semi-Pro
Has anyone tried Tour Bite and Spiky Shark? I played the Shark last night and will give TB a go this weekend. Looking for a nice spin string, low power, good control.

Racer- you should also try the solinco revolution. imo, it is very similar to the tour bite in terms of spin but provides an extra degree of control (not to mention its cheaper).
 

davidahenry

Professional
DH - great review! I must agree with most of what you said...

Have you tried any of the hybrids by chance? Please post a review of that and the outlast if you can! Thanks

Hey Tennis_Crazed. Thanks for the kinds words.

I am not a fan of hybrids. Over the last year, I've tried Alu Power Rough mains and Tecnifibre NRG2 crosses, and I've tried to Babolat VS mains and Alu Power Rough crosses. I didn't care for either setup.

I guess, at the end of the day, I am a full poly guy. I just love the way a full bed of fresh poly plays.

Take care.

DH
 

Mr. Blond

Professional
I love the tour bite.....tried it once and was instantly hooked. Been swinging it for almost 5 months now and not even close to looking back. Great stuff all round.
 

genius24

Semi-Pro
Will do. As you may have seen in the pic from my blog post, I have a set of Revolution, so I'll give it a try soon.

I will be play-testing another new (not released yet) poly from SOLINCO soon, so I'll probably try Revolution after that.

Take care.

DH

thanks. what new poly are you talking about? can you give a little more info on it?
 

davidahenry

Professional
What gauge Tour-Bite did you try?

17. I think I might like the 16 even better. I tend to like a little bit thicker, more solid feeling string. I've been playing with Alu Power Rough almost exclusively for about two years, and it is 16L.

Take care.

DH
 

davidahenry

Professional
thanks. what new poly are you talking about? can you give a little more info on it?

Unfortunately, I don't know much about it. I was talking to KT from SOLINCO about a week ago, and he mentioned the new string and asked if I would play-test it for them. I believe it is a twisted poly, and I believe it will be called Barbed (or Barb) Wire. It will likely arrive this coming week, so I'll post more information once I have it.

I am excited. Expecting it to be a great string. We'll see...

Take care.

DH
 

Tennis_Crazed

Semi-Pro
Hey Tennis_Crazed. Thanks for the kinds words.

I am not a fan of hybrids. Over the last year, I've tried Alu Power Rough mains and Tecnifibre NRG2 crosses, and I've tried to Babolat VS mains and Alu Power Rough crosses. I didn't care for either setup.

I guess, at the end of the day, I am a full poly guy. I just love the way a full bed of fresh poly plays.

Take care.

DH

I hear you...i'm a fully poly guy as well. When I play matches or competitively, there isn't anything that comes close to a fresh newly strung racket with fully poly. I do use a hybrid set-up though when i'm feeding a lot of balls or teaching, just because it is less strain overall on the arm. looking forward to your next reviews.
 

WarrenT

New User
I posted this info on the new Solinco string in a different Tour Bite thread on this forum but will post again here. Yes I was told they may be calling it Barb Wire, but my friend and I personally prefer "Twisted Ninja" or "Ripcord".

Tour Bite has been my string of choice until just recently. I got to test Solinco's new, black, twisted Tour Bite and that is my new fave string. More bite than Tour Bite if you can believe it and better pop, more comfort, more trampoline effect, more power. Below is a closeup photo of it on my racquet. If you live in Southern California & want to try this new string you can go to www.lahabratenniscenter.com and have them string it up for you, they are where I got mine strung at.

string_twistedninja.jpg


More detailed review on my blog.
 

WarrenT

New User
Can anyone compare it to SpinX

I've used Spin-X. I thought Spin-X was pretty decent, but it was a bit too mushy, kinda a sloppy feel to me and didn't do anything I could tell to actually improve spin. Tour Bite feels a lot crisper than Spin-X, but it's also stiffer but not as stiff as Big Banger Alu. But more importantly Tour Bite without a doubt helps you generate more spin/bite. The new string Solinco is coming out with (see my prev post above) would be a better bet if you want something that is a little softer like Spin-X.
 

iMpro

New User
What multifillament/ synthetic gut would you guys recomend that i try to cross it with, if want spin? Or just full bed?
 

genius24

Semi-Pro
I posted this info on the new Solinco string in a different Tour Bite thread on this forum but will post again here. Yes I was told they may be calling it Barb Wire, but my friend and I personally prefer "Twisted Ninja" or "Ripcord".

Tour Bite has been my string of choice until just recently. I got to test Solinco's new, black, twisted Tour Bite and that is my new fave string. More bite than Tour Bite if you can believe it and better pop, more comfort, more trampoline effect, more power. Below is a closeup photo of it on my racquet. If you live in Southern California & want to try this new string you can go to www.lahabratenniscenter.com and have them string it up for you, they are where I got mine strung at.

string_twistedninja.jpg


More detailed review on my blog.

wow!!! that looks so sick! thanks for posting!
 
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I posted this info on the new Solinco string in a different Tour Bite thread on this forum but will post again here. Yes I was told they may be calling it Barb Wire, but my friend and I personally prefer "Twisted Ninja" or "Ripcord".

Tour Bite has been my string of choice until just recently. I got to test Solinco's new, black, twisted Tour Bite and that is my new fave string. More bite than Tour Bite if you can believe it and better pop, more comfort, more trampoline effect, more power. Below is a closeup photo of it on my racquet. If you live in Southern California & want to try this new string you can go to www.lahabratenniscenter.com and have them string it up for you, they are where I got mine strung at.

string_twistedninja.jpg


More detailed review on my blog.

Does anyone know when the TWH will start carrying these strings?
 

genius24

Semi-Pro
Does anyone know when the TWH will start carrying these strings?

i have no idea. i don't think these strings have even been released by solinco yet. best bet imo is to email solinco directly and ask them. cant wait until this new string becomes available to the public. let me know if you email them and get any new info. thanks.
 
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WarrenT

New User
Little update to my playtest on this new "Barb Wire" string. After about 5 hours of cumulative hitting these strings have undergone a major tension drop. Strung them at 60 lbs, they feel like 45 or something now. I'm hitting many shots long, losing bite too. Maybe it's a consequence of the softer characteristic of the string, but tension maintenance seems like it could be an issue. It'll be interesting once more ppl have tested it to see if they get this issue too.

string_twistedninja.jpg
 

Gene1994

Rookie
Little update to my playtest on this new "Barb Wire" string. After about 5 hours of cumulative hitting these strings have undergone a major tension drop. Strung them at 60 lbs, they feel like 45 or something now. I'm hitting many shots long, losing bite too. Maybe it's a consequence of the softer characteristic of the string, but tension maintenance seems like it could be an issue. It'll be interesting once more ppl have tested it to see if they get this issue too.

string_twistedninja.jpg
That's too bad to hear... I was getting really excited about this string!
 

Arvid

Semi-Pro
I see in their site now that there is also an 18 gauge tour bite, did anyone try that? I think it could play really nicely in my tight string pattern radical. Just wonder if it holds tension as well as the other gauges....
 

Tennis_Crazed

Semi-Pro
I bought a reel of it at a local shop in Santa Monica who actually carries it in that gauge. I've strung that up for some of my clients and they seem to really like it. Haven't tried it myself given I'd probably blow through it in a day... Tension maintenance seems ok though...i put it in some older player's rackets who don't break strings as often and from what it looked like, after 2+ weeks no complaints of tension loss
 

jamauss

Hall of Fame
I got to see some of the Barb Wire string in person from a guy that's at a junior tourney being hosted in town this week (I'm doing stringing for the players). It looks like it will be nasty on the fingers to string, but should offer a lot of spin based on the shape and twist of it. As a stringer, I can't say I'm looking forward to this rising trend of shaped & twisted polys, as full poly already wreaks havoc on my hands/fingers. As a player, I'm looking forward to how they play.
 
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