Syn Gut Main / Poly Cross?

[dje31]

Greetings, all. Knowing that a fair number of folks run natural gut mains with poly crosses, any reason why you wouldn't mirror that with syn gut as the mains, poly crosses?

I've been running Cyclone 17 mains with either Forten Sweet 17 or OGSM 17 crosses for a while now. Generally good results overall.

I'll probably try syn gut mains / poly crosses on my next string job, unless you give me a good reason not to. Why are poly main / syn gut crosses the norm for cheaper hybrid setups, as opposed to the reverse? Any downsides?

That said, I'm also thinking about going back to full syn gut.

Thoughts?

 

[Ramon]

The major downside is durability. Poly crosses will saw through the syngut mains. Most advanced players would be lucky to get 3 hours out of it.

 

[Imago]

Not that fast if the poly is smooth and slick. Yet "hard" and non-shaped multi yield better results with poly crosses.

 

[shaysrebelII]

Syn gut/poly is my main setup. I'm not a string breaker, so the durability issues that Ramon outlined for you aren't a concern for me. If your racquet has a dense string pattern, and if you prefer smooth(ish) polys (like I do) that will also help with durability. If you're perfectly content with full syn gut, by all means you should go back to it. It will probably be better for your arm and it'll definitely be better for your wallet.

If you want more specific info on this setup and how I use it, just ask.

 

[JustTennis76]

The major downside is durability. Poly crosses will saw through the syngut mains. Most advanced players would be lucky to get 3 hours out of it.

couldn't agree more. I strung Gosen sheep micro in mains and cyclone in the crosses. It lasted me just under 4 hours. My arm has been bothering me slightly lately so I am planning to string a full bed of sheep micro in my next string job.

 

[men8ifr]

Putting a softer string material in the mains should mean that the crosses cut into the mains.

That means that the mains are still free so slide sideways which generates spin and should keep consistently generating spin.

So if you rely on spin I'd try the syn gut mains poly crosses. that said I've not tried this (yet)

 

[dje31]

Thanks for the replies, folks. I might try it just for yucks. I've historically been a string breaker, but lately, the Cyclone goes dead before it breaks. Me breaking a string---the syn gut, from what I'm hearing---might be a good sign, instead of waiting for the poly to go dead and cause me to ache.

Or just go back to full syn gut. Used that most of my playing life so far.

 

[davidhshon]

Thanks for the replies, folks. I might try it just for yucks. I've historically been a string breaker, but lately, the Cyclone goes dead before it breaks. Me breaking a string---the syn gut, from what I'm hearing---might be a good sign, instead of waiting for the poly to go dead and cause me to ache.

Or just go back to full syn gut. Used that most of my playing life so far.

Try it and report back to us.
I'd like to know which strings you're going to use for doing syn.gut/poly setup.

 

[dje31]

^^^ Cyclone 17 for poly, and either Forten Sweet 17 or OGSM 16 or 17 for syn gut.

 

[HunterST]

what about something like biphase in the mains with poly crosses? Would that be closer to a gut/poly hybrid?

 

[Autodidactic player]

what about something like biphase in the mains with poly crosses? Would that be closer to a gut/poly hybrid?

Biphase 17g mains (45lbs) and TIMO 19g crosses (42lbs) lasted me about 3 hours. The TIMO sawed through the Biphase and it popped two main strings dead center with almost no wear showing. Spin, comfort and power were all excellent.

I figured that since the TIMO was so thin (1.10mm) it cut the Biphase too easily. Next I tried Biphase 17g mains (45lbs) and Polystar Energy 16g (40lbs) crosses. This setup lasted almost 5 hours but again cut through one main string dead center. Spin, comfort and power were all excellent with this setup as well.

Although I really liked the Biphase in the mains I concluded that it just wasn't cost effective. I have a reel of Biphase so I tried this first. The mains might hold up better with Synthetic Gut. I've got several sets of Prince Original and Gamma TNT that I'll try at some point.

I now have Tour Bite 19g mains (42lbs) and Biphase 17g crosses (40lbs). Spin is even better with this set up. Power and comfort are a bit lower, but still very good, with this set up. I've got two hours on this racket. I can see some wear on the Biphase but I anticipate I'll get 6-8 hours out of this racket.

 

[dje31]

*** ZOMBIE THREAD ALERT ***

So, as the OP of this thread, I finally tried on my last string job, using Forten Sweet 17 syn gut with Cyclone 17 crosses. And sure enough, as Ramon suggested, durability became an issue. Syn gut main break yesterday, after a pretty short lifespan.

In terms of playability, spin, comfort, control, or power, I didn't notice much difference between poly mains / syn gut crosses. Bummer that it broke so quickly, but again, not a big shock either.

So, it's back to poly mains / syn gut crosses. Since the original post, I've settled on Volkl Cyclone ( standard, not Tour ) 19 mains, and Gosen OGSM 17 for crosses, with good results overall.

Cheers.

 

[BretH]

Some time when you're ready to try again I really recommend trying natural gut mains and round poly crosses. I prefer the softer strong in the mains but durability is the issue.

I have had the one set of "natural gut warehouse" that wasn't defective in some way on a 16x19 95sq in racquet for close to 20 hours now and they show wear but I think there's several hours left of play in them.

That turns out to be surprisingly cost effective. Note: I string around 45-48 lbs so there poly doesn't go dead as far as when strung closer to 60.

 

[BretH]

Just for grins I strung my Dunlop 200 (16x19) with Gosen Micro Sheep 17 mains and Pros Pro Hexaspin crosses. 52/48 lbs. Will report back feel then later durability (or I suspect lack thereof).

 

[vandre]

i did psgd mains/ pro hurricane crosses once. the pro hurricane snapped the psgd after just a couple of hours of hitting. i don't recommend psgd for mains if you're going to hybrid with poly crosses.

 

[shamaho]

Just tried PSG Duraflex in mains with SP Hyperion crosses (22Kg / 21Kg) and (23,5Kg / 22Kg) and the first one snapped after 3 30 minute sessions.
The second one is quite notched after two short sets.

Comfort and feel power and spin are very very good! durability is really the issue.

Also, at every shot I was afraid to snap the fresh second string... so couldn't even hit freely...

 

[JOSHL]

My next string job is going to be OGSM mains and Revolve crosses. Can't wait to see how it plays.

 

[natygomez]

My next string job is going to be OGSM mains and Revolve crosses. Can't wait to see how it plays.

Let us know how it plays, and what tensions you used.

 

[natygomez]

*** ZOMBIE THREAD ALERT ***

So, as the OP of this thread, I finally tried on my last string job, using Forten Sweet 17 syn gut with Cyclone 17 crosses. And sure enough, as Ramon suggested, durability became an issue. Syn gut main break yesterday, after a pretty short lifespan.

In terms of playability, spin, comfort, control, or power, I didn't notice much difference between poly mains / syn gut crosses. Bummer that it broke so quickly, but again, not a big shock either.

So, it's back to poly mains / syn gut crosses. Since the original post, I've settled on Volkl Cyclone ( standard, not Tour ) 19 mains, and Gosen OGSM 17 for crosses, with good results overall.

Cheers.

What tension did you settle at for the Cyclone mains and the OGSM crosses?

 

[dje31]

What tension did you settle at for the Cyclone mains and the OGSM crosses?

I use two tension setups: 47M / 43C and 43M / 39C