The Next Weight Customization Frontier

[travlerajm]

The deed is done.

I cut my O3 Tour OS down to 26.6". I haven't added any more lead yet, but I have high hopes for this one. Even with a strip of lead from 8 to 4 plus another 3" strip at 12, the weight is at 11.0 oz., and the balance is at 13.35". So I have lots of room to customize with whatever balance I want.

 

[haerdalis]

Interesting. You cut it all the way down to 26.6 straight away? One question, do you staple the buttcap back on or just glue it back. I dont own a staple gun but I am guessing glueing it back might be enough.

 

[travlerajm]

Interesting. You cut it all the way down to 26.6 straight away? One question, do you staple the buttcap back on or just glue it back. I dont own a staple gun but I am guessing glueing it back might be enough.

My NXG buttcap comes off clean. I wrapped a layer of transparent tape around the seam to secure it.

The O3 is another story, as the staples were not removable. I had to cut away the last 3/8" of the buttcap to give myself room to cut. And even after I had sawed off an inch, it took me a while to work the staples out and then dig away at the polyurethane foam until I could tug the buttcap free from the graphite plug. I snapped it back on to the new end without any adhesive. If you plan to push it in all the way to the edge of the graphite, there is no need to use staples.

I think Wilson buttcaps probably come off cleanly like my NXG did.

I have a feeling that 26.6" is going to be close to the optimum. I couldn't go any shorter on my NXG because I had no room to polarize the weighting. But on the O3, I plan to add ~10 more grams of lead to the upper hoop to get the swingweight up to ~365, and then add another ~10g to the butt to polarize for good spin performance. I'm thinking an even balance will work nicely for serves.

 

[haerdalis]

You use a 2hb right? So what about handle length after sawing it off? I play onehanded bh so for me it is no problem but wont it be a little short for you?

 

[megaforcetkd]

1 question - sorry, buy I've searched and searched, but I can't find it.. What is SW2 xD?

 

[haerdalis]

Ok so now I have shortened one of my sw2 nFurys. It wasnt as easy to do as it was with the yonex. The buttcap was harder to remove and the handle had a metal bar almost exactly where i wanted to cut it. And the buttcap was harder to put back on again than with the yonex. But in the end the result was nice.
Before specs:
Weight 327 g
Length 68.6 cm (27 inches)
Balance 34.4 cm (even)
SW ~370

After specs:
Weight 319 g
Length 67.4 cm (26.5 inches)
Not sure how much sw has gone down, maybe 15 or 20.
I will test it like this first and then add 6 g at 3 and 9 and test that also.

I almost hope I wont like it hehe.
Balance 34.2 cm (1.5 points HH)

 

[jackson vile]

They deleted your trash thankfully.

As I said before I was one of the first people to fallow John's concepts and that was on a personal basis via the board and emails, do a search you just look foolish.

So I am a year head of you and you are speaking old news, go and read some of John's posts he goes off the far end way too much.

Now if you want to say the location of lead that is fine, but you do not need to have a certain shape, and you would know that if you had done the modifications and testing yourself on multiple frames as I did.

The point is that John is trying to say that it is a certain shape only that only he knows and can make and further more has put patent the shape so that he can market it.

You are very gullible and you don't even understand his concepts you can't even properly describe them LOL

Do you even know why he stretches the hoop or how he does it.

It is sad you spent your whole Easter trying to dig up dirt and you failed.

I feel sorry for you mother, it is sad you have to make up quotes LOL

And you still don't even understand the concepts and lie about being an MRT LOL

 

[Pro_Tour_630]

As I said before I was one of the first people to fallow John's concepts and that was on a personal basis via the board and emails, do a search you just look foolish.

So I am a year head of you and you are speaking old news,

it is sad you have to make up quotes LOL

Good enough, show us where? show us your quotes before 11/29/2005 where you worked on Johns Ideas? You asked about his concept on 12/13/2005 when I had already worked on his ideas on 11/29/2005 two weeks earlier than when you just even asked. The world is waiting Ms. arrogant foreigner.

 

[travlerajm]

I tested out my 26.6" O3 Tour OS today. It has 24g of lead around the upper 2/3 of the hoop plus ~12g of lead at the top of the handle. It's a little over 12 oz., with a balance of about 13.3". And it's strung with Problend 16 at 65 lbs.

With my shortened NXG, the results were exactly how I predicted, and I nailed a nice high-performance setup with no tuning required. With the O3, however, the results were surprising, and some tuning will be required.

I was expecting that it might play too stiff, but this was not the case. The bite on the ball was excellent, and the flex felt about right, not much different than it felt before I shortened it. Stability was great, and the feel and control of the racquethead were really nice. The length and even balance felt really natural for my forehand. But with this lead setup, the groundstrokes were very underpowered. I'm tempted to keep the same weight distribution and string 10 lbs looser, but before I do that, I'll try adding weight to the handle, since I don't care for loose stringbeds for volleys. I might also try removing a gram or two from the tip.

 

[jackson vile]

Good enough, show us where? show us your quotes before 11/29/2005 where you worked on Johns Ideas? You asked about his concept on 12/13/2005 when I had already worked on his ideas on 11/29/2005 two weeks earlier than when you just even asked. The world is waiting Ms. arrogant foreigner.

I noticed that also that this setup was demanding ie it was hard to maneuver my DNX10mid with. Try switching to 18g full gut at 55lbs, it will take a few grams off the hoop and use gamma hitec grip, it will put a few grams more at the handle, making your DNX10mid slightly more maneuverable, the full gut will take care of power and the 18g will take care of spin, durability is not promising.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=124224&page=2

OH no Iso makes the DNX too heavy LOL, chaho credability = 0

 

[Pro_Tour_630]

What can I say, strange indeed. I asked Jackson vile to show us a post where he claimed he started to work on John's methods before me, again. So he references a post of mine from few weeks ago where I complained about Isospeed Professional in an DNX mid! He failed again, as usual.

And yes Isospeed 17g plus Klip 17g is going to make your DNX mid more head heavy and less maneuverable than if it is strung with straight 18g Klip Natual gut. After I have been schooling you, you should know that by now, son!

 

[haerdalis]

Ok so now I have shortened one of my sw2 nFurys. It wasnt as easy to do as it was with the yonex. The buttcap was harder to remove and the handle had a metal bar almost exactly where i wanted to cut it. And the buttcap was harder to put back on again than with the yonex. But in the end the result was nice.
Before specs:
Weight 327 g
Length 68.6 cm (27 inches)
Balance 34.4 cm (even)
SW ~370

After specs:
Weight 319 g
Length 67.4 cm (26.5 inches)
Not sure how much sw has gone down, maybe 15 or 20.
I will test it like this first and then add 6 g at 3 and 9 and test that also.

I almost hope I wont like it hehe.
Balance 34.2 cm (1.5 points HH)

Ok so I have done some playtesting now. Initially the racquet felt good but not better than before so I added some weight to it and found an interesting thing. Before when adding weight the first shot to go was the serve but not so this time. I am now up to 340 g with a 3.5 HH balance (34.8 cm).
Dont know the sw but I am guessing it is higher than before I cut it off or about the same.
I can serve really really well with this racquet but groundstrokes are tougher now. To clarify I could serve really well with heavy racquets before to but my shoulder couldnt take it for very long. So it seems the extra length is what mainly caused the shoulder to give in.
Anyway it would be interesting to try on a slightly stiffer racquet as I imagine the serves would be even better.

 

[pow]

I want to see a customized Dora the Explorer racquet!

 

[travlerajm]

I just thought I'd chime in with an update:

First of all, my 26.9" NXG OS @ SW2 has grown on me more. It is by far the best all-around performance racquet I've ever created. The only downside that I had mentioned before (less spin) seems to have disappeared after a day or so of adjusting to the frame. Now I have no trouble hitting dippers when I need them, and I have amazing control and precision on all types of shots. The racquet seems to retain the benefit of a flexible frame (nice spin), while giving me the pop and precision on volleys of a stiffer frame. And stability on returns is so far off the charts it makes my old SW2 setup feel like a K-mart frame. Serving, the power level is about the same (or even better) than before I shortened it, but control on serves is by far the best it's been compared to any other setup with the NXG. I'm not hitting ooh-aah Roddick-like 7-feet-up-the-back-fence power like I have with some more powerful frames (like the leaded O3 Red), but the control gives me confidence that I can hit my spot. Since I started using this setup, I have now posted 2 consecutive 6-0,6-2 thrashings in my 4.5 USTA doubles league, playing with 2 different partners. My forehand, especially on returns, is better than it's ever been, even though I'm not playing that frequently. Did I mention I love volleying with this frame?

Second: I tried shortening my other NXG down to 27.12". When I added the lead, the result felt very similar to the way the racquet feels at 27.5". Weirdly almost no difference. Now that I had gotten used to the more solid feel of the 26.9" version, I'm planning to cut this one all down to 26.9" too. This stick is 5g heavier stock in the handle, so I'm praying that I'll be able to match the weight and playability of my other NXG.

Third: With my 26.6" O3 Tour OS, I couldn't find a weight distribution that performed well on serves. I probably need to drop the tension and go back to the 12-oz., even balance setup (which I liked except for the underpowered groundies) to get enough pop on serve. The lack of leverage seems to be a problem. My sample size is small, but for me so far, 26.9" seems to be the optimum length for an OS frame.

Fourth, I cut my Warrior OS down to 27.2". It plays better than it did at 27.5", and serves slightly bigger than my NXG. But as before, it still doesn't seem to do any one thing special for me. This one may get further shortened on the chopping block.

 

[travlerajm]

I just discovered JohnCauthen's post in this thread on his experiments with racquet length. It appears that he and I have independently arrived at the same conclusion that ~26.9" is the optimum length. Interesting...

 

[mareli63]

Travlerjm,

I read most of your post regarding SW2 and I decided to give it a try.
I boght 2 NXG OS frames same as yours, and put lead tape same way you described, ~14 g of lead from 8 to 4 and 1.5 g in the tip. I also removed the silcon insert from the but (3g), and added an overgrip(5g) ( i can't play without one). I playtest and it felt great but little to much power. Mine in stok form was 336g and about 11 pts HL.
Then I decided to cut it down to 26.9 in. same way you did.
I removed the 1.5g from the tip and added another layer of lead from 9 to 3.
It end it up at 351g and the weird part is the new balance is 31.7 cm wich is way to short compare to yours. I playtest and I can't control the ball to well. It feels to powerfull. Then i decided to add more lead tape about 7g at 3 &9 to make the same as yours. Now it is 358g and 32.75 cm balance but I am not sure of the swingweight. I playtest and is excelent, very stable on volleys and good on serves and groundstrokes.

My question is do I play with a swingwaeight of 380 now (because I added 7g more then you did) or my frame is different than yours?
I though the only difference should be the weight in the handle, but in my case is not because the frame is lighter and more head light then yours after I cut it down, so the difference should be in the head.
What do you think, am I doing something wrong ?

 

[iplaybetter]

I believe Janko Tipsaravic uses 26''

he serves 130
~Tursa

how the grip is already short if he cut of an inch his second hand would be on the throat

 

[ht4444____]

around 1.4 years ago, I first started talking and working on Johns Ideas on 11/29/2005 on the nalbandian racquet thread, you Ms. vile were never in the picture.

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO PROVE TO THE WORLD THAT YOU ASSOCIATED WITH JOHN BEFORE ME OR ARE YOU A COWARD. PROVE ME WRONG BIG GUY. I DARE YOU!!!!!


YOU JUST STARTED PLAYING TENNIS and JUST JOINED TW 1.4 YEARS AGO!!!!!! WERE YOU EVEN BORN?

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=508206&postcount=81

11-29-2005, 04:16 AM





http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=508694&postcount=88

11-29-2005, 06:14 PM





http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=509438&postcount=99


Old 11-30-2005, 04:11 AM




11-30-2005, 02:45 AM

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=509353&postcount=91



to where john answred

hey....what's all this shat about the stringing method????
what's that stringing method????
i would really want to try this things....
anyway.... i think it's all about the player, and not about de racket....
im not that kind of good player, so i'll like to try this things....
but maybe ou guys are a little bit.... i don't know how to say it....
but maybe pro's customizations are more simple than you think....

 

[travlerajm]

Travlerjm,

I read most of your post regarding SW2 and I decided to give it a try.
I boght 2 NXG OS frames same as yours, and put lead tape same way you described, ~14 g of lead from 8 to 4 and 1.5 g in the tip. I also removed the silcon insert from the but (3g), and added an overgrip(5g) ( i can't play without one). I playtest and it felt great but little to much power. Mine in stok form was 336g and about 11 pts HL.
Then I decided to cut it down to 26.9 in. same way you did.
I removed the 1.5g from the tip and added another layer of lead from 9 to 3.
It end it up at 351g and the weird part is the new balance is 31.7 cm wich is way to short compare to yours. I playtest and I can't control the ball to well. It feels to powerfull. Then i decided to add more lead tape about 7g at 3 &9 to make the same as yours. Now it is 358g and 32.75 cm balance but I am not sure of the swingweight. I playtest and is excelent, very stable on volleys and good on serves and groundstrokes.

My question is do I play with a swingwaeight of 380 now (because I added 7g more then you did) or my frame is different than yours?
I though the only difference should be the weight in the handle, but in my case is not because the frame is lighter and more head light then yours after I cut it down, so the difference should be in the head.
What do you think, am I doing something wrong ?

If it plays nicely, then there is no problem. And you don't know for sure what the swingweight is until you measure it. If you like the way it plays, then the swingweight is not too high.

Also, 358g and 32.75cm balance is close to the ideal weight and balance for the pros, based on statistical analysis of specs vs ranking.

 

[mareli63]

Travlerajm,

Could you please tell me where you added lead on your Prince Shark MP?
In stoc form has 315g and if you added 29.5g of lead you should end up with a frame more than 12 oz. How did you make it 11.85oz?

Thanks