Tour Bite Soft 17 Mains..... Looking for a soft cross... that will last for hard hitting junior...

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CfaDad

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Help!
My Son is 15 tournament player... we have messed around with full poly.. really struggled with arm issues.... finally figured out Tour Bite Soft 18 mains, Triax 17 Crosses... both around 47lbs in an ezone 98.... It has certainly worked on his arm... and seems to like the playability... has been playing that for about a year... problem is he is hitting so much bigger... the most they are lasting is about 3 hours of play... almost always the triax breaks.. sometimes the poly.. and he does that every day... So, I really want to find a cross that is still soft..but more durable... and increase the mains to tbs 17... So Question is Tour bite soft 17 mains..... with what cross... I would really like for him to try a soft round poly... Leaning toward Poly Tour Air... We have tried xone before the triax.. super soft.. but didn't last either... PT air seems like a logical choice.. Any other Suggestions?
 
Ashaway Zyex 17. Tell your stringer to do at least 10% prestretch (tension + prestretch should not exceed 60#) and be real gentle. It will outlast your TBS. While soft, it will outlast Krevlar mains.
 
I ordered the pt air… thank you! I will order the zyex today… and try that as well… do you think the poly tour air crosses is a bad idea? Can I rely on the numbers that are telling me it is softer than triax even though it is a poly? I do the stringing but have never prestretched anything before…. I do have a wise head on a prince neos… going to try the pt air first …should i prestretch that?
 
CfaDad said:
Help!
My Son is 15 tournament player... we have messed around with full poly.. really struggled with arm issues.... finally figured out Tour Bite Soft 18 mains, Triax 17 Crosses... both around 47lbs in an ezone 98.... It has certainly worked on his arm... and seems to like the playability... has been playing that for about a year... problem is he is hitting so much bigger... the most they are lasting is about 3 hours of play... almost always the triax breaks.. sometimes the poly.. and he does that every day... So, I really want to find a cross that is still soft..but more durable... and increase the mains to tbs 17... So Question is Tour bite soft 17 mains..... with what cross... I would really like for him to try a soft round poly... Leaning toward Poly Tour Air... We have tried xone before the triax.. super soft.. but didn't last either... PT air seems like a logical choice.. Any other Suggestions?
Click to expand...
Gamma TNT2 16g for the cross. I would bet it goes through the 17g TB soft before it breaks. I use it as a "soft" but durable cross.
 
CfaDad said:
I ordered the pt air… thank you! I will order the zyex today… and try that as well… do you think the poly tour air crosses is a bad idea? Can I rely on the numbers that are telling me it is softer than triax even though it is a poly? I do the stringing but have never prestretched anything before…. I do have a wise head on a prince neos… going to try the pt air first …should i prestretch that?
Click to expand...
PT Air won't have the elasticity of Triax so while it claims to be statistically softer it won't stretch in the same way so it won't generate the same power out of the string bed. Particularly with the strings lasting longer, the string bed will "die".
 
Up the gauge on the triax if comfort with Triax 17 is good.

Duramix as a similar but softer option that's also available in 1.40 gauge.
 
i feel like i don't get many shots at changing up his setup... I know we can't keep going with the 18guage tbs and 17 triax.. so want to go to 17 tbs mains and one of these other suggested crosses.... Should I stick with the Tour bites soft mains? Is there some sort of no brainer poly main, softer cross setup that he could use for the next few years as he pursues college tennis? There are so many options... i know for some reason, he didn't like hyper g soft... and still want to keep his arm protected as much as possilbe...
 
As he's hitting bigger now, full bed TBS 1.25 will be too mushy, and lack control after the first session. It loses tension quickly and becomes launchy and uncontrollable for a better player. Usually at that age players go with softer control polys, just a level softer than the stiff pro level polys, but not totally mushy soft like Solinco Tour Bite Soft and Hyper G soft - underpowered muted mushy string, not surprised he doesn't like it - those are just too soft. TBS is actually nice for the first hour, slightly underpowered but still OK, but loses tension quickly and lacks control already the second session

RPM Team, Head Lynx, Yonex Strike black - not grey nor blue, those are stiff - is slightly less soft than those, but lasts longer, and maintains elasticity, yellow Yonex PT Pro is super dampened, but usually promotes a more holding, defensive game, not attacking, but is good for the arm. Those slightly stiffer strings will provide a better playability over their lifetime, noticeably more spin, easier attacking etc. Those are all forgiving polys juniors play with, I wouldn't worry about arm injuries with those. There's more of course, Wilson Revolve, Kirschbaum, Dunlop etc

If you still want softer than that, then full bed TBS 1.25, or Air 1.25, but they will break quicker, lose tension and control pretty quickly too, and lack spin

When strung low enough, and for a better junior, who hits with fuller longer swings, those above aren't too stiff, no worries. On impact mains move and then snap back, so called elastic snap back, and that provides important give and cushioning for the arm. Only if strung too tight, mains will be locked, and if the player can't hit through that it could feel slightly boardy, but these are not stiff strings, and when they lose some tension after the first session they will easily move and snap back

I'd also suggest new Ezone 98, softer than the old ones, and a more linear string bed

18 gauge is 1.20 I'm guessing, that is erratic, loses tension super quickly and of course it won't last, too thin. 1.25 is standard in an Ezone 98, that racquet is engineered for it, other gauges will feel wrong, because of the wider eliptical profile primarily
 
Wow! Thanks for taking the time to answer! My head is spinning, and I have a bunch of strings that I have ordered... and would like to see what you think about these options... My son is playing with the new 98... he has three of them.. and he has a couple of weeks til his next tournament to lock in something.. problem is I have a bunch of packs of strings that I feel I should try if they may be good, and possibly similar to recommendations already made... So full bed, not something I want to try cause of his history of arm issues.. and want to protect that while getting a setup he can thrive with... So I wanted to string up three options... All using tnt 16 as a cross... string them all at 47/47 just so that he can get a general comparison.... So these are the mains I have...
I want to string up three of these to try...

1. TBSoft 17/ tnt 16
2. Mach 10 17/ tnt 16
3. polytour pro yellow 17/ tnt 16
4. volkl cyclone tour 17/ tnt 16

I bought these cause I thought they all would be on the "softer side" of a poly... yet all seem to have a following... I'm personally most intrigued by cyclone tour... but who knows...

he's used to tbsoft 18 with triax 17 but would blow through the triax in like 2-3 hours...
Want to make the switch to 17 mains... and got advice that the tnt 16 is a solid reliable choice for the crosses...
could you rank these in order of a solid setup that he could stick with for a while. on his journey to college tennis?
 
TNT is probably softer than Triax, since Triax is a hybrid string, multi but with poly fibres inside, should be firmer than TNT

Mach 10 will be firmest of these, and it will lose very little tension, you should string it lower compared to other strings

TBS and Cyclone tour are super soft on their own, and don't need an even softer cross. People go with such soft setups for 9 year olds, not 15 year olds

I can't rank these setups, sorry. Never played with such a hybrid, but I know enough about strings and about juniors

Test them and see how it goes, your son is the one who should decide obviously
 
im willing to try what you recommend for sure... rpm team, lynx , and strike... but wasnt clear what crosses you recommended with those?
 
I don’t see tb round available on tennis warehouse? I have packs of ptp and Mach 10 and pt air… are these radically different than tb round? To use a softer cross with different mains?
 
TBR is only available on a couple of sites in Europe, and then it is only sold in reels. TBR is stiffer than TBS. You can go FB TBS and it’s still relatively arm friendly for a poly.

My biggest issue with TBS was tension maintenance. It seemed to fall off the table and become uncontrollable very quickly. My friends that tried it had the same frustration.

Something to consider - trying slightly stiffer polys in lighter gauges for a softer string bed. My main 2 racquets are over spec and I have been exploring lighter string options the last couple of years. It has been very enlightening. One quick note - the Ezone 98 is already towards the bottom end of average in SW, so you may want/need to add some weight to the head to compensate for lighter strings.

I have been using regular TB 17 mains with TB 19 crosses lately. The thinner gauge crosses make the 17 feel completely different - much, much softer. TB 17 and 18 in FB can give my elbow a bit of a twinge sometimes. The hybrid is very comfortable. I would even use the word plush, and that’s in a PD, albeit a 332 gr. one.

For some reason, 17/19 doesn’t notch nearly as fast as TB 17 or 18 do in FB. I normally break TB 19 FB fairly quickly, but I haven’t been breaking the 17/19 hybrid at all.

Other pluses - the 17/19 hybrid has a little extra power and more spin without sacrificing much in control. The softer bed works great for volleys, lobs, and touch shots. This is the first poly set up I actually enjoy at the net. Of course, your son’s mileage may vary
 
If he likes the current set-up, before going with different strings, I’d try thicker gauges in both….1.30, 1.25 or 1.20 TBS, and 1.33 or 1.28 Triax.

If you’re going to try a new set-up…#2 - Mach-10/TNT would be my first choice - Mach-10 has good tension maintenance and is most similar to his current TBS (I am a long-time user of Hyper-G, Hyper-G Soft, and TBS and have switched to Mach-10 as my go-to set-up). Personally, I would not bother with #3 or #4… both PTP and VCT lose tension very quickly.

If you find too much string movement or durability issues with TNT, maybe try a softer poly cross….something round like Razor Soft (1.25 or 1.20) or Ghostwire (1.27 or 1.22) or Outlast (1.25 or 1.20). You could even try a full bed of TBS or a hybrid of Mach-10 mains and TBS crosses.

You’re probably aware already, but one thing to keep in mind, not all 16g/16Lg/17g/18g/etc. strings are the same thickness across brands - make sure you check the mm measurement.

Finally….even though he’s already down at 47#, gradually lowering tension a bit is also a good way to reduce the risk of arm problems.
 
So we strung up Mach 10 17 and polytour air 17 for n the newer ezone 98… 46/44… he seems to like it… but he is very non analytical! Went with the polytour air cause I had it, and cause it supposedly very soft/arm friendly…. Why we are tweaking mode… and he’s willing to try a few… would any other of those softer round crosses be that different for pta? Like razor soft, ghostwire, outlast… or any others that may bring him any advantage? Does it make sense that I’m looking for the softest round poly to protect his arm and yet give him some durability? Also any sense in trying Mach 10 18 guage? Will this hold up??? Is there a big difference in durability tension loss between the 17 and 18? He’s used to the bite of the tbs 18… but I feel it was just not reliable …
 
If durability is an issue, I wouldn’t bother trying 18g in the mains (crosses would be worth a try). If he needs more bite, maybe try a full bed of Mach-10, either 17g or 18g.

For me, I think Outlast provides the best bite of the round crosses I’ve used.
 
ok so until we try outlast... for now he's going to be using 2025 ezone 98, mach 10 17/ polytour air 17 strung at 46/44.... says he likes it... question is... he used to always break his triax crosses around 2-5 hours... so never had to worry about playing with dead poly.... how long will this setup last? And how will he know he should switch out if he is not breaking them... how will he know it went dead at all? he plays 3 hours a day and tournaments on weekends....
 
My son has been playing with mach 10 17/ polytour air 16l at 46/44... won his matches in a tournament this weekend... finals got rained out... to me seems like super high launch.... spinny... but with very little penetration... with his old setup he could dial up the power and hit winners from the back court.. seems super hard to flatten it out... dumps it in the net when he tries..... going to try this week full bed of mach 10 at 46.... and mach 10/ tnt 16 at 46/48... i would think that the tnt would give him the most penetration... and i would also think the full bed would do the same... we will see... I imagine for simplicity sake.. I would like it if he could play with the full bed... but I can't imagine how the tnt wouldnt be better for his arm... when i strung it .. it felt like black licorice....

maybe the ptair was so mushy and high launch because we had it strung so low at 44?
 
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