Why No Love For The PS Tour 90?

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
I really like the PS 85, but somehow something is just a little off for me with it. So I checked the specs of the PS Tour 90 and it looked like what I was looking for. I just played with it for the first time today. I only played with it for about 50 mins until the strings snapped, but those 50 mins were great. It plays quite similarly to the PS 85 with unusually low power and great control, but with a lot more forgiveness. I actually found it surprisingly forgiving for a 90" frame. I wouldn't mind a tad less power, but it's way better than my n6.1 (which I switched to after snapping the string and subsequently sucked all over). So considering how well this frame plays and how popular the PS 85 is and how much it is talked about, I'm just wondering why no one seems to care much for the Tour 90. It seems like a great happy medium for players who like the PS 85 but can't seem to make it work against modern players.
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
I played with it a few times. From what I remember... I agree with you the power seemed relatively low compared to the 85. It also was not very "lively", and had a "dead feel" to it. I believe it also felt stiffer and had a heavier swingweight, but am not sure as I played with it a long time ago.
 

AngeloDS

Hall of Fame
It's an incredible racquet; I got a chance to hit with them when I was in Arizona.

My only complaint is the head shape. It just seemed to be a bit more clunky & less manueverable than the PS 85. If they made the head more portportionally round it would be excellent for one handed backhands. As it'd give you a bit more room; going from low to high you have little room to mess up.

I think it's better for players with relatively flat groundstrokes. The coach in Arizona, I played him in a match. I got wooped in double bagels but he had really flat strokes. Just serving flat perfectly into the corners, hitting flat on both sides to the corners. Incredible control on flat strokes.
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
drakulie said:
I played with it a few times. From what I remember... I agree with you the power seemed relatively low compared to the 85. It also was not very "lively", and had a "dead feel" to it. I believe it also felt stiffer and had a heavier swingweight, but am not sure as I played with it a long time ago.
In spite of the .1oz more weight and 3pt higher swingweight of the Tour 90 vs. the PS 85, I actually felt like the Tour 90 played lighter. It surprised me, really.
I must say, the "dead feel" is nothing compared to that of the n6.1. I never understood people talking about the "muted" feel of the nCode rackets...until I played with it and the Tour 90 in the same session. My confidence in controlling the ball went away immediately. I felt like I was just trusting the ball to go where I wanted.
Anyway,, I do think the Tour 90 is a little more accessible version of the PS 85 to less-than-great players.
 

vkartikv

Hall of Fame
Reasons:
1.Much higher SW than the PS 85
2. Has hyper carbon which is hypertrash
3. Handle is too long
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
vkartikv said:
Reasons:
1.Much higher SW than the PS 85
2. Has hyper carbon which is hypertrash
3. Handle is too long
It only has 3pts higher swingweight (332 vs. 329). An overgrip can have that much of an effect.

The handle is too long?? How could that possibly affect anything. If you have a two-handed backhand, then it's a good thing. If you have a one-hander, then how could you even notice it? I didn't even realize it has a longer handle than the PS 85. When it took more overgrip to cover, I just assumed the replacement grip underneath was thicker.

I can accept the part about hyper carbon because a lot of people seem to have a problem with that line of Wilson rackets. I do concede that it has less feel than the PS 85, but again, still more than nCode, which is also quite popular.
 

stevewcosta

Professional
You must have a light T90. Love the 6.0 85. Hate the log T90 w/the ******** long handle and hyper carbon junk. SW feels like 375...all in the throat.
 
All the marketing and Roger's succes with the beautiful ncode six-one tour just erased the hpps 90 in a couple of months.
I remember also it was kind of harsh, something that the ncode 90 solved, and being a heavy racquet, not too many people had a good first impression.

to the op: When you talk about your six-one... is it the tour or the 95?
 
I switched from the 95 16x18 to the ncode tour 90 a couple of weeks ago, stepping over my own "rules", and I must confess I'm very happy. the stick is more demanding indeed, but it has better feeling and control that the 95 imho.
Did you tried it?

on the original subject: My short answer would be; The replacement frame is simply better.
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
I haven't tried the nCode 90 because the specs and reviews for the Tour 90 looked like a better match for what I wanted.
 

looseswing

Professional
I have to say, owning both the tour 90 and the ncode 90, that I far prefer the feel of the ncode. Personally, the ncode seems much more responsive and much less clunky than the tour 90. The tour 90 just feels so dead compared to the ncode 90 even when hitting the sweetspot. JMHO
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
looseswing said:
The tour 90 just feels so dead compared to the ncode 90 even when hitting the sweetspot. JMHO

I felt the same when hitting with each. Not sure if you have hit with the 85, but did you feel the ncode 90 felt much heavier to swing than the 85?

It was so odd to me, because I put a lot of lead tape at 3 & 9 on my 85.
 

armand

Banned
My Tour 90 weighs 12.2 ounces strung and I don't like it very much. Compared to my 6.0 85(and my 001 for that matter), it's unstable and has a smaller sweetspot. Good for serving and creaming short balls and also drop volleys though. But it's just a dust collector. Maybe I shoulda found a heavier one.

I've tried the nCode Tour 90 a few times and even though it feels like it has an unnatural weight distribution, I prefer it over the PS Tour 90.

Aside, you dudes should try the 001 90. Leaded up, it's an awesome replacement for my 6.0 85. Love it, just love it.
 

looseswing

Professional
drakulie said:
I felt the same when hitting with each. Not sure if you have hit with the 85, but did you feel the ncode 90 felt much heavier to swing than the 85?

It was so odd to me, because I put a lot of lead tape at 3 & 9 on my 85.

I tried an unleaded one, and yes in fact I felt that the 85 swung nicer than the 90, although I have not gotten the chance to use it for an extended period of time.
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
TennsDog, have you ever strung your PS85 with kevlar? I always used gut, and about 2-3 years ago tried Ashaway Kevlar Crossfire strung at 70 lbs. Love the feedback on it. Nice "boardy/crisp" type feel. Solid and super responsive. Have been using it ever since.
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
drakulie said:
TennsDog, have you ever strung your PS85 with kevlar? I always used gut, and about 2-3 years ago tried Ashaway Kevlar Crossfire strung at 70 lbs. Love the feedback on it. Nice "boardy/crisp" type feel. Solid and super responsive. Have been using it ever since.
My arm shall never again experience the depressing sensation of kevlar. I once tried it at the suggestion of my coach when I broke a set of strings in a week (very fast for me at the time). They suck and I don't want a "boardy" feel in any racket, especially not the PS 85. It already has low enough power, why make it play like a plank of wood?
 

AngeloDS

Hall of Fame
http://www.stringsdepotplus.com/topspin.html

You should try this co-poly; it's called Topspin Cyberflash (German string). It's cheap & incredible. It's really soft and not as harsh as other co-polys but has the same properties. A lot of spin potential & power, near pin-point precision and has great feel.

The only problem is make sure you have several racquets strung & restring before each match. You won't notice the tension drop until it's too late and you'll be hitting balls about 3" out once it drops tension; which takes awhile.

DireDesire strings mine up using a special method that keeps the tension longer and more consistent across the string bed. He has a website somewhere on how he does it.
 

vkartikv

Hall of Fame
tensdog, on paper it may seem like there is only 3 grams difference b/w their swingweights but even with 6 grams of lead at 3 and 9 on my prostaff midsize, i find it easier to swing that a tour 90 that has not been modified. the tour 90 is a little unwieldly. the handle is indeed too long, especially for something that was supposed to replace the prostaff mid.
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
AngeloDS said:
http://www.stringsdepotplus.com/topspin.html

You should try this co-poly; it's called Topspin Cyberflash (German string). It's cheap & incredible. It's really soft and not as harsh as other co-polys but has the same properties. A lot of spin potential & power, near pin-point precision and has great feel.

The only problem is make sure you have several racquets strung & restring before each match. You won't notice the tension drop until it's too late and you'll be hitting balls about 3" out once it drops tension; which takes awhile.

DireDesire strings mine up using a special method that keeps the tension longer and more consistent across the string bed. He has a website somewhere on how he does it.
I appreciate the suggestion, but I'm not in the market for a string change at this point. I am stocked up on Iso-Speed Control, and if I weren't using that, I would be using Technifibre Tr C. I simply don't like the feel of poly/copoly/kevlar/durable strings. The Topspin string you mentioned may be soft for a poly, but it will still not be anything like Iso-Speed. Indeed, nothing else is.

So does anyone want to trade an nCode 90 for an n6.1 95 16x18?
 
Yeah!. You definitely should try the ncode 90, but be a little patient with her ;) . That "unnatural weight distribution" that some 85 users talk about becomes natural in a week, and then you feel power in control.
It is also very customizable with string tension.
Post your impressions.
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
Well I would like to get a hold of an nCode 90, but I need one in 3/8 grip size and I don't want to spend over $85 shipped, which seems to be hard to find in the classifieds.
 

jasonbourne

Professional
AngeloDS said:
http://www.stringsdepotplus.com/topspin.html

You should try this co-poly; it's called Topspin Cyberflash (German string). It's cheap & incredible. It's really soft and not as harsh as other co-polys but has the same properties. A lot of spin potential & power, near pin-point precision and has great feel.

The only problem is make sure you have several racquets strung & restring before each match. You won't notice the tension drop until it's too late and you'll be hitting balls about 3" out once it drops tension; which takes awhile.

DireDesire strings mine up using a special method that keeps the tension longer and more consistent across the string bed. He has a website somewhere on how he does it.

Please excuse me for temporarily detouring this thread topic.

AngeloDS, would you post DireDesire's website that describes this special method?

I'm curious on how I can improve my stringing work.

Also, what tension(s) are your n6.1 90s strung at with full cyberflash?
 

squints

Rookie
TennsDog said:
Well I would like to get a hold of an nCode 90, but I need one in 3/8 grip size and I don't want to spend over $85 shipped, which seems to be hard to find in the classifieds.

really? i find that 3/8's is the most common grip size.

but i really do seem to prefer the tour 90 over the ncode. i dont know. it feels stiffer in my opinion. the ncode does feel quite flexible when the sweetspot is hit. but i don't know it's something about the tour 90 that i like better. mine is close to 13 oz. so maybe its the weight im not too sure.
 

phat

Rookie
The weird weight distribution of Wilson racquet is quite puzzling. I think if the PS90 or Ncode 90 is replaced with another brand like pro kennex, it will be in the discount bin within 3 months of its release.... Wilson... 2 thumbs down.
 

AlpineCadet

Hall of Fame
phat said:
The weird weight distribution of Wilson racquet is quite puzzling. I think if the PS90 or Ncode 90 is replaced with another brand like pro kennex, it will be in the discount bin within 3 months of its release.... Wilson... 2 thumbs down.

but that's just wishful thinking, now isnt it? ;)
 

AngeloDS

Hall of Fame
jasonbourne said:
Please excuse me for temporarily detouring this thread topic.

AngeloDS, would you post DireDesire's website that describes this special method?

I'm curious on how I can improve my stringing work.

Also, what tension(s) are your n6.1 90s strung at with full cyberflash?
http://students.washington.edu/~jdeng/ATW/index.html

It's a modified Around the World pattern. It keeps the tension longer and keeps it a lot more consistent across the string bed.

I like it with the Cyberflash Topspin with this pattern. It feels better than gut imo and maintains incredible consistency across the string bed. I hardly find myself losing tension in a match. So I can hit those dropshots end on end with no problem. I used to have problems with tension loss and those dropshots would get more difficult because the tension dropped.
 
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