Yonex R1, R3

[galain]

was there ever an R2 metal frame from Yonex?

Has anyone hit with either of these sticks (or all three)? I'm thinking of picking one for a laugh but I'm curious to hear people's experiences with them.

My first foray into graphite was courtesy of the Yonex R series - an R10. I saw a few R1's and R3's around at the time but I was so enamoured with my new stick I ignored them!

 

[RDM]

I have this one.
It’s pleasant enough to hit with. Not as “precise” as the original small headed “green” and “gold” Yonexes though.

 

[galain]

Thanks RDM!

 

[1HBHfanatic]

@galain @RDM
-I had one with a orange plastic piece, instead of the brown, was that it maybe ???

 

[coachrick]

@galain @RDM
-I had one with a orange plastic piece, instead of the brown, was that it maybe ???

I've got a few of those...standard size as well as over/m+; but I don't recall seeing a model label on any of them. I need to check because my memories of the mid-'80s ain't so good!

Agree with RDM...the oversize (3?) felt like a balloon compared to the 7500, 8500. I don't think the nylon throats helped with stability.

What pic sharing service are we using nowadays??? I'd be happy to post some pics(especially if I have a fire-sale on my collection).

 

[coachrick]

was there ever an R2 metal frame from Yonex?

Has anyone hit with either of these sticks (or all three)? I'm thinking of picking one for a laugh but I'm curious to hear people's experiences with them.

My first foray into graphite was courtesy of the Yonex R series - an R10. I saw a few R1's and R3's around at the time but I was so enamoured with my new stick I ignored them!

Had one of my best "wins" using my R-10 demo with VS gut back in '84 or thereabouts. The R-22 was flying off the shelves at the time(Thank you, Martina.1)
The R-7 was fairly popular; but the R-10 was an expensive sleeper. It was JUST enough stiffer that I liked it much more than the 7. I played a bit with the 27 as well.

 

[galain]

@galain @RDM
-I had one with a orange plastic piece, instead of the brown, was that it maybe ???

Yep - I think there was an orange R1. Pretty sure of it. Only ever saw black/grey R3's though.

 

[galain]

Had one of my best "wins" using my R-10 demo with VS gut back in '84 or thereabouts. The R-22 was flying off the shelves at the time(Thank you, Martina.1)
The R-7 was fairly popular; but the R-10 was an expensive sleeper. It was JUST enough stiffer that I liked it much more than the 7. I played a bit with the 27 as well.

The R10 was a nice stick. In my area everyone was swinging a Silver Ace. That was the popular graphite of it's time where I lived. Then we started seeing Dunlop Turbo Plus's and the very occasional R22 but I think the R7 and R10 were out first? There was also a blue R5 I recall seeing around that time.

 

[coachrick]

The R10 was a nice stick. In my area everyone was swinging a Silver Ace. That was the popular graphite of it's time where I lived. Then we started seeing Dunlop Turbo Plus's and the very occasional R22 but I think the R7 and R10 were out first? There was also a blue R5 I recall seeing around that time.

It was around that time that Yonex changed the shape of the shoulders in those composites...especially the 22. They had SO many crack at the "corners", partly from impact with the court; but also from the frame's "breathing" while being strung on the near-ubiquitous two-point mounting machines of the day, notably the Ektelon and Serrano models. The angle of the curve at the shoulders was softened, noticeable in a side-by-side viewing; but not easily detected otherwise.
Yonex gave away a towel with R-22 purchase after Martina's fantastic years of '83 and '84...I still have what's left of mine somewhere.

 

[Sanglier]

The orange-throated R-1 was the 1979 original, we talked about it here, because Federer played with one as a child: https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/metal-racquet-of-young-federer.573784/

There was indeed an R-2, priced between the R-1 and the larger-headed R-3. I have never seen one in person, but apparently it was also 90 SqIn, just like the R-1.

What I find most curious is that the R-1 tested to have very high torsional stiffness, even though it is longitudinally quite flexible. In lab tests conducted by World Tennis in 1979, the R-1 came out the stiffest by far among all the new offerings that year. It was significantly stiffer than the Wilson Ultra, which topped the list in longitudinal stiffness. Looking at this thing, I can’t picture how its stiffness is achieved, but I guess it could contribute to the stability of the frame.