Going from carbon blade w/ tensor rubbers to classic wood blade w non-tensor rubbers

This user has no status.
Has anyone had any experiences going from fast carbon blade with tensor rubbers to slower wood blade with non-tensor rubbers?

I've been using Hurricane Long 5 with MX-P rubbers for quite some time and have enjoyed this set-up. However, sometimes I can't help but wonder what it's like to use more controlled set-up, for example, Nittaku Acoustic with Mark V rubbers. I think about this especially when I drive/loop and the ball overshoots the table, thinking "is my set-up simply too fast for me?"

I understand typically people start with a slower set-up and transition to faster set-up, but for those like me who started off with fast set-up thinking it's a must for 40+ ball era, has any of you actually went back to a slower set-up to refine your form? If so, what was your experience like? Was it simply too slow for 40+ ball or you felt that some sacrifice in speed was totally worth it for the extra control you have?
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Member
Jun 2018
106
14
122
I recommend Petr Korbel and Sriver or Mark V. They both could be fast if your strokes are good. I think Mark V is slightly faster. It also depends on your style Sriver for a hitter and Mark V for the brusher technique.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Apr 2014
1,486
1,087
2,609
Read 3 reviews
Has anyone had any experiences going from fast carbon blade with tensor rubbers to slower wood blade with non-tensor rubbers?

The idea is a bit radical. There are so many slower/more controlled rubbers than MX-P that you could try those first, but going back to "classics" will take much fun out of your game.

And if your problem only exists when looping, maybe some technical adjustment could do the job just as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Simas and langel
This user has no status.
It's funny, as I improved and got better, my equipment got slower. I went up way too fast from a classic learning setup to an ALC/Tenergy or Hurricane setup.

I can be quite hard admitting to yourself that you simply cannot support that gear with your body and technique (yet). Especially when you spend three to four evenings in the practise hall during the week. I never went to classic non tensor rubbers because that's not what I learnt with and it's just outdated if you ask me. But going to all-wood with medium hard tensors is definitely way more appropriate than a Boll-esque setup.

If you can play the same setup a highly trained professional uses, one of you two is doing something incredibly wrong
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Apr 2014
1,486
1,087
2,609
Read 3 reviews
classic non tensor rubbers ... just outdated

I agree here.

If you can play the same setup a highly trained professional uses, one of you two is doing something incredibly wrong

Wouldn´t say so. As per your signature, you are playing a blade highly regarded among professionals, and the EL-S rubbers are on the faster/spinnier side, too.

And if you get a chance to play with a pro player´s racket, you probably wouldn´t find it ultra-fast and uncontrollable. The emphasis is on spin, and the rest is done with technique.

From personal experience I could name a couple pro/semi-pro players with a slower racket than yours. ;)
 
This user has no status.
Fair enough, I overgeneralized and exaggerated a bit. What I had in mind when typing my previous post are the kinds of players who bring their own scale into a store and weigh out Tenergies above 100 grams, because that's what Boll plays for his forehand.
I'm not even excluding myself, I went for a Hurricane 3 on the FH for two reasons: 1. it's hella hyped and 2. the best players in the world use it. It took an enlightenment and a half until I was able to admit to myself that im just not fast enough to make use of a chinese rubber - or rather that I'm way better off with Tensors.

I've never held a professional's racket in my hands, so I can't comment on that. I do think however that I would find it worse than my own because I wouldn't be used to the brick hardness of their rubbers.
 
Well, faster setup may be one of the reasons for overjumping the table.
Anoher usual reason is the use of soft rubbers, especially tensors and tenergy, with stiff and hard blades - such setups have very straight trajectory with very flat arc.
But in your case you have a blade with enough flex and hard tensors capable of very good spin, and your loops should have the proper arc at any distance.
So I think that you either have to develop the technique, or to quest for a more suitable for your style setup.
If the blade is faster, change the blade, not the rubbers, as with softer rubbers the arc will be lower but longer.
If you like the blade, maybe TO5 would be one of very few alternatives for a safer arc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Beep-Beep
This user has no status.
Two years ago I started playing after a looooong break (20 years). I had to get used to the 40+ ball, and started with an all-wood blade with a tensor on forhand and a MarkV on backhand. What I quickly noticed was that my backhand lacked a punch and that I could easily handle a tensor on backhand as well. I also noticed that I prefered a stiffer blade with the bigger ball to get more stability.

So, based on my experience, my recomendation is to keep playing with some kind of tensors and maybe as some people suggest, try a tensor with a tiny bit less catapult effect.
 
This user has no status.
Appreciate all the advices. Ttmonster, this is the new Long 5 with the smaller head.

As some have suggested, I might try a bit slower rubber vs. MX-P and see if that might feel somewhat better. I also have Zhang Joke ALC but I feel the carbon being closer to the surface might make it worse.

In saying all this, I do recognize that my form still has a ton of room to improve so I may also look into a few sessions of 1 on 1 coaching...
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Dec 2010
3,779
4,569
16,162
zjk alc and long V are very different blades. ZJK is softer than Viscaria and the plies are completely different ..
so whether the switch to ZJK will be good or bad you will not know unless you try it because the feeling is different ... on the slower setup ... I would not complete change to a very slow setup , then you might get bored .... I would go with the advice of using slower rubbers on the same setup or similar setup ... MX-P is fast .... there are many slower options available .. but I would go with some kind of tensor and / or boosted H3

Appreciate all the advices. Ttmonster, this is the new Long 5 with the smaller head.

As some have suggested, I might try a bit slower rubber vs. MX-P and see if that might feel somewhat better. I also have Zhang Joke ALC but I feel the carbon being closer to the surface might make it worse.

In saying all this, I do recognize that my form still has a ton of room to improve so I may also look into a few sessions of 1 on 1 coaching...
 
This user has no status.
Lol I used a much faster setup in the past, stiga 190 with bluefire m2 FH and baracuda big slam max BH. It was a disaster as I found that blocking was the only thing I could have control over with. Part of the reason was that I had used stiga OC WRB in the past with H8 and donic f1, which I had to loop extremely hard to catapult the ball with enough speed and spin kick effect.
 
Top