Rubber for Spinny Serves

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Hello
I have been away from the sport for over 20 years. I picked up a bat a few months back and started playing again. I bought some blades and rubbers: sriver, flextra, 729 super fx, 729 supersoft, cream transcend, evo1. My blades are all wood Stiga Active, Stiga S-3000, 729 Bomb and 729 Red Spirit.

A large part of my game is the "serve". I rely on spinny, underspin, sidespins, combination of both serves with as much speed. I also win points on deception on my serves, like underspin looking like sidespins, knuckle balls, etc.

Flextra gives me good spin although a tad slow, Transcend seems a lot better and faster. I just bought a Yasaka Mark V and this has been a revelation in my serves. With the added speed and spin, my opponents found it more difficult to return.

If Mark V serves better than all my other rubbers, then there must be a "service beast" of a rubber out there? Can anyone suggest rubbers that give superior performance when it comes to "spinny service"?

A follow up question, will the kind of blade (wood, 5 ply, 7 ply, carbon, etc.) also affect my spinny serve?
 
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HI Knuckle Ball, welcome to forum buddy. :)

So, you're from the old school, just like me. I noticed that from your choice of rubbers, and I really can relate to those.
The game has evolved quite considerably as you might know. Mark V and Srivers has always been my favourite, and still are. What I notice is the softer rubbers gives you more spin, and wood blades give you more dwell time.
 
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Welcome Knuckle Ball, what azlan has said is true about service. Softer rubbers these days tend do have a lot more spin than the harder rubbers. It also depends on your personal preference. A medium to hard rubber that serves great spin and speed are the DHS trio lines of Skyline 2 (TG2), Skyline 3 (TG3), and Hurricane 3. They are all great service rubbers, but require a medium type blade that is flexible enough to allow for the best dwell.

If you're looking for an economical choice those are your best bets although there are many cheaper rubbers out there too that do really well. A lot of the Chinese companies have great service rubbers. The current lines that produce the most spin and also most speed would be the Xiom Sigma and Omega, Butterfly Tenergy series, Stiga Calibra series, and Adidas P and Tenzone series. There are many many more companies out there that have great spin and speed, but I've found that these tend to be the most common as well as the most pricy. It's all about what you prefer and whether you don't mind spending a large amount on your rubbers.
 
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Hello
I have been away from the sport for over 20 years. I picked up a bat a few months back and started playing again. I bought some blades and rubbers: sriver, flextra, 729 super fx, 729 supersoft, cream transcend, evo1. My blades are all wood Stiga Active, Stiga S-3000, 729 Bomb and 729 Red Spirit.

A large part of my game is the "serve". I rely on spinny, underspin, sidespins, combination of both serves with as much speed. I also win points on deception on my serves, like underspin looking like sidespins, knuckle balls, etc.

Flextra gives me good spin although a tad slow, Transcend seems a lot better and faster. I just bought a Yasaka Mark V and this has been a revelation in my serves. With the added speed and spin, my opponents found it more difficult to return.

If Mark V serves better than all my other rubbers, then there must be a "service beast" of a rubber out there? Can anyone suggest rubbers that give superior performance when it comes to "spinny service"?

A follow up question, will the kind of blade (wood, 5 ply, 7 ply, carbon, etc.) also affect my spinny serve?

hello kabayan, i've noticed that you also have used 729 rubbers like me...i've been using 729 super fx for both FH and BH since 2002 but now the black rubber has lost its tackiness although i'm still using it as a defense rubber on my BH...the red one has not and still sticky but then i've noticed that its not good for spinny service...

like you, i rely on my serving skill, but without a quality rubber, it seems that there is lacking in my playing...i haven't tried Cream Transcend like you do and the Supersoft, are they better than Super FX?...i've been trying to look for an alternative for Rakza 7 and Rakza 7 Soft, preferably a 729 coz its cheaper...

What do think..??...I'm from the northern region kabayan, Province of La Union...

God Bless!!!
 
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hello kabayan, i've noticed that you also have used 729 rubbers like me...i've been using 729 super fx for both FH and BH since 2002 but now the black rubber has lost its tackiness although i'm still using it as a defense rubber on my BH...the red one has not and still sticky but then i've noticed that its not good for spinny service...

like you, i rely on my serving skill, but without a quality rubber, it seems that there is lacking in my playing...i haven't tried Cream Transcend like you do and the Supersoft, are they better than Super FX?...i've been trying to look for an alternative for Rakza 7 and Rakza 7 Soft, preferably a 729 coz its cheaper...

What do think..??...I'm from the northern region kabayan, Province of La Union...

God Bless!!!

Hello Bishop!

I still use 729 rubbers, on my son's bat and on our "guest bat"(729 Bomb, Super FX, Cream Transcend) at home. I've had this rubbers for 6 months now running and used 3-4 times a week at 2-4 hrs per session. I clean it after every use and stick a plastic rubber protector before stowing it away. They still play ok. I re-glue these rubbers with speed glue about twice a month to "revive" it somewhat and it really makes a difference. I also tried using oil to "revive" my very old rubbers, some 20 years old, and it seems to work a bit. I have also read somewhere on this site about using WD40 to do this, I have not tried this one.

To answer your question about Cream Transcend, yes it is better than Super FX. I think it gives more spin on serves. My playing buddies tell me that 729 FX SuperSoft is also very spinny on my serves and underspin pushes, but I feel that it is slower than Transcend. Probably the best spin on serve I can generate is with Yasaka Mark V, I would like to use them on both FH and BH but this proves costly also. Now if you have used Rakza 7, that's top of the line of Yasaka and I don't think any 729 rubber can compare with that!

I have a recent favorite, Gambler Outlaw. It cost about 6-7 hundred, very spinny, fast, great control. It can head to head compete with another favorite of mine, the Mark V. The only cons of the Gambler Outlaw is durability as it seems fragile. But bang for bucks I would still use Gambler, even if I have to change rubbers every 4 to 6 months.

I am still on the look-out for good affordable rubbers. Maybe you know something, share your trade secrets.

Hope this helps Bishop! God bless
 
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Hello Bishop!

I still use 729 rubbers, on my son's bat and on our "guest bat"(729 Bomb, Super FX, Cream Transcend) at home. I've had this rubbers for 6 months now running and used 3-4 times a week at 2-4 hrs per session. I clean it after every use and stick a plastic rubber protector before stowing it away. They still play ok. I re-glue these rubbers with speed glue about twice a month to "revive" it somewhat and it really makes a difference. I also tried using oil to "revive" my very old rubbers, some 20 years old, and it seems to work a bit. I have also read somewhere on this site about using WD40 to do this, I have not tried this one.

To answer your question about Cream Transcend, yes it is better than Super FX. I think it gives more spin on serves. My playing buddies tell me that 729 FX SuperSoft is also very spinny on my serves and underspin pushes, but I feel that it is slower than Transcend. Probably the best spin on serve I can generate is with Yasaka Mark V, I would like to use them on both FH and BH but this proves costly also. Now if you have used Rakza 7, that's top of the line of Yasaka and I don't think any 729 rubber can compare with that!

I have a recent favorite, Gambler Outlaw. It cost about 6-7 hundred, very spinny, fast, great control. It can head to head compete with another favorite of mine, the Mark V. The only cons of the Gambler Outlaw is durability as it seems fragile. But bang for bucks I would still use Gambler, even if I have to change rubbers every 4 to 6 months.

I am still on the look-out for good affordable rubbers. Maybe you know something, share your trade secrets.

Hope this helps Bishop! God bless


thanks knuckleball, i haven't tried Rakza 7 yet but according to my readings on some of the forums here, 729-5 and LKT Rapid Sound plays like Rakza 7...i'll consider your advices sir knuckleball,thanks..

once again, God Bless and happy playing!!!
 
says Spin and more spin.
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Tacky rubbers get the most spin for short game and serves. DHS Hurricane III, Skyline III are very good, either regular or Neo. Haifu Blue Whale II or III are excellent for serves as well. They might get even more spin than the DHS rubbers because they are more tacky. They are not cheap though. The commercial versions of Hurricane III and Skyline III might give you the most bang for your $$$. Tacky Chinese rubbers get more spin for serves than the new rubbers with built in speed glue effect. Those rubbers get spin for looping really well but are not as spinny for short game because, with mechanical spin, the ball has to really sink into the rubber to get catapulted out loaded with spin. They are great when you are taking a full stroke, but do not get the same kind of spin when you start with no pace and no spin on the ball like a serve. And they are a little more bouncy for pushing than the Chinese tacky rubbers. You will get used to what ever you have and there are a lot of good products out there. But what Mr RicharD presented is good info.
 
says Spin and more spin.
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By the way, as you play, you are probably going to want to learn to do short serves that are more about setting up your attack at a certain point. That might also mean working on third ball attack. Using long serves these days might get you in trouble against a good player. There are a lot of players out there who can attack anything you give them, especially if it is long. But, then there are other people where the long serve tactic still works. :)
 
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Andro Hexer HD, Butterfly Tenergy 05, Stiga Calibra LT Spin

Those are the service beasts you're looking for! But you've gotta tame them, so it might take som hours of practise to use them properly ;)

I agree here with Anders and with Richard and Carl I just want to warn you for the Stiga Calibra LT Sound (the softest version), i have tested it in red 2mm and it can spin the ball very well but only if you can get the ball to really dig INto the sponge. For service spin this is rather difficult i think for most non-elite players ( also this rubber is very "catapulting" and fast so also difficult to keep an underspin ball short and low)

I guess the Stiga Calibra LT Spin ( as Anders suggested) is clearly spinnier (and was probably developed to get more spin).

Oh by the way last week i played with a black Tenergy 05 (2,1mm) for the first time ever, (on a Timo Boll Spirit Blade, a guest player in our club), and allthough i found the Timo Boll Spirit too stiff and rigid, i immediately felt that the Tenergy was able to make a lot of spin when looping and i got a very rounded ball trajectory. I fear i liked this rubber very,very much (oh oh there goes my money...).
 
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Hello
I have been away from the sport for over 20 years. I picked up a bat a few months back and started playing again. I bought some blades and rubbers: sriver, flextra, 729 super fx, 729 supersoft, cream transcend, evo1. My blades are all wood Stiga Active, Stiga S-3000, 729 Bomb and 729 Red Spirit.

A large part of my game is the "serve". I rely on spinny, underspin, sidespins, combination of both serves with as much speed. I also win points on deception on my serves, like underspin looking like sidespins, knuckle balls, etc.

Flextra gives me good spin although a tad slow, Transcend seems a lot better and faster. I just bought a Yasaka Mark V and this has been a revelation in my serves. With the added speed and spin, my opponents found it more difficult to return.

If Mark V serves better than all my other rubbers, then there must be a "service beast" of a rubber out there? Can anyone suggest rubbers that give superior performance when it comes to "spinny service"?

A follow up question, will the kind of blade (wood, 5 ply, 7 ply, carbon, etc.) also affect my spinny serve?

Hi, you ought to try Yasaka Rakza 7 or 9 for your serve. (I am a spinny-server ;) I played the last week with a pal of mine to do a test with my serve :
Here is how many times the opponent returned the serve at my side of the table: (i did the same serve for the consistency)

Rakza 7 3 of 11
Donic Barracuda 5 of 11
Stiga Calibra LT 8 of 11
Butterfly Spin Art 6 of 11
 
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says Spin and more spin.
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simple.....go for haifu whale 3........spinniest rubber for serves...check their spin ratings on bribartt

I think this is true. Blue Whale III is very spinny for short game and serves.

A good player can spin the ball with any of the rubbers mentioned but with the Euro/Japanese glue effect rubbers you have to get the ball to sink into the sponge so the topsheet can wrap and grab the ball. Haifu has so much tackiness that it just grabs the ball.

But technique is good to have and so any of the rubbers mentioned will work with a player who knows how to use them.
 
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when the beginning i played TT, i can't serve very spinny with DONIC VARIO , kind of japanese-style rubber. after that, i use DHS Hurricane III as my FH ,and i made spinny serves. Using the tacky surface of Chinese rubber. But now, i can use Yasaka Rakza7 and Yasaka MarkV making spinny serves. above is my own experience. So , i think you might try more kinds of rubber , then you may find ur favorite one. Here's my suggestions : 1.hard and tacky rubbers(ex:DHS Hurricane III,729-08) 2.Germany-style rubbers providing good friction of its surface(Yasaka Rakza7, Donic Baracuda) 3. you don't have to try more rubbers of japanese-style if you serves not very well with Butterfly Sriver!
At last, different rubbers have different uses. every rubbers above the average is able to make nice serves!
 
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Spinny Rubbers etc.

Hello sxTT!

Greetings!

I have been using the Magna and Calibra these past few days.

Yes Magna fits my FH like a glove. Fast and spinny. Very good with blocks, passive and punch blocks, not very sensitive to incoming spin. My loops are controlled and spinny. Also very good and stable for brush looping. Step away from the table and you have power to burn. Really nice sidespin curve. Lifts underspin easy. Above average arc on loops as opposed to flatter trajectory of the Calibra. Really nice speed on smash (I'm not much of a smasher). Now for loops and counterloops I'll put my bet on Magna against any other rubber - bar none!

For the FH I have tried Acuda S1 - can't generate much spin near the table, as for T05, T05FX, T64, T25 all fun to play but I had trouble with control. I like Magna TX II for I found it really easy to adjust to. Or maybe it just suited my strokes and style of play better. I tried playing Calibra LT Sound on FH but did not get the same consistency when looping as I did with Magna TX II.
 
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