Do rubbers really 'break in'?

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i think is no sense talking about pro players, if the rubber really "break in" after something like 2 weeks and most pros change their rubber after 3 or 5 days if have a tournament, pros cannot have the best performance of the rubber like you are talking about?

2 weeks is for someone who plays 10 hours a week?? and that is of "soft hitting" too?

pros before tournament plays 6 to 8 hours per day.
my players change rubbers 2 to 3 days before tournament, can get a good 15 to 20 hours before tournament and of "hard hitting".

I don't know a coach yet (of my 10 years coaching experience, and 15 years playing before that - and I'm surrounded by really high level international coaches too), who tells players to change on the day or the day before the tournament.
Maybe brokenball can ask his coaches with his viewpoints to see what they say. Otherwise, all these "not true until scientifically proven" is just getting really boring.

You firstly can't compare pros TT hours to amateurs. And of all the semi pros I know (both Asia and Europe), they all have they preferred "breaking in" period, and different rubbers have different times too.

 
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Can anybody tell us what happens to the rubber when it is has been "broken in"?
Exactly what changes?
Has anybody measured the changes?
I think it is more TT non-sense.

I do agree that rubbers degrade over time. The so called "breaking in" is just the player getting use to the difference between the old and new rubber.

Brokenball,

I'm on a viewpoint that a certain level of understanding of the sport requires a certain level of technical knowledge and experience (what field says otherwise?)
I think I asked you before, but didn't get a response.
what USATT rating are you?

 
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I.E. break-in is not nonsense

is a matter of semantics , maybe but it is the players brain and muscle memories that are breaking in , not the rubber..................like i said ... maybe

This looks better, the quoting format is weird sometimes but you can correct it in the code view.

Anyways, you’re contradicting yourself there, you said some players rub balls on the tacky rubber to take off the extreme tackiness, which is essentially just a different way of breaking in the rubber, and now you’re saying no break-in? And before we go into the booster part of the discussion, let’s just first define what “break-in” means. To me, something that’s broken in means a time period that object in question have relatively stable performance, i.e. it’s not about the feel, just time. Now, about boosted sponge, some may like it right after boosting, the bounciness, the soft touch or whatever, but that only lasts for a little while. After that initial stint, the boosting effect becomes less pronounced, still very noticeable and keeps stable like that for quite a while, and that’s what I consider as “broken in”. It’s not how the player feels about the rubber that defines whether it’s “broken-in”, it’s the time period where the performance of the rubber has less fluctuations. If the player don’t like the feel after the rubber becomes that way, then probably they should switch rubbers .

And let’s not forget the degradation, in case someone thinks that is what “broken in” means. A degraded rubber, or any other product you may come across, has dramatically lower performance then what is meant to have. For rubbers that means something like loosing grip, or pips breaking of if you use pips, becomes noticeably harder or softer (mushy, not returning back to its usual flat shape after pressing on it), discoloration, weird smell, bubbles etc.

 
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This looks better, the quoting format is weird sometimes but you can correct it in the code view.


Can't be bothered anymore , it comes out the way it wants to , sometimes this way and sometimes another way. As long as anybody who desires to read it can actually read it , it is fine with me.


As to the question of deterioration: I still do not believe in a "physically measurable change" called break-in .
Boosted or not, I glue my rubbers on to the blades and go and play. " BASTA"

I have much more problems adapting to variations with different balls, tables, light, temperatures and humidity and of course players.Personally I do not care but sooner or later some nerd will build a gadget to prove "rubber deterioration and break-in parameters".
Igor , are you there ?????? :)





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Do rubbers really 'break in'?

Tony's Table Tennis
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1 Hour Ago #21

Quote Originally Posted by davizoosk
i think is no sense talking about pro players, if the rubber really "break in" after something like 2 weeks and most pros change their rubber after 3 or 5 days if have a tournament, pros cannot have the best performance of the rubber like you are talking about?

2 weeks is for someone who plays 10 hours a week?? and that is of "soft hitting" too?

pros before tournament plays 6 to 8 hours per day.
my players change rubbers 2 to 3 days before tournament, can get a good 15 to 20 hours before tournament and of "hard hitting".

I don't know a coach yet (of my 10 years coaching experience, and 15 years playing before that - and I'm surrounded by really high level international coaches too), who tells players to change on the day or the day before the tournament.
Maybe brokenball can ask his coaches with his viewpoints to see what they say. Otherwise, all these "not true until scientifically proven" is just getting really boring.

You firstly can't compare pros TT hours to amateurs. And of all the semi pros I know (both Asia and Europe), they all have they preferred "breaking in" period, and different rubbers have different times too.

davizoosk

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1 Hour Ago #22

Quote Originally Posted by brokenball
Can anybody tell us what happens to the rubber when it is has been "broken in"?
Exactly what changes?
Has anybody measured the changes?
I think it is more TT non-sense.

I do agree that rubbers degrade over time. The so called "breaking in" is just the player getting use to the difference between the old and new rubber.

Brokenball,

I'm on a viewpoint that a certain level of understanding of the sport requires a certain level of technical knowledge and experience (what field says otherwise?)
I think I asked you before, but didn't get a response.
what USATT rating are you?

TTT

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1 Hour Ago #23

I.E. break-in is not nonsense

is a matter of semantics , maybe but it is the players brain and muscle memories that are breaking in , not the rubber..................like i said ... maybe

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51 Minutes Ago #24

Quote Originally Posted by lodro
Quote Originally Posted by DukeGaGa
I.E. break-in is not nonsense
is a matter of semantics , maybe but it is the players brain and muscle memories that are breaking in , not the rubber..................like i said ... maybe

This looks better, the quoting format is weird sometimes but you can correct it in the code view.

Anyways, you’re contradicting yourself there, you said some players rub balls on the tacky rubber to take off the extreme tackiness, which is essentially just a different way of breaking in the rubber, and now you’re saying no break-in? And before we go into the booster part of the discussion, let’s just first define what “break-in” means. To me, something that’s broken in means a time period that object in question have relatively stable performance, i.e. it’s not about the feel, just time. Now, about boosted sponge, some may like it right after boosting, the bounciness, the soft touch or whatever, but that only lasts for a little while. After that initial stint, the boosting effect becomes less pronounced, still very noticeable and keeps stable like that for quite a while, and that’s what I consider as “broken in”. It’s not how the player feels about the rubber that defines whether it’s “broken-in”, it’s the time period where the performance of the rubber has less fluctuations. If the player don’t like the feel after the rubber becomes that way, then probably they should switch rubbers .

And let’s not forget the degradation, in case someone thinks that is what “broken in” means. A degraded rubber, or any other product you may come across, has dramatically lower performance then what is meant to have. For rubbers that means something like loosing grip, or pips breaking of if you use pips, becomes noticeably harder or softer (mushy, not returning back to its usual flat shape after pressing on it), discoloration, weird smell, bubbles etc.

Last edited by DukeGaGa; 43 Minutes Ago at 03:36 PM.

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This looks better, the quoting format is weird sometimes but you can correct it in the code view.


Can't be bothered anymore , it comes out the way it wants to , sometimes this way and sometimes another way. As long as anybody who desires to read it can actually read it , it is fine with me.


As to the question of deterioration: I still do not believe in a "physically measurable change" called break-in .
Boosted or not, I glue my rubbers on to the blades and go and play. " BASTA"

I have much more problems adapting to variations with different balls, tables, light, temperatures and humidity and of course players.Personally I do not care but sooner or later some nerd will build a gadget to prove "rubber deterioration and break-in parameters".
Igor , are you there ?????? :)





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Do rubbers really 'break in'?

Tony's Table Tennis
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1 Hour Ago #21

Quote Originally Posted by davizoosk
i think is no sense talking about pro players, if the rubber really "break in" after something like 2 weeks and most pros change their rubber after 3 or 5 days if have a tournament, pros cannot have the best performance of the rubber like you are talking about?

2 weeks is for someone who plays 10 hours a week?? and that is of "soft hitting" too?

pros before tournament plays 6 to 8 hours per day.
my players change rubbers 2 to 3 days before tournament, can get a good 15 to 20 hours before tournament and of "hard hitting".

I don't know a coach yet (of my 10 years coaching experience, and 15 years playing before that - and I'm surrounded by really high level international coaches too), who tells players to change on the day or the day before the tournament.
Maybe brokenball can ask his coaches with his viewpoints to see what they say. Otherwise, all these "not true until scientifically proven" is just getting really boring.

You firstly can't compare pros TT hours to amateurs. And of all the semi pros I know (both Asia and Europe), they all have they preferred "breaking in" period, and different rubbers have different times too.

davizoosk

TTT

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1 Hour Ago #22

Quote Originally Posted by brokenball
Can anybody tell us what happens to the rubber when it is has been "broken in"?
Exactly what changes?
Has anybody measured the changes?
I think it is more TT non-sense.

I do agree that rubbers degrade over time. The so called "breaking in" is just the player getting use to the difference between the old and new rubber.

Brokenball,

I'm on a viewpoint that a certain level of understanding of the sport requires a certain level of technical knowledge and experience (what field says otherwise?)
I think I asked you before, but didn't get a response.
what USATT rating are you?

TTT

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1 Hour Ago #23


lol, some one needs to give lodro another course on quotations
 
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Okay, let me help clear things a bit.

Rubbers (as well as tyres), when new are always a bit harder, less elastic.
Give it some time (use), it will then be more "right" and it is noticeable by the player.
The grip is better (guess I can say this for cars too, but I'm not a pro driver).

I have seen players glue new rubbers up and go and just wack the ball into the net for 5 mins or so before training.
There is a reason why majority of players I know (and even on this forum) states they agree.
There is no myth to it.

Not to discredit anyone, but that is table tennis for you. You understand and experience only as much as your level allows you to.

 
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Okay, let me help clear things a bit.

Rubbers (as well as tyres), when new are always a bit harder, less elastic.
Give it some time (use), it will then be more "right" and it is noticeable by the player.
The grip is better (guess I can say this for cars too, but I'm not a pro driver).

I have seen players glue new rubbers up and go and just wack the ball into the net for 5 mins or so before training.
There is a reason why majority of players I know (and even on this forum) states they agree.
There is no myth to it.

Not to discredit anyone, but that is table tennis for you. You understand and experience only as much as your level allows you to.

I reckon the 2-5 minutes warm up that you pros do before every match should do the trick.
Last night at the club I asked a good player to try one of my ZLC innerforce blade with brand new H3 rubbers, boosted. He normally plays Butterfly innerforce ALC and Tenergy 05.I insisted he play against another of the top players to make sure he would be able to play and get the return shots he knows at his level.
First couple of minutes he had most shots long . Then he adjusted and another couple of minutes later he played "as usual". Rubbers broken in. 😄

p.s. He had never before played with Chinese sticky rubbers before

 
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Getting used to something different is not the same as breaking it in. I highly doubt anyone can break in a H3 in 2-5 minutes.
But the harder and stiffer the rubber you have the longer it takes to break it in. A tenergy is basically almost good to go out of the pack, while a H3 takes some long hours to break in.

Sometimes you can see close up pics from CNT players rackets, their rubbers don't look very new. I don't think they break them in themselves.
Blades also have break in period, not just rubbers.
 
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Lodro,

What you said, just shows me, you don't understand what is "breaking in".

A .01% different in rubber feeling will matter when it matters the most in matches.
It doesn't matter in training.

Of course for lower level players, they won't understand this point
 
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Ha ha ha ha ha Us lower level players who are about to die salute you ;)

Don't need to salute. Just avoid looking silly trying to convince people on something that less than 1% believe in.
OP asked a question, many answered.

Its like OP asking about cooking, and everyone says its good to cook this way.
But you come on and say, it is nonsense or makes no difference.
I mean - how many people have hands on physically experience and you trying to say everyone's own experience is a myth?
Its making me die of laughter

PS, brokenball can go and do his own lab work, you welcome to help him and come and prove to us otherwise.

btw, well done on your quotes.

 
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A .01% different in rubber feeling will matter when it matters the most in matches

0.1% difference in rubber feeling 🤣 here we call this "****ing fluffy ducks"

Looked to me that Ma Long's rubbers must have been 0.2% difference in his match against PF recently , he did often look at his rubbers with astonishment.

Anyway, I propose the implementation of a little Break-in machine. You stick the rubbers in on one end and it will come out the other end broken in. Inside the little gadget lots of little 40mm diameter cylinders with rounded heads will hammer the rubbers very fast , simulating the balls.
Reckon putting the rubber through this gadget a few times will supply you Top-guns with those
highly desired broken in rubbers.
Now here is something to consider for DHS : Supply broken in rubbers 😂

 
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A .01% different in rubber feeling will matter when it matters the most in matches

0.1% difference in rubber feeling 🤣 here we call this "****ing fluffy ducks"

Looked to me that Ma Long's rubbers must have been 0.2% difference in his match against PF recently , he did often look at his rubbers with astonishment.

Anyway, I propose the implementation of a little Break-in machine. You stick the rubbers in on one end and it will come out the other end broken in. Inside the little gadget lots of little 40mm diameter cylinders with rounded heads will hammer the rubbers very fast , simulating the balls.
Reckon putting the rubber through this gadget a few times will supply you Top-guns with those
highly desired broken in rubbers.
Now here is something to consider for DHS : Supply broken in rubbers 😂

That's actually not a horrible idea. They do it with leather, I think it's called tumbled leather.
In audio gear some companies also burn in the speakers before shipping them.
I'm sure there are many other examples.

 
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The H3 BS H41 needed about 2-3 cca 2 hour sessions to break in, to feel stable all over. Let's say 5 hours. I don't know how does it physically happen, whether it is top-sheet, or sponge, or both, and I don't have to know. I glued it 12 days ago, this is fresh in my mind.

Edit: Just to clarify, I played with H3 BS H41 right before. So it is not that I needed to get used to a new rubber.

P.S. ttarc - that was 2nd H3 BS H41 in line, from the batch of 3, that bubbled on me :) I hope this one won't.
 
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I totally forgot about shoes.....
guess its been a long time I bought new pairs lol.

Want to see someone go into a major tournament with a brand new pair of shoes and see how that feels

TONY... you missed Ur calling... how about COMBAT BOOTS... you do NOT break them in... they break YOU in. Imagine you go on a leisurely force hike of 20 km which you must finish in 3 hrs wearing a LIGHT combat load of 20 kg and your rifle... try THAT in NEW boots and you will so many strong looking grown men cry. Warriors make that mistake only ONCE in their life... if they had any ears at all, it would be zero.

 
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