Joola Tronix CMD - Short Review

[Matt Hetherington]

Soon all america will be US ))

Oh boy, don’t go there 😩

 

[cruzctrl]

Hmm, I’ll get back to you all in about 1 month, then 3, then 6, then 1 year.
Tronix did not have a bowing upon opening the packaging, so I don’t think it was really all that factory boosted. After about a week of play, it still feels new out of the box!

After 1 month, the grip is still excellent with only slight discoloration around the sweet spot where I hit the most. The speed level has not changed and still has a good 'pop'. It is also remarkably hard to chip and tear. I had several table hitting accidents and it still looks untouched. I've had rubbers like Barracuda, Vega Europe, or Nittaku Factive chip/rip if I so much as breathed on them. This is a step up for sure.

 

[cruzctrl]

Specs:

Uncut weight of both red and black sheet at 2.0 mm were 62 grams. The topsheet and rubber are soft, but you can feel the high tension. Unlike Xiom Vega Europe, more similar to Andro R42. The surface is very grippy, and the topsheet is somewhat thin as you can see the pimples through it.

Playing:

Used on a Timo Boll ST handle 85 grams.

The feeling is similar to the Andro R42, which makes sense because they have the same ‘thickened sponge, thinned topsheet’ technology. It is lively/springy, but not necessarily fast or uncontrollable. It never feels dead, but it responds accordingly to the input so if you have good feeling and touch, it will feel extremely accurate and intuitive. The throw angle is not high, but not low, so medium. I never felt like a ball of mine should have gone over the net or onto the table, when I made it or missed it I knew exactly why.

Overall, I would say it’s a grippier version of the Andro R42, so it’s perfect for slower blades like the Timo Boll Spirit or Xiom ZL Pro. Solid choice for both backhand and forehand.View attachment 39809View attachment 39810

I removed the backhand side for Xiom Vega Europe to get a higher arc. The removed Tronix CMD Red was 42 grams cut to a Timo Boll Spirit. Just fyi!

 

[Table10Ice]

Good questions!

• Recommended for intermediate beginners on either side, not complete beginners. Or advanced intermediates on the backhand side. I'm about 1600 USATT, and this feels fine on either side. I don't see a need to change at all, and my 1800+ friend agreed.
• Not sure about the rest of the Tronix series, but ACC should just be a slightly harder and faster version of this. Very similar to the Andro R47/R42 combo, but with more grip and they come in blue.
  • I have tried the Joola Rhyzen Ice and Fire before. Compared to both, CMD feels more lively and faster while also being significantly lighter. Rhyzen Ice at 2.0 mm was 64 grams, 68 in max. Fire was 68 grams at 2.0, not sure about max (probably 72 grams). Ice felt slow and mushy, with not many top gears, but it was great for control and had excellent spin. I would say the same characteristics for Fire, but it was faster.
    • Speed: Fire > CMD > Ice
    • Spin: Ice > CMD > Fire (softer rubbers were easier to spin with, but all three had great grip and spin)
    • Control: Ice > CMD > Fire (in terms of what went flying off the table, popped high, or dumped in the next)
• NOT sticky, just grippy. Entirely different feeling from Chinese rubbers as it is a tensor

I like to play controlled with a lot of blocks, short pushes, slow opening loops. Joola Ice was too mushy for blocks, but CMD provides just a bit more pop while still retaining plenty of grip for the slow openings and enough control for short touches. I love it, but it's all subjective!

I should give Tronix CMD a chance as BH rubber! Right now I'm using Tronix ACC on BH on Nittaku Acoustic, and Andro NUZN 48 on FH. The ACC might be a bit hard and fast for my current level... It's "downgrade" time!

 

[cruzctrl]

I should give Tronix CMD a chance as BH rubber! Right now I'm using Tronix ACC on BH on Nittaku Acoustic, and Andro NUZN 48 on FH. The ACC might be a bit hard and fast for my current level... It's "downgrade" time!

It's a really good backhand rubber, but it does have a somewhat low throw angle which can take some time to adjust to. It's angle is dissimilar from the Vega Europe or Baracuda, for instance. The spin and speed are amazing though, so once you adjust your control will soar.

What are your thoughts on the ACC? Did you ever use it on the FH? I am curious...