Xiom Azxi and Vega Pro Rubbers Question

[mikeyjm26]

Hi guys,

just bought a new Xiom Azxi blade with 1.8mm Vega Pro rubbers and having a bit of difficulty adjusting with it. The new setup is great at blocking and counter hitting but lifting backspin is much harder as it seems to have a very low arc, almost a more flat flat tractory which I was not expecting. I don't know if it is the rubber or the blade but it I have much less margin for error than I did with my previous setup, seriously I find it just clearing the net by an inch which is great if I could do it all the time but it just seems to be more effort. I usually play with a Xiom Stradivarius using 1.8mm Vega Euro DF rubbers on both sides and play reasonably well with it. Looping forehand and backhand is much easier.

I do not have a perfect technique, far from it, so I was wondering if I should persevere with the new rubbers or change them? I personally think that to get the best out of the Vega Pro rubbers I would need a much better technique.

As always your advice is greatly appreciated.

Mikey

 

[yoass]

Perseverance always pays. Your AZXi is relatively hard and fast, and 1.8 is less of a dampener than 2.0, and VP is harder than VE DF. That doesn’t make it a bad setup, as you note it’s rewarding already in certain game aspects.

You’ll need to readjust to get stroke, timing, angle of impact in place in other areas. VP can lift anything, but as with every rubber requires its proper contact.

 

[langel]

With the same angle and upwards dynamics put more forward impuls to the swing and make the swing faster.
Its usual for harder rubbers/stiffer blades.

 

[yogi_bear]

Vega Japan has a higher arc but the Asia DF is good enough.

 

[mikeyjm26]

Thanks for the advice, I do intend to use the new setup, it cost enough so I want my monies worth lol. I did try MX-S Max on a Stiga Intensity Carbon blade today and it felt much easier to use and had more control. I guess I was hoping this would be the same.

One final thing, I cannot tell the difference between either ALC or ZLC with regards which is slower!!! I was hoping that I would be able to tell as I am more backhand dominate and would use the faster side.

 

[thomas.pong]

You went with a much harder and faster blade than what you were accustomed to and you also changed to rubbers than are much much harder (47.5 deg) than the ones you were using (37.5 deg). That's a huge change and it's going to be very tough to adapt to without proper technique!

Question is, why did you decide to go for such a huge change?

My guess is you wanted more speed and spin but you did say that your technique is far from perfect and what you changed to requires better technique as it is harder, faster and thus much less controllable. Your new equipment or even the other fast setup you just mentioned will very likely hinder and slow down your progress as a developing player who needs control from his equipment above all else so he/she can feel the ball, put it back on the table and develop proper technique.

I think it would have been good to change just one element, in this case your rubbers and not your blade too, and go for just a slight step up in rubbers hardness and speed as the Vega Europe DF are pretty soft. The regular Vega Euro rubbers (42.5 deg) in 2.0mm would probably work better for you as a step up from what you were playing with originally... And also, come to think of it, the Stradivarius is already a very fast blade, the Xiom Offensive S might be better suited for you.

 

[yogi_bear]

I can definitely tell you that the ALC in the ice cream blades are faster than their ZLC counterparts. They were designed that way by Xiom.

 

[Caxoera]

I believe the problem here is the sponge hardness. Your new ones are much harder and hard rubbers demands a better technique because they are faster and more difficult to engage the sponge (you need the sponge for an higher arc). Use this an opportunity to improve your technics.

This article from coach EmRatThich can help you out to understand a few things: https://pingsunday.com/best-forehand-rubbers-table-tennis/

 

[Ingo_Ger]

What is interesting: For me it is much easier to lift US with blades which are stiffer and have some composite in it. It feels like I can just tear through the spin of my opponent and overpower it. Also the shorter contact time on my blade lessens the spin sensitivity or it feels like it for me.
There is a precondition every player has to met though: Really fast arm motion and when you have also enough power from the ground fire through the ball with no hesitation whatsoever.
Everything which is half-assed with not so good technique will fail.
There is also one important aspect which I whitnessed last two training sessions this week: With a killer Setup, every ball you play is more or less a "do or die" ball. In this equation there is always your training partner and everybody who is not blessed with somebody with a rating >1800 will do exactly two balls: Serve, Kill or serve, miss and that's it.
This really is bad for beginners, where repetition is the key.

 

[mikeyjm26]

Hi yogi_bear, I believe you, I do notice the slight difference in vibration from each side but I couldn't tell is one was faster than the other. When playing forehand top spins I found that the ball was landing in the same place and I guess I was looking for one side to be slightly less.

 

[mikeyjm26]

I believe the problem here is the sponge hardness. Your new ones are much harder and hard rubbers demands a better technique because they are faster and more difficult to engage the sponge (you need the sponge for an higher arc). Use this an opportunity to improve your technics.

This article from coach EmRatThich can help you out to understand a few things: https://pingsunday.com/best-forehand-rubbers-table-tennis/

Interesting read, thanks for that.

 

[mikeyjm26]

What is interesting: For me it is much easier to lift US with blades which are stiffer and have some composite in it. It feels like I can just tear through the spin of my opponent and overpower it. Also the shorter contact time on my blade lessens the spin sensitivity or it feels like it for me.
There is a precondition every player has to met though: Really fast arm motion and when you have also enough power from the ground fire through the ball with no hesitation whatsoever.
Everything which is half-assed with not so good technique will fail.
There is also one important aspect which I whitnessed last two training sessions this week: With a killer Setup, every ball you play is more or less a "do or die" ball. In this equation there is always your training partner and everybody who is not blessed with somebody with a rating >1800 will do exactly two balls: Serve, Kill or serve, miss and that's it.
This really is bad for beginners, where repetition is the key.

Absolutely agree, unfortunately in the clubs I play no one is really interested in training as such. You'll have a knock up and maybe you'll get 5 minutes to practice something then it it just onto knocking the ball about. I am the wrong side of 40 and doubt very much I will ever have anywhere near a great technique compared to the up and coming juniors from other clubs. I would very much love the repetition of grinding out a smooth stroke. It is the reason I rely on soft rubbers to do most of the work for me.

 

[mikeyjm26]

You went with a much harder and faster blade than what you were accustomed to and you also changed to rubbers than are much much harder (47.5 deg) than the ones you were using (37.5 deg). That's a huge change and it's going to be very tough to adapt to without proper technique!

Question is, why did you decide to go for such a huge change?

My guess is you wanted more speed and spin but you did say that your technique is far from perfect and what you changed to requires better technique as it is harder, faster and thus much less controllable. Your new equipment or even the other fast setup you just mentioned will very likely hinder and slow down your progress as a developing player who needs control from his equipment above all else so he/she can feel the ball, put it back on the table and develop proper technique.

I think it would have been good to change just one element, in this case your rubbers and not your blade too, and go for just a slight step up in rubbers hardness and speed as the Vega Europe DF are pretty soft. The regular Vega Euro rubbers (42.5 deg) in 2.0mm would probably work better for you as a step up from what you were playing with originally... And also, come to think of it, the Stradivarius is already a very fast blade, the Xiom Offensive S might be better suited for you.

Thanks for the reply thomas.pong. The reason for changing is that my current setup is 2 years old so I wanted something new. I tried my friends blade with MX-S and really liked that it was faster, seemed to produce more spin and still as controllable as my own setup. I thought that the AZXi wouldn't be that much different than my Stradi and that getting the Vega Pro rubbers would be an upgrade.

I find that the current setup the ball lands in the middle of table, with MX-S it was landing closer to the end of the table and felt good. In hindsight changing one thing would have been the better decision!!! I think I will replace the rubbers with the Euro DF in same thickness and see how I get on with them.

Thanks again for the advice.