A short story about string tension

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by Gollum, Apr 15, 2005.

  1. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Yes, that's probably what I'll do. I have another pack of bg 65 just sitting around, so I might as well use it.
     
  2. __Lam

    __Lam Regular Member

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    Erm.. this is a noob question but how do you tell your string tension. Like if it was 23 mains and 25 crosses do you use the middle 24lbs of tension?
     
  3. chickenpoodle

    chickenpoodle Regular Member

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    i find the whole string tension thing to be rather complicated.
    perhaps your racquet is originally strung at 25lbs, but obviously this drops.
    after a week, if someone asks you what your string tension is, do you tell them 25lbs? or 23lbs? perhaps 24lbs?

    i normally ask my friend who strung my racquets to do them at 24lbs.
    they feel hard for the first day or so, and after that, it all settles back to normalcy. i'm guessing 24lbs will be to high, and after a day, it drops to maybe 23lbs. so i'm guessing 23lbs is my acceptable range? or is it 24lbs?

    when determining our acceptable range, do we account for this creep in tension or not?

    my friend just left town, and so i'll have to find a new stringer in due time. luckily i got him to freshly redo mines before he left.
    hopefully the stories of discrepancy between calibration and such between stringers are not as serious as some sound to be... or else i'll be starting from scratch again.

    the weaving of the crosses within the mains will tighten the lower tensioned mains to the higher tension of the crosses, because they are displaced as the strings are weaved.

    mains are strung first, and they are straight.
    but when you weave the crosses in and out, it displaces the straightness, further increasing the tension.

    so if it was 23/25lbs, the 23lbs is pulled up to 25lbs.
     
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  4. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    An update:

    After taking some advice from my stringer, I tried Ashaway MicroLegend string @ 23 lbs. His idea is that this string holds tension well.

    I shall have to see next week, but tonight accuracy was high again and my smashes went BANG! :)
     
  5. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    For all you string enthusiasts out there, I can confirm that the Ashaway MicroLegend string holds tension much better than BG-65 :) The feeling is still crisp after several weeks, though not as crisp as the first week.

    Next time it will be 24 lbs...

    So, moral of the story (revisited): don't be afraid to experiment with strings and tensions. Be methodical, change only one variable at a time, and you can gain very useful information about what strings and tensions suit you.
     
  6. Bak Kut Teh

    Bak Kut Teh Regular Member

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    30lbs ? holly mama..tai goh u sure have good strong back shoulder muscle to swing your racquet around with...geng !
     
  7. LouisW

    LouisW Regular Member

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    Dear Gollum,

    I bought a RSL Millenium-5 EnergyTi 5130 recently and strung with Protech 0.66mm string at 24Ibs. The first day I play with this new racquet, the feel is great and smash is powerful. However, after 2 games play (about 2 weeks times) I found out that the string is no longer that powerful so I cut it and strung with BG-80 at 23Ibs.

    Now, this is where the problem occurred. I realized that I can't smash as hard as before.

    I will apprecited if you could give me some advise to the above matter.

    Thanks. :(
     
  8. SpeedMaster

    SpeedMaster New Member

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    RightYo ! Am on an RSL 3200 with a BG66 @ 24 (first time) and it feels great at first, kept hitting faster though control ain't there at first. Waiting for the string to relax to about 23 or 22 maybe then i'd have better control:)
     
  9. Pete LSD

    Pete LSD Regular Member

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    Here is another aurhtoritative source on string tension and playability:

    http://www.clearonebadminton.com/stringing.html

    String Tension Power Control Durability Player Type
    15-20 lbs High Low High Beginner
    20-25 lbs Moderate Medium Medium Mid-Level
    25-30 lbs Medium High Low Profesional
     
    #29 Pete LSD, Jul 26, 2005
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2005
  10. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    You'd probably be better sticking with 24 lbs, but looking for strings that hold tension well. You might try the Ashaway Microlegend string, which I've had good results with. Or ask other people about their experiences :)
     
  11. coops241180

    coops241180 Regular Member

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    totally agree with all your points gollum - i use the Ashaway MicroLegendXL (used by the likes of Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson) strung to 24lbs - usually holds the tension for 7-10 weeks of me playing 4/5 times a week. I'm always pleased with it.. won't be changing a thing...
     
  12. ChNwEi310

    ChNwEi310 Regular Member

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    My friend in china strings his at 33lbs, I'm very suprised it doesn't snap the racket, but he hits hard...VERY hard.:crying:
     
  13. Average

    Average Regular Member

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    whoa!! the people that restring the racquets here wont even go near pulling that high of a tension.
     
  14. fishmilk

    fishmilk Regular Member

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    yeah that's why I have my own machine now, my stringer denied 25lbs on my Cab30MS in mint condition. It was a 2U racquet too! She said it was an SP version and she'll only do 23, I battled hard for 24 and ultimately failed, now she will never do business with me again! :p
     
  15. Pete LSD

    Pete LSD Regular Member

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    Is it a one-piece string job? I am very curious :). Your friend must lift weight like crazy and use squash racquet to train.

     
  16. quintessence

    quintessence Regular Member

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    Gosen Pro 70 can go up to #33.
     
  17. ChNwEi310

    ChNwEi310 Regular Member

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    I don't know about that stuff, but he's really good. Like, I THINK (not sure, cuz his friends told me, but they brag a lot), he was for a short time on the China national team, (he's like 17 now).

    Yeah, he's pretty buff :D
     
  18. coops241180

    coops241180 Regular Member

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    lol - contrary to this little post :)

    i'm up to 28 now.. still on MicroLegendXL, but i did try MicroPower for a couple of months.. not as much control as the MicroLegendXL.. so i'm back on MicroLegendXL. don't think i'll be changing anything for a while now..

    Coops
     
  19. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    Here is one simple thing you can test out on high tension. Use high tension to find out if the weight of your racquet is optimally distributed. If it is you should not lose power from it. If not it will go nowhere. You should either lower the tension to make the racquet more playable, or try reducing the weight at the handle end to redistribute the racquet weight, a little at a time, until you find the power coming back.
    If you keep adding extra grips on the handle you will find very high tensions more difficult to play, although low tensions are not as adversely affected.
     
  20. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    Great post Gollum! :D

    For me, 25/28lbs. to 27/30lbs. is ideal. But this is dependent on the racket, string and shuttle. If it's a lighter racket, I will go higher tension, as high as 29/32lbs., if it's a heavy racket, as lows as 24/27lbs.

    Also, it's dependent on the string. The above tensions are based on BG-80. If I was using BG-65, I'd add 2lbs. for the eventual string tensions loss. So, it just depends.

    Further, it's dependent on the shuttle we're hitting. The above tensions are based on the standard speed, normal, every day shuttle. I have noticed tourney shuttles are usually a bit to moderately heavier than what I normally hit. They are also a bit to moderately faster. If I had to play with those moderately heavier and faster tourney shuttles every day, I would have to string my rackets at 30/33lbs. to 32/35lbs. in order to keep the shuttle in the court. Maybe this is why Pros string at such high tensions, to keep the shuttle in. :p

    Assuming all other things equal, when I play 23/25lbs. or lower, I lose accuracy and hit/float everything out by a little. If I go 28/31lbs. or higher, I lose power and feel. So my bread and butter tension is somewhere around 25/28lbs. to 27/30lbs. :D
     
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