Read this was upcoming quite a while back and here it is on the Yonex website already without any sneak peeks passing by here : the 2013 new colour Carbonex 20 http://www.yonex.co.jp/products/badracquet/cab20f.html
wow, finally a light color cab! and instead of going higher in the model number they instead decided to repaint an oldie!!
from personally experience, the cab50 is the worst cab, felt so hollow and not stable, where as the cab 20 was solid. cab20 is def heavier than cab 50, and cab20 is a bit faster, to me at least.
1985 was when the first advertisements for cab20 came out (1984 was the old cab 15 with graphite T joint and before that was the fibreglass frame cab 10). Liem Swee King was the most recognised Yonex player then and he had used the racquet during the 1985 All England. However, he got upstaged by a flashy new player from China using the really old cab 7. The cab 20 was the very first graphite racquet with built in T joint.
The new color looks gorgeous, can't wait to see the real thing. Anyone knows if the latest generation of Cab 20 has 664mm or 675mm length ? And what does the Cab20"F" --> mean ?
Aside from the paint job has the Cab 20 changed at all in its 30 years history? I wish they were still available in the UK. I really miss the oval head-shape.
Yes, they certainly have but the main difference is the stiffness of the carbon, which has gotten a little stiffer over the years. There has been several variants to the cab20 too which introduces slightly different technology. However, a difference between the original (very first released) Cab20 and the later ones that few people are aware of is the shape of the head. The original Cab20 had a slightly rounder head compared to the later versions which has a more pointy oval head. The rounder head actually seem to give the original cab20 a slightly larger sweetspot, whereas the later ones with the pointer head has a smaller sweetspot and a different feel. The feel is different in that the originals felt somewhat soft and whippy. The newer ones have a more solid feel. I also noticed that the originals seem to use slightly larger grommets, which I only noticed when I restrung one of mine recently - but it could be that they were replaced at some point previously. I didn't note the hole sizes, but I remember thinking they looked quite big compared to modern racquets. If this is the case, it could have affected the stiffness and feel of the racquet compared to modern versions. Oh and I don't think they made U weight grade Cab20's after the originals. I have a U and several 2Us, the U is incredibly heavy... must be great for doubles training! Yonex do still supply some carbonexes in the UK. Just nothing near the calibre of the Cab 20.
Is there anything to do with the stringing job? I remember there was one time I got my racket strung by one stringer and it ended up with slightly rounder head. Anyway, the newer generations of Cab 20 have the U-shaped grommets installed on the 1st and 2nd holes.
If you guys say the Cab 20 has a better feel than the Cab 50, then I'm probably going to buy this when it comes out. I already love my Cab 50!
I compared a "re-released" cab20 with an original (both unstrung) many years ago and there was a very slight difference in the head shape. It's not by much and you probably would struggle to see it unless you were looking for the difference. But you're right in that the string job can affect the shape, particularly with the old carbonexes which are quite fragile and have quite a flexible head.
i think i'm the only one saying that the cab20 is better than the cab50 and it's all personal preference too, what feels great for me might feels horrible for you. i find the feeling of cab35 not as good as cab20 or cab21, but not as bad as cab50. if you have a chance it would be best if you try it out before spending any money
the only thing i worry about is that this racket might be one of those that are only available in japan, like the new aerotus 100(or 110 don't remember the model number). i saw it maybe 1-2 years ago on an online catalog but the availability is only in japan.
