Author Archives: RacquetQuest
Head Graphene 360+ Radical MP v21
Well, this is one way to get 2021 of to a great start! This eye popping Radical will certainly add excitement to your life!
This is truly orange with capitol O! You simply need to see this racquet to really appreciate the color.
Radical MP v21
But, color aside, this racquet continues the Radical silo of aggressive racquets for the aggressive player, or those that want to be!
This review is the MP which has been one of the most popular models over the years and I am happy to say they have not messed it up as is so often the case when introducing new products! This is a real Radical racquet!
A couple of things really stand out. First the string pattern is more dense in the center of the racquet by a small amount which allows for a more open pattern at the periphery for more comfort.
The top eight (8) grommets are on a separate insert and they are “straight” instead of radial.
The addition of “sound grommets” is intended to enhance power via greater string movement. and optimize sound and vibrations.
And the “in plane” stiffness is a little lower meaning the string bed stiffness may be slightly less at the same reference tension, also contributing to comfort.
If you are looking for a high performance tennis racquet that has room for some weight as you require it, this is the one. If you already need more weight that will be the Radical Pro that will be reviewed next.
| Manufacturer | Head |
| Racquet Model | Head Graphene 360+ Radical MP V21 |
| Reference Tension | 55 lbs - 24.9 k |
| String: Main/Cross | Victrex 7718 |
| Machine Used | TT Professional |
| ASPS, RDC | 55 |
| ASPS, FlexFour | 67 |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 63 - After stringing |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 50 |
| Weight, Grams | 315 |
| Weight, Ounces | 11.11 |
| Balance, mm | 330 |
| Balance, Inch | 12.99 |
| Length, Cm | 68.5 |
| Length, Inch | 26.968 |
| Head Width | 9.625 |
| Head Length | 12.81 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 624.7 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 96.8 |
| Beam Width, mm, Shaft, Center, Tip | 20, 23, 21 |
| In Plane Stiffness, Pounds/In | 382.2 Lbs/In. |
| In Plane Stiffness, Kg/cm | 68.3 Kg/cm |
| Number of Main Strings | 16 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 19 |
| Ratio Cross/Mains | .633 |
| Main String Grid | 7.13 |
| Cross String Grid | 9.31 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | .677 |
| Average Cross String Space | .484 |
| Average Main String Space | .445 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 35 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 195.8 |
| First Moment, Nm | .803 |
| Polar Moment | 330 |
| Torsional Stability | 17 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 313 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 11.04 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 343 |
| Power, RDC | 46 |
| Control, RDC | 55 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 78 |
| Power, Calculated | 1909.3 |
| Head Points | 3.94 (negative = head heavy) |
| Head Weight, % | 48.2% |
| Center of Percussion | 20.9 |
| Dwell Time, ms, No Swing | 8.58 |
| Effective Stiffness - lbs | 29.4 |
| K, Lb/In (SBS) RDC | 176.28 |
| Recoil Weight | 148.6 |
| Twist Weight | 218.8 |
| End Weight | 125.1 |
| Tip Weight | 190.7 |
| Total Weight | 329.2 |
| 9 O'Clock | 96.8 |
| 3 O'Clock | 96.7 |
| Butt Cap | 120.0 |
| Total Weight | 313.5 |
Happy New Year!
I like many of you I am glad 2020 is behind us!
We are looking forward to the new year with great anticipation and resolve to make it a stellar year for all of us!
As we have said in previous posts this is the “You Year!” Let’s make it a happy one filled with great tennis, great friends, and great health for everyone!
Questron Update!
Questron has been operational at the World Headquarters of Racquet Quest for a few weeks and it is time to acknowledge the benefit of having Questron and the ones that made it possible!
Dr, Rich Zarda and Shenghong Zhang are responsible for actually getting it done! Dr. Zarda was instrumental in determining what need to be tested and Shane actually did the assembly and programming of the UI! An extraordinary effort by both!
Our good friend JC Carpentier at Tennis machines in St. Louis pitched in with the perfect string connection points which make Questron function in a way that does not stress the string at the connection points. We want the string to fail (break) in the middle. Thank you, JC!
So, all I have to do is insert the test string and watch! The image below is a graph recorded for each string that is tested, and two (2) strings can be overlayed to see the difference between them.
This graph was just pulled at random so you can see the output.
This information is incredibly helpful and will become even more helpful as the database grows.
My sincere thank you to everyone that got this done!
Connector
Happy You Year!
Of course, we are all anxious for the new year to get here and erase 2020 from our memory!
We are designating 2021 as the You Year! So, Happy You Year!
For the last few years Racquet Quest, LLC has put more emphasis on “custom racquets” and 2021 will see this emphasis extended to “you racquets”!
What exactly does “you racquets” mean? It simply means that every racquet that leaves Racquet Quest, LLC is set up for your style of play and personal specifications. Yes, even if the racquet is Off-the-Shelf and not a full custom!
Many really good things are happening next year and we are glad you are going to be with us!
A Rarity …Continued
It is fun to have these fairly rare racquets to work on and get back into playing condition! We will report on each of them as we go through the setup procedure, and note any differences that we find.
We will try to compare some of the specifications to current or “recently current” racquets to see how far we have come…or not!
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- Remember me?
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- Austrian Twin Tube
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- Original TK57 Pallet
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- New Butt Caps
A few things stand out right away:
- The racquet is nearly 28 inches long (71.1cm)
- The racquet is very flexible in (RDC48) and out (285.7) of plane
- The racquet has a straight thin (21mm) beam
- The racquet is (was) made in Austria
| Head Radical Tour OS - Austria | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Head |
| Racquet Model | Head Radical Tour OS - Austria |
| Reference Tension | 58 lbs - 26.3 k |
| String: Main/Cross | Polyester |
| Machine Used | TT Professional |
| ASPS, RDC | 64 |
| ASPS, FlexFour | 63 |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 48 - After stringing |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 44 |
| Weight, Grams | 352 |
| Weight, Ounces | 12.42 |
| Balance, mm | 329 |
| Balance, Inch | 12.95 |
| Length, Cm | 71.1 |
| Length, Inch | 27.992 |
| Head Width | 10.23 |
| Head Length | 13.43 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 695.9 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 107.9 |
| Beam Width, mm, Shaft, Center, Tip | 21, 21, 21 |
| In Plane Stiffness, Pounds/In | 285.7 Lbs/In. |
| In Plane Stiffness, Kg/cm | 51.1 Kg/cm |
| Number of Main Strings | 18 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 19 |
| Ratio Cross/Mains | .721 |
| Main String Grid | 7.81 |
| Cross String Grid | 10.12 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | .733 |
| Average Cross String Space | .533 |
| Average Main String Space | .434 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 37 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 206.94 |
| First Moment, Nm | .894 |
| Polar Moment | 389 |
| Torsional Stability | 20 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 369 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 13.03 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 381 |
| Power, RDC | 36 |
| Control, RDC | 66 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 41 |
| Power, Calculated | 2063.3 |
| Head Points | 8.35 (negative = head heavy) |
| Head Weight, % | 46.3% |
| Center of Percussion | 22.0 |
| Dwell Time, ms, No Swing | 7.96 |
| Effective Stiffness - lbs | 27.4 |
| K, Lb/In (SBS) RDC | 205.13 |
| Recoil Weight | 186.9 |
| Twist Weight | 273.6 |
| End Weight | 139.3 |
| Tip Weight | 213.3 |
| Total Weight | 352.6 |
| 9 O'Clock | 106.3 |
| 3 O'Clock | 106.0 |
| Butt Cap | 140.7 |
| Total Weight | 353 |
Racquet Quest, LLC
