Category Archives: Good News!
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!
Bolt 98L
The Bolt Racquet Series is back and in a very good way!
In case you don’t remember the Bolt racquets incorporate a patented Zip Strip that sits between the racquet and the string that mitigates the stiffness of the string bed somewhat.
I mention this because the In-Plane stiffness number you will see in the review shows a single number, and in fact for testing devices that number will be nearly the same with and without the Zip Strip interaction.
The Zip Strip will produce an “effective” hitting area larger than the measured racquet head size.
| Bolt 98L, V2 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Bolt |
| Racquet Model | Bolt 98L, V2 |
| Reference Tension | 55 lbs - 24.9 k |
| String: Main/Cross | Head Lynx/Head Reflex |
| Machine Used | Babolat Racket Station |
| ASPS, RDC | 60 |
| ASPS, FlexFour | 67.5 |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 61 - After stringing |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 36 |
| Weight, Grams | 318.2 |
| Weight, Ounces | 11.22 |
| Balance, mm | 333 |
| Balance, Inch | 13.11 |
| Length, Cm | 68.6 |
| Length, Inch | 27.008 |
| Head Width | 9.581 |
| Head Length | 12.75 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 618.7 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 95.94 |
| Beam Width, mm, Shaft, Center, Tip | 23.5, 22.7, 22.2 |
| In Plane Stiffness, Pounds/In | 454 Lbs/In. |
| In Plane Stiffness, Kg/cm | 178.7 Kg/cm |
| Number of Main Strings | 16 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 19 |
| Ratio Cross/Mains | .654 |
| Main String Grid | 7.312 |
| Cross String Grid | 9.562 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | .644 |
| Average Cross String Space | .481 |
| Average Main String Space | .446 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 38 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 212.54 |
| First Moment, Nm | .823 |
| Polar Moment | 355 |
| Torsional Stability | 18 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 337 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 11.89 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 353.7 |
| Power, RDC | 48 |
| Control, RDC | 52 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 62 |
| Power, Calculated | 2024.7 |
| Head Points | 3.15 (negative = head heavy) |
| Head Weight, % | 48.5% |
| Center of Percussion | 21.8 |
| Dwell Time, ms, No Swing | 8.21 |
| Effective Stiffness - lbs | 24.4 |
| K, Lb/In (SBS) RDC | 192.31 |
| Recoil Weight | 166.19 |
| Twist Weight | 237.83 |
| End Weight | 124.1 |
| Tip Weight | 195.9 |
| Total Weight | 332.3 |
| 9 O'Clock | 96.0 |
| 3 O'Clock | 99.8 |
| Butt Cap | 117.9 |
| Total Weight | 318.2 |
The “Questron” has Arrived!
If you have been following Racquet Quest online and with the podcast, you know we are very fond of data! In keeping with that “fondness,” we have received our newest testing device, which I have named “Questron.”
During the last week, we have spent time getting Questron set up to do the kinds of testing we think is important for the tennis player, the racquet technician, and anyone else that cares about numbers!
It will be about another week before posting any data because we are “tweaking” some connection points, cycle settings, and refining the data’s graphing.
We have over 400 strings to test; however, we will eliminate many of those strings not relevant to today’s tennis player.
Even in the “testing” phase, we are discovering interesting facts about strings that will help us put together the best setup for you!
This is the “base” Questron. Future versions of this device will incorporate the “Power Potential,” “In-Plane Stiffness,” and “Dynamic Stiffness” testing that is currently done on other equipment.
Racquet Quest, LLC
