Category Archives: Racquet – Old
Older racquet information
And now for something completely different!
It is not often we get to do something completely different but this is that time!
Everyone loves to see what the very latest racquets are going to look like and how they will play but what about taking a look back, not forward!
This racquet review is going way back! I am not sure when this racquet was made but suffice it to say it was a while ago. I will guess that it is over sixty (60) years old.
Well, OK! What is it?
It is a Wright & Ditson Olympic!
Wright & Ditson Olympic
This is a beautiful 68 square inch wooden racquet. The wooden grip pallet is wrapped with a very wide piece of perforated leather, not the slender leather used today.
The racquet has no butt cap. Or didn’t have a butt cap but now it does.
Pay particular attention to the weight of this racquet, and the stiffness!
Many of the current racquets will be in the 315-gram range with an RDC flex of 55+.
When we received it the condition was not great but it was straight and worth renovating. We all know how beautiful some wooden racquets can be so let’s get to the specifications.
| Manufacturer | Wright & Ditson |
|---|---|
| Racquet Model | Wright & Ditson Olympic |
| Reference Tension | 45lbs/20.4kg |
| String | Head Synthethic 17 |
| Machine Used | True Tension Professional |
| ASPS, RDC | 36 |
| ASPS, FlexFour | 50 |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 12 - After stringing |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 27.0 |
| Racquet - In Plane Stiffness | 500.0 lbs/Inch |
| Weight, Grams | 401.0 |
| Weight, Ounces | 14.14 |
| Balance, mm | 307 |
| Balance, Inch | 12.09 |
| Length, Cm | 68.6 |
| Length, Inch | 27.008 |
| Head Width | 8.13 |
| Head Length | 10.8 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 444.6 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 68.9 |
| Number of Main Strings | 18 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 20 |
| Ratio Cross/Mains | .677 |
| Main String Grid | 7.00 |
| Cross String Grid | 8.30 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | .843 |
| Average Cross String Space | .415 |
| Average Main String Space | .389 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 30 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 167.8 |
| First Moment, Nm | .932 |
| Polar Moment | 368 |
| Torsional Stability | 9 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 359 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 12.66 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 377.9 |
| Power, RDC | 0 |
| Control, RDC | 100 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 47 |
| Power, Calculated | 296.9 |
| Head Points | 11.02 |
| Head Weight, % | 44.9% |
| Center of Percussion | 21.0 |
| Dwell Time, ms | 10.6 |
| Efective Stiffness - lbs | 9.0 |
| K, Lb/In | 115.4 |
| Recoil Weight | 189.8 |
| Twist Weight | 203.8 |
| End Weight | 174.9 |
| Tip Weight | 225.0 |
| 9 O'Clock | 115.9 |
| 3 O'Clock | 115.0 |
| Butt Cap | 168.9 |
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 |
A Rarity!
Just like an animal that is near extinction you hardly ever see one, but three at the same time is unheard of!
Of course, we are not talking about animals here but the rarity still applies to these racquets!
Head Twin Tube Radical
Most players have heard of this racquet but many probably have never seen one!
Three (3) of them came into the World Headquarters today for some TLC.
The bottom one is brand new with the protective sleeve still intact! So intact that it was nearly impossible to get it off, except in little tiny pieces.
However, the top one was well used, including the overgrip!
All of these racquets are getting new grip pallets so it is not an issue!
I will add more pictures as the work progresses on these rare racquets!
House Cleaning!
Every once in a while Racquet Quest decides to do a little house cleaning and that means opening boxes that have not been open for a long time!
And surprise! We find a lot of really interesting and exciting tennis racquets! Most of these have been on the Racquet Museum site but now it is time for them to find a new place to hang out!
Most of these racquets are new! Many have been strung for evaluation purposes but have not been played with! All of the racquets will be fitted with a new grip. All the racquets will come with the string that is now in the racquet, unless new stringing is requested. All racquets are sold “as is”. Most of them are new, but the string may be several years old. There will not be any “junk” offered, just good racquets!
| Racquet Brand | Model | Head Size | Grip Size | String | Condition | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson | nCode n1 | 115 | 5 | NXT16 | New | 200.00 |
| Weed | 125 Tour EXT | 125 | 3 | Weed Synthetic Gut | New | 50.00 |
| Weed | 135 Open Tour | 135 | 3 | ALU Power Rough | New | 50.00 |
| Weed | 125 X-One 25 | 125 | 3 | Weed Synthetic Gut | New | 50.00 |
| Prince | Tour 100 18x20 | 100 | 3 | None | New | 150.00 |
| Prince | EXO Warrior 100 | 100 | 2 | Prince Premier Attack | New | 150.00 |
| Prince | EXO Red 105 | 105 | 3 | Prince Premier LT | New | 125.00 |
| Prince | EXO Blue | 110 | 3 | Prince Premier LT | New | 125.00 |
| Prince | EXO Rebel Team 98 | 98 | 3 | Prince Premier/Beast Hybrid | New | 150.00 |
| Prince | EXO Rebel 98 | 98 | 3 | Prince Premier/Beast Hybrid | New | 200.00 |
| Prince | EXO Rebel 95 | 95 | 3 | Prince Beast | New | 200.00 |
| Head | Speed LTD Edition XT | 100 | 4 | None | New | 100.00 |
| Head | Instinct MP XT | 100 | 2 | None | New | 100.00 |
| Head | Graphene Instinct PWR | 115 | 3 | PPS 17 | New | 150.00 |
| Head | Graphene Touch Radical PWR | 110 | 3 | FXP 16 | New | 150.00 |
| Dunlop | AeroGel Smoke | 100 | 5 | Silk 17 | New | 100.00 |
| Dunlop | M-Fil 3 Hundred | 98 | 5 | None | New | 150.00 |
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