tuned rubbers (10)

tuned rubbers
by jed 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by ZoranV 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by jed 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by ZoranV 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by Ben 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by jed 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by JRSDallas 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by jed 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by JRSDallas 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by JED 17 years ago

Re: tuned rubbers
by ZoranV 17 years ago

The following message (subject: Re: tuned rubbers) was posted by JRSDallas, on 1/10/2008 2:17:55 PM:

Don't confuse rubbers with "built-in speed glue effect" with "tuned" rubbers.

Some rubbers have built in speed glue effect (Donic F1, Joola Energy, etc). These rubbers are manufactured with high tension built in and they are fragile but the speed glue feel does not decay over time.

In contrast, "tuned" rubbers are factory impregnated with an additive that gives a "speed glue" feel and performance. Tuned rubbers are often shipped in foil lined airtight packages and the impregnated material and effect slowly leave the rubber over time.

I think that Butterfly Power Sponge was the first "tuned" rubber product. This product provided excellent speed-glue effect when new but the effect wore off within weeks. Worse, the rubber shrunk very rapidly - 1 cm in a week! In order to get any life from these rubbers, the proper instruction was that you should not remove them from you racket so that the shrinkage would slow (since less sponge face is exposed to air to allow for diffusion), and that you should store the racket with sponge attached in a foil bag.

Improvements have probably improved these "tuned" rubbers (Butterfly tuned, Stiga tuned, etc) but what little reports are available still show that such "tuned" rubbers shrink quickly and so you should make sure that once you attach them, leave them attached. If you ever remove a tuned sheet to add some speed glue, the sheet immediately shrinks since the glue on the blade is no longer there to keep it stretched to the size of the blade.

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