Best rubber for TBS blade

[loop2kill]

Looking for rubber sheet recommendations for a Timo Boll Spirit blade.  I will be playing a 2 winged close to table offensive game.  Also, which Galaxy blades play like the TBS?

[Silver]

Bryce.


do you like hard or soft rubbers?

[ckhugo]

Hi Looptokill,

What rubbers have you being using till now? As I think there is a lot of preferences factor here in rubber selection.

As an example, I found TBS is good with Japanese rubbers eg Sriver & Bryce (Timo's combo, shouldn't be too bad) or some German rubbers. But I dont like tensors on that blade, as that blade tends to have fast 1st speed, so does tensors.
On the other hand, it actually worked quite well with H3 on both side as well, just a bit heavy.

So, its really a preference and what you feel comfortable I think.

H

[loop2kill]

Hi Looptokill,

What rubbers have you being using till now? As I think there is a lot of preferences factor here in rubber selection.

As an example, I found TBS is good with Japanese rubbers eg Sriver & Bryce (Timo's combo, shouldn't be too bad) or some German rubbers. But I dont like tensors on that blade, as that blade tends to have fast 1st speed, so does tensors.
On the other hand, it actually worked quite well with H3 on both side as well, just a bit heavy.

So, its really a preference and what you feel comfortable I think.

H

I switch between 2 blades right now.  One has Moristo 2000 which I find to be real "bouncy" and fast.  The blade is a 7 ply BTY Primo Powerfeeling blade with some sealing.  The other blade I play is a Andro JM Saive Kinetic OFF with Innova.  I find that I like the softer, lighter Innova even after the glue effect wears off.  Just wish it was spinnier.  Also have a SpinTech Carb-o-feel with 729-2 on it.  Played with it and couldn't keep the ball out of the net. ;)

[Der Echte]

Ich stimme Bryce, oops, I mean I agree with those who say Bryce. If you like soft and BTY, try Takifire Special Soft (very durable and surprisingly powerful) or Solcion or Bryce FX any version.

The Dawei GTO is supposed to be the most like the TBS and Rob sells it here, and the price looks to be nice enough. That is the blade I am considering buying soon. I am using the GTS and it is controlable enough for having carbon. I will probably slap on my red sheet of Bryce (when i get some TCE) and my black Quattro 42 degree 2.2 sponge.

[Silver]

If you like Innova, you could just whack that on. Magna is a touch heavier (similar sponge, slightly thicker topsheet) and it's lightly sticky.

[ckhugo]

HI Looptokill,

Looks like you are a CPEN player, and if you found Moristo 2000 too fast on an all wood 7ply blade then on a TBS you might look for a slightly slower and softer rubber since TBS is quite firm.

You can try and wack the Innova on TBS and see how it goes, but since TBS has a low throw angle I am not sure if its gonna work well..

Bryce + TBS will be requiring a lot of skill to master I believe. Both hard, fast with low throw angle.

Hugo

ps. If u didnt like 729-2, then maybe u should try Cross or Focus 1

[Silver]

I really don't think Bryce is as hard as people make it out to be, especially if you're gluing it like you're supposed to.

[ckhugo]

hey silver,

when you say proper gluing,, do you mean 5 to 6 layers or like 8 to 10 as the pro does?

[Silver]

even with 2 layers - it's not a hard rubber.

[Peter C]

Timo Boll Spirit

It's a versatile blade, that can be used with a wide selection of rubbers.

I would only suggest lower throw rubbers like Bryce, Bryce FX; if you have the skills to handle them.

A better choice are rubbers with a medium or high throw and you then have a multitude to chose from. You can also play a wider range of shots and the margin for error is greater.

Sriver in it's various guises and normal Inspirit, work fine on this blade.

I have used 2mm innova premium on the Timo Boll Spirit and although it was a decent rubber, I didn't rate it on the blade. The same goes for Aces, Six Shooter, Dr Newbauer Domination, Venus and 35% quattro, which from experience I prefer using on wooden blades, like the Instinct and Petr Korbel.

Whilst I didn't rate 35% Quattro on the blade, I do like 39% Quattro, as the throw length is more to my liking and I play a better short game with it than 35%.  

Bryce

Bryce starts to reveal it's true colours, with two or three layers of glue and a few hours of play, which loosen it up.

A fast rubber that requires good technique, timing and consistency to benefit from it's speed and power.

It is very particular about technique too, because it gets it's spin from the ball going into the sponge i.e. mechanical spin. So spin comes from the ball sinking into the rubber and catapulting out.

For counter looping and blocking, it's excellent, as your opponents speed and spin allow the ball to sink into the sponge;

Against defenders/choppers who are giving you a slower ball, you need to play through the ball, as brush looping doesn't work, but the loop drive or Chinese loop do. Looping off the bounce helps too.

I use 2.1mm Bryce on the forehand of a Michael Maze and I like the way it plays. The more I've played with it, the more I've learnt to handle it better. Initially the short game took a while to master, but that has improved a lot since i first used the rubber.

It's got less gears than slower rubbers, but when you learn to control it,  it's a pleasure to play with.

[loop2kill]

Thanks for the recommendations.  I just can't justify to myself paying over $30.00 for a sheet of rubber so Bryce is out for me....unless it reduces my cholesterol and trims 1/8 of an inch off my waistline each time I hit a winner with it.  

[Der Echte]

You are all giving me cause to drool waiting for my TBS-like GTO blade and Donic tuning product to come in. I am too much of a cheepskate to get a real TBS. I am looking for the end result to have the characteristics you have all described. I utterly destroyed my 39/40 deg Quattro (on the GTS blade) topsheet on a corner, but salvaged the sponge. Slapped on a 999 topsheet and the thing hits low as ever with a small boost in power on the fastloops. I got a two week used Bryce red 2.1 from someone who had used it on a TBS and it should fit on nicely - can hardly wait. I am anxious to try this kind of setup to develop that kind of game. I know there will be a period of adjustment as all have described, but it is a good direction to go. Glad this topic is active.

[zrrbiteDK]

I used to used Bryce FX 1,9 * 2  on my TBS. Maybe i'll have to look into this tuning business.

Thanks for the recommendations.  I just can't justify to myself paying over $30.00 for a sheet of rubber so Bryce is out for me....unless it reduces my cholesterol and trims 1/8 of an inch off my waistline each time I hit a winner with it.  

Bryce sheets cost 67 USD in denmark : (  If i could pay 30$ for a sheet of Bryce, i'd be a happy man.

[Peter C]

If you can't afford Bryce, you could try 2mm 44% Inspirit on the TBS. That worked well for me on a 91 gram TBS.

The bat weight was 186 grams, but I had no problem with that, as it was a versatile bat; which I could play all my shots with.

[Wiz]

I used to used Bryce FX 1,9 * 2  on my TBS. Maybe i'll have to look into this tuning business.

Bryce sheets cost 67 USD in denmark : (  If i could pay 30$ for a sheet of Bryce, i'd be a happy man.

No good. Tuning will also be banned come Sept. You'd just be causing yourself more grief.

I highly recommend looking at the RoXXon 450 / 500Pro or Donic Platin /Soft. The sooner you adapt to Tensors the better.

[zrrbiteDK]

I used to used Bryce FX 1,9 * 2  on my TBS. Maybe i'll have to look into this tuning business.

Bryce sheets cost 67 USD in denmark : (  If i could pay 30$ for a sheet of Bryce, i'd be a happy man.

No good. Tuning will also be banned come Sept. You'd just be causing yourself more grief.

I highly recommend looking at the RoXXon 450 / 500Pro or Donic Platin /Soft. The sooner you adapt to Tensors the better.

Ouch, thanks, i wasn't aware that tuning was also being banned.

I am in fact in the midst of testing Tensors. I've already ruled out the Platinum Soft. It's just too soft/bouncy to be worthy anything to my short/close game, and i'm scared of looking into a regular Platin due to the cost of these sheets here. A miss, happens, moving on. I use a TBS aswell, so in tune with the topic, i'd like to put something outthere:

I slapped on my old Joola Mambo GreenPower, and found that i've been making a mistake. Soft Tensors that are also relatively fast, are way too bouncy for me. I used to play with glued BryceFX which seemed a better fit. Now, i'm finding it interesting that harder tensors work alot better for my FH since the TBS allows for great deal of topspin. So my question is, which next gen tensor has the same range of hardness as the Mambo GP, with equal or more spin and the same feel? Control was adequate. I haven't been able to find Mambo GP on any hardness tables (mass.doingitwrong.net has Mambo C/H listed) so any insight is welcome.  

Thanks!

[zrrbiteDK]

Unable to edit, for some reason.

Anyway, Joolas own performance charts actually list it as 40 degrees. I'd still like to hear from someone with experience in this

[Wiz]

Not sure about the Joola Mambo. But as you've prolly read through all of these, the RoXXon doesn't have that annoying pop / bounce that most of the soft sponge tensors exhibit.

I know this ones a bit more expensive but what about Bryce Speed?

[zrrbiteDK]

Hey Wiz,

Thanks for your responses.

Actually the Bryce Speed / FX and the RoXon 450 are priced the same here, so that shouldn't be a problem. I'd love to try out some newer incarnation of Bryce since i've always played with butterfly. For some reason, (mostly economic if it's a miss), i'm a bit worried about buying anything BUT a tensor now. I have no idea how the Bryce Speed sheets play compared to tensors which i'm getting more used to, how durable they are, and all that.

Q1:  How do you find Bryce Speed FX and even Bryce Speed if you've tried it?
Q2: Which Roxxon do you think would work best on a carbon-acrylate blade?

I've heard almost no negative things about the 450, yet some bad things about the 500 (Lack of feel, etc. which might have just been blade specific).

Thanks!

[Wiz]

Q1:  How do you find Bryce Speed FX and even Bryce Speed if you've tried it?
Q2: Which Roxxon do you think would work best on a carbon-acrylate blade?

Thanks!

I haven't actually used the normal Bryce Speed, but Bryce Speed FX is a very very low throw rubber, I find it has good control and quite good SG effect. But I think it might be better suited for a soft composite / all wood blade, the MJ is quite hard and I think it needs an even softer sponge and higher throw rubber.

As for RoXXon on a TBS or Arlyte Carbon blade, I would go the 450, I've got it on my Strad atm which works really really nicely :) The HS7 happens to be my comp setup atm too :)

[zrrbiteDK]

Thanks, Wiz.

I feel more confident to try out the Roxxon 450 now : )