what to do about Raquet Balance and Grip

[Hanyuduck2005]

You guy all know that AT 700 is head heavy:) .....but when i add an over grip to the raquet, i can tell the point of balance will move towards were normal balaced raquets are...(which i dont like).....what should i do inorder to keep the same balance of my AT 700 as before adding the overgrip?:( :confused: :confused:

[Dill]

You can change your string!!

Changing from the original string to natural gut has made my racket feel head heavy, the stripping of all the grip and regripping with one layer of grap and one towel grip made it feel more evenly balanced, when I got it back it felt very head heavy.

[Neil Nicholls]

Adding an overgrip will change the static balance point, but will do very little to the angular moment of inertia because the overgrip is so close to the main axis of rotation (your hand).

[ynexfan2003]

Originally posted by Neil Nicholls
Adding an overgrip will change the static balance point, but will do very little to the angular moment of inertia because the overgrip is so close to the main axis of rotation (your hand).

That sounds like European English, I mean the style of English now used among members of the European parliament which, like French some years ago, can be understood only by those who don't speak the original language. Are there any MEP's here willing to offer a translation?

However, Neil is quite right; while playing, the effective balance point would start not at the end of the handle, but at the point where you hold the racquet. If you're still concerned about the racquet being too head-light, perhaps you should solder a piece of metal to the top of the frame; the obvious drawback is that you'll have to play with the same strings forever, but at least the racquet will remain head-heavy.

[ptang777]

Originally posted by Neil Nicholls
Adding an overgrip will change the static balance point, but will do very little to the angular moment of inertia because the overgrip is so close to the main axis of rotation (your hand).

My friend had an AT 700 G5 with 3-4 layers of overgrip. It felt very headlight when I swung it. I then peeled off one layer at a time and swung it a few times after each layer until all the overgrip was gone. Each time I removed a layer, the racquet felt a bit more head heavy. With no overgrip on, it felt really head heavy compared with my Forza Kevlar 600 CF. With all the layers of overgrip, it actually felt slightly head lighter than my Forza.

So, for me, one extra layer does make a little bit of difference, 2 layer definately makes a difference and 3 layers is two completely different feeling racquets.

[ptang777]

Originally posted by Hanyuduck2005
...what should i do inorder to keep the same balance of my AT 700 as before adding the overgrip?:( :confused: :confused:

Why not try getting used to the new feel. It might take a week or two but if you can't get used to it you could always add lead tape to the head of the racquet.