I have given my racket to a couple of people to observe.. and ALL of their initial tendencies include holding onto the top of the head, and the grip, then bend it..

For example, one of my rackets is brand new and stiff purposely, someone asks for it, looks at it, swings it, then bends it repeatedly.. when i say bend, i dont mean little bend, i mean.. it bends enough for me to worry.

I am not a racket expert, but i suspect the fibers in the rackets are not intended to bend that much, and bending it only makes it weaker until it breaks at one point.

So am I paranoid about my racket breaking, (i tell them to stop bending it because of that).. and losing its quality.. or do others in this forum feel the same way?

EDIT: please dont just reply with "dont give other people your racket" cuz i try my best not to already

I have given my racket to a couple of people to observe.. and ALL of their initial tendencies include holding onto the top of the head, and the grip, then bend it..

For example, one of my rackets is brand new and stiff purposely, someone asks for it, looks at it, swings it, then bends it repeatedly.. when i say bend, i dont mean little bend, i mean.. it bends enough for me to worry.

I am not a racket expert, but i suspect the fibers in the rackets are not intended to bend that much, and bending it only makes it weaker until it breaks at one point.

So am I paranoid about my racket breaking, (i tell them to stop bending it because of that).. and losing its quality.. or do others in this forum feel the same way?

EDIT: please dont just reply with "dont give other people your racket" cuz i try my best not to already

Agree...I have this experience lots of time and I am damn pissed :mad: at those people. I remember an uncle once told me that the new generation of racquets should not be bent as he showed me a broken racquet that the inside is made of splints of carbon binded tightly together and that if you bend it too much, these splints break and "viola" there goes your racquet...
as the performance will drop...

Im not sure about this as some people say that bending the racquet lets them know about the balance of the racquet but I think that's rubbish. I reckon when they bend the racquet, they just wanted to act like a pro testing it with their chins held high and looking at it at an angle as if they know but in the end destroying your "babe" and rubbish comes out of their mouth...cos I showed my fake MP99 once to an uncle and he was bending it like anything which pisses me off and saying it was a good racquet while it was actually fake. I think they just look at the brand and that's how they determine whether it is a good racquet or not...:mad:

Anyway, does anyone know whether bending the racquet is good for the racquet ??

believe or not. you bend your racket more and more often during regular games. if you look at photos of the racket at the moment of impact, you will be surprised how much the racket is bent.

so i say don't worry about it.

I have given my racket to a couple of people to observe.. and ALL of their initial tendencies include holding onto the top of the head, and the grip, then bend it..

For example, one of my rackets is brand new and stiff purposely, someone asks for it, looks at it, swings it, then bends it repeatedly.. when i say bend, i dont mean little bend, i mean.. it bends enough for me to worry.

I am not a racket expert, but i suspect the fibers in the rackets are not intended to bend that much, and bending it only makes it weaker until it breaks at one point.

So am I paranoid about my racket breaking, (i tell them to stop bending it because of that).. and losing its quality.. or do others in this forum feel the same way?

EDIT: please dont just reply with "dont give other people your racket" cuz i try my best not to already
...haha....i know what you mean...one of my friends also has a really bad habit of bending racquets...he'll like ask to check out someone's racquet...and then bend it...if it's stiff...he'll push it to the max until the owner takes it away from him...but if it's flexible...he'll conclude that it sucks...if the owners lucky...he'll pay no more attention to it. if the owner's unlucky...he'll run around with the person's racquet laughing his @$$ off showing other people how much he can bend it and make a big joke about it...i personally don't like how people bend my racquets sometimes...but i do it too just to check how flexible my racquets are...and if i see someone getting close to that uncomfortable point when they bend my racquet...i'll be like "hey" and tell them to stop or ask for my racquet back...:cool:

I have given my racket to a couple of people to observe.. and ALL of their initial tendencies include holding onto the top of the head, and the grip, then bend it..

For example, one of my rackets is brand new and stiff purposely, someone asks for it, looks at it, swings it, then bends it repeatedly.. when i say bend, i dont mean little bend, i mean.. it bends enough for me to worry.

I am not a racket expert, but i suspect the fibers in the rackets are not intended to bend that much, and bending it only makes it weaker until it breaks at one point.

So am I paranoid about my racket breaking, (i tell them to stop bending it because of that).. and losing its quality.. or do others in this forum feel the same way?

EDIT: please dont just reply with "dont give other people your racket" cuz i try my best not to already
See what you mean, yes i hate people doing that to my rackets that they think they are all flexibility tester. Anyway rackets are designed to bend quite significantly as you can see in some action photos in a game. But deliberate and repetitive bending within a short period of time (like what those "flexibility tester" do) in my opinion is not good to the structure, as everything has a designed limit.

And to tell everyone the truth, bending a racket like this cannot tell its flexibility accurately, nor if a racket is good or not. Swinging it in the air tells very little either. The best way to judge a racket is to play with it for a game or two. ;)

I have given my racket to a couple of people to observe.. and ALL of their initial tendencies include holding onto the top of the head, and the grip, then bend it..

For example, one of my rackets is brand new and stiff purposely, someone asks for it, looks at it, swings it, then bends it repeatedly.. when i say bend, i dont mean little bend, i mean.. it bends enough for me to worry.

I am not a racket expert, but i suspect the fibers in the rackets are not intended to bend that much, and bending it only makes it weaker until it breaks at one point.

So am I paranoid about my racket breaking, (i tell them to stop bending it because of that).. and losing its quality.. or do others in this forum feel the same way?

EDIT: please dont just reply with "dont give other people your racket" cuz i try my best not to already

Were you only asked for your racquet back? It happened to me too. I was very surprised that someone could be so rude and stupid. In an impulse, I thought he was going to break it and he almost got a violent reaction from me. I shouted at the person and never again played badminton with him. :mad:

The event was several years ago. Now, when someone asks to touch my racquet, I will tell the person beforehand not to bend it.

Trying your best not to??! What's so hard about saying "NO"? I bend a new racquet too whenever I want to check it out. However, the only difference is that I bent the shaft slightly to gauge its resistance, not how far I could bend the shaft.

Also, shaft testing should be done holding the top of the frame and the CONE instead of the handle as the distance between the sweet spot and the handle is roughly the same as the distance between the top of the frame and the cone.

EDIT: please dont just reply with "dont give other people your racket" cuz i try my best not to already

Heh! He could have been SUPER~ME!'s buddy:D!

Were you only asked for your racquet back? It happened to me too. I was very surprised that someone could be so rude and stupid. In an impulse, I thought he was going to break it and he almost got a violent reaction from me. I shouted at the person and never again played badminton with him. :mad:

Trying your best not to??! What's so hard about saying "NO"? I bend a new racquet too whenever I want to check it out. However, the only difference is that I bent the shaft slightly to gauge its resistance, not how far I could bend the shaft.

Also, shaft testing should be done holding the top of the frame and the CONE instead of the handle as the distance between the sweet spot and the handle is roughly the same as the distance between the top of the frame and the cone.

Saying "no" directly in someone's face may be too offensive and may end up in an uncomfortable situation which may spoil the game:cool:.

It is... but then again you're talking about handing over $100 worth of equipment to another person. There had better be TRUST in the person if you're gonna agree to something like that;).

Saying "no" directly in someone's face may be too offensive and may end up in an uncomfortable situation which may spoil the game:cool:.

I agree with Kwun. It may look alarming, but your precious racket is perfectly safe ;)

Heh! He could have been SUPER~ME!'s buddy:D!

I was horrified to see the racquet near its breaking point :(. Although I managed to grab his hands from further bending and holding, I had a feeling that the damage was already done to the racquet. I was into cycling at the time and heard so much about sudden breakage to the carbon fiber bike frame. They did improve the making of the frame after that.

i dun care about ppl bending my racket as a good racket is designed for hard smash...

JMO

I think the safest way when asked to seeing your new racket, tell them NOT to test bending it(unless he/she is knowledgable about racket). If they want to know its flex, let him rally a few shot with it. They will know more than just the racket stiffness. Since u had gave permission to let him check out your racket, if he broke it, u have no recourse since u gave them the permission 'to check' without condition.

Yes, bending it will accelerate the wear and tear factor, since it's ur racket, it is u should be doing the wearing and tearing. About it's safe or not, stress/strain during manual bending isnt the same as shaft bending during a smash.

JMO

believe or not. you bend your racket more and more often during regular games. if you look at photos of the racket at the moment of impact, you will be surprised how much the racket is bent.

so i say don't worry about it.

However, during play, the racket only gets bent for a fraction of a sec, then quickly bounce back to the normal form on its own reflex. Some local players tend to bent the racket, and let it stay in weired form for at least 3-5 sec. Not sure if such attempt will cause the actual damage.

However, during play, the racket only gets bent for a fraction of a sec, then quickly bounce back to the normal form on its own reflex. Some local players tend to bent the racket, and let it stay in weired form for at least 3-5 sec. Not sure if such attempt will cause the actual damage.

furthermore, most bend it out of curiosity, not really knowing what they're doing. There r still some AT700 and Ti-10 owners think their own racket is extra stiff or stiff, even tho they own it, bend it many times over and use it for months

i agree totally with cappy75. when i bend a racquet when i encounter it for the first time, its silghtly, to see how easy or hard it is to bend, to guage resistence as he had mentioned. basically to compare it to what i'm used to.

but the racquets are bent and twisted in action more than what we can bend with our hands, so i don't generally worry too much about it.

i agree totally with cappy75. when i bend a racquet when i encounter it for the first time, its silghtly, to see how easy or hard it is to bend, to guage resistence as he had mentioned. basically to compare it to what i'm used to.

but the racquets are bent and twisted in action more than what we can bend with our hands, so i don't generally worry too much about it.

Agree also. I don't think bending a racket (so long as it is not excessive) will hurt it. However, I once lent my racket for someone and he took a swing to test the flexibility. But then he quickly stopped in mid swing. Now I think that can snap the shaft.

i agree totally with cappy75. when i bend a racquet when i encounter it for the first time, its silghtly, to see how easy or hard it is to bend, to guage resistence as he had mentioned. basically to compare it to what i'm used to.

but the racquets are bent and twisted in action more than what we can bend with our hands, so i don't generally worry too much about it.

'slightly' is a subjective measurement. Since no one want to break their friend racket or pay for the damage, everyone think they're are bending it 'slightly', like in yawnexpensive's case

For example, one of my rackets is brand new and stiff purposely, someone asks for it, looks at it, swings it, then bends it repeatedly.. when i say bend, i dont mean little bend, i mean.. it bends enough for me to worry.


Would you handover a remote control of your expensive stereo system to your acquaintence friend (of unknown audiophile knowledge) to test your equipment? Would you give your key of your new porsche 911 to your friend to try out when u dunno if he know how to drive a manual or know his driving ability? He promise only to drive it no faster than 90 mph (far below 911's capability), or let him rev up the engine and from the muffler sound guess the red line rpm. It should be 'perfectly' safe, right?

believe or not. you bend your racket more and more often during regular games. if you look at photos of the racket at the moment of impact, you will be surprised how much the racket is bent.

so i say don't worry about it.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

And, if you are truly worried about it, do not let people touch your racket. It's *your* racket. You have the option to say "no". You just have to put your foot down and be more stern. :p

Ding! Ding! Ding!

And, if you are truly worried about it, do not let people touch your racket. It's *your* racket. You have the option to say "no". You just have to put your foot down and be more stern. :p

Some people doesnt just take the "no" and leave. They might force you to let them bend it :rolleyes:

Ding! Ding! Ding!

And, if you are truly worried about it, do not let people touch your racket. It's *your* racket. You have the option to say "no". You just have to put your foot down and be more stern. :p

or it could sounds like

Snap! Crackle! Pop! :D

I wouldn't go that far of not letting people touching my toys :)

Some people doesnt just take the "no" and leave. They might force you to let them bend it :rolleyes:

I don't mind and let people use my U.S. Yonex rackets all the time. I don't mind if they bend the racket either because, like Kwun said, the racket bends much more during play.

But if I did mind, believe me, no one would be using or bending my rackets. :p

It's simple to avoid letting people use your rackets, just zip up your bag and not have the rackets assessible. And if a Player asks, just say no sorry. And if the Player is going to be bold enough to open up your bag without your permission, they need to get smacked upside the head anyway so that would be a good time to "bend" your racket. ;) :p

I wouldn't go that far of not letting people touching my toys :)

Like I said above, I don't mind.

But for people that do, there's nothing wrong with saying "no". It's *your* racket. You paid for it with your hard earned money. If you don't feel comfortable letting people use/bend/whatever to your racket, then just say "no". And if you feel you don't have the willpower to say "no", then let them use your racket and don't complain about it on The Net. :p

Like I said above, I don't mind.

But for people that do, there's nothing wrong with saying "no". It's *your* racket. You paid for it with your hard earned money. If you don't feel comfortable letting people use/bend/whatever to your racket, then just say "no". And if you feel you don't have the willpower to say "no", then let them use your racket and don't complain about it on The Net. :p

you're an ex- 230lbfootball player, it's easy for you to say no, people listen or else you'll give them your dose of excessive BENDING of their limbs :D

http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20547&page=13&pp=10

(can u tell us how u came to badminton from football, see above thread link)

you're an ex- 230lbfootball player, it's easy for you to say no, people listen or else you'll BEND their limbs :D

http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20547&page=13&pp=10

(can u tell us how u came to badminton from football, see above thread link)

Actually, football was so long ago, I was only 210lbs. then. I also ran track: my best standing long jump: 9'6", not bad for a person 5'11" (can't do that now, can maybe only jump 8' 6" or something now) played tennis, baseball, team handball, volleyball and most recently slow-pitch softball.

When I started playing Badminton I was 249-250lbs. :p Now I'm down to 220lbs. and gained a lot more speed. :D

I got out of each sport because I got injured in one way or another. I picked up Badminton because it's relatively injury free if you take the proper precautions; and I didn't know Badminton could be such a fast and explosive sport. Had I know this, I would have taken up Badminton when I was 10. :p

So yeah, I'm down to only 220lbs. now, see how skinny I am? :D

http://img183.echo.cx/img183/7936/kick0mn.jpg

Actually, football was so long ago, I was only 210lbs. then. I also ran track: my best standing long jump: 9'6", not bad for a person 5'11" (can't do that now, can maybe only jump 8' 6" or something now) played tennis, baseball, team handball, volleyball and most recently slow-pitch softball.

When I started playing Badminton I was 249-250lbs. :p Now I'm down to 220lbs. and gained a lot more speed. :D

I got out of each sport because I got injured in one way or another. I picked up Badminton because it's relatively injury free if you take the proper precautions; and I didn't know Badminton could be such a fast and explosive sport. Had I know this, I would have taken up Badminton when I was 10. :p

So yeah, I'm down to only 220lbs. now, see how skinny I am? :D

http://img183.echo.cx/img183/7936/kick0mn.jpg

:O What a big clump of leg muscle you have!

Why is everyone so scared of bending their racquet? I bend mine all the time!!! They are meant to be bendy!!!