A short story about string tension

**Gollum** · 04-22-2005, 05:23 AM

Well, I played last night, and the strings were too soft

I estimate they have relaxed from 25 lbs to 22 lbs.

Looks like I need to experiment some more. Perhaps I will try another string soon, because my BG 65 seems to have lost about 3 lbs of tension!

**wood_22_chuck** · 04-22-2005, 01:45 PM

An option could be to try 1 lb higher, 26lb so it would drop down to 23lb.

-dave

**ants** · 04-22-2005, 02:01 PM

I do agree with tension problem. Since one of my racket cracked due to stringer's job before. After not using it for a long time.. i decided to cut the strings and restring it at if i'm not mistaken at 20lbs. Which i think was the lowest. One of the reason i string so low is because i gave the racket to a fren to use. She didnt realised that she was using a 25lbs tensioned racket. ( lost tensioned due to time factor, Original tension was 28lbs even when the racket was cracked ). When i see her play , i was like my gosh , her shots were Very very off. Well i didnt complained much since she is a beginner. Guess what the next day she complained ARM , SHOULDER ache! What was i thinking letting a begginner to use high tension racket.
Anyway after few days , she played with the newly strung racket 20lbs. I can see improvement of her shots and placing. However, when i try that racket just for fun for a game of singles.. my shots were very off and my return most of them are out! I can't really control it.. thats why you really have to try out different tension until it suits you and your play.

**Gollum** · 04-23-2005, 09:36 AM

Originally Posted by wood_22_chuck

An option could be to try 1 lb higher, 26lb so it would drop down to 23lb.

-dave

Yes, that's probably what I'll do. I have another pack of bg 65 just sitting around, so I might as well use it.

**__Lam** · 05-06-2005, 02:45 PM

Erm.. this is a noob question but how do you tell your string tension. Like if it was 23 mains and 25 crosses do you use the middle 24lbs of tension?

**chickenpoodle** · 05-08-2005, 01:03 AM

i find the whole string tension thing to be rather complicated.
perhaps your racquet is originally strung at 25lbs, but obviously this drops.
after a week, if someone asks you what your string tension is, do you tell them 25lbs? or 23lbs? perhaps 24lbs?

i normally ask my friend who strung my racquets to do them at 24lbs.
they feel hard for the first day or so, and after that, it all settles back to normalcy. i'm guessing 24lbs will be to high, and after a day, it drops to maybe 23lbs. so i'm guessing 23lbs is my acceptable range? or is it 24lbs?

when determining our acceptable range, do we account for this creep in tension or not?

my friend just left town, and so i'll have to find a new stringer in due time. luckily i got him to freshly redo mines before he left.
hopefully the stories of discrepancy between calibration and such between stringers are not as serious as some sound to be... or else i'll be starting from scratch again.

Originally Posted by __Lam

Erm.. this is a noob question but how do you tell your string tension. Like if it was 23 mains and 25 crosses do you use the middle 24lbs of tension?

the weaving of the crosses within the mains will tighten the lower tensioned mains to the higher tension of the crosses, because they are displaced as the strings are weaved.

mains are strung first, and they are straight.
but when you weave the crosses in and out, it displaces the straightness, further increasing the tension.

so if it was 23/25lbs, the 23lbs is pulled up to 25lbs.

**Gollum** · 05-19-2005, 05:26 PM

An update:

After taking some advice from my stringer, I tried Ashaway MicroLegend string @ 23 lbs. His idea is that this string holds tension well.

I shall have to see next week, but tonight accuracy was high again and my smashes went BANG!

**Gollum** · 06-18-2005, 06:20 AM

For all you string enthusiasts out there, I can confirm that the Ashaway MicroLegend string holds tension much better than BG-65

The feeling is still crisp after several weeks, though not as crisp as the first week.

Next time it will be 24 lbs...

So, moral of the story (revisited): don't be afraid to experiment with strings and tensions. Be methodical, change only one variable at a time, and you can gain very useful information about what strings and tensions suit you.

**Bak Kut Teh** · 06-18-2005, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by HBI1204

I started off 2 years ago stringing a cheap prince racket(cannot remember the model) with 25lbs of tension.. u're right, every overhead clears i made would end up half-court.. then i upgraded my racket to Gosen 3400, still at 25lbs of tension with the same stringer, i had no such problems as i had before with my prince racket.. so i guess the racket also plays a part in this.. it's just a thought though.. BTW now i'm playng LF Ti500 strung with Gosen TecGut Tour (0.66mm) @ 30lbs..

Maybe i'm just lucky not to get hurt playing at such high tension from the start but frankly speaking i havent find my limit yet as far as string tension is concerned but for now i wouldnt dare to go more than 30lbs... maybe one day if i have lots of money & got nothing 2 loose, i might try 32lbs next..

30lbs ? holly mama..tai goh u sure have good strong back shoulder muscle to swing your racquet around with...geng !

**LouisW** · 07-15-2005, 01:58 AM

Originally Posted by Gollum

For all you string enthusiasts out there, I can confirm that the Ashaway MicroLegend string holds tension much better than BG-65

The feeling is still crisp after several weeks, though not as crisp as the first week.

Next time it will be 24 lbs...

So, moral of the story (revisited): don't be afraid to experiment with strings and tensions. Be methodical, change only one variable at a time, and you can gain very useful information about what strings and tensions suit you.

Dear Gollum,

I bought a RSL Millenium-5 EnergyTi 5130 recently and strung with Protech 0.66mm string at 24Ibs. The first day I play with this new racquet, the feel is great and smash is powerful. However, after 2 games play (about 2 weeks times) I found out that the string is no longer that powerful so I cut it and strung with BG-80 at 23Ibs.

Now, this is where the problem occurred. I realized that I can't smash as hard as before.

I will apprecited if you could give me some advise to the above matter.

Thanks.

**SpeedMaster** · 07-16-2005, 03:39 PM

RightYo ! Am on an RSL 3200 with a BG66 @ 24 (first time) and it feels great at first, kept hitting faster though control ain't there at first. Waiting for the string to relax to about 23 or 22 maybe then i'd have better control

**Pete LSD** · 07-27-2005, 12:22 AM

Here is another aurhtoritative source on string tension and playability:

http://www.clearonebadminton.com/stringing.html

String Tension Power Control Durability Player Type
15-20 lbs High Low High Beginner
20-25 lbs Moderate Medium Medium Mid-Level
25-30 lbs Medium High Low Profesional

**Gollum** · 07-31-2005, 07:15 AM

Originally Posted by LouisW

Dear Gollum,

I bought a RSL Millenium-5 EnergyTi 5130 recently and strung with Protech 0.66mm string at 24Ibs. The first day I play with this new racquet, the feel is great and smash is powerful. However, after 2 games play (about 2 weeks times) I found out that the string is no longer that powerful so I cut it and strung with BG-80 at 23Ibs.

Now, this is where the problem occurred. I realized that I can't smash as hard as before.

I will apprecited if you could give me some advise to the above matter.

Thanks.

You'd probably be better sticking with 24 lbs, but looking for strings that hold tension well. You might try the Ashaway Microlegend string, which I've had good results with. Or ask other people about their experiences

**coops241180** · 07-31-2005, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by Gollum

You'd probably be better sticking with 24 lbs, but looking for strings that hold tension well. You might try the Ashaway Microlegend string, which I've had good results with. Or ask other people about their experiences

totally agree with all your points gollum - i use the Ashaway MicroLegendXL (used by the likes of Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson) strung to 24lbs - usually holds the tension for 7-10 weeks of me playing 4/5 times a week. I'm always pleased with it.. won't be changing a thing...

**ChNwEi310** · 08-07-2005, 10:47 PM

My friend in china strings his at 33lbs, I'm very suprised it doesn't snap the racket, but he hits hard...VERY hard.

**Average** · 08-21-2005, 07:18 PM

whoa!! the people that restring the racquets here wont even go near pulling that high of a tension.

**fishmilk** · 08-24-2005, 11:50 PM

yeah that's why I have my own machine now, my stringer denied 25lbs on my Cab30MS in mint condition. It was a 2U racquet too! She said it was an SP version and she'll only do 23, I battled hard for 24 and ultimately failed, now she will never do business with me again!