BG85 lifetime

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by Cheung, Nov 5, 2001.

  1. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    This is how long BG 85 really lasts with feather shuttles when using one racquet exclusively.

    Played one sesssion of singles (two hours equiv to 6 games of singles)
    One session of training (one hour)
    Part session of doubles games (halfway through 2nd game)
    String broke in centre of racquet.

    Only 3 and a half hours........

    What about other users of BG85?
     
  2. Tony Halim

    Tony Halim Guest

    It depends on the tension too right?
    I mean, if I string my racket with the BG85 strings at 18 lbs, it could probably last a lifetime! : )

    But seriously, I used to string my rackets with BG85 at 23/25lbs.
    They last at least 3 weeks of hard playing.
    After 3 weeks, they always lose tension and I cut them before they even break.
    So I don't really know how long they can last me before breaking.

    Nowadays I use either BG68Ti or BG65.
    IMO, BG68Ti retains tension much better than BG85.
    My MP77 is strung with BG68Ti at 23/25lbs and have lasted more than 2 months without breaking or losing tension.
    Its still going strong now!

    BG65 don't hold/retain tension that well.
    However it feels very good while it lasts and most importantly - its cheap!
     
  3. Yogi

    Yogi Regular Member

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    Hey man i think it all comes down to style of play and stuff like that! i dont think i have to doubt the quality of your game mate! I have heard that u are damn good!

    I think for somelike you Bg 85 will not come for much but then 3.5 hrs is ridiculous!

    I guess i have no answers but then i odnt expect it come for more than a Week of hard playing!
     
  4. Gladius

    Gladius Regular Member

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    For, it longest it lasted (before I cut it ) was about 40 hours ( 3 months) of solid playing time.

    I play at least twice a week, which works out to about 3 hours a week of game play. And over 12-13 weeks, you get 40 hours.

    I strung it at 23-23 lbs on my MP-100 then. I had to cut it as its tension was getting deplorable and it was fraying really badly in the centre.
     
  5. Sony

    Sony Guest

    Played twice a week since late September and my BG85 is holding up pretty well. I'm not a heavy smasher or just smash all the time so my BG85's hold up very well. There are only two spots on the sweet spot that has signs of wear and tear. Tension(22M/24C) is holding up pretty well. I think the strings can last till the end of this year and get it restrung for January when the season starts again. I can believe if you are a hard hitter then BG85 can only last a few weeks.
     
  6. Ricky

    Ricky Regular Member

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    I've played twice a week and BG85 (at ~25 lbs) can last for at least 2 months. Just like the others, I usually cut it before it breaks due to drop in tension.

    I think it was broken so fast because your smashes are terribly powerful. :) I wonder how long BG66 can last on your hand ...
     
  7. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    But guys......

    Thanks for the compliments about the smashing power but I had a very frustating doubles match in a recent tournament where I couldn't get through the opponent's defence. This was also despite introducing variation in angle and power. It's very humbling and I wonder how to increase the power. I don't consider myself to have a hard smash rather it's only average.

    How do you all manage to make your BG85 last so long? It's really surprising.
    I string at 25lbs so I guess that makes 25M-27C.

    This was actually an experiment because I tend to rotate racquets around. I always have one or two racquets that are broken at anyone time so it was a bit difficult to judge the frequency of racquet restrings before.

    I am trying BG80 at 26lbs but haven't got the hang of things. The string is lasting longer though!! If the worst comes to the worst, I'll consider going back to BG65 at 30lbs which will loosen up to about 28lbs. The reason why? I got hold of one of Chen Hong's racquets which was strung at this tension (or rather estimated to be at this tension) and I seemed to play OK with it (until it broke during a tournament).
     
  8. jhl

    jhl Regular Member

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    Re: But guys......

    like they say: you're damn good. it must that smash of yours. gosh..its something else

    seriously, 3.5 hours sounds a bit severe. do you have similarly experience with other guts?
     
  9. Gladius

    Gladius Regular Member

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    Re: But guys......

    Cheung,

    You should check your grommets for damage which may have resulted in it cutting into the strings. Or check your stringer the next time you string it. The proper way to string a racket is to at least wax the strings after the mains have been tensioned and prior to laying the cross strings. This way, it prevents the pulling of the cross strings from cutting into the main strings and damaging them when they are pulled over.
     
  10. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Re: But guys......

    The grommets are in quite fair condition for that particular racquet.
    Do u find waxing affects the feel?

    My stringer is the same as Ricky's stringer (I think).


    jhl.........the smash can still improve!

    Ever seen Chan Chi Choi smash? Now that's what I call a smash.
     
  11. Gladius

    Gladius Regular Member

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    Re: But guys......

    Nope .. I've not. But I have seen Halim Haryanto to it in 'Live' action competition. When he did a full, unreserved jump-smash from the baseline while partnering Tony Gunawan.

    Whoohh ... you can actually hear the flight of the shuttle and the 'swoosh' of the racket ... !!! I'm not kidding!

    Well, fact that I was sitting like only 5-10 metres away him probably made it even more impressive.
     
  12. Kelvin

    Kelvin Regular Member

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    Extending grommet life...

    I've noticed one other person do this with their grommets while stringing...
    Rotate the grommet approximately a 90degree angle away. that way you can use 4 sides, as opposed to the two that I've seen a lot of stringers use. Just my thought.
    I haven't noticed my bg85s really breaking that fast. BG80 even lasts longer! and to be honest, for me it played better than the 85 for some reason. Less trampoline effect. Strings that bounce too much may break from that same bouncing... the whipping back. One thing is for sure though... the 85s do lose tension, no so great on my racquets since i've started using other techniques, but I have seen other people's go from 23lbs or so, down to 20 within 1 week, and only 1 night of play for about 2-3 hours. Its really too bad over here in North America in some regions that there is such a large variance in temperatures between night and day. I try to store my equipment in an area that will stay relatively the same. Could this also have affected your string life as well? or perhaps it was a poor batch of bg85?
    Just my thoughts.
    -Kelvin
     
  13. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Re: Extending grommet life...

    Sorry to disappoint you Kelvin........I've already rotated a number of the grommets.
    It's good that great minds(and good looking guys like us!) do think alike :)

    I didn't notice such a loss of tension at 25lbs..the temperature here is does not vary so much in a 24 hour period.

    regarding the lifetime of BG85, I was speaking to a very experienced player and before I even finished my sentence, he said it would only last 2 sessions.

    BTW, the BG80 is holding up so far but I've been playing badly the last few sessions so not playing the usual shots so well.
     
  14. Ricky

    Ricky Regular Member

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    Re: Extending grommet life...

    2 sessions ? Then he probably can't use BG66 as it may break after one game ... :)
     
  15. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    another theory

    Gladius,

    I saw your other post in the market forum.
    Certainly I am surprised you can make BG85 last so long. Are u using the same racquet exclusively or rotating between a couple of racquets?
    Same with Ricky as well.

    Kelvin, the strings in HK come from M'sia. Although I haven't done the same test at different times with different batches of strings, I am sure BG85 doesn;t last long in my hands. The only reason I didn;t notice the short life span is due to me having at least four racquets strung with BG85 and at any one time, there is always at least one racquet waiting to be strung.


    how about this for an explanation: since I play singles a lot, that means every alternate shot isplayed by my racquet. In doubles, we could expect the racquet to play the shuttle 25% of the time (on average).
    This could then extend the life of the strings by double the time.
    Assuming two sessions a week, a doubling of the time might make the strings last 3-4 weeks.
    The sessions I played during that little experiment with a single racquet and BG 85 involved very little resting time - just a couple of minutes. But in a normal session of doubles, there may be 'resting time' of 15mins between each game. This would also stretch out the lifetime of the strings perhaps now to just over a month.

    Use two racquets interchangably and then the 'perceived lifetime' may stretch to 3 months.

    Since I play 3 to 4 times a week with each session quite intensively, then perhaps my strings lasting only one week is not so surprising. However, this still doesn't mean I'm satisfied. :)

    Gladius, if I come to S'pore I would like to try out your racquet with BG85! Is that OK with you?
     
  16. Gladius

    Gladius Regular Member

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    Re: another theory

    Well Cheung,

    I used to alternate between my many rackets as I was still experimenting on what is ideal for me. But as time has it, I've settled on the MP-100 over the past 3-4 months. I hardly use the other rackets anymore except when I think I want to do some strokes training or I feel like doing some serious, mindless ' whacking' with my Ti-10. But that happens about only 20% of the time actually.

    The hours I quote are that of the time I'm playing with my MP-100 only. There are other additonal sessions here and there which I have not added.

    Really, I think you should check how your stringer does the stringing. It makes a difference.
     
  17. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Re: another theory

    I did watch him for a few minutes. It seemed no different to other people. But I shall follow your advice and try a different stringer.
     
  18. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    Re: another theory

    since i string racket, i like to add to here what i've observed. One client of mine (B player, plastic shuttle play) i have strung bg85 (23-24 lb)on his ti sp sx for the past 1.5 years. He play twice a week, all double games. Durability is about 2.25 to 2.5 months
     
  19. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    Re: another theory

    i forgot to convert that in hour of playing time: 3 hrs x 2 x 9.5 weeks less 20% for waiting for courts ~ 45 hrs of play time
     
  20. Gladius

    Gladius Regular Member

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    Re: another theory

    Cheung,

    what's important is not the stringer but how he does it. The waxing part before pulling in the cross strings is very important in my opinion. It can mean about 50% and more difference in the durability of the string actually! Given all else being equal that is : racket condition, technique, string tension etc.
     

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