Alternatives to lead tape.

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by Danstevens, Nov 29, 2008.

  1. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,197
    Likes Received:
    6
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Hi everyone, does anyone have any ideas for alternatives to lead tape? I tend to add quite a lot to my rackets (BP of 330-345mm after my mods. I may go for more this time) and I was wondering if there was anything denser, so I could compromise the aerodynamics less. I'm good at applying lead, but the quantities I need are bound to have a negative affect on the aerodynamics of my rackets.

    Also, is there anything I can do to the handle of the racket (other than shaving it and using thinner grips) to make it lighter? I'm guessing not, but I may as well ask.
     
  2. jymbalaya

    jymbalaya Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2007
    Messages:
    977
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    United States
    ask taneepak. i am sure he has some amazing methods. one, if i remember correctly, opening up the grip, and removing a rubber ballast or something inside. taht should do some miracles.
     
  3. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,197
    Likes Received:
    6
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Awesome. That sounds difficult, but worth it. The Iso-24 VF is going on a crash diet before being modded to near death with vast amounts of ballast on the head. I know the Iso 24 VF is the worst racket in my collection of high end Yonex and Karakal, but I want practise before butchering one of my favourite rackets (especially the Ti-10 as it is getting rather rare). I already add lots of tape to my rackets, but I want an even more aggressive BP.

    I might PM him or wait and see if he finds this thread. Decisions, decisions.

    Also, has anyone got any ideas for alternatives to lead tape? I need something really dense and aerodynamically good.
     
  4. phandrew

    phandrew Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,131
    Likes Received:
    3
    Occupation:
    Racquet breaker
    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    The only alternative i know to lead tape is using athletic tape.
     
  5. jhirata

    jhirata Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2007
    Messages:
    2,431
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand, New Z
    The plastic ballast weighs almost nothing. It's just there to cover the hole of the hollow handle. I've proven in previous posts somewhere that Yonex' head-heavy racquets have hollow handles and their head-light racquets have denser handles.

    To make the racquet more head-heavy without adding more lead-tape on the frame, I think that you can drill a deeper hole in the handle and make the handle hollower than before. But this might affect the handle's durability and also shock absorbtion.

    Unlike most people, I decided to fill the hole in the handle with plasticine ( modelling clay ) on my AT700 3U. It now feels like a 2U, but I find that the shots have better feel with this inside. The BP now is around 260~270mm ( head-light ), but I can produce stronger shots with this than before with a heavy head (~340mm).. it's more maneuverable too.
     
  6. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,197
    Likes Received:
    6
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Phandrew, is athletic tape dense? Is it the thing boxers wrap their hands in? Remember, I'm going for a BP of 350mm so if it isn't very dense, I'll need too much of it.
     
  7. gumpy_999

    gumpy_999 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2008
    Messages:
    106
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Sydney
    350mm????????

    you going for a golf club effect?
     
  8. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,197
    Likes Received:
    6
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    The golf club effect is good :D

    I love to smash and my defence is not to let my opponent attack in the first place, so extremely head heavy rackets work well for me. The experiment I'm doing now is purely for practising my BP modding. Then, I'm gonna do the same thing to my Arc10. The result should be epic (or a shoulder injury; but more likely epic).
     
  9. gumpy_999

    gumpy_999 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2008
    Messages:
    106
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Sydney
    hehe have fun =)
     
  10. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,197
    Likes Received:
    6
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Ah, I took the grip off my racket today and found the plastic thing on the end. Is that it? It doesn't look like it weighs much so if that is it, it's probably not worth taking off. Is this the athletic tape people have recommended as an alternative to lead? If not, could someone link me to some please?

    Also, is there anything else inside the handle other than the green plastic cap thing?
     
  11. ph_leung

    ph_leung Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2006
    Messages:
    302
    Likes Received:
    4
    Occupation:
    I fix things
    Location:
    Canada
    There is nothing readily available to consumers that is more dense (higher SG) than lead tape. Copper can be used if you want to be less toxic or have kids handling it but it is less dense.

    Think of the military. As an alternative to lead for ballast or for projectiles the sometimes use depleted uranium.

    Athletic tape is nowhere close to copper or lead. You'll need to use much more to get similar weight
     
  12. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,197
    Likes Received:
    6
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    lol, didn't think of that. It's a very good point.

    However, I think athletic tape looks easier to apply, less likely to fall off and cheaper. I'm swaying towards athletic tape but I'm still not quite sure. I am also sort of apprehensive about cutting the lead as it is meant to be rather toxic (well, lead is toxic. What am I saying?)

    The toxicity of the materials once applied is not a great worry to me, afterall, I'm not going to be licking my racket or anything. I love it, but not that much.

    So was the athletic tape link I posted for the correct athletic tape or am I barking up the wrong tree entirely?
     
  13. Athelete1234

    Athelete1234 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2007
    Messages:
    1,677
    Likes Received:
    7
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Canada
    Athletic tape is much lighter... I dunno where you can get the specific kind, but search up pictures of Lin Dan and his old AT700, with the athletic tape on it.
     
  14. jerby

    jerby Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2005
    Messages:
    4,123
    Likes Received:
    32
    Location:
    EU
    so, you want to play with a racket with a bp of 340-250mm, okay...

    You're going to use a 130g gram, but you're worried about aerodynamics? scared it might not swing fast?

    :p

    (I think leadtape is your best bet, watch out for your shoulder....)
     
  15. jhirata

    jhirata Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2007
    Messages:
    2,431
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand, New Z
    I had my AT700's bp up to 340mm before. My clears were fairly powerful, but it was just too troublesome to lift.. Come to think of it.. the heavier it is, it's easier to push down ( smash ) but harder to lift up ( lift ).

    Not only were my lifts rather slow.. my drives suffered too. It was hard to react to the shuttle quickly.

    Keep it around 280~310..
     
  16. gjoo888

    gjoo888 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2008
    Messages:
    173
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Bangkok
    You don't say what type of lead tape you're presently using, but I use what's called a balancing tape made by Pacific Sports. They're 3 gram lead weights with adhesive backing about 2'" long by about 3/8" wide. You can experiment with different placement on your racquet(s) to suit your needs. I find that they don't stick too well and use athletic tape to keep them from flying off. I've also seen a similar product from a company called Technifibre that come in two gram weights. http://www.pacific.com/flash/english/index-badminton.html
     

Share This Page