Having strung the Bs12 with the very rough ZM67, I can't help but feel the "slick = power" theory has some merit. The ZM67, being rougher than the Bg80 I have on my Bs09 and the BG66 I have on my Trinity 2, feels much less repulsive. :S
I checked... there has been a drop of only 20 Hz over past 3 wks, so only half a pound drop at most. So, unlikely related to that. I postulate that there is less power now that the strings are less free to slide over each other since notching and fraying has developed. Still thinking slippery=power. In that sense, I think zm strings are amazingly outstanding not only for the krazy tension retention due to the strong core, but also for the strong outer jacket that only dents but not notch and fray. I have a set of zm62 on my xp70 that still plays and feels the same now after 30+ hrs of play as on the first day it was strung.
You know what would be the best of both worlds... if we can somehow design or alter strings so that the intersections are slippery while the other parts are rough.
Sadly I cannot say the same about my Zymaxes. The tension loss is pretty incredible, more than the BG66UM, the BG80, and pretty comparable to the BG65 and 65Ti. I think I'm actually gonna cut the Zm67 on my Bs12 to re-try with a 13/13.5kg and 15% pre-stretch, maybe I'll get at least decent tension retention and repulsion that way... Modding so that only the intersections are slippery is impossible as the sliding across each other means that they'll slide over the rest of each other as well The only real difference to a rougher string is that you can't give the shuttle any real extra spin, but other than that it's all about adapting. You'll definitely be able to play slice shots with a slippery string, although they'll have a slightly less steep flight as they don't get the extra spin (spin meaning the shuttle rotating around it's axis of symmetry, btw).
^ What? Perhaps there is something wrong with your batch of zm? Zm should not lose tension like bg65 or bg66um, nor should it require prestretch, which may actually irreversibly damage the elasticity of the core. Perhaps change to a better stringer? ... hehe
The tension loss was a constant with my roll of Zm65 and seems to be the same with my Zm67. Do you string yourself? If not, you might actually get your rackets back after the first significant drop and only have a little when you play (the harder the pre-stretch, the less tension loss). I know a hard pre-stretch negatively influences the elasticity of the string, but for me the soft feeling I get when I play a non-PS or barely PS string a couple sessions (after about 6-7 hrs court time, mostly) is even worse. Had a nice comparison again today between the 13/13.5 BG80 and the 13 ZM67, and the ZM pings significantly lower (being pretty much the same freshly strung) and feels soft and near-dead. Incredibly weird. The Zm65 did lose tension, but never had this kind of numbness before the 3-week mark.
Well I wouldn't go as far as saying Zymaxes are as bad as BG65 (I think they retain tension just as good as say BG80), but theres NO WAY my racquets could keep the same tension or only drop 20hz after a few weeks. Im assuming the higher the tension, the more it is prone to drop.
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...Stringbed-frequency-to-monitor-string-tension I do monitor my stringbed tension. See thread above. One zm62@22x23lbs on a xp70 that I've monitored: 1165 Hz immediately after the stringer removed from the machine (I was there, and no I don't string my rackets ) 1135 Hz at day 1 1115 Hz after about first 6 hrs play 1100 Hz after about 20 hrs of play 1093 Hz today, after about 30 hrs of play So as you can see, only a 72 Hz drop over 2 months with all those hrs of play. Which amounts to about 1.5-2 lbs of tension loss. With vs850, it would've been 150 Hz in total loss. PS. Perhaps it's the stringer's technique... he does 4 knots and adds extra 1-2 lbs nearer to the tie-offs.
I do 4 knots as well.....but don't add tension on the tie-offs as the frame is already weak enough in those areas as it is. No risk at 22-23lbs though
Yeah, I usually have to lower the tension at the cross tie offs Dont wan't to go past 28-29 lbs on that last cross
