RadMP, CX16, MW100, CX18 - Feb 2022

 Played twice this week (week 1). On Friday was using RadMP for the first 2 sets, tight loss on the second one. Then last one using MW100 won comfortably amid tired opponent. Tried the RadMP with leather grip and felt the control better but quite heavy on the static side. On Sunday, played 3 sets. First was a win with CX200-16. Lost later sets with MW100. The MW100 produce easy serves and overhead, but the control was way off compare to CX200-16. 

Also played on Monday after for singles game, brought CX18 and RadMP. The CX18 had 1+ year old string and did not responded well. Switched to RadMP after game score 1-1. First set loss 6-8. Then had 10 point tie break, winning 11-9 after trailing 6-9. RadMP performed well on singles, good control and power. A bit tired on regular sets amid serving.

On Week-2, Friday, played 4 sets. First set win by quiet a margin (7-1) using RadMP and MW100, second set win (7-4) using RadMP, 3rd set loss using MW100 (4-7) after trailing 6-0, and 4th set loss (4-7) using MW100. MW100 felt softer than RadMP probably because of the string pattern. Bought Textreme Tour 100 310 and will prep it for next time.  

Summary:

- MG Rad MP is truly a players racquet, no need for lead just leather grip to compensate the power from its balance.

Bandung & Lembang trip

 We decided to take a trip to Bandung, we departed from Jakarta on Saturday. We had lunch in Bandung and then went to Lembang. We took a new route to Lembang via punclut from Cieumbuluit, first time driving there. I had driven using other small route via Dago Pakar. I figure the road couldnt be as steep but I was wrong. After punclut road, there was a stretch of long steep climb. The car temperature rose but then stabilized after the climb. I then bough demin water to fill the reservoir tank and turns out it was empty. I fill it up and went back to the road on Sunday to a nearby small park and zoo. I check it again and the tank was empty again. We then decided to head home and I bought coolant refill. On Monday, while kids attended online class and spouse worked from home. I drove the car for services and checked the radiator. The radiator had leaks and due for repair while performing periodic maintenance. I then spent the morning at coffee shop and then at a lunch place. The radiator was fixed but them the radiator cover leaked. The car had to spent another day at the workshop. The car is fine now and thanks to parents for sending a car over with driver.

 

Muscle Weave 200G 100

 So, I found this one in online e-com. I never know this one existed, Dunlop Muscle Weave 200G 100. It is an extended one 27.5 inch long, 18x20, 100 sq inch head. I had a long chat with the seller making sure the condition of it. The seller has two of them but one of them strung weirdly 18x21 and from my experiences buying old racquet, the grommet is one of the concerns. Gladly, I bought it because the second one also was sold when I wrote this. I got the racquet and as usually, I trashed the grip, it only has over-grip without the grip, the handle was sticky from old residue from using towel grip. The butt cap was old, the plastic was soft and I had to glue some that ripped with superglue. I cut the string and noticed the top grommet feels like it was burned probably to smooth it out but it made the plastic soft and the string stuck at two holes. It was pretty hard to take the string out but managed to pull them. The string might be too thick for that racquet. It also had paint job on the Dunlop letterings and paint chips. From TW specs noticed the high swing-weight so I put a leather grip to lessen it. Strung it with 17g old stock Gamma syn gut. Played on Friday without over-grip. MW100 felt soft and powerful. Won 2 sets. No complain probably due to new string. The power and control was good. Easy overhead and serves due to extended? 

The racquet weight without string and grip at 288 grams. Weight with leather grip at 315 grams. Strung probably around 330-335 grams.

Makes me wanna try other extended like CX 200+. 

Leather grip

 I tend to put leather on a racquet to balance it making it head lighter and low its powered, and also usually for older softer racquet. Below are the leather grip I had put:

• Gamma: thick but felt light, wide and hard to put on
• TW:  got the narrow and thin one, easy to put on [best value]
• Tourna: good leather, easy to put on [best]
• Artengo: not as pricey, leather not as soft [cheapest]

Weekend review (AG3, F3T, CX16, RadMP)

 Friday: came late to court, loss 3 sets. Started with AG3 with no warming up but had difficult control then changed to F3T. On second set, played better with AG3 but couldn't focus all night. Not a good day but still good to exercise. Plus, the new Artengo shoes caused injury to left bottom toe from thin insole.

Sunday: tested the RadMP try to see how it compares to others. Also changed the insole with SOF insole bought way back from the US for soccer shoes which workes well. The RM power was good but pretty hard to control and the pretty high swing weight. Bit struggle on the backhand side but the forehand was good. Changed back to CX16 and played way better. Tested on both court. Won one and list other 3 sets.

Weekend update: AG3-4D and CX200-16x19

Played 2 times this weekend (14-16 Jan 2022): Friday and Sunday. 

Friday: brought trusty AG300 which do well on indoor court and to try 4DAG300Tour. The verdict was that the 4D was very low power though with added 3 grams at 12. The ball was either landed short or on the base line. Compare to regular AG300, the control was better on the 4D especially for the forehand. A friend came along and he had heavy spin using light Pure Aero. 

Sunday: brought RadOS, PS97, and CX200-16. Last time I mistakenly bought the CX200-18 with 2 years old string and the stiff string did not do well especially on volleys. Tried several strokes with PS97 but felt heavier compare to the CX. Tried the RadOS for several games but had 2 forehand strokes to the net. The CX played well even though the string moved but the control and power were enough.

Pic from Diki fotography

 

Tennis updated (CX200T and PS97)

 Cut the prince syngut duraflex on my CX 200 Tour 16x19 and strung it with gamma syngut 17g at 50lbs. Test it on Friday and could not lay it down, won a set, it feels great not as stiff as the prince one. I produce an ace too.

On Sunday, brought the CX 200 Tour 18x20 by mistake, though strung with babolat syngut at 52lbs 2 years ago, it has harden and not flexible. Felt very different compare to the freshly strung 16x19 version. However, got a win with it while playing with a younger heavier hitter opponent. Overall, the CX 200 Tour is definitely a great racquet. Then finished it off with PS97 when playing a lesser opponent. The string had stiffen and felt very boardie, no power.

In terms of dead string: it may be ok for hitting as long as you hit dead center, other than that ball goes flat. The string I had on the 18x20 was almost 2 years old.

Racquet Power (updated Dec 2022)

 Below is the list of racquet with its power that I am using:

* racquet currently/recently used

Racquet	Head-size	Power	Customization
Wilson Pro Staff 97	97	Low-Med	leather grip, overgrip
Wilson Six One Team	95	Low-Med	none
Dunlop Aerogel 300	98	Med	lead, overgrip
Dunlop MFil 300	98	Med	leather grip, lead handle
Dunlop Hot Melt 200G	95	Low	leather grip
Dunlop CX 200 Tour 18x20*	95	Low	leather grip, lead
Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19*	95	Low	leather grip, lead
Dunlop Bio F3.0 Tour	97	Low-Med	lead, overgrip
Dunlop Aerogel 300 4D Tour	97	Low	lead, overgrip
Head YT Rad OS	107	Med	overgrip
Head MG Rad MP	95	Low-Med	overgrip
Prince Textreme Tour 100L	100	Med	lead, overgrip
Prince Warrior 107 LE	107	Med-High	leather grip, overgrip
Prince Textreme Tour 100 310*	100	Med	leather grip, overgrip, lead
Prince Textreme Tour ATS 98*	98	Low-Med	leather grip, overgrip, lead
Wilson Ultra Tour*	97	Low	leather grip, overgrip, lead
Wilson Ultra Pro*	97	Low	leather grip, overgrip, lead

Pangalengan gig (not finished)

 From early 2015 until mid 2018 I was working in a geothermal powerplant west of Bandung. Drive up from Jakarta every Monday morning around 5 am and took about 4 hours. The drive there was always epic. Woke up around 430am. Prepare hot drink and bread for the road. Filled up gas on the highway around 6am. 

Arrived in Bandung around 7am around the time people start bustling. Listening to Bandung or national radio's there when driving up the mountain. Got straight to the office around 9am. There was sort of a unstated regulation for us who commutes far that we can arrive late since we stayed there at the camp until Friday comes.

The drive there was good, sort of scenic with no steep climbing, just a lot of turns on side of cliff. The power station is inside tea plantation area, the last 30 minutes drive was inside the plantation. Compare to other geothermal power station, this area is open, visible to see other areas.

    

PS 97 weekend review

 Played mostly with PS97 this weekend. Only very slightly wrist pain. Singles on Friday and doubles on Sunday. The power and control was acceptable. On Friday, the opponent was using RF97 and I had no trouble rallying. On Sunday, I had no complaint. My other racquet that I brought was AG300 but felt too powerful because the court were had rough surface making the ball bounced higher. The PS97 was good all-round, I serve and volley. The string perform better, mishits doesn't sending shocks. Thinking of comparing this to F3.0T and CX 200 Tour now that it is not as powerful as before. In addition, I also tried the Six One Team and this time the balance was perfect I thought without overgrip. The slice was great though volleying still lack mass and pop. 

Yellow Juke

 Kudos for this yellow Juke.

Rafa vs Maria

Maria Sharapova can handles those Rafa heavy spin balls.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24gCEHVz_0s

Pat Cash 2010

Pat Cash used stock Aerogel 3hundred in 2010 leaded and leather grip, see pic below. In other pictures, he uses 300 series with 16x19 string. He seemed to favor this version.

PS97 with tecnifibre string

Just restrung my red PS97 with tecnifibre string, same string as in MFil 2hundred annd Aerogel 300 at 50lbs. The sweetspot for PS97 is smaller than both Dunlop but the control and plow through is better. Played a single mini set and won by a tie break 4-3 (6). No dampener needed.  

Crazy F1 season

 This comic cover depicts this season F1. Well done Max. The result of the race was totally a surprise. 

AG3 and F3T

 Played twice last weekend. On friday night using AG300, nice and smooth; added a dampener to lessen the racquet vibration sound when bouncing the ball to the ground. Won both sets by a game. On sunday morning played once with AG300 and twice with F3T against hard hitting player. The F3T was without overgrip and feels great with better control and power. The F3T with its tight string pattern was design for high level playing fast balls.

AG3 and RadOS

 On Friday (Nov-ish), played doubles teaming up and against higher rated players (half to one rating above, one of them was coach Joey from Debros club) using AG300 with added 1.5grams lead at throat. Loss and won a set each; not bad. Adding the lead at the throat increase the static weight without affecting the balance. The same racquet was tested with new balls against player using RF97 and did not disappoint other than slight pinging noise which could be reduced with dampener.

On Sunday, target a nice LM Rad OS, I played with YT IG RadOS with no overgrip. This racquet plays better with no overgrip. The power and feels felt good. A dampener then added to reduce the ping noise. The string moved a lot when hitting but not much when at play. Won both sets. Almost bought a LM version but with 330 swing weight it might be too hefty for me.

Added: brought these two on Dec 12 for play. Lost 1st set using RadOS; were volley bad. Then in between sets, other player ask me for a hitting session. In the hitting session, I rather use the RadOS then AG3 because then I could hit hard with better control. On the second set, I use the AG3 and played at net better and barely won 6-5.

J Aquarium

During this pandemic for 1.5 years, we went to Bandung once, zoo once, beach once, no hotels, and last weekend to aquarium, a small one compare to others but a nice one. Kids had a good time, watched animal feeding and a show. The place was packed but we had good spots. 

Radical MPs and OSs over the years

 Rad MP specs over the year from TW sites, all 18x20 unless starting graphene with 16x19 (below table). Looking at the specs, no wonder the original MG could be the best.

Type of Radical MP	Headsize sqinch	Strung weight (grams)	Beam width (mm)	Swing weight (grams)	Stiffness
Titanium (2001)	98 (95)	305	21	n/a	65
Intelligence (2003)	98 (95)	306	21	297	64
Liquid Metal (2004)	98 (95)	318	21	325	64
Flexpoint (2005)	98 (95)	315	21	330	63
Microgel (2007)	98 (95)	312	21	315	57
Youtek (2009)	98 (95)	312	21.5	324	59
Youtek IG (2012)	98 (95)	320	22	320	62
Graphene (2014)	98	317	20.5/23/21	316	64
Graphene XT (2016)	98	312	20.5/23/21	320	65
Graphene Touch (2018)	98	320	20/23/21	323	65
Graphene 360 (2020)	98	312	20/23/21	324	68
MP (2021)	98	318	20/23/21	326	65

Type of Radical MP	Headsize sqinch	Strung weight (grams)	Beam width (mm)	Swing weight (grams)	Stiffness
Bumblebee Ltd	107	340	21	334	64
Titanium (2001)	107	306	21	323	60
Intelligence (2003)	107	302	21	312	62
Liquid Metal (2004)	107	318	21	330	58
Flexpoint (2005)	107	320	21	334	58
Microgel (2007)	107	315	21	318	56
Youtek (2009)	107	315	21.5	320	56
Youtek IG (2012)	107	315	21.5	315	58
Agassi Ltd	107	343	21	338	63

MGRadMP update and Dunlop 4D 300 Tour

 I simply like MGRadMP, at its weight the power and balance is just right with no lead. The rival is 4D300Tour which I just got; stripped to hairpin at 290grams and now with new grip and overgrip at 312grams. Compare MGRMP to AG300, it is plusher and better control. Lets compare MGRMP and 4D3Tthem below from TW website.

In summary they have same string pattern (18x20), similar weight (312-320) and swingweight (315-318), though the 4D3T have higher stiffness and thus may produce more power.

Microgel Radical Midplus

 Recently catched a MG Radical MP. I stripped the racquet to hairpin and it weighted at 295 grams leaded at 3 and 9. After playing it for a set on Friday, I then took off the lead and the racquet felt better. I then won the next set playing with it. Before playing, strung it up with gamma syngut 17 gauge at 50lbs. Before playing the sit while hitting around, the racquet felt very heavy though the power was good.

On Sunday, won 2 sets playing doubles. Then at a short hitting session, the ball was flying easily. The power was good for playing but maybe not for hitting.

The condition of the racquet was good (B condition) but there was a broken knot grommet. From the look of it and how the reissue was not sold here, I think I got the original MG RadMP. I feel the racquet is quite plush. I have a YT Rad OS but the power was too much, I like the MP better and for a true 95sq inch head, it felt bigger and may provide heavy ball.

Improving serve: scratch back

 So, my serve is not flat and rarely fast. The problem was the upward swing. Saw a video from YT and noticed I had wrong technique for this time. My kick serve or slice kick was good but not on flat. For flat, the lower arm need to slide behind the elbow like when throwing a ball. You can throw above your head or slightly to the side of your head. Check out the Fed lower arm below pic, not from scratching the back.

 

Wrist lag - tennis forehand

I recorded my hitting session last week. After looking at the first one, I noticed that I had little wrist lag, more controlling. On the first one, I used CX 200 Tour while the opponent was using RF97 and feeds powerfull ball, I just returned his balls (Pic 1). The second one, I was using a heavy MFil 300 but the same opponent was using a light racquet. After seeing the first video, I tried to give a wrist lag (Pic 2). I remember, I had done this before but was using PS97 or Six One Lite, both gave me sore wrists. Using wrist lag gave you extra power but beware of the wrist injury especially with stiff racquet. The link to yt is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1la9xChBbmY. However, see this video because this might cause my previous injury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V8Ij3Raw6w from intuitive tennis.

Trekking 26 Sept 2021

 After an in-law went trekking few weeks ago, my brother coordinated a trekking trip to the same spot. We went to Sentul, four pairs of brothers and spouses with total of 8 kids. Started with trekking along the paddy rice fields and then to Leuwi (pool under waterfall). The car trip to the spot was tough, lots of steep uphill and downhill like a roller coaster, the car was using mostly 1-2 gears. My car was a Daihatsu with 1.5L engine and RWD. My 2nd daughter was got stomach ache after swimming probably from empty stomach. Below pic of on the paddy rice. 

Tight 18x20 pattern

One of the reason I like when using tight 18x20 pattern such as in Bio F3.0T racquet below is that you can rally and although the string moved and did not snap back, the strings does not move far enough affecting the shots. Very different compare to when using open string pattern such as PS97 or Aerogel 300. Below is the picture of Bio F3.0T, I did not have to straight them out.

Dunlop racquet weight

 I mostly used Dunlops now along with PS97. Recently weight them, they are below with the customization:

Cymbal	Weight (grams)	Customization
CX 200 Tour 16x19	336	Leather grip, 3g lead, overgrip, dampener
CX 200 Tour 18x20	334	Leather grip, 3g lead, overgrip, dampener
Bio F3.0 Tour	326	3g lead, overgrip, rubber band dampener
Aerogel 300	316	4g lead, overgrip, rubber band dampener
MFil 300	319	Leather grip, overgrip
Hot Melt 200G	340+	Leather grip, overgrip

Weekend update

Emma Raducano won US Open over Leylah Fernandez, great finals from quit some time. US Open can provide more surprises than other slams (picture below).

Max over Lewis (crashed), they are both very hotheaded.

Woke up this morning with news of Medveded winning his first slam.

Played two times: on friday, singles (4-7) with stretched out string AG300 and on sunday, doubles (5-6, 4-6) with CX 200 Tour 18x20, I played well.

 

Soccer shoes

 List of soccer shoes I wore or own starting in junior high:

1993 summer

- umbro: probably a lower end speciali type, borrow from school, one of the best

- adidas mexico: bought to return the umbro

1994-1995

- adidas laplata: my dad's, outsole already cracked

- adidas copa mundial: small size but still fit, i lost from car break in 1996

- nike: lower end tiempo, plasticky upper

1996

- adidas azteca: a bit too big

- adidas questra finale: borrow from a friend, a very fine boots

1997

- mitre mundial SG: a bit too big, gave it too a friend

- nike tiempo: lower end, stiff leather

- adidas world cup: finest

- mizuno grandeza: nice leather, long studs

1998 - 2007

- adidas predator 1994

- adidas predator 1996

- adidas predator accelerator: nice low studs

- adidas predator precision: sold

- adidas predator manic

- adidas velez FG and SG

- adidas questra: lower end

- adidas contornis yellow: too small

- adidas nova mundial ID: too small

- puma king FG: too small

- puma KSL: sold

- puma cellerator: sold

- puma braziliero: for younger brother

- diadora brasil: sold

- nike tiempo SG: beat up one

- nike mercurial FG: too small

- umbro speciali yellow: too small

- umbro owen speed: lower end

- kelme duende: split heel

- kelme trueno blue: leather peel

- hummel: too narrow

- reebok bergkamp: sold

- reebok rampante: for younger brother

Cymbals weight

 Here is list of my cymbals with weight (in grams):

Hihats:

- Paiste 505 Medium 14" - B8: top 741, bottom 987

- Sabian AA Regular 14" - B20: top 1001, bottom 1354

- Zildjian K Custom Dark/Regular 13" - B20: top 792, bottom 1001

Crash and ride:

- Stagg CS medium thin 16" crash - B20: 1299 (sold)

- Paiste PST 5 medium 18" crash - B8: 1307 (sold)

- Istanbul Agop Mel Lewis 18" crash/ride - B20: 1682

- Zildjian K Custom Session 18" ride - B20: 1990 

- Sabian HH 19" crash - B20: 1823

- Zildjian K Constantinople 20" light ride - B20: 1965

- Zildjian K 18" flat ride

Below pic of K Custom Session:

CX200T16 vs F3T

 I played 2 sessions with this combination, for singles and then for hitting session. For the singles game, using CX200T16x19, I lost the set 3-6 but then changed to F3T won 5-1 before the sun was set. The CX200T was set up with leather grip, syngut 17g at 51 lbs, and lead 3g total at 10 and 2. The power compare to F3T is low. The control was good though, you can really direct the ball. Here is my review on it:

- forehand: power is low and with spin it can either drop short or long when hitting late. Need full swing. Comfort is good though.

- backhand: power is low, need full swing, good spin.

- serves: power is low, directional is good.

- volley: power is low, plush.

Overall with the current setup, striking from the baseline balls either drop short or long, striking from inside the baseline sets up nicely. With this racket, you can swing really fast and hard but the ball still goes in.

PS97 strings

 I have only strung my PS97 with 3 times: prince topspin 16g at 55lbs, babolat multi 17g at 57lbs, and prince syngut duraflex at 55lbs. Played the topspin until break, multi until uncontrollable, and syngut until it went hard and loose its pop. I just cut it today after playing it on Sunday where it did not feels right: the string moves around and pretty hard to get it straight again with that screeching sound. That sound means that the string have gone hard and times to cut it and restring. During last Sunday hitting, gripping the PS97 slightly semi-western felt good but we were using older balls and can be quite incosistent.

 

MFil vs F3T

 Played doubles yesterday with new balls (Head Davis), the results were 6-5, 3-2, and 3-6. All played with the MFil except for first game of first set. The MFil has easier power than F3T though swings heavier. Wonder if using F3T felt under power/plough when using new balls? Pic: Mauresmo with dunlop MFil colorway.

Racket customization

 Here is the list of racquet customization that I have:

- Pro Staff 97: leather grip 

- CX 200 Tour (18x20 and 16x19): 3 grams at 10 & 2

- Aerogel 300: 3 grams at 3 & 9

- Bio F3.0T: 3 grams at 3 & 9

- M-Fil 300: leather grip

- Warrior 107: leather grip

- Hot Melt: leather grip

- Radical OS: no customization

Pic below: D Collins and her customized racquet

F3.0T vs AG300

Played singles game using Bio F3T and AG300. The first set won 6-2 using AG300, the strategy was to attack the backhand. The second set was using F3.0T and lead 2-1 until sunset. The F3T is customized with total 3 grams lead at 3 and 9. Swinging F3T, the weight is in between AG300 (lightest) and MF3 (heaviest). The F3T plow through was better than before, better at redirecting heavy balls. The gamma strings on the F3T are already moving not as snap back as before, but have no complain since it has tight string pattern.

Mfil 300 vs Bio F3.0T

 Yesterday played doubles outdoor with Mfil3 and F3.0T. Started with F3.0T in warm up but couldnt connect then changed to Mfil3 to seek more power. Won first set with Mfil3 at 6-5. Then hitting with F3.0T and feels good. Finish the second set at 4-3. The current F3.0T has 3grams of lead at 3 and 9, the swing is much closer to MFil now. The Mfil was also have loss tension and moves and felt better for me. The F3.0T is less powerful but more control on and faster swing speed. The Mfil is really good for starting out because it is plusher.

MFil 3rd times (vs AG3)

Last sunday was my 3rd tries with MFil 300 and I brought along the trusted AG300. I started first with the MF300 but felt too heavy then changed to AG300. When playing the first set, we were down 4-1 then I changed again to MF300 because the other team switched player and his balls were heavier. At the end of the game, we lost 4-6 but the I was playing well with the MF3. We had a short second set, winning by 3-1. 

The MF3 can feels very soft at time also probably due to soft string that I used, old stock tecnifibre at 52 lbs. The metallic red color looks like a Head Prestige, shiny but not too bright. The paint marking are really old school.