The 2017 urethane ball thread

Bowling ball related topics including new products, arsenals and comparisons.

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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by MegaMav »

I think he meant "lane shined".
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by ICURNVS »

Glad to see people are catching on to the Crow.

VBP takes a good bit of guff for not cranking out balls like the big boys, but what they do make lasts. 2 1/2 years in and I still use my Attack / Invasion / MB Crossover.

And it is not suprising that the Wonders Family put out a good Urethane. Remember people, they are the family that brought us the Hammer bowling balls we all loved.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by scotts33 »

If you watched the US Open both Jakob Butturrf and Graham Fach beat up the left side in practice and during the telecast. Both had good looks but as soon as they both kept using urethane that played into Rhino Page's look with resin. It's not that the cover on urethane gets lane shined or water logged IMO as long as you use a Shammy to wipe off between shots I see very little cover issues. In fact urethane stays better for longer periods of time than resin does. It's that they carried down oil making Fach's back end reaction poor. That's the real issue IMO.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by JohnP »

Lefties don't have much experience with 4 playing on the same lanes in a tournament. -- JohnP
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by TonyPR »

Good observation John, very true.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by Nord »

MegaMav wrote:I think he meant "lane shined".
No, I meant "soaked."
Urethane balls do absorb oil (differently than reactive) that is why they turn shiny black after they get soaked.
Even though you wipe the heck out of them they still get weaker and weaker as they get more oil in them.
This causes them to lose their reaction if the oil of the lane does not reduce much as the game goes on.
If you are bowling with reactive players this is good because as they take oil away your ball gets weaker and can still play the same line they are on.
But if you are by yourself then you will run into trouble.
When I use my urethane balls in practice they start out hooking hard but I leave the oil on them and don't wipe them because I want them to get soaked as fast as possible so their reaction can stabilize for actual play.
I see about a 5 board difference at the arrows from first practice throw to last throw.
It is the same as anything really, put some oil on a dry surface and then wipe it off with a cloth, feel the surface, it is still oily, you didn't get the oil all off, you would need chemicals for that, so the dry surface, though wiped off, is now more slippery than it was.
This is what happens with urethane balls.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by MegaMav »

Nord wrote: No, I meant "soaked."
Urethane balls do absorb oil (differently than reactive) that is why they turn shiny black after they get soaked.
Even though you wipe the heck out of them they still get weaker and weaker as they get more oil in them.
This causes them to lose their reaction if the oil of the lane does not reduce much as the game goes on.
If you are bowling with reactive players this is good because as they take oil away your ball gets weaker and can still play the same line they are on.
But if you are by yourself then you will run into trouble.
When I use my urethane balls in practice they start out hooking hard but I leave the oil on them and don't wipe them because I want them to get soaked as fast as possible so their reaction can stabilize for actual play.
I see about a 5 board difference at the arrows from first practice throw to last throw.
It is the same as anything really, put some oil on a dry surface and then wipe it off with a cloth, feel the surface, it is still oily, you didn't get the oil all off, you would need chemicals for that, so the dry surface, though wiped off, is now more slippery than it was.
This is what happens with urethane balls.
They get lane shined.
Urethane balls do not have the ability to absorb oil, they are non-porous.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by EricHartwell »

Lane shined to me means the lane acting like an abrasivee and actually making the surface of the ball smoother.

I completely understand what Nord is saying. The oil is all on the surface and microfiber towels do not get it all off. I have starting using a suede leather ball shammy. It works much better. I have been bowling on short but heavy oil pattern for the last month. After 1 game my ball was completely slimy and pretty much unusable. Each week after that I was trying diffrent methods including using an approved ball cleaner between each frame. Finally in the 4th week I used the leather shammy and had a consistant ball reaction for all 4 games.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by Nord »

MegaMav wrote:
They get lane shined.
Urethane balls do not have the ability to absorb oil, they are non-porous.
They do suck in some oil and get dark. I guess a better term would be urethane balls get greasy.
Even if you wipe them they still are more slippy than before you started using them.
They get more greasy as play continues.
I see this every day with my urethane balls as I use them almost exclusively and have learned all the ins and outs of their behavior in modern oil.

When I get home, if I take my Judge urethane ball and clean it with simple green and alcohol, it will go from shiny deep black to light gray again and look dry.
But if I let it sit in the box for a few days and take it out, it will have a little puddle of oil at the bottom of the ball from gravity.
All the oil in the cover stock I could not get out with cleaner sunk down and puddled.
Urethane balls do absorb oil, not like reactive, but it does get in there and effect play.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by MegaMav »

Nord wrote:
They do suck in some oil and get dark. I guess a better term would be urethane balls get greasy.
Even if you wipe them they still are more slippy than before you started using them.
They get more greasy as play continues.
I see this every day with my urethane balls as I use them almost exclusively and have learned all the ins and outs of their behavior in modern oil.

When I get home, if I take my Judge urethane ball and clean it with simple green and alcohol, it will go from shiny deep black to light gray again and look dry.
But if I let it sit in the box for a few days and take it out, it will have a little puddle of oil at the bottom of the ball from gravity.
All the oil in the cover stock I could not get out with cleaner sunk down and puddled.
Urethane balls do absorb oil, not like reactive, but it does get in there and effect play.
Start using a real bowling ball cleaner and you wont see that puddle.
Try Hook-IT. It has an oil emulsifier in it and breaks the lane oil down and gets the ball much cleaner.
If it truly "absorbed" oil, it would hold onto it. Since it doesnt the oil travels down the ball.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by scotts33 »

MegaMav wrote:
Start using a real bowling ball cleaner and you wont see that puddle.
Try Hook-IT. It has an oil emulsifier in it and breaks the lane oil down and gets the ball much cleaner.
If it truly "absorbed" oil, it would hold onto it. Since it doesnt the oil travels down the ball.
+1 good comment Eric! The 2 deep cleaners that I like are Neo-Tac Hook-IT and Powerhouse Clean and Dull. Use both in well ventilated areas and follow directions on container. I would use PPE (gloves) using either of these stronger only approved for before and after USBC competition (solvent based vs. alcohol based). They are that strong. I tend to use one of these cleaners about every other week on my equipment that I use a lot. It removes lane shine a good sign that they are both that strong.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by Nord »

EricHartwell wrote:Lane shined to me means the lane acting like an abrasivee and actually making the surface of the ball smoother.

I completely understand what Nord is saying. The oil is all on the surface and microfiber towels do not get it all off. I have starting using a suede leather ball shammy. It works much better. I have been bowling on short but heavy oil pattern for the last month. After 1 game my ball was completely slimy and pretty much unusable. Each week after that I was trying diffrent methods including using an approved ball cleaner between each frame. Finally in the 4th week I used the leather shammy and had a consistant ball reaction for all 4 games.
What Eric said. That is totally my experience with urethane.
Urethane depends a great deal on mechanical friction for its hook and once the machine gets oiled, it doesn't hook anymore.
My recommendation is to have multiple identical urethane balls and use them one per game.
That way each ball starts out fresh.
I would throw all in practice to get them wet so they stabilize first otherwise you will be very surprised when you pick up a fresh ball and it hooks across the lane!
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by Nord »

Here we go people, potentially the ultimate urethane ball!

Finally what we have wanted, super low rg, super high flare urethane to roll heavy and smooth.

http://www.hammerbowling.com/products/b ... w-urethane" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In the 1980’s, Hammer was known as “Faball Enterprises” and was the industry leader in urethane technology and performance. Over the past few years, we have gone back to our roots and brought back the Black and Purple Pearl Urethane. Hammer is excited to bring this same trusted urethane formula to the Black Widow line and wrap it around our most iconic core. This combination will give you more overall hook than traditional urethane while maintaining the predictability that a urethane coverstock provides.

RG / DIFFERENTIAL
#16LB RG (2.51) Diff (0.048)
#15LB RG (2.50) Diff (0.058)
#14LB RG (2.50) Diff (0.056)
#13LB RG (2.56) Diff (0.030)
#12LB RG (2.63) Diff (0.025)
black widow urethane.png
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by EricHartwell »

Nord wrote:Here we go people, potentially the ultimate urethane ball!

Finally what we have wanted, super low rg, super high flare urethane to roll heavy and smooth.

http://www.hammerbowling.com/products/b ... w-urethane" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In the 1980’s, Hammer was known as “Faball Enterprises” and was the industry leader in urethane technology and performance. Over the past few years, we have gone back to our roots and brought back the Black and Purple Pearl Urethane. Hammer is excited to bring this same trusted urethane formula to the Black Widow line and wrap it around our most iconic core. This combination will give you more overall hook than traditional urethane while maintaining the predictability that a urethane coverstock provides.

RG / DIFFERENTIAL
#16LB RG (2.51) Diff (0.048)
#15LB RG (2.50) Diff (0.058)
#14LB RG (2.50) Diff (0.056)
#13LB RG (2.56) Diff (0.030)
#12LB RG (2.63) Diff (0.025)
black widow urethane.png
Being a Hammer fan this is good news. I have the Blue Hammer that I Motion Holed to get an Asymmetrical reaction and love it.

This makes me wonder when Brunswick is going to bring back the Phantom. Being the fact they keep coming out with all their Vintage balls. I rolled my first honor score with the Black Phantom.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by bowl1820 »

MegaMav wrote:
They get lane shined.
Urethane balls do not have the ability to absorb oil, they are non-porous.
Beg to differ with you there Megamav. Urethane does absorb oil!

Anybody from back in the Urethane days that left their balls out in the car all day can tell you that.

Back in the day, I'd have my bag in my car at work. Then gone to the lanes pulled my Urethanes out of the bag and had oil dripping off the ball and I've see others do it too.

Plus if the ball was warm enough, you could clean the oil off. Sit it on the table and watch more come out.

Urethane balls do absorb oil and can get oil soaked, they just don't absorb as much and as fast as resin does.
(Now players today maybe don't use them long enough to see this, like you did in the past. But it does happen.)

Even Plastic does, That's what happened to the first clear plastic balls They'd get cloudy from oil absorption.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by mrbean »

i saw something about motiv coming out with a new tank. any ideas?
http://www.ballreviews.com/motiv/jackal ... 949.0.html
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by Nord »

bowl1820 wrote:
Beg to differ with you there Megamav. Urethane does absorb oil!

Anybody from back in the Urethane days that left their balls out in the car all day can tell you that.

Back in the day, I'd have my bag in my car at work. Then gone to the lanes pulled my Urethanes out of the bag and had oil dripping off the ball and I've see others do it too.

Plus if the ball was warm enough, you could clean the oil off. Sit it on the table and watch more come out.

Urethane balls do absorb oil and can get oil soaked, they just don't absorb as much and as fast as resin does.
(Now players today maybe don't use them long enough to see this, like you did in the past. But it does happen.)

Even Plastic does, That's what happened to the first clear plastic balls They'd get cloudy from oil absorption.
I was trying my vintage Grizz Urethane ball on some lanes I had never bowled on before.
Ball is at stock 320 wet sand.
It was hooking pretty good and was not coming back with much oil on it, just a faint stripe.
I figured the lanes were bone dry so I got out my Hardwick rubber ball and made a shot with it.
It did not even slightly grab the lane and when I got it back it was drenched and dripping!
So I realized the Grizz was sucking up the oil like a thirsty beast.
Yet on the surface it kept looking dry because it sucked it down so fast.
Urethane does drink oil, some more, some less and when they drink too much they lose their traction and will just be too slippery to work anymore unless the lane dries out pretty good as the set progresses.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by Nord »

mrbean wrote:i saw something about motiv coming out with a new tank. any ideas?
http://www.ballreviews.com/motiv/jackal ... 949.0.html
Well their last urethane release, the Tank Rampage, is their strongest ball to date.
Not sure what they have up their sleeve now.
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by Nord »

mrbean wrote:saw that brunswick is releasing a urethane ball soon
Image
http://bowlerx.com/Brunswick-True-Motio ... MOTION.htm
Here is a nice review of the True Motion. Sounds much more interesting than I originally thought!

[youtube][/youtube]
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Re: The 2017 urethane ball thread

Post by SST »

I'll receive a True Motion next week. With a high tilt (25°), I'll drill this ball with a RICO layout.
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