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Online now: 2 members: TABLE SETTER 11, bnelson; 86 anonymousDiscussion: Bat physics/dynamics question
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| June 2, 2015 OZ40 549 posts | Bat physics/dynamics question When I purchased my Dudley 12 inch barrel the rep told me that a shorter barrel meant less balls hit off the lower barrel area because the bat swings around faster. A friend of mine says this is not true and cited this as his example. He was a certified professional racquet ball racquet re-stringer. When his clients wanted more racquet speed they had him add small weights to the handle to accomplish this. Therefore he claims a balanced bat would give more bat speed. So, whats the answer, with all things otherwise equal, do you get more swing speed with a balanced bat or (as I always thought) with an endload? |
| June 3, 2015 ? 121 posts | From what I have learned by using a Bat Speed Meter is Yes the balanced bat is a bit faster by about 2 to 5 MPH faster which is probably not enough speed increase to make any big difference. I hear people using the word "Faster" but they never answer the question of "How much faster?" |
| June 3, 2015 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | Using my Swing Speed Radar I found my bat speed is +- 5mph faster. As discussed here before, it's the mass found in end loaded bats that increase distance. Maybe the guy that re-strings racquet loads the end of the frame ;) |
| June 3, 2015 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | faster (with a balanced bat). |
| June 3, 2015 tattooball 774 posts | The question should be which bat maintains more speed past the point of impact? |
| June 4, 2015 B94 Men's 50 138 posts | Well said Kevin! It's the bat speed carried through the ball at and beyond the point of impact that is the important value when choosing a bat. It's been proven that exit speed and distance increase based on choosing the heaviest bat that you can achieve and maintain maximum bat speed through the point of contact. This is where the moment of inertia of the endloaded bat improves the ability to carry momentum through the point of impact. Increasing bat speed by decreasing moment of inertia nullifies the resulting exit speed and distance. In reality what you are lookingto achieve is to swing the heaviest bat your can maintain your highest swing speed through the point of contact with the highest moment of inertia. The other thing that helps increase bat speed is your grip. Using an overlap grip over the conventional baseball grip effectively lengthens the bat which in turn creates a higher moment of inertia. For anyone looking for more info on this checkout the following links: http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/bats/bat-moi.html http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/bats/bat-moi-details.html These are great reads if you have some time on your hands. Explains a lot of the reasoning behind "what is the best bat to swing"... Now if only I had a swing speed radar and 4 of the same bats to test this with... |
| June 4, 2015 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | I've used a balanced bat all of my career-I always felt I had more bat speed and control. It is interesting to see so many others do the same. |
| June 5, 2015 Cougar Men's 65 26 posts | Bruce: For players who want their racquets fine tuned, they will add weight (grams) to the bottom of the racquet head to increase head speed or at the top of the racquet head to enhance power but at the expense of racquet speed..... |
| June 5, 2015 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | Cougar, much like a bat. I'm guessing loading a racquet is not illegal in the rules of racquet ball. |
| June 5, 2015 Cougar Men's 65 26 posts | Bruce: "Tuning" either a Tennis or Racquetball racquet via weighting is not illegal. And FWIW, such tuning was primarily relegated to tennis racquets due to light weight of the Racquetball racquets and the vast assortment of racquets available.........BUT, the weighting IS an OPTION to the players who feel the "unnecessary" need to enhance their equipment.....In other words, IT'S ALL IN THE MIND!.....LOL! |
| June 5, 2015 garyheifner 649 posts | Don't know if this fits here, however, When I start thinking about driving with the lower body and using all my weight training muscles, I have ok tournaments. When I only think about getting my hands moving quickly, I can feel my bat speed really pick up and I often have great hitting tournaments. I watch every hitting video I can find. I think it can be like golf, you can over analyze and get all tied up. If I am in a slump, it is usually because I have a lazy bat and need to focus on getting the hands moving and bat speed up. In our last tourney, I was getting hits but not crushing the ball. One of the guys said your bat speed really looks slow. Forgot! |
