iskandar taib wrote:
I'd argue that flat pips would have more friction than textured pips.
Iskandar
No let us talk about how pip friction measured by ITTF to ban the most frictionless pips ?
So under pip friction measurements, which would have highest friction & lowest friction ?
Feint Long or Dtec or any Pre 2008 banned pip ?
Which one would give the maximum spin creation ?
Are you saying that the banned frictionless pips will give more spin than Feint Long ? What is the REAL reason for the frictionless pips ban of 2008 ? It for sure is not because it was giving too much spin for choppers (or blockers for that matter)
So if you claim that the frictionless pips will give most deception as well most spin, why did all the top choppers used the banned Feint long & not the banned TSP P1 Curl or not banned Yasaka Phantom 007 ?
In the same vein, if you measured the friction of say GeoSpin Tacky, Hurricane , Tenergy, any old frictioned anti & new frictionless antis which would have maximum friction ?
Which would have lowest friction ? Which one would give the maximum spin creation ?
Then if you take the most frictionless in above two tests what is the commonality between the winner in above two tests as far as the top of the surface is concerned ?
I have practiced & tested various pips against quite a few 2000 to 2400+ players countless hours & have played against a lot of the highest rated USA players in sanctioned tournament situations as well, more than once. (I did not say I won as people alwasy twist my words)
So I can tell confidently why I chose Feint Long & not a frictionless long pips just as almost all the top pros & most higher level non pros.
If you keep all other design parameters the same, the frictioned pips will give more spin (I should rather say that the frictionless pips will give less spin) . But of course the overall behavioral difference between two brands is not based on just one design parameters. Another reason for this is that the dwell time is also higher with a friectioned pip. This has enormous significance when you consider the long pips bending and shooting the ball out like from a sling shot with a much higher stored energy & release.
But in some cases it could be just one parameters such as the case between say 388 D & 388D-1. 388D is more frictionless & more deceptive but 388D-1 is more fractioned & definitely gives more spin
And what you are saying may or may not be true for Formula 1 but from my tabletennis calculations & playing experience I have no doubt a frictioned pip gives more spin. Players confuse deception of the Dtec with more spin. Also as I pointed out pip friction is NOT the ONLY design parameter that controls spin creation or spin reversal as I have explained above.
Also if I block with a frictioned pip I would get lot more spin reversal than a frictionless pip. But a frictionless has other advantages in the blocking mode mostly due to the ball slipping off the pips (top) just the same way as how the ball slides of a frictionless anti lot more than super spinny rubber like GeoSpin Tacky. Players confuse this non linear behavior against different incoming speeds & spins with more spin reversal.
I used to be against deliberate product design to randomize ball flight but I no longer am . Why ? I have explained it clearly elsewhere as to why I now support both frictioned & frictionless for both anti & pips for all age groups & most especially children (and thankfully is actually happening in places like India & Taiwan & people are actually freaking out in German forums because of this