Bring the balls from the car...???

[scruffwhor]

I live in the Chicagoland area. It's starting to get pretty cold by me and will only colder.

I bowl on a Thursday men's league straight from work, but I practice at a couple of different centers... so no locker.

Up until now, I would leave my balls in the car and go straight to the alley from work, but pretty soon I'm going to have to bring my arsenal into work so the balls don't freeze and crack when I make my first practice throw.

What I'm getting to is, when do you cold climate bowlers start babying your ball?

When it starts to get to a high of 40 degrees F, lower, higher??? When should I start taking my arsenal out of the backseat for the day??


All opinions please. Thanks :confused:

[striker12]

when ever it gets cold here in canada witch its starting right know if i ever left my bowling balls in the car i would put my bowling bags in the back seat and open them and turn up the heat and put hte head to the floor and circulate around the car so the bowling balls are not as cold getting to the bowling alley

[Aslan]

God I don't miss cold weather. Sometimes it gets lower than 50F…but thats a good thing for bowling because on those days I can just leave my bowling balls in the car. Usually I bring them into the office with me because 9-11 months out of the year it gets too hot during the day to leave them in the car.

[dnhoffman]

Bring your equipment inside, just get used to doing it, it's better in the long run.

[scruffwhor]

Bring your equipment inside, just get used to doing it, it's better in the long run.

I work in a warehouse, and the setup of the building and parking is going to be a pain in the butt to bring the balls in and out.

I'm just trying to delay that ritual for as long as possible. I know I'm making a bigger deal out of it than is necessary.

[Aslan]

Bring your equipment inside, just get used to doing it, it's better in the long run.

Or stop bringing "ARSEnals" to bowling night and bring 1-2 balls that are easier to carry in from your car than whatever you are currently doing.

I admit…even 2 balls…in a shoulder bag is a real, real pain in the shoulder…especially if you have to walk a distance. But I do it 3 times a week. And while the shoulder bag is a "literal pain"…I don't have to drag an even heavier roller bag across the parking lot.

[dnhoffman]

I have a 3-ball roller, it's fine.

If you can't deal with a 3-ball roller bag I'd hate to see you take a flight somewhere and have to drag some luggage.

And if a two ball shoulder ball is a real pain I'd suggest hitting that gym.

I have a 4-ball roller but quit using it, it was too ridiculous and I never need more at a THS league night than a solid, a pearl, and a spare ball.

Now back to the actual topic....Scruff, if you have to leave them in the car in the cold maybe put them in the front and park in the sun?

I mean some people leave their crap in the car all the time and it still lasts forever, others have had multiple cracked balls... All I know is I like to take care of my stuff, maybe it's overkill, I dunno, but I'm anal like that.

[Aslan]

I have a 3-ball roller, it's fine.

If you can't deal with a 3-ball roller bag I'd hate to see you take a flight somewhere and have to drag some luggage.

And if a two ball shoulder ball is a real pain I'd suggest hitting that gym..

The average 3-ball roller weighs about 70lbs. The average carry-on roller luggage weighs 40.

The average 2-ball carry on ball/shoulder bag weighs 40lbs. The average child's backpack full of books weighs 18lbs.

[dnhoffman]

The average 3-ball roller weighs about 70lbs. The average carry-on roller luggage weighs 40.

The average 2-ball carry on ball/shoulder bag weighs 40lbs. The average child's backpack full of books weighs 18lbs.


The topic is whether to bring equipment inside or not during extreme weather periods. I still say yes.

If you'd like to argue weights of bowling bags with me, please feel free to do it via PM.

[circlecity]

If you keep your bowling balls in the car and they are cold what effect does that have when you bowl?

[J Anderson]

If you keep your bowling balls in the car and they are cold what effect does that have when you bowl?

I'm not sure what effect it has when you bowl as I don't leave mine in the car for more than an hour or two.

The main danger is that leaving the ball in a car that is either much colder than your house or the bowling center, or much warmer can cause the cover of the ball to crack.

[Aslan]

The topic is whether to bring equipment inside or not during extreme weather periods. I still say yes.

If you'd like to argue weights of bowling bags with me, please feel free to do it via PM.

I was just making the point that, as the OP stated, bringing balls back and forth from his car to workplace is kinda a big deal. You seemed to "poo poo" it as not an issue or an issue of a person being out of shape and in need of exercise. I was merely pointing out that the average bowling ball bag weighs a great deal more than the average luggage...so I agree with the OP...it's an issue.

[Aslan]

If you keep your bowling balls in the car and they are cold what effect does that have when you bowl?

Physically speaking...they'd shrink and thus have less pin carry. Or on hot days, expand and have more pin carry.

From a practical standpoint though...I had this happen to me last month...I left my bag in my car (which I rarely do) and when I got to the alley and started bowling, the ball kept getting stuck in the ball return. I'm still not 100% sold that it was because my ball had expanded...I think it's because most AMF alleys have equipment circa 1958...but thats what happened to me. I've bowled at that same alley...same ball...never had that problem except the one day I left it in the trunk.

[Jaescrub]

The wife and I always bring our equipment from her truck into the house. if I had to leave from work to bowl I would bring my equipment in and put it in my office or locker. You don't want a ball you like using to crack from expansion and contraction from temperature change.

[bowl1820]

Physically speaking...they'd shrink and thus have less pin carry. Or on hot days, expand and have more pin carry.
.

The smaller ball should have the better carry.

Back in 2004 Ron Hickland, Ball Design Engineer at Ebonite International did a experiment on ball size. It's in a article titled "Doe's Ball Size Matter"

[Aslan]

The smaller ball should have the better carry.

Back in 2004 Ron Hickland, Ball Design Engineer at Ebonite International did a experiment on ball size. It's in a article titled "Doe's Ball Size Matter"

Interesting. I was thinking purely from the standpoint of size...a larger ball would be more likely to hit more pins. Would you rather bowl with a beach ball or a marble? But...I stand corrected...and I like his article title...very precise yet suggestive.

[JJKinGA]

The cold weather does some shrinkage, but the real change is i the elastic nature of the coverstock. teh colder you go, the stiffer and less flexible the cover will beocme. The less elastic, the less hook you will get (smaller footprint and less grip).

[circlecity]

The cold weather does some shrinkage, but the real change is i the elastic nature of the coverstock. teh colder you go, the stiffer and less flexible the cover will beocme. The less elastic, the less hook you will get (smaller footprint and less grip).

that makes sense... So, would it be the opposite with warm or hot bowling balls? They would hook more.

[JJKinGA]

Yes hot balls will hook more and also to lose energy more rapidly. And the time it takes for the ball to cool can be fairly lengthy. If the ball is 100 degrees F and the center is 70 degrees F then you can expect it will take an hour for the ball to be cooled down. The same is true if the ball is close to freezing. Usually we don't have such extremes. the bigger impact in temperature and humidity is on the lane. The kegel webstie has a good article on the effect of temperature and humidity on lane topography.


http://www.kegel.net/V3/ArticleDetails.aspx?ID=75

[circlecity]

Yes hot balls will hook more and also to lose energy more rapidly. And the time it takes for the ball to cool can be fairly lengthy. If the ball is 100 degrees F and the center is 70 degrees F then you can expect it will take an hour for the ball to be cooled down. The same is true if the ball is close to freezing. Usually we don't have such extremes. the bigger impact in temperature and humidity is on the lane. The kegel webstie has a good article on the effect of temperature and humidity on lane topography.


http://www.kegel.net/V3/ArticleDetails.aspx?ID=75

Thanks for the info. I guess the safe and easy solution is to get those bowling balls out of your car.

[Mudpuppy]

Move closer to the alley so you can go home from work, eat, change, get your ball, meditate, be thankful you are not Aslan and then go bowl like I do.

Or more realistically just don't leave your balls in the car period. It's definitely not good for them unless you are bowling with a bakelite ball that manufactured from melting down 20 rotary phones.