In general, the higher hook potential of a ball the more oil it absorbs off the lane?

[NewToBowling]

My Cyclone seems to be dead. No hook tonight. So I did the hot bath method to de-oil. We'll see how it reacts.

Guessing higher end balls are more porous and thus soak up more oil.

[RobLV1]

Yes, one of the factors that determines how aggressive a ball is is it's ability to absorb oil. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't share a particular ball's potential for oil absorption with us. Another thing that makes a difference seems to be the surface of the ball. It seems as though balls with a polished cover would absorb less oil than balls with dull covers. I don't know this for a fact, but it seems to make sense.

[NewToBowling]

Thanks. That what I thought. So if I end up getting a stronger ball I'll have to keep on top of maintenance better.

[NewToBowling]

Rob, can you help explain this to me.

Yesterday went to local alley and played a few games. When you roll a ball with revolutions when it hits friction it start changing rolling pattern, meaning changes rev speed and starts rolling more end to end. And with that it should create more pin carry for a more "explosive" pin fall. Is this correct?

Because yesterday my Cyclone didn't seem to do that. It never really changed rolling characteristics. Just kept rolling with same axis of rotation till it hit the pins. Maybe explains why my pin carry was so weak. Could it be they oiled all the way down to the pins or is my ball just dead (I did do hot bucket bath soak after last nights game)?

[jab5325]

It sounds like your release is off more than oil farther down to the pins, IMO.

[BDOG10]

It could be just the opposite my friend. It could be that the oil on the lane was used up from night before. Some call it or as I call it, (burnt lanes), with reactive resin balls this means that all the energy was used up in the early part of the lane and due to the friction earlier down land the ball changed into the roll phase earlier than during normally oiled lanes conditions causing the ball to use up its energy earlier. I would take the ball to your local pro shop and just have them look into using the factory cleaner and then re-polish the ball back up for you.

[Mike White]

Yes, one of the factors that determines how aggressive a ball is is it's ability to absorb oil. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't share a particular ball's potential for oil absorption with us. Another thing that makes a difference seems to be the surface of the ball. It seems as though balls with a polished cover would absorb less oil than balls with dull covers. I don't know this for a fact, but it seems to make sense.

A resin ball need to absorb all of the oil on the surface before it's thrown again to be effective.

This usually occurs in the time between turns.

This is true for both a polished, and dull ball.

So a long as both balls pick up the same amount of oil from the lane, both balls absorb the same amount of oil.

A polished ball is usually used more in the drier area of the lane, so it is presented with less oil on it's surface to be absorbed.

Polish designed for bowling balls does not block the ball's ability to absorb oil.

[Mike White]

Rob, can you help explain this to me.

Yesterday went to local alley and played a few games. When you roll a ball with revolutions when it hits friction it start changing rolling pattern, meaning changes rev speed and starts rolling more end to end. And with that it should create more pin carry for a more "explosive" pin fall. Is this correct?


This is close, but the cause and effect isn't quite right.

Take an example of the ball with 90 degrees of axis of rotation, but only 1 rpm rev rate.

When the ball hits friction, the axis of rotation will almost immediately change to 0 degrees, and the rev rate will increase.

It's highly unlikely for that to create more pin carry, and explosive pin fall.

The rev rate (off your hand) has a lot to do with the resulting angle of entry, and amount the ball actually hooks.

The hook phase of the ball exists from the moment the ball encounters friction, until the axis of rotation is in line with the angle of entry.

The rate the ball loses axis of rotation has a lot to do with how much the ball hooks (changes direction)

The higher the rev rate, the slower it loses axis of rotation.


Because yesterday my Cyclone didn't seem to do that. It never really changed rolling characteristics. Just kept rolling with same axis of rotation till it hit the pins. Maybe explains why my pin carry was so weak. Could it be they oiled all the way down to the pins or is my ball just dead (I did do hot bucket bath soak after last nights game)?

It is also possible that you were playing (for example) 12 board, while they oiled out to 10 board.

That would cause the ball's track area to be covered in oil, so it took much longer into the back ends for that oil to wear off (i.e, carry down).

Since the ball had oil between the surface and the lane, it saw no friction, and nothing to cause the axis of rotation to change, nor increase the rev rate.

If you wipe the ball thoroughly before a shot, and the ball doesn't change it's axis of rotation, the problem is the amount of oil the ball is encountering.

If however it does change the axis of rotation, and then by not wiping the ball, the same line doesn't change the axis of rotation, most likely the ball is full of oil.

On a "burnt" lane, the ball would encounter friction very early, and lose axis of rotation early.

Since that doesn't fit your description, that is most likely not the case.

Unless however the ball is both full of oil, and never wiped, and finally there is some oil on the lane. (semi-burnt)

[NewToBowling]

I usually played second arrow and it didn't hook. I did have a few mis-throws and hit the 1 board down the lane and it didn't react or hook back at all. Just a weird night.

Of course it could be my release but from what o could see there was definite rotation on the ball. Hand was behind ball all night

[RobLV1]

I usually played second arrow and it didn't hook. I did have a few mis-throws and hit the 1 board down the lane and it didn't react or hook back at all. Just a weird night.

Of course it could be my release but from what o could see there was definite rotation on the ball. Hand was behind ball all night

It's all about using the oil to prolong the skid stage so the ball doesn't lose energy too quickly. Since most house bowlers choose to play the second arrow where the heavier oil in the middle of the lane starts, that area dries up very quickly. The same goes for the area at the end of the pattern. If bowlers who are playing the second arrow, the third arrow, and the fourth arrow all throw to the same spot past the end of the pattern, the 40' pattern can quickly turn into a 37' pattern. This earlier friction spot can bleed the energy from the ball causing it to straighten out long before it should. The key is to move your target left at the arrows to find more oil, and to also move your breakpoint left to keep the ball in the oil longer at the end of the pattern.

[NewToBowling]

Thanks. That makes sense

[NewToBowling]

Very eye opening. Just read up on skid, hook, and roll.

Things are coming together. Never really understood the three stages of a bowling ball going down the lane.

So it sounds like my ball may have burnt up energy due to lack of oil during the front of the lane where it should have been skidding and storing up energy for the hook and roll stage. Thus the weak reaction to the pins.

So it wasn't a case of too much oil but the exact opposite

[NewToBowling]

Also read up on weak vs medium vs strong balls and how they really don't have much to do with hook but rather how aggressive they soak up the lane oil.

[Mike White]

Very eye opening. Just read up on skid, hook, and roll.

Things are coming together. Never really understood the three stages of a bowling ball going down the lane.

So it sounds like my ball may have burnt up energy due to lack of oil during the front of the lane where it should have been skidding and storing up energy for the hook and roll stage. Thus the weak reaction to the pins.

So it wasn't a case of too much oil but the exact opposite

Are you saying that the description you made before...


Because yesterday my Cyclone didn't seem to do that. It never really changed rolling characteristics. Just kept rolling with same axis of rotation till it hit the pins.

... was incorrect?

That description does not indicate a ball that has burnt up energy?

[fortheloveofbowling]

It is a little tough to get a cyclone to burn up.

[NewToBowling]

Are you saying that the description you made before...



... was incorrect?

That description does not indicate a ball that has burnt up energy?

Honestly I don't know.

But just came back from bowling and got my highest score yet, 247. Seven strikes in a row

I did de-oil my ball a few days ago so that may explain my ball be more reactive today. And I played a different line. I started at 6th arrow but still targeting 2nd arrow but still hitting pocket most of the time. Ball reacted more than I have seen before. So much that I had a very hard time picking up 10 pin spares. Only real way was to throw harder to slow down the reaction on back end.

[Aslan]

When I de-oil mine I see noticeably more oil absorption with my solid coverstock than I do with my hybrids and pearls. Noticeably more.

Not sure why. I always assumed the pearls had polish impacting their pores…or maybe solid covers were more porous. But I don't know. Maybe different balls give off oil at different rates based on temperature. I don't know.

But it's a hard question to answer since "overall hook" is a difficult topic. Covering more boards? Hooking the soonest? The most dramatic angle? People all tend to have different ideas about what overall hook really is.