Why does my much older ball hook more then newer more "aggressive" ball.

[blazerunner]

This is my first post here so excited to get some help from people instead of searching for you-tube videos that are not helping me under stand the differences in balls.

First off the two balls in question...

Newer ball is a Roto Grip Sinister
http://www.bowlingball.com/products/.../sinister.html

Older Ball is a Roto Grip RS-X
http://www.bowlingball.com/products/...2889/rs-x.html

Quick summary of what my question is I want to know why one ball hooks so much more then another?

Story behind my question:
Bought the newer ball a about year ago because I wanted a more aggressive hooking ball. Soon as I got it I never went back to the RS-X, almost even just threw it out. It seemed like it was hooking more at the time so never thought anything of it. Then in the last 3 weeks I have been struggling. I am hitting the pocket but leaving pins(usually 10 but just as often could have been solid 9 or 6 or something else).

So I say hey just for a bit lets throw that old ball. Well damn thing just takes off like a rocket compared to my Sinister. I had to move about 5 or more boards to the left and readjust my mark. Since going back to that other ball I am bowling well but I just don't get it. Also noticed the type of hook is different. Sinister is a much more curved hook while my RS-X looks like its not gonna move then at last quarter of the lane just halls butt to the pocket.

I am not bowling bad or anything. I am averaging 199 in one league and 204 in another which I am very happy with. I just want to understand why a much older medium ball is hooking more then an aggressive ball.

[JasonNJ]

The Sinister may need to be baked and resurfaced. For me usually about 90-100 games I start noticing the ball reactions on my ball starts to die and then I bake the oil out and resurface the ball. You can probably ask your pro shop to do it for you if you don't have a ball spinner and a ball oven.

[blazerunner]

The Sinister may need to be baked and resurfaced. For me usually about 90-100 games I start noticing the ball reactions on my ball starts to die and then I bake the oil out and resurface the ball. You can probably ask your pro shop to do it for you if you don't have a ball spinner and a ball oven.

Do you mind explaining what you mean? I am sorry I just dont understand and this is what I am trying to under stand I think.

[Amyers]

After a year it is quite likely that the Sinister needs a resurfacing. I haven't owned one but I have had some friends who did and all of them have complained about this ball "lane shining" pretty quickly so I'm surprised this hasn't been a problem before. Talk to your pro shop about it depending on the size they may also offer a ball oven than can extract the oil from the cover stock and help restore performance. Resurfacing a ball returns the surface of the ball back to the original factory surface (or any you may want) over time and games thrown the surface of your ball wears out and it needs to be reapplied. Depending on price for these services you may want to consider a new ball. I've seen oil extraction and resurfacing as cheap as $20 and as much as $70. At $20 it think it's a good deal as long as you like the ball and at $70 unless I love the ball I'm not going to invest that into one that's a year or more old. It's just something to think about.

[scottymoney]

Most all Storm/Roto balls are sponges. My brother has the Wrecker and to keep it at a surface form him, he hits it with a 100- grit pad every 6 games. This takes that shine off. Even with doing this I have baked and resurfaced it every 40-60 games. It usually takes 2 hours or so to get the ball to sweat out all the oil I can get out of it.

We recently got him a Motiv Revolt and he loves the reaction and the fact he doesn't have to play with abralon pads every 2 weeks. Still uses the Wrecker when the lanes break down a bit but he complains it is very over/under (which I hear a lot about the wrecker)

[JasonNJ]

Do you mind explaining what you mean? I am sorry I just dont understand and this is what I am trying to under stand I think.

Sure, the reactive bowling balls are porous and if you looked at the surface of the ball under a microscope you'll see the surface will have all these peaks and valleys. Because of the peaks and valleys, that gives your ball the friction it needs to hook. After a while, these peaks and valleys wear down from normal use and get clogged with oil making the ball has less friction. So baking the ball will heat up the oil and unclogged the pores of the ball. And resurfacing it is basically sanding your ball with different grit sandpaper to create more peaks and valleys.

I would be careful in baking the ball in your oven, the balls can easily crack. Your pro shop can probably both bake and resurface the ball for you. Or you can buy a ball spinner and oven which bowlingball.com sells both.

Here is a link to Storm's resurfacing guide.

http://www.stormbowling.com/docs/Res...Guide_2012.pdf

[Ptnomore]

Blazerunner, AS you use your ball, it soaks up lane conditioner (oil). It's not necessarily what the ball was designed to do, but a function of the materials used to make modern bowling balls. And every so often, you have to get that oil out as the ball gets saturated. Losing movement (hook) on the back end is one indication of that saturation. But a periodic "bake" is more helpful instead of waiting for the ball to stop working. Because at that point, you really don't know if it's the lanes (oil volume, pattern, etc), your release, the ball surface, etc. Periodic baking takes at least that part out of the equation.

Your proshop should be able to do that for you. Most places I know charge $30.

You can also build your own for little more about $60, using a Plastic storage bin, a 5 gallon bucket, and a food dehydrator. I did it, took a couple of hours, and it works awesome. Search youtube for it, you'll find it.

[RobLV1]

Since most everyone is focusing on the new ball, let me talk about the old ball for a second. The RSX was released years ago, and since that time there have been many technological advances in cover materials. Since you are asking for explanations about baking and resurfacing your new ball, I assume you have not done any resurfacing of your old ball. If that's the case, then what you are seeing in your old ball is enough loss of friction that the ball is skidding further, thereby retaining more energy for the back end when it finally faces up. If you like that reaction, try taking your new ball and putting some surface on it and apply polish over the surface. I think it might give you the reaction that seem to be looking for.

[Ptnomore]

But to answer your original question as to why your old ball hooks more than the new one, more than likely, the lanes are better matched up to the existing surface on the old ball. The old ball, if it was originally a matte finish, will have become "polished" over time with use, at least in the track area of the ball. The new ball probably has a finish on it that it much too aggressive for the amount of conditioner on the lane where you bowl. Try adding a touch of polish to the balls surface and see what that does.

If there isn't enough oil (volume) on the lane for your new aggressive ball, it'll lose a lot of it's energy as it goes down the lane, and won't have enough left over to turn the corner when it gets to that point.

[fordman1]

I have found that the number rating for most balls is wrong. My new vrs. LT48 is one of the strongest balls I have. Yet it is a 165. It hooks more than the 225-230 balls. Wouldn't hurt to look at the way the balls are drilled also.