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Author Topic: from 14 lbs. to 15?  (Read 1821 times)

goneal32

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from 14 lbs. to 15?
« on: September 20, 2019, 08:56:46 AM »
I have always used 14 lb balls, today I used 3, 15 lb balls. Scored basically the same, but, I roll a 14 at 15mph, I rolled the 15 lb at the same speed, sometimes a little faster. My question is this..should I consider going to 15 lb balls? Is there an advantage of an extra pound? Im about to buy 3 new balls..14 or 15? Also there is the RG, diff, varies between 14 and 15.

 

BallReviews-Removed0385

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Re: from 14 lbs. to 15?
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2019, 03:00:04 PM »

Yes, if you roll the 15 as well as the 14 it's definitely worth it.  The extra pound cannot be ignored. 

bowling_rebel

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Re: from 14 lbs. to 15?
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2019, 08:49:12 PM »
I used to bowl with my thumb and had a rev rate at about 225. I tried 14 and 15 pounds. I didn't notice a difference in carry.

Last year I totally changed how I bowl to 1 hand, no thumb. In order to learn how to do this which put much additional stress on my hand and elbow I went all the way down to 10. With my about 380 no thumb rev rate I have used reactive balls from 11 - 14 pounds. A few shots with 15 but will not do that b/c I don't want to injure myself.

The points is, I'm not guessing. I have bowled a lot with 12 pound cyclone, 13 pounds BTU pearl, and 14 pounds, mostly urethane.

The big difference in carry I have seen is from 12 to 13 pounds.
There is actually a video on youtube about weight where this is broken down. A small increase in speed makes up for the additional weight, so if dropping weight increases speed a tiny bit, there is no point.

The other factor I found is angle. With 12 pound cyclone if I play the outside, people won't be able to tell it is 12 pounds. If the lanes are breaking down and need to play big inside angle, then the 12 pounds starts to show.

13 pounds hits almost like 14, and that's like 15 as far as I can tell. The biggest factors in power is rolling the ball well and getting the ball to the pocket in the correct phase of ball motion. 

All factors being equal - yeah, I guess a 15 would be better than 14. But if someone only rolls a 15 pound ball 99% as well as 14, I'd go with 14. I would say the same as 13 to 14.

I'd go with the weight that feels better and allows you to execute your shots the best. I've left too many 9 pins with my 14 pound Fever Pitch to feel I ever need 15 pounds.   

SG17

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Re: from 14 lbs. to 15?
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2019, 04:06:25 PM »

Yes, if you roll the 15 as well as the 14 it's definitely worth it.  The extra pound cannot be ignored. 


This; so much this.

the only reason I would stay at 14 lbs is if you lack the physical ability to throw 15 lbs for the entire league session. 

I also wouldn't mix weights of balls if you can help it; in my transition from 16 lbs to 15 lbs mixing/matching weights messed with my timing

Crash7189

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Re: from 14 lbs. to 15?
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2019, 02:10:11 PM »
for all the info you will every need about ball weight and other bowling topics

go to Amazon an buy this book it will answer more questions then you might think

Bowling Beyond the Basics

By Ron Hatfield and James Freeman 

I had Reconstructive wrist surgery 2 years ago I am still struggling to get to 14#s still at 13# and my ave is 218. My ave being down from 230 is not the Ball weight it is from lack of mobility and strength in my wrist.


buy the book it will help