I currently have a Lucid and IQ pearl.  I usually start off the night with the Lucid and use it until the heads burn up.  I then switch to the Iq pearl.  As most people here already know the Iq pearl gets through the heads better and is stronger in the back.  It compliments the Lucid well for me.  The problem I sometimes run into is when the lanes are too burnt for the Iq.  I wanted a ball to switch to when that happens.  I have a bunch of older Visionary balls but they are mostly solids and are much more midlane type reactions.  I will use them on certain sport patterns but they don't work well with my Storm balls in terms of being able to switch to them.

So I went to my proshop and told him I was looking for a ball to go to when the Iq pearl was too strong.  He recommended the Hyroad Pearl.  I thought the Lights Out would have been a better option for what I was looking for but I took his advice and got the Hyroad pearl.  So far the Hyroad pearl is WAY too strong for what I wanted.  It is stronger than the Iq pearl.  In fact it is the strongest backend ball I have ever thrown. It is similar to the Iq pearl in the heads but it is stronger in the back. 

Now I don't know what to do.  Going from the Lucid to the Iq pearl works well for me.  Going to the Hyroad is a very different shot because the back end is so strong.  I already have a small hole punched in the side and I have scuffed it with 4000 then 3000.  It is still too strong for what I was looking for. 

Should I just give up on it and go with something much weaker?  I could always keep it for a very long sport pattern where the Iq pearl isn't quite turning the corner.  I don't know if it worth keeping just for that. 

Does anyone else here have the Iq pearl and the Hyroad pearl? 

If I didn't have the Iq pearl already I imagine I could keep screwing with the surface of the Hyroad pearl and eventually get it to work for me.  My gut feeling is if I do that I'm gonna end up with a ball almost identical to the Iq pearl.     

A larger hole and/or surface will help in taming the motion in the back down

I threw a few games after league tonight to compare the Iq pearl to the Hyroad pearl.  Everything I have said already still holds.  The Hyroad pearl goes a bit longer and turns harder in the back end.  I tried playing in, swinging it out, and slowing it down.  Regardless the Hyroad reacted the way I expected.

I know I can still adjust the reaction of the Hyroad pearl but I am almost positive now that I am going to keep it the way it is and drill something different to fill the hole I was originally looking for.  Something much weaker for when the lanes are too burnt for the Iq pearl.  The Hyroad pearl does give me a different and slightly stronger angle than the Iq pearl.  I know I will be able to use it when the lanes call for it. Then I will be able to switch to the Iq pearl when the Hyroad pearl is too much.  After that is the ball I am still looking for.  I will keep you posted once I talk to my Proshop guy and we discuss it. He is one of the best in the business and I know he will figure this out for me.   

i still find this very odd as everything you are having issues with is the complete opposite for me...i can only get this ball to work that last game when they are void of oil...first and second game i havea lot of over/under with this ball and see none of this huge backend people say about

Quote from: beeker on December 13, 2013, 12:45:56 AM

I threw a few games after league tonight to compare the Iq pearl to the Hyroad pearl.  Everything I have said already still holds.  The Hyroad pearl goes a bit longer and turns harder in the back end.  I tried playing in, swinging it out, and slowing it down.  Regardless the Hyroad reacted the way I expected.

I know I can still adjust the reaction of the Hyroad pearl but I am almost positive now that I am going to keep it the way it is and drill something different to fill the hole I was originally looking for.  Something much weaker for when the lanes are too burnt for the Iq pearl.  The Hyroad pearl does give me a different and slightly stronger angle than the Iq pearl.  I know I will be able to use it when the lanes call for it. Then I will be able to switch to the Iq pearl when the Hyroad pearl is too much.  After that is the ball I am still looking for.  I will keep you posted once I talk to my Proshop guy and we discuss it. He is one of the best in the business and I know he will figure this out for me.   

i still find this very odd as everything you are having issues with is the complete opposite for me...i can only get this ball to work that last game when they are void of oil...first and second game i havea lot of over/under with this ball and see none of this huge backend people say about

Differences in tilt and rotation are what is probably causing the difference.

I'm jumping into this conversation late, so forgive me if I repeat what another has said. When you say "stronger" and weaker", we need to be sure we know what you're talking about. Are you saying that the Hyroad Pearl rolls stronger through the oil than the IQ Tour Pearl, or are you saying it reacts stronger off the dry? There is a big difference there, and it's something that has baffled bowlers for a long time.

For instance, I used to have both a Virtual Gravity and a Tropical Storm. On my house shot, the Tropical Storm out-hooked the Virtual Gravity. That is to say, when I threw both on the same line and hit the dry, the Tropical exploded at the break point where the Virtual lost power and just kind of slow arced, hitting weakly. At first glance, that would lead some people to believe that the Tropical was a stronger ball. Obviously, that was not the case at all.

The Virtual was ten times stronger than the Tropical. As such, the Virtual burnt energy trying to dig into the oil. By the time it reached the dry, it had very little left. The Tropical, due to its much weaker nature, still had all of its energy stored up, so it made a big move off the dry.

Could this be what you're seeing with the IQ Tour Pearl and Hyroad Pearl? Now, the whole thing confuses me a bit because the IQ Tour Pearl was a clean, strong backend piece for me until I scuffed the surface a bit with 2000 abralon. Still, just based on the covers, cores and such, I would expect the Hyroad to be super clean and super strong off the spot; however, it will probably be pretty allergic to oil, which could by why some people are saying they can only use it during the third game. If there isn't any dry to bounce off of, I don't think you'll see much movement out of the Hyroad Pearl.

Does any of this ring true?

Okay, that makes sense to me. I could definitely see the IQ Tour Pearl and Hyroad Pearl being very similar if drilled the same and kept at box finish. For me, the IQ Tour Pearl wanted to go sideways off the dry when it had the box finish. I had to lightly scuff mine with 2000, and that helped smooth things out quite a bit.

In regard to the ball you're now looking for, I would be wary of the Lights Out. From what I've heard, the Lights Out is very clean, but it is really, really strong off the dry. A friend of mine was just telling me yesterday that if he had people asking for a ball that doesn't hook very much, he would definitely steer them away from the Lights Out. Now, this guy has slow speed and a lot of hand, so take it for what it's worth. Still, it sounds to me as if the Lights Out is very responsive to friction. From what I've seen/heard, the Tropical Breeze is much tamer. Heck, you could even look into something like a Super Natural. That looks like a pretty decent ball for lighter conditions or for players that want to go straighter.