Dougb,
As a Columbia staffer, I've had the opportunity to drill several Rivals with different layouts and surfaces. The first round of products released after the merger with Ebonite was the Rival, Resurgence, and High Flush. The quickness in which the Resurgence revved and bled energy limited its usefulness for me on anything but heavier-oiled/flat patterns. I'm a rev-dominant player due to my 15-15.5 mph ball speed. That left me with a Rival and a High Flush to match up with.
As such, I found the Rival to be VERY versatile. I drilled one pin over my ring, cg kicked out slightly, and was able to tweak the cover from 1000 abralon to 4000 plus factory finish and saw as much as ten boards of total hook in difference. I 3 3/8 stacked a second Rival, and routinely was inside of the oil/track line on THS patterns. Certainly the Rival was a player in oil for me.
Of course, that was based on oil volumes two or three years ago...with thicker and higher viscosities nowadays the total hook potential of a Rival would have to be downgraded some.
I hope this helps!
Paul Bober
C300 Amateur staff
Morton Grove, IL
