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Author Topic: Rival  (Read 3867 times)

Jay

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Rival
« on: February 17, 2009, 10:06:33 AM »
For those who have this ball, how much oil does it handle?  Currently, mine is too strong for most conditions I ever come across.  This ball doesn't snap, but it reads the mids and backends very strong.  More than anything, I'm trying to figure out how much oil I should be on before using this ball.  It seems to be stronger than a medium oil ball.

If you've played with it on any PBA patterns, sharing your experiences with that might help too.
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BuddiesProShopcom - Tim

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Re: Rival
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2009, 12:21:40 AM »
The Rival is one of the most versatile balls in the last couple years.  The ball is best-suited for medium-heavy oil.  If you don't think you'll ever find enough oil for the ball, try sanding it to 1000 and adding a light shine, this will reduce the hook but still let it handle medium patterns.

As far as PBA Patterns, I found the Rival to work well on all but the shark (it just needed a pinch more kick in the back).  Box Finish offered great results on the Viper, Chameleon, and Scorpion, and a mellower layout worked wonders on the Cheetah.
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Thanks,
Tim
www.BuddiesProShop.com
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Jay

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Re: Rival
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2009, 01:40:30 AM »
Thanks for the reply Tim.  I have mine at 2000 and a bit of lane shine currently.  I can say it is one of the best balls I've owned.  On PBA patterns, I'm having troubles with it beat being a bit over/under, but that might be the part of the lane I'm playing.  I think I liked it best on Scorpion, Cheetah, and Viper.  In my PBAX league, we're currently on the Chameleon, and I'm having troubles finding somewhere to play with that ball.  I don't believe I've moved in further than 12 at the arrows yet, and my best look so far seems to have been almost straight up 5.  Any tips?
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The Arsenal:

Rival
Counter Strike
Avalanche Solid
Maxim
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Contude

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Re: Rival
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2009, 10:25:46 AM »
My best option with the Rival on the Chameleon has been around 5 as well. I have been making adjustments to hand positions until my carry becomes consistent during practice sessions.
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Dunkirk79

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Re: Rival
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2009, 05:00:51 PM »
Strike

I have 2 Rivals......I have one that is Pin UP 4 x 3 and at 4000 with a little polish and the other is Pin DOWN at 2000 with polish. I wouldn't say that they are a good choice for heavy oil but I think with the right surface prep you should get a decent look. By NO MEANS is the Rival a good choice for the lighter conditions.....again, with the right surface you may get something to play with. Maybe put a real rough surface on it so it will use most of it's energy in the mids and lay off on the back end....

Right now, these are the only 2 pieces I have to use right now in Leagues and they went with me to Nationals last year. The Rival is a great ball for the mediums give or take.....I have a good 1-2 punch for Leagues and the occasional Tournament I do enter. Operator error is usually the biggest problem I face.

In any case....the Rival is IMHO, a very good "bench mark" type of ball because of it's versatility.
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justdale

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Re: Rival
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2009, 05:11:40 PM »
IMO the Rival is the most versitile ball in the Columbia line, it handles a lot more oil than people give it credit for, and with the proper surface adjustments it can handle light loads of oil as well.

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Dale Williams
Columbia 300 Utah Amateur Staff
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Jay

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Re: Rival
« Reply #6 on: February 18, 2009, 06:02:01 PM »
Thanks guys.  I guess I could do some tweaking with the cover.  At the current surface, I've had some good experiences with it on house shots with medium+ oil and even some of the PBA patterns if I get lined up.  For Chameleon I'm either going to have to play around 5 or move a good amount in and use ~7 as the breakpoint.  This ball definitely handles enough oil for 90% of the conditions I see, and there was only one game in a tournament recently where I wish I had something a pinch stronger.  That tournament was on a house shot with enough oil for this ball and I averaged 220(which is good for me).

If I wanted something that just hooked less, I imagine I could pull out my Avalanche instead of tweaking the cover on the Rival.  But I will try to make it work on this pattern with line adjustments first.
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No Open Tenths

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Re: Rival
« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2009, 06:12:48 PM »
The Rival has always been intriguing to me, I just haven't ponied up the bucks to get one yet. It sounds like you guys are having alot of success with it.

Not to thread jack -- but could someone that has thrown both compare the Rival to the Absolute Inferno for me? AI was a favorite of mine and it sounds like the Rival has alot of the same characteristics. Thanks.
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Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can't... you're probably right. -- Henry Ford
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BuddiesProShopcom - Tim

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Re: Rival
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2009, 11:42:13 PM »
NO10ths: Ball-motion wise, I found the Rival to be similar to the AI.  I think the Rival would probably be at least one ball up in your arsenal than the AI.
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Tim
www.BuddiesProShop.com
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No Open Tenths

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Re: Rival
« Reply #9 on: February 19, 2009, 04:04:31 PM »
quote:
NO10ths: Ball-motion wise, I found the Rival to be similar to the AI.  I think the Rival would probably be at least one ball up in your arsenal than the AI.
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Thanks,
Tim
www.BuddiesProShop.com
Columbia 300 Staff
Vise Inserts Staff

Thank you very much for your reply Tim.
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Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can't... you're probably right. -- Henry Ford
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dougb

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Re: Rival
« Reply #10 on: February 19, 2009, 04:35:01 PM »
My pro shop is drilling up one of these for me as we speak.  As a lower rev, medium speed stroker, I like balls that go long and make their move on the backend.  This looks to be a good fit for me.

I am big fan of Storm balls and symmetrical cores.  Has anyone thrown a Rival in comparison to some of Storm's medium-heavy balls, such as the Gravity Shift, Rapid Fire, etc.?
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Arsenal:
Storm Gravity Shift
Storm T-Road Pearl
Hammer Cherry Vibe
Lane #1 Bullet
Columbia 300 White Dot - Blue Pearl
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Jay

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Re: Rival
« Reply #11 on: February 19, 2009, 06:22:11 PM »
I see the Rival being similar to the T-Road Solid, but you'd probably see more backend from the Rival.  To me, this ball won't go long unless you polish it and/or drill it to go long.  For your style, you'd probably only need one of those alternatives for enough length.
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dougb

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Re: Rival
« Reply #12 on: February 19, 2009, 07:42:44 PM »
quote:
I see the Rival being similar to the T-Road Solid, but you'd probably see more backend from the Rival.  To me, this ball won't go long unless you polish it and/or drill it to go long.  For your style, you'd probably only need one of those alternatives for enough length.


Thanks.  My shop is drilling it go long and snap on the backend.  One of these days I want to pick up a T-Road Solid too, but they gave me a great deal on this ball.  Can't wait to try it out!
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