Author Topic: Renegade (Read 16194 times)

admin · « **on:** December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM »

Ball NPS Score: 100.00
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The Renegade is an excellent choice for medium to oily lane conditions. Power players will especially like the way the Renegade* clears the front end and still retains energy for a strong backend reaction - without overreaction. Drillable with any symmetrical core layout.

The specifications are: Part Number: 60-103204; Color: Sky Blue Solid; Coverstock: Pro Traction Reactive; RG Max: 2.577; RG Min: 2.540; RG Diff: 0.037; RG Ave.: 4.6.

bluesquest · « **Reply #1 on:** April 11, 2002, 10:46:46 AM »

I bought this ball off of Ebay and actually had no intention of buying it when I bid on it. I put in one very low bid, which ended up being the last bid placed, so I won the auction. When the ball arrived I was not sure what I was going to do with it but decided to go ahead and drill it for myself and I am glad that I did! Ball arrived with a very high polish so it goes through the heads quite well and has plenty of hook and back end. I was surprised with the amount of hook but this ball hooks as much and as hard as anything shiny that I own. The ball has a CG to PIN of 2â€ so I stacked both on the leverage point with the PIN up and the CG down to aid in delaying the hook. By drilling the ball this way I was able to get a great delayed action with a wide flare on the track. Other than being made by Brunswick I donâ€™t know a lot of background on the Revolution line of equipment but I would highly recommend the Renegade. I still see the ball on Ebay all the time and most of the time they sell for $40 to $50 which I would call a steal.

dizzyfugu · « **Reply #2 on:** May 30, 2007, 03:34:52 PM »

The Renegade Solid Sky Blue in a nutshell:

Medium strength solid reactive (most probably PK18, maybe with light particle load?

Suited for medium-dry to medium shots, a killer in THS

Pretty clean through the heads, hardly over-reacts, reads lane well

Becomes better the more I use it - very underrated piece, turns heads and outperforms today's equipment!

Well, the second review ever, and "only" 7 years after the ball's introduction in 2000?

Why this ball?

In fact, this ball came to me as a bargain - as well as to anyone else I talked about it. I found my specimen undrilled and without box or specs on ebay. I got it for EUR 50,-, which is currently $75 or half a NIB Power Groove. For such a relatively low price for a NIB condition ball I gave it a try - mostly out of curiosity, since it is from 2000 and the ball would not really fill a gap in my arsenal at this time (or so I thought).

Having seen one in action before and knowing a little about the ball's specs and reaction characteristics through some legwork and the help of BR.com members I was able to puzzle together a vague picture. So, many thanks to CharlesT and DP3 for their input on the Renegade! This had been a great help.

About me:
Style = Stroker/mild Tweener, right-handed
Speed = ~14 mph
PAP = 5" & 7/8"^
Axis tilt = 18,7°
Revs = ~300 RPM at release
For more details, check out my profile, please.

The ball and its setup:

The ball came in good shape, just with some scratches after 7 years of waiting. Pin distance was exactly 3.5" and the surface came slightly polished - not a true high gloss, but definitively with some prep over a base grit. No sanding lines could be made out. Web sources claim a 600 grit base, and to some players the balls came in a dull finish?

I had the ball drilled up at Michaels' Pro Shop in Duisburg, Germany, by Florian Streppel. The shop, owned by Germany's national team player and Brunswick staffer Michael Kraemer, is a great source for help and service. Again, credits to the team!

Originally I wanted to have the Renegade drilled up with a simple label leverage drilling, just for training purposes. But after weighing and some discussion about the (unknown) potential coverstock and core strength we settled for a simple 4x4 stacked layout for more length and back end with the pin above the ring finger:

=====*====
===o=o====
==========
=====#====
==========
====O=====
==========

* = Pin (in ring finger hole position)
# = CG

No x-hole was necessary, so that there would be room for future adjustments if the flare of the medium-low differential core would not suffice. Oval grips plus a urethane thumb slug (all black) completed the setup. In fact, this is a layout that works very well for me and was favorite on other balls like a Vicious Attack. To have a benchmark to start with, I left the surface as it was.

As a side note: when we punched the ball up it was the worst smelling "ball operation" I ever witnessed (*yuck!*) - what a chemical stench!
Another funny thing: whatever the core is/was made of - the drilling touched the barrel-shaped thing (see the video below for core's shape which reminds much of Lane #1's diamond designs and somehow of the current Fury Torsion core) and the stuff that came out of the hole looked much like instant mashed potatoes by color and consistency! I have never seen this, kind of... yellow flakes? Weird.

Video:

Many more vids starring the Renegade as a benhcmark ball can be found in my YouTube channel.

The testing program (in much detail):

Fresh 36' medium crown pattern:
Maiden flight on 2004 Qubica synth surface, at Treff Bowling in Duisburg where I had the ball drilled up some days before. The pattern was a THS with a greater oil volume/tongue in the lane middle and a thin buffed zone up to the gutter outside of the 8th board. With the start of the summer season, less oil tends to be applied in many bowling centers, and Duisburg was no exception. In fact, the back end tended to be screaming so that any strong ball's (like my Shock & Awe or Frankie May Gryphon) use was futile at that time.

My Sahara is already a strong ball for me on this condition, and I used it as a benchmark for the Renegade. I had no idea how strong the Renegade would be. My initial reaction guess was that it would be arcing and tend to read the lane earlier, probably like my Pure Hammer. But that was not the case!

I found the OOB Renegade with my chosen setup to be a very handy alternative right "under" my Sahara, which has a similar setup (pin above ring finger, CG stacked, MB next to thumb hole). While I could keep the Sahara easily in the pocket standing at 26th board with my right shoe tip and playing across 13th board at the arrows out to about 7th board, the Renegade offered an alternative on a more direct line, closer to the gutter.

The most effective line for the Renegade was standing on 20th board with my right shoe tip and playing almost straight down across the 2nd arrow - a line similar to my Pure Hammer which has a weaker drilling (pin 1" above bridge). The ball would go dead straight for 40' and then turn sharply, revving up in a continuous arc into the pocket. The Pure Hammer would, in contrast, read the lane much earlier and curve in much sooner, while the Sahara reacts much like the Renegade but crosses more boards.

Once in the pocket, the Renegade's carry was very good: messengers, low pins, anything you'd ask for. The higher RG and medium differential retain much energy when you need it, and for a solid ball I was surprised how well it handles the lighter conditions.

But there was not much room for error; less tolerance than both the Pure Hammer or Sahara. If I'd miss my target to the right, the low flaring core would not provide enough recovery to make it back into the pocket - some 1-2-4-6-10, 1-2-6-10 or 2-8-10 leaves spoke a clear language. Creating area was not easy for me with this piece at that time.

I also tried the Renegade on the deeper Sahara line across 13th board, but that was not successful, either. I'd end up with my feet at 23rd board, 3 further to the right than with the Sahara, and would still have recovery and entry angle problems with the Renegade, even though I tried to give it more hand. Back to the direct line across 2nd arrow, everything would be fine again.

This impression of a limited lane area to play with was confirmed during further trials during later training sessions where the 2nd arrow appeared to be "the" target for this ball.
I used the ball on the same 23/13 line for 4 consecutive games and could not see a need to change the line. I expected the ball's cover to be much more aggressive. The higher RG and the low differential seem to help pushing the ball down the lane where it delivers its energy well. As a consequence the ball would hardly over-react. I observed 2-3" of flare with my setup.

Also, cross-lane spares (e. g. the 7 pin) were easy to handle - if I dropped speed a little and let the ball roll early, it would cross the oil tongue without problem and cover enough boards to reach the far left corner from the original 2nd arrow target - better than a pearl ball like the Sahara.

This far, I'd say it is with the original polished surface a good choice for medium to medium-dry conditions.

37' medium crowned shot, 1994 Brunswick AnvilLane:
Further trials in my club house/home alley in Duesseldorf with 1994 Brunswick synth surface. For the summer season, the oil pattern comprised 22 units, mostly high and flat between 12th and 27th board, with a 3 board wide, sharp oil edge when fresh and a buffed outside zone with low grip that tends to dry up quickly through porous balls. Overall similar to Duisburg, but the lane surface offers less grip. Therefore, a similar line was pretty successful: standing at 24th board playing across 13th arrow.

Some video impressions from training and testing with the OOB ball, core pics included (ca. 8MB size): http://media.putfile.com/Revolution-Renegade-4x4-OOB

Here, the Renegade reacted more in an arcing fashion, yet with good finish and forward roll, as you can see in the movie - a nice and clean reaction.
As in Duisburg before, playing too close to the gutter would have the ball read too early and make it dive through the nose, leaving wide-open splits and even a Greek Church. Too far inside, the ball would not create enough flare to recover to the pocket.

Strangely, in contrast to Duisburg, the so-called Pro Traction coverstock demonstrated more grip on the older Brunswick lane surface - after 4 consecutive games on the most successful line it showed a tendency to burn up and I had to switch to the benchmark Sahara which would create more area on a deeper line (standing at 27 board, plaing across 3rd arrow), a line which the OOB Renegade with my setup simply could not handle. Amazing how much different the ball reacted to different lane surfaces!

Addendum (July 2007) - the resurfacing revelation:
Being tired of the Renegade's low margin for error and so-so performance I decided to play a bit with the surface. Nothing to lose, my thought was that the surface/polish might have suffered after 7 years of waiting. The overall reaction of the Renegade so far was nice, so I hit it with a 2.000 Abralon pad and applied Brunswick's High Gloss Polish (both 4-sided).

Back on the lanes the result was astonishing! The ball became much more readable, the pin carry improved, especially on light hits, and it also recovered much better from shots that went accidently too far out, even though it still had to be kept on a tight line (standing at 27, playing across 14th board at the arrows, later I switched again to the Sahara for a 30/16 line, chasing the oil). It was as if the ball had been suddenly kissed back into life!

To my surpise, I was able to put together a nice 868 series (through 4 games) with the freshly prepped orb in my club alley, on a lane from the previous day which had already seen some social bowlers's traffic and some carrydown thorugh house balls. The Renegade moved as if on tracks, slightly sharper at the breakpoint than before. All in all, this little surgery resulted in an amazing overall control and carry improvement. I think now I have something to seriously have fun with, and that the ball really suffered from 7 years on hold for its destiny: wrecking pins!

Addendum (Sep. 2007):
I am amazed how good this ball is (or turned out to be)

! Sure, it has its limits, but with the refreshed surface this baby is a killer when kept between 2nd and 3rd arrow - it even bailed me out in a national tournament last weekend when my Frankie May Gryphon quit because of lack of oil. With the polished surface, the Renegade was a very good option for the later games, yielding my tournament high game of 226 for this season so far. The more I use it, the more I like it and the more potential I find.

Addendum, Oct. 07:
The more I use the ball, the more I like it - with its re-polished surface it has become a very good weapon for medium to medium-dry conditions and a rack wrecker for anything THS-like. It has even found a place in my tournament bag for the 2007/8 season.
What's astonishing me is the Renegade's impact power - it goes nicely through the heads, but then gradually builds up hook and traction, hooks with authority and delivers so damn well. With more use, the ball has displayed more and more potential to be used to open up the lanes. Maybe the coverstock needed some oil absorption to get back to normal, besides the surface refreshment. Since its first uses some months ago, however, the Renegade has developed into something much stronger and predictable.

I had, just a couple of days ago, bowlers asking me during a tournament in Belgium what the hell this ball was, and something similar happened in league. Players were deeply impressed by the ball's action and pretty surprised to hear that this was a nom-de-plum Brunswick ball from 2000 - since it easily outperformed more modern stuff (until there was not enough oil anymore...).

Again: Wow! If you find one, get it. It will be cheap for sure and looks like nothing. But it has SO much potential! Now I know why so many fellow BR.com users are still raving about it... Me too!

Some conclusions:

A mediocre ball from Brunswick's labs - not a bad one, but nothing that makes you wave your hands and scream. For the money it is O.K. and even useful. Players like me, with lower speed and average revs, will like its tendency to push well down the lane thanks to the higher RG, even on light conditions or late games. Rev-dominant player will also like it due to the lower differential and its tendency not to jerk at the breakpoint, and its very good delivery in the back end.

Dynamically, the "true" barrel-shaped core with the medium-low RG yields a nice, controllable roll and continuous back end. The ball shows a sweet skid/hook/roll pattern and revs up nicely. But the lower differential of 0.037" will not allow you to create much area, unless you are truly rev-dominant or drill it for maximum strength. IMHO, the ball is best suited for down-and-in lines, medium to shorter patterns.

As a consequence I am not sure if the Renegade would make a good beginner's ball. It is not overly strong, but you need to be quite exact to exploit this ball's potential, and it will not allow multiple lines to the pocket.

After the simple surface refreshment (see above) my personal ranking for this ball went form just 6 to 8 out of 10, due to the massively improved carry and control. The Renegade is not a bad ball, but limited concerning lines and conditions, so I cannot call it a real "good" or versatile piece. But I can understand why fellow bowlers like(d) this piece, and it still can be of value if you use it within its limitations. Get one if you find one, and have fun

Lane utility for tested ball polished OOB surface (pattern length vs. oil volume):

|S M L
|h e o
|o d n
|r . g
|t
_______
|0 + X| Light volume
|X X +| Medium volume
|+ 0 0| Heavy volume

Legend:
X = Best suited with effective control & carry
+ = Fairly suited (works, somehow, but lacks control)
0 = Unsuited (ineffective, either slips or burns up)

The chart concept is borrowed from Storm's 2003 print catalogue. Surface prep and drillings may change the results, it is just personal experience with my style and the reviewed ball

Some thoughts about the coverstock: Revolution called it "Pro Traction", a review in Bowler's journal (included at this review's end) claims that this stuff is derived from the Danger Zone. Consequently, it should be PK18 solid or a close derivate. Some other web sources claim PK17 or even PK17D? When it came I was not sold on PK18, but with the fresh surface, the reaction improved considerably and I'd say: that's it.

Upon closer inspection I also found some tiny grits in the coverstock, that look pretty much like carbide particles (I have a Fuze Elimonator as benchmark, where the particles are easy to spot in the dark blue, shiny surface). That made me wonder if it was a light load particle ball? These "flitter" pieces do not seem to be integrated for cosmetic effect like PET flakes, and they are too small to be seen. On the other side, other Revolution balls from the 2000 era with particle coverstocks like the RevolutionIST Plum, Green or Navy were clearly marked as such? The mystery continues... but it could explain the very good traction of the ball once the lane dries up.

But now, back to the action: Even though it would fit there performance-wise, the Renegade is IMHO quite different from balls like Brunswick's BVP or Monster line. But it would still fit well into Brunswick's arsenal as a special purpose or control piece for lighter conditions. As a side note: Brunswick has a new ball line in store between the Power Grooves and the BVPs called "Avalanche", and this ball should fit there perfectly.

Trying to assess its potential I'd put it between a pearl Power Groove and a BVP Rampage. It would IMO also make a more arcing and less nervous alternative to a BVP Punisher. The best historical match for the Renegade I could think of is the Red/Black Monster. I also think that it should be quite comparable with a current Jolt Pearl or Jolt Solid from Storm.

From the balls I own with a similar setup, it fits in strength and reaction between my Sahaha (more length, sharper breakpoint, covers more boards in the back end) and my black Pure Hammer (effective on similar outside lines, but the Pure Hammer reads the lane much earlier and arcs all the way to the pocket). Another impression I have is that the Renegade reacts like a light version of the Raging Red Fuze - not so much mid lane, but a "typical" Brunswick ball.

Finally... the looks:
Huh, "Sky Blue" - maybe on Uranus? The dark "Bleen" color rather looks like soupy ocean green, maybe it is the ball's age? This ball is, well, ugly. It looks pretty much like a prototype of Brunswick's Impulse Zone.
On the other side, the ball has only two white/yellow engravings: the Renegade's name and the anonymous "R" logo with no real hint at the manufacturer. True understatement

Additional voices:
Since this ball is rather antique and exotic, I will add some more infos I found or received, just to complete the picture and offer some benchmark to my own findings:

From Bowler's Journal, June 2000 (excerpt, Link to the full article)

Revolution Bowling: Renegade
Distinguishing Characteristics - This Sky Blue Reactive (with white and yellow logos and pin) uses what Revolution calls Pro Traction reactive cover stock. It's no secret that Revolution is a part of the Brunswick group. Revolution's Pro Traction is an aggressive reactive cover from the Danger Zone family.

The Renegade comes with a 600-grit box sand and a light polish. This cover tunes easily with sanding and polishing for roll/reaction changes. The core in the Renegade is a new look. The main core body resembles a diamond with the top and bottom cut off. The medium Rg (avg. 2.558, min. 2.54, max. 2.577) core offers a medium/low Rg differential (.037) which allows stronger (higher flare) layouts without sacrificing control and back-end predictability. Drill the Renegade in any two-piece manner.

The Renegade hooks more, of the two Revolution releases this month. The aggressive cover and core power can cause this one to hook early on dry heads and too much speed/revs can squirt on tight backends. The right-side ball was label-drilled (pin at leverage), and to test the tech- sheet claim of stronger yet predictable drills, the left-side ball had stack leverage with hole on PAP. On fresh oil/strip, the Renegade is very clean to the midlane with a strong turn and a heavy roll through the pins. The ball played great up the wall and gave a 7-8 board swing in the head oil. We rolled a few games in the track area (around 10-board) to dry up the track. As we dried up the track, we could chase the oil inside and maintain that 7-8 board swing. In the dry track, the ball hooked and stood up early. Our lefty had the entire left side of the lane on fresh pattern and to light carry-down.

When we took this one to the tight/carry-down condition, our stroke shot was an edge. On the pattern where some of this month's balls worked to tip the corner, we could play this one down and in. As we moved across the lane, we found the Renegade gave us about a 5-board swing on the tight backends. We like to play the ABC Tournament tight, so we tried the Renegade on a 20-to-16 shot on the tight condition. This ball worked inside and tight with great consistency and predictability: great carry on this tight line. Our lefty-tester's release power was a detriment on the tight condition; not much swing area. A tight alignment worked well and a light scuff (green pad) did open the lane about 8 boards more.

Statement from BR.com fellow user DP3 about the ball, it might be helpful to others, too

"The Renegade was a staple in my arsenal when I was bowling JBTs and Youth tournaments in the early 00s. This was the first ball I tried with an axis layout, I believe it was 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 with a large hole on the axis. This ball was money playing the track on any THS. I don't remember anything I ever had that rolled similar. Now it would be for the lighter side of mediums but if you're heavy handed you can use this on mediums and longer patterns if you have fresher backends. This thing doesn't flare in the fronts, it saves all motion and continuation for the backend."

Addendum Jan. 08:
Sweet thing. I currently use the Renegade between my Frankie May Gryphon for fresh lanes and my Pure Hammer and Slate Blue Gargoyle when the lanes get scorched. As long as there is some head oil left, the Renegade is a great piece - just after Xmas 2007 I achieved my absolute high game of 278 with it. Wonderful ball reaction, sending it across 2nd arrow out to 5th board on a rather easy 37' shot. The Renegade would break surprisingly sharp and move relentlessly into the pocket, delivering hard hits with lots of messengers. On the right, lighter condition, this one is a true weapon, despite its age and unspectacular looks. I come to understand ever better why some BR.com users are raving about this piece - I join them

--------------------
DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
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Edited on 26.09.2011 at 7:27 AM

Edited on 26.10.2011 at 3:42 AM

Author Topic: Renegade (Read 16194 times)

admin

Renegade

bluesquest

Re: Renegade

dizzyfugu

Re: Renegade