Ball: Menace
Layout: 80 x 2 ¼ x 50
Surface: box condition
Test patterns: 41ft THS and 37ft sport pattern
Outcome: Using a layout I had on the Sinister and Hyper Cell I figured to get a similar reaction. Smooth roll and not an overreaction in the backend. Actually, it was weaker in the backend then I expected, which was good me because my Haywire is stronger than I thought it was going to be. The deflection on the pin deck was a little higher than I thought it would be, could be the new pins Colony Park just put in. Found the Menace with this layout great for truly super wet/super tacky conditions.  I love to play left of center and being able to just have straighter path to the pocket then the having to play the whole lane, and this ball and layout allow me to. Even though this ball is a “HP4”, it’s versatile enough to be a benchmark ball for about anyone.

LANE CONDITION

Length: Various Lengths

Volume: Various Volumes

Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc): Various Patterns


The newest addition to the Roto Grip HP4 line is the Menace.  The Menace uses the Cage Core which was in the Sinister and wraps it with the 74H solid cover stock.  The mixture of two results in a ball reaction that is as crazy as the colors on the Menace!

The Menace was drilled with pin below my middle finger with the mass bias kicked out and the X-Hole is on my axis point.  The dual angle people the coordinates are 45 X 6 X 70.  My coordinates are PAP 5 5/8 by ¾, Rev Rate around 300, more up the back release and my balls speed is around 15mph.  I like to go straighter if possible.

I was able to throw the Menace on a couple different patterns.  The bowling balls that I also threw were the Sinister and the Hyper Cell which are in the HP4 Line.  I started on the Paris (47 feet) and the Hyper Cell looked good until the fronts started to dry up and I had to move left.  The Hyper Cell lost too much energy early and did not have enough left for the backend.  I switched to the sinister.  The Sinister did give me more length and allowed me to make the corner.  However, the Sinister became a little touchy and created a wet/dry situation.  The Menace was almost a perfect blend of the two…  The Menace allowed me to chase the pattern left and it made the corner and continued through the pins with power.  The next pattern was the Montreal (41 Feet) and the Sinister looked good early with enough length and strong continuous backend motion.  The Hyper Cell was just too much in the front part of the lane forcing me left but still gave me a consistent motion.  However, the carry down created problems for both the Hyper Cell and Sinister which resulted in an inconsistent ball reaction on the backend.  I threw the Menace early when there was no carry down and the Menace was stronger than the Sinister and had more length than the Hyper Cell.  The Menace was able to drive through the carry down.  I did not throw the Menace on any of the shorter patterns because it would go against what it was designed for.  The Menace is a beast when the pattern is longer or high volumes.  The last pattern that I threw the Menace on was the Typical House Shot.  Not to sound like a broken record but the Menace blended the pattern and for me eliminated the drastic over/under ball reaction.  However, if I got the Menace too far right early it did want to go left!  IT IS A STRONG ROLLING BALL WITH A POWERFUL BACKEND REACTION. 

The addition of the Menace to the HP4 line will only add versatility to an already stellar lineup.


Likes: Strong Ball that is Versatile!

Dislikes: Sometimes Too Strong!


PICTURES AND/OR VIDEOS

Weight:  14 lbs.
Pin Length:  3 ”
Drilling:  37 X 3 5/8 X 25
Pattern Length:  39 ft. & 40 ft.
Pattern Volume:  Medium and Light
Pattern Type:  THS
Right Handed

The MENACE has the asymmetrical  Cage Core from the popular HP4 line, wrapped with the 74H Solid reactive cover stock.  The box finish is 3000 grit, but as always, can be polished and/or changed to suit a variety of lane conditions.

I have used the MENACE on a 39 ft. light volume house pattern, and a 40 ft. medium volume house pattern.

For the 39 ft. light volume THS, I needed to bring the surface to 4000 grit and add a touch of polish.   This allowed me to get the ball through the heads easily and have a strong backend finish.  As the pattern broke down, I needed to move further in to pick up more head oil, and still save energy for the back end.

On the medium volume 40 ft. pattern, the MENACE performed better for me. It is very aggressive coming  off the pattern and I had no trouble carrying the corners.  As I had to migrate inside, I was still able to get the corners out.  I compared the MENACE to the hybrid Sinister and found the MENACE to face up a bit sooner for me, helping me to get the corners out on the fresh.

If you’re looking for a ball for heavy oil, this ball would be a perfect addition to your arsenal.  With a little surface changing, it can be used on most league shots as well. 

Carol Teel
Roto Grip Amateur Staff Member

Layout: 60 x 5.5 x 65 - box finish.

I drilled up the Menace - pin under to give me a strong cover ball with a smooth motion on the backend. The idea is to use this piece when I'm on shorter/high volume and longer patterns where I need to keep the breakpoint more in front of me. This ball didn't disappoint as I made the cut on a 42' PBA50 Senior regional throwing this layout. I'm going to drill a second one with higher pin layout and larger drilling angle to conserve energy and also to compliment this pin under layout.

Right Handed
Ball weight:  15
Rev Rate:  378
Ball Speed:  18.2
Axis Tilt:  7
Axis Rotation:  45*
PAP:  3 3/4 horizontal, 7/8 up
Layout:  20 x 3 3/4 x 65, P3 hole

I decided to drill the Menace as a ball up from my Crux Pearl, which is my benchmark for many medium and medium-long patterns.  This ball nailed it.

I’ve tried it in a couple of houses on slightly different versions of their THS and it was just too strong.  It wasn’t necessarily too early, but it wants to go!  I was able to just throw it right and watch it scream back.  That is, until they started to transition...then it was time to put it up.  It didn’t matter what kind of moves I made, I couldn’t make it work, it was just too strong.

I had the opportunity to use it on a sport pattern (Python-45’ flat) this weekend.  I was pretty amazed at how well this ball rolled on what, at the time, was a mystery pattern.  As bowlers were searching for a look during practice, I had a shot after just a couple of balls.  I was able to target 12-13 at the arrows and allow it to get out to about 6-7 and it was in the pocket.  While many bowlers, left and right handed, were having issues with their equipment at the end of the pattern, I was able to use the Menace for 3 games across 3 pair while making small moves left.  It rolled and hit great.  My only real regret was that more games would have allowed me to see how far I could have migrated before having to ball down.

I’m very excited with the Menace and look forward to using it for quite a while.  It will be my go-to for medium-longs.

The Menace is a great release by Roto and a must for anyone looking for something for long patterns or volume.

The newest addition to the Roto Grip HP4 line is the Menace.  The Menace uses the Cage Core which was in the Sinister and wraps it with the 74H solid cover stock.  The mixture of two results in a ball reaction that is as crazy as the colors on the Menace!

I drilled my Menace 4.25 x 5.25 with a 4” pin buffer, which put the pin in my ring finger. With this layout, the Menace gives me a fast revving core that gives a great midlane motion while still continuing well through the pins. The 74H coverstock is the perfect combination for the Cage core. It is a versatile solid cover allows the core to be the star. I compared the Menace to the Haywire, and the Menace was noticeably cleaner through the fronts and much more shape on the backend. It’s great on the fresh, but it really shows how great it is once the lanes transition. If you’re someone who loves to throw asymmetric cores, this is a must own. I see myself bringing at least one of these to the USBC tournament this coming year, regardless of the oil pattern… Yea, it’s that good.

The Menace is the most recent HP4 release from Roto Grip. This ball uses the same Cage core found in the previously released Sinister. The Menace has a sanded solid 74H cover that comes from the factory at 3000 grit pad. The guts, grit and grime of the Menace is 82/74/H. The numbers of the Menace are 2.52 Rg, 0.054 differential, with a PSA of 0.015, in 15lb balls. The color combination of the Menace is red, yellow, and green.

I drilled my Menace with a 3 ¾ x 6 x 2 ½ layout. The Menace reads the midlane much quicker than the Sinister, and has a smoother motion through the backend of the lane. I really liked the Sinister, and was looking forward to this release. I tried using the Menace at the factory finish of 3000 pad. I had a little difficulty getting the ball to read the lane the correct way with the factory finish. It seemed if I squared up, It hooked a bit too hard through the backend of the lane, and if I moved in, it doesn’t have a strong enough cover to pick up and make a move off the spot. I tried the Menace on a few different patterns, and all with similar results. I then decided to change the surface of the Menace, using Storm step #1 to smooth out the cover, and save some energy through the backend of the lane. This helped some, but I still felt the Menace could be better. I finally decided to place a small hole 2” down the VAL. This was the ticket to get the ball to read the lane much closer to the way I wanted it to. I have had my best success with the Menace on house conditions thus far. The cover on the Menace is a little cleaner through the fronts than the Haywire.

The Menace is a unique ball. It has it’s place, in my opinion, for more rev challenged bowlers who want to go straighter through the front of the lane and have a strong move off the dry; and high rev, high speed players, who wants an asymmetrical ball that has a bit cleaner cover stock than most other high end premium bowling balls offer. More often, we are seeing more and more of the extreme styles being more prevalent in the industry. I personally fall in between those two extremes, so the layout I choose for the Menace is very pattern specific. True tweeners like myself, are starting to become somewhat extinct, so I can see where even though the Menace isn’t really  a versatile ball for me, it will fit the bill for most other styles of bowlers. A believe a different layout would have helped make the ball more versatile for me. Thank you for taking the time to read my review of the Roto Grip Menace. Own It!