Ok just notice that the IQ NANO has been used lately during the PBA shows. What happened to the CRUX? Is the IQ NANO really been popular since it came out? Perhaps it could be less aggressive than the CRUX.

In time CRUX will be the next ball in my bag for heavy oil Currently have the IQ FUSION AND IQ PEARL.

Really? you have both drilled the same? surface change?

Not going to lie, my sinister is our shining my crux.

billdozer: correct me if I am wrong, the crux has the same cover as the Lucid, which was a love/hate ball. What I am seeing, is people that loved the lucid are doing well with the crux.

averagebowler: I do not have either, but the IQ Nano from what I have seen, rolls better. I do not know if that are the bowlers or the equipment. I hate to throw another name in the mix, but the Hyper-cell is a good heavy oil ball.

The IQ Tour Nano is a "better" ball than the Crux just because of intention.  It's extremely user friendly and versatile.  The Crux is more condition specific.  One is not better than the other, provided you use it on the conditions intended, but just by the very nature of what they were going for with the Nano, it's going to be more versatile. 

The majority of the PBA patterns are pretty high volume, or at least higher volume than most league bowlers see, regardless of the length of the pattern.  The differential and hook potential of the Crux is something that these guys really don't need.  The solid cover of the Nano is by nature going to be smooth and controllable, plus the core is low rg and low differential, which means that overall it's going to respond really well to whatever you want to do with it.  Those patterns also have very defined backends, meaning they don't really need help getting the ball to hook, they just need to get it in the right spot, so they don't need something that WANTS to go crazy right now. 

However, there's also a lot of doctoring that goes on before the lights come on.  They get quite a bit of practice, during which they try to get a shot grooved in, so despite the fact that the Crux isn't used during the actual scoring, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them using it in practice to burn themselves a track. 

No slight intended......I tend to view balls like the Crux, or Hyper Cell as balls for fluffers. People with very little hand. As such I have no need for pieces like this, because I will rarely if ever use them.

An IQ Nano on the other hand, would be a useful piece provided that I use the right layout and surface prep.

I have a Crux, and I think it's a great ball; however, it gets very little use because I rarely run into the kind of oil that requires such a beast. That being said, the Crux is far more useable than past oil monsters I've encountered. Unlike most, you can keep moving deeper and deeper inside, and the Crux wants to keep coming back. I've never encountered an oiler that lets you get inside as deep as this one does. Most strong balls bleed out and die when you move in. For me, the Crux doesn't do that; however, I don't feel like playing 4th and 5th arrow in Game 1 on league night, so I often defer to balls that allow me to keep my angles a bit more in front of me.

Long story short, the Crux is a very good ball, and I don't necessarily think that the IQ Nano is better. The IQ Nano looks really, really good to me as well. As others have said, I think that it's a case of most Tour players not needing the built-in action that balls like the Crux offer. When you think about it, whenever you've heard about "Tour" edition bowling balls, they've almost always been weaker/smoother versions of the ones they sell to donkeys like us. That's because the guys/gals don't need more hook; they need predictability and control. I think that the IQ Nano (and really all of the IQ Tour balls) are great for predictability and control. As such, most of those Tour guys (apparently) are favoring the IQ to the Crux. It doesn't mean one is better than the other; it's just matchups.

For what it's worth, I was at a high-level collegiate tournament in Addison, Illinois, yesterday, and I saw quite a few of both of these balls being thrown with success. Again, anymore, there are very few "good" or "bad" bowling balls. It's just about matching ball to bowler to conditions.

I have the crux.  very nice ball when you can find enough oil to use it.  does get better with lane shine.  I just added the hysteria.  a polished solid from roto grip, and after only 2 games I'm impressed with the roll, shape, and hit this ball has.  figjam second game with it my 5th 300.  just my 2 cents good luck, tough choices out there.