Beat discs??

[discdawg1]

Ok. I understand that discs get "beat in" causing flight characteristics to change, but here are my questions.

1) How long does this take (I am mainly curious about DX Rocs)?

2) Is this based on throws? Distance traveled? Trees? Ground contacts? Simple age? Skill level?

3) How long, on average, for a Roc to go from New to Stable to understable?

4) Do putters have the same response? What about putters that are only used for short putts (less than 50ft).

 

[zealot]

1. depends on how much you play. you can get a roc goin rather straight in about a month or so... to get it really straight could take over a year..

2. contact with anything. basically anything that flexes the polymers or 'dings' the disc. (and yes, flexing the disc in your hands does work.)

3. they are stable when they're new (actually maybe a high-speed understable) and go to straight in a few months. they gradually become understable but this takes much more time. (unless u somehow manage to thrash or chunk your disc)

4. yep and yeah, but it takes a looooooong time. dont worry bout it.

 

[SkaBob]

Only things I'd add to that is some plastic on putters does beat in quicker or easier than others. I've seen this in 150 class putters, and in the special urethane rattlers. Also, an ESP/star putter is likely to take YEARS to even show any wear. Everything else, even soft plastics, pretty much beats in the same for putters...

 

[J-Man]

Well let's see, I've got an X Crush going on its 4th season and it serves as my turn over disc. Another going on its 3rd season, straight as an arrow. Another new one (1 yr) with a sweet natural fade on the finish. Beat in discs rock, they reduce the amount of discs I carry, all feel the same in the hand, and I have backups; though I haven't had the need to break them out. You gotta give it time, stick with a disc for awhile, you'll never know if it's broke in unless you do. I see folks switch discs as fast as manufacturers put them out, never really learning a disc as much as looking for that new disc that will do all the work for them. Give it time, you'll be glad you did, breaking them in is the fun part.

 

[black udder]

Man, I know 3 guys that have the same discs in their bags since I met them 5+ years ago. A lot really depends on what kind of abuse you put them through. I have a Pro D Wasp (discraft roc) that is a couple seasons old now, but I don't throw it on every hole and I don't hit a ton of trees with it, so now it's in the fairly flat, slight turnover but still comes back phase. I imagine if you threw your disc just about every hole and played 3-4 times a week, you'd break in a dx/pro d disc fairly soon on a rough course. On an open, grass course, it might be awhile

All the wear on a disc affects it's flight, even bending, as Lock-off said. I know some folks here tune their new discs, although I'd guess you'd have to do it for a little while to be able to gauge exactly what you're doing to the disc.

I don't know if a putter ever gets to the point of not being useful. Only when it breaks. Once it's not stable enough to drive with, it's probably good for a hyzer flip driver, once it's too beat for that, you can putt with it. Considering many putters have a stability of 0.0 and some midranges are 0.5 in stability, you can see how even a beat putter could last a long time. I think more people probably either change putters, break their putter or lose it somehow before it actually wears out stability-wise.

 

[williethekid]

I have almost worn out my proto warlock, 2 years of 3times a week or greater play. It has gone from holding my hyzer on a long putt to flipping up slightly, which ocassionally makes me miss right, time for a new one I guess.

 

[garublador1]

Rocs take quite a while to break in compared to drivers. As others have said, it all depends on how much you play and what the disc hits/lands on. Unless you really play a lot or play on really jagged terrain I wouldn't expect a Roc to take less than a month or two to break into straight. I don't know how long they take to break into turnover drivers, I haven't been throwing Rocs that long (only 4-5 months).

I throw Wizards and I've only ever beaten then in enough to be straighish and that takes forever. It's more of a problem getting them beat in than it is them beating in too much, if that's even possible.

 

[sleepy1]

I have almost worn out my proto warlock...time for a new one I guess.

Interested in a trade? I've got about 5 or 6 brand new Warlocks and would love an old beat up one!


sleepy

 

[dgdave]

I've got some 3+ year old KC rocs that still go straight. I had an early dx rancho that I had for 2 years that still finished left, but it is sleeping with the fishes. To me, it seems like the new soft dx breaks in too fast. I'm not a huge fan.

 

[JR]

I've got some 3+ year old KC rocs that still go straight. I had an early dx rancho that I had for 2 years that still finished left, but it is sleeping with the fishes. To me, it seems like the new soft dx breaks in too fast. I'm not a huge fan.

Other than quick break in is there a way to determine which plastic strength a dx Roc is? Mine took two weeks to lose a significant amount of the fade and I didn't use it a lot and tried to use it only where there was little danger of hard hits. Still it's got all sorts of battle scars. It's a great long putter but for some odd reason I'm much better at putting with it now than any other disc. Go figure. Losing that disc would really sting because it works so great and is my only Roc. A tremendous putter and a mid could be lost at the same time. Shudder.

Flight plates of my soft dx TB and my dx Rancho Roc are about equally soft. For my first Roc I think that quick initial break in is good but I don't want this disc to get much more understable even for putting purposes. Maybe MD1 could take the role of a bit overstable Roc that doesn't chip like KC Pro plastic in cold weather?

 

[JeremySW]

I've got a newish(3 months maybe?) DX roc, and its got a LOT of battle scars. I play almost every day at Patapsco(a notoriously wooded coarse in MD). The thing moves a little right but it still has some fade to it. If i throw it with a touch of hyzer, it will hold the line SO tight and just bow right nice and gradually. I use it on like 80% of my throws - And like i said i play on a very wooded coarse, so this thing has probably received a years' worth of damage and if anything it flys better than it did when i bought it. I actually have started to use it a lot for putts(mainly distance putts or upshots) since its so predictable and has a lot more glide than a typical putter.

My opinion is, don't worry too much about how the disc is going to wear(except for DX valkyries, those things change QUICKLY!). Just get it, and throw it. DX plastic is dirt cheap and it will change gradually enough where you can adapt as the disc changes.

 

[JR]

I've got a newish(3 months maybe?) DX roc, and its got a LOT of battle scars. I play almost every day at Patapsco(a notoriously wooded coarse in MD). The thing moves a little right but it still has some fade to it. If i throw it with a touch of hyzer, it will hold the line SO tight and just bow right nice and gradually. I use it on like 80% of my throws - And like i said i play on a very wooded coarse, so this thing has probably received a years' worth of damage and if anything it flys better than it did when i bought it. I actually have started to use it a lot for putts(mainly distance putts or upshots) since its so predictable and has a lot more glide than a typical putter.

My opinion is, don't worry too much about how the disc is going to wear(except for DX valkyries, those things change QUICKLY!). Just get it, and throw it. DX plastic is dirt cheap and it will change gradually enough where you can adapt as the disc changes.

The courses I want to play around here are claustrophobic. One os a bit too far for me and my home course is dangerous and view limited so loosing discs in winter and snow is a real danger. Plus slipping and cracking skull so I'm forced to stay off. Steep hills...

My Roc really did break in really quick in late summer in wooded tight courses that I play. I agree that the Roc flies better after breaking in so I don't mind at all a bit of scarring as long as it flies better

I want to have a Roc that is slightly more overstable than my soft dx Rancho when new and stay that way for a long time.

I was going from memory but now that I tried my soft Teebird vs my Roc the flight plate of the Roc is significantly softer than my dx TB that got a 30 degree bend down from a tree hit making a straight line to the edge of the disc seen from above 4" wide. From that point of view concerning dx Rocs I'd like to get a stiffer dx because my first one is great now and slowly getting better for ultimate fadelessness. So I'd have Rocs of slightly overstable, stable and slightly understable variety. Working towards the last version with my first Roc. I'd like it to fade less on higher lines but maybe the upcoming sannies remedy that?

 

[Rod Gilmore]

Get some KC Rocs. They feel like DX but are more durable.

 

[Bradley Walker]

The reason a DX Roc gets straighter and straighter over time is that the bead wears away from spinning in the dirt. I do not believe the Roc changes much with collisions.

At DGR forums we have had several people post with the evidence that their DX discs have LOST WEIGHT over time. The only explanation is the disc literally wearing away on the bottom. In this way the disc is gradually changing from a Roc to a Shark. Thus the fade goes away and the glide increases... This also explains why the old DX (which was much tougher and awesome stiff) lasted so much longer. KC Pro plastic wears very well, the bead is visible even on some of the most beat KC pro plastic.

There are lots of theories about "beating in" discs. I think most can be explained by the disc wearing on the bottom.

 

[discdawg1]

So, if you really like the Roc and wish those characteristics to last longer between changes (time between over to stable to under), then the version to go with is the KC Pro? The bead lasts longer and the flight is similar to DX?

 

[sleepy1]

So, if you really like the Roc and wish those characteristics to last longer between changes (time between over to stable to under), then the version to go with is the KC Pro? The bead lasts longer and the flight is similar to DX?

In a nutshell, yes.


sleepy