Topic: Why are those flimsy hollow metal rods so popular?

[invisiblesmoke]

Why are those flimsy hollow metal rods so popular?  Why don't Tornado tables come standard with solid metal rods like Tournament Soccer tables used to?

[B,inSA]

i heard solid rods are worse cause when they go out , they're done with. i guess the hollow ones give and take as to last longer

[gpeters]

I hope they don't make the Tornado bars/rods solid and therefore heavier.  Heavier rods slow things down overall because of inertia.  My pull shot is already much too slow!

Years ago I played on some Italian tables (Garlando???) with relatively light bars/rods.  Everything seemed much easier to do and less tiring on those tables compared to the heavier rod tables.

Long term durability of tables is important for your pocketbook.  But for playability, I feel light bars/rods are the way to go.  There may be better alternatives to stainless steel.  What about titanium rods or another light material?  Fiberglass?

[marty]

are ya talking rods off a tornado coin op , because the ones on mine i would not trade for nothing  and i also own a tournment soccer , solid rods

[grandmaster]

This is a valid discussion. I have played and promoted solid rod high performance Tornado table soccer since 1990. I believe playing on BOTH improves a player's game. The major advantage in solid rod play is hitting with power on hollow bars after extensive practice on solids. When I was 16 I used a fake ID to get into an 18 year old 3.2 beer joint to play foosball. This place had two identical Vulcan tables except one had solid rods and the other had hollow. Vulcan was a high performance version of a German stlye foosball table. The experienced players used the "A" table and the new players like me played on the "B" table. Guess which one had solid bars? Keep in mind that the bars in use for tournament play are "heavy hollow bars" nowadays and are a compromise between POWER and table life. When I asked Ed Mcloud why not solid rods because Tornado two rows bend on the first shot he said heavier solid bars would negatively impact cabinet life through repeated heavy blows to the side during play. As a Pro I always preferred a straight two row to shoot with from goalie instead of a bent one. This is a basic conflict between players on the one hand who play exclusively on new equipment for money and engineering for operational longevity. The "heavy hollow" bars are only a few ounces less per bar by weight.