Carbon fiber shafts

jtompilot

Verified Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
5,797
From
New Orleans
Me too. Predator 12.4 i like had a 12.9 and didnt like it and sold it. I have a Jacoby black 30 " coming.

I talked to a guy at Buffalos today that had the Jacoby and he hated it, he got rid of it almost right away. Of course it’s the same with cues, everyone likes what they like.

PS. My new three piece carbon fiber cue plays real good:D
 

Matt_24

Verified Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2005
Messages
159
I saw Justin Bergman a few weeks ago using a Revo in a one pocket session. He played real good with it.
 

crabbcatjohn

Verified Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2014
Messages
4,997
From
Benton, Ky.
I talked to a guy at Buffalos today that had the Jacoby and he hated it, he got rid of it almost right away. Of course it’s the same with cues, everyone likes what they like.

PS. My new three piece carbon fiber cue plays real good:D

I'm not one to keep stuff I dont like. The good thing is I can actually make a profit on re selling the ones I have if I dont like them..
 

johnnytronic

Verified Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2016
Messages
115
Other carbon shafts might not be low deflection

Other carbon shafts might not be low deflection

I started with the 12.9 revo (the day it came out)
I've always been a big fan of any new tech Predator comes up with.
They are and have been the industry leaders in low deflection shafts from the day the original 314 was invented. Now the Revo is truly a "revolution", every company copying Predator and releasing their own version.

With that being said, my game went down hill very fast. I know because I was in an 8ball league that provides stats. However, I took on too many new things at one time and was coming back from 2-3 year hiatus. I went from a 11.72mm Z2 shaft to a 12.9mm revo, I also just took on the CTE system and decided to be cool and play with an extension on my cue at all times.

At first the glare on a black shaft was throwing me off, then not having a ferrule. I lost most of my confidence playing with it. After about 6 months I gave up! I then went back to the Z shaft, with all the experience playing with the 12.9mm--I knew now that the Z was probably not for me. I then started playing with a Vantage shaft. My game and confidence started coming back. More and more players started switching to the Revo, then the 12.4mm was released. One day I picked up the 12.9 revo and it was like magic! All of the sudden the glare was not an issue, the not ferrule was not an issue.
I continued to play with the 12.9 and eventually evolved to the 12.4.

I have looked at the 12.5 cuetecs. The different taper and .1mm does have me very interested and I feel that with the resolution of my stroke that extra .10 may be the perfect balance.
However, a buddy has the shaft and we set up a very difficult draw shot that requires you to jack up on the rail. Out of 3 players (that are all better then me) they could not make this shot accurately with the Cuetec, sometimes contacting 1/2 the object ball on a full ball shot. I was able to make it and get a little bit of draw(multiple times). When one of the players grabbed my cue, he made it twice!!! :eek:

I didn't think about it much, now after writing this thread. I'm contemplating that Predator owns patents on Low end mass technology on maple shafts. Meaning that no other cue manufacture was allowed to hollow out the first 6-8" of the top of the shaft. What patents do they own on carbon shafts...
Long story short, all these Revo wanna be's might not actually be anywhere near the low deflection that Predator's are. They might just be carbon versions of maple shafts. Meaning, you are not gaining much accuracy on these other brands. You are only getting the benefit of a smooth, un-warpable shaft. We would need a robot arm to really test this.
 

johnnytronic

Verified Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2016
Messages
115
I don't like the carbon fiber for One Pocket. The extreme english needed for many shots in One Pocket are not available with the carbon fiber shafts. For all other games carbon fiber probably is the best shaft to use, IMO. The ball striking needed for close up shots makes little difference between the two shafts either way. Maybe I'm too old to change and that's probably the case but I'm sticking to what I learned to play with.

This logic makes no sense at all bud, unless you are playing with a very small diameter tip and saying that carbon does not make a small enough tip diameter for you.
In that case yes, a 11.75mm maple vs 12.4 carbon...The maple may prevail.
However, an apples to apples tip and diameter--the carbon is going to transfer more energy to the cue ball. More energy, more spin.


Anytime your in Chicago and you want to test this, I would be up for the challenge.:heh The ghost on here was able to draw the ball more accurately and further with my shaft vs his. So much so, we talked about in larger money matches it's not a bad idea to have the revo for very critical shots. Kinda of like how a golfer has a an iron for a very specific shot.


You have to give carbon like 3-4months to adapt to, maybe a year!
If your not willing to dedicate this time then don't even bother.
The guys that buy carbon and sell it two weeks later......
 

jcromer

New Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2019
Messages
3
From
Florence, South Carolina
I'm quite happy with my 12.4 revo. I'm a long time player of predator low deflection, but I've never been in love with the feel. I've always prefered the feel and power of a nice Schon or house cue, but never wanted to invest the time to relearn conventional shafts. The revo allows me to have everything I want... especially when combined with the radial joint and a hard tip. I have all the spin I could ask for without the extreme compensation but still maintaining the excellent feedback of a house cue.
 

youngstown

Verified Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
1,748
Carbon fiber shafts

I'm quite happy with my 12.4 revo. I'm a long time player of predator low deflection, but I've never been in love with the feel. I've always prefered the feel and power of a nice Schon or house cue, but never wanted to invest the time to relearn conventional shafts. The revo allows me to have everything I want... especially when combined with the radial joint and a hard tip. I have all the spin I could ask for without the extreme compensation but still maintaining the excellent feedback of a house cue.



Predator needs to put you on the payroll!
 

youngstown

Verified Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
1,748
Carbon fiber shafts

Went to the super billiards expo yesterday. Predator now has another new shaft. You get to tell them how you want it. Joint to taper to tip. Let the craziness begin



I’m toying around with the idea of learning how to do it...maybe someday
 

alpodog

Verified Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
32
I tried a Predator Revo 12.9 -- I still have it, but I don't like the sound of it at all. And since I already play with a wood Predator low deflection shaft, to me the Revo doesn't even seem to have a significant degree of less deflection than their wood Predators, so what is the point?? If I was going from a standard wood shaft to a carbon fiber, yes that would be a big difference. But as I see it, not so much between those two kinds of Predator...

I like 12.9 for the break and long shots, but all of the other shots I prefer my regular maple shaft.
 

OneRock

Verified Member
Joined
May 25, 2015
Messages
1,433
From
South Florida
I've had the opportunity to test a few carbon fiber shafts in recent weeks, starting at the Derby, and then these past few days at the Super Billiards Expo.

I generally do like them, and yes, they do sound a bit different than a traditional wood shaft. I'd say they're generally "quiet' in that they don't vibrate upon hitting the ball, though at times I did sense a hollow sound, but not from all of them. Playing with a carbon fiber shaft sure does take a bit of getting used to, but they're the next evolutionary step in cue technology.

I've counted as many as 7 or 8 producers of carbon fiber shafts:

- Predator
- Cuetec
- Jacoby
- Mezz
- Meucci
- Pechauer
- becues

I haven't seen or tried the Cuetec or Pechauer shafts, but I tried the others multiple times. Of all the ones I tried, the only one I didn't like was becues because it just didn't have any feel to it whatsoever. The Mezz played and felt great, but it's only available for Mezz cues for now. I also liked Jacoby's shaft even though they only offer it in a 12.4mm diameter and a radial pin at this time. The one that got my vote, though, was Meucci. It felt and played great (as good as the Mezz), and you can custom-order it in a wide range of diameters and whatever pin you want. I tried a 12.9mm on my McWorter cue with a 3/8 10 thread, and it fitted perfectly. What I particularly liked about it was the wood-to-wood contact. Yes, you heard that right. My cues screwed right into a wood plug 10 inches deep into the shaft. Maybe the wood insert is what contributed to the great feel I got from this shaft.

As far as low deflection, they're all very comparable, and yes, very low deflection. That said, I didn't see enough value in moving away from my 314-3 shafts, so I decided to spend the money on a pair of billiard glasses from Curran Opticians. For the first time in my life, I'll get a chance to play pool without astigmatism.
 

oldschool1478

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2014
Messages
139
From
Quincy, MA
This X-ray photo from a post on AZB seems to show that the Jacoby is a carbon wrapped wood shaft?
I have an older Cuetec shaft made this way I use for breaking. Not LD at all.
 

Attachments

  • Carbon Shaft X-Ray.jpg
    Carbon Shaft X-Ray.jpg
    46.9 KB · Views: 2

johnnytronic

Verified Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2016
Messages
115
This X-ray photo from a post on AZB seems to show that the Jacoby is a carbon wrapped wood shaft?
I have an older Cuetec shaft made this way I use for breaking. Not LD at all.

Wow! This is bad ass. Didn't even think of X-raying them. Of course I don't have a resource to do so. This is exactly what I expected and or feared. :frus
These copy cat Revo's might have a higher amount of deflection then even a standard maple at the same diameter and taper. IF they are using cheap wood rods in the center then I would think it's possible for the shaft to still warp.
I have a brand new Revo and for what every reason there does seem to be the slightest warp. I test two so far that appeared to have this. It's very subtle.
 

johnnytronic

Verified Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2016
Messages
115
Went to the super billiards expo yesterday. Predator now has another new shaft. You get to tell them how you want it. Joint to taper to tip. Let the craziness begin

That's great news, I feel like the perfect shaft for me would be 12.5 or 12.6. When are they launching this. PREDATOR IS THA BESTEST!
Haa that will probably annoy old school guys.
 

lll

Verified Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
19,057
From
vero beach fl
That's great news, I feel like the perfect shaft for me would be 12.5 or 12.6. When are they launching this. PREDATOR IS THA BESTEST!
Haa that will probably annoy old school guys.

you can order it now and get it whenever they have it....just kidding
getting revos has been hard due to predators inability to keep production
up to demand...at least thats how it was a few months ago
 

johnnytronic

Verified Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2016
Messages
115
you can order it now and get it whenever they have it....just kidding
getting revos has been hard due to predators inability to keep production
up to demand...at least thats how it was a few months ago

I have an extra Revo12.4 uniloc I might sell. Mint, should go high in this famished market :cool:
 

oldschool1478

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2014
Messages
139
From
Quincy, MA
Wow! This is bad ass. Didn't even think of X-raying them. Of course I don't have a resource to do so. This is exactly what I expected and or feared. :frus
These copy cat Revo's might have a higher amount of deflection then even a standard maple at the same diameter and taper. IF they are using cheap wood rods in the center then I would think it's possible for the shaft to still warp.
I have a brand new Revo and for what every reason there does seem to be the slightest warp. I test two so far that appeared to have this. It's very subtle.

So a follow-up post in that AZB thread states that a Jacoby carbon shaft was taken apart and found foam and not wood inside.
Still, I wonder why the foam extends to the tip. How does that make the front end mass lighter weight than the body of the shaft? All of the other carbon shafts have the last 5 ~ 8 inches hollow.

PS; I'm waiting for someone to make one 32" long for $150, as I think that's
about all they are worth to me.
 

crabbcatjohn

Verified Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2014
Messages
4,997
From
Benton, Ky.
So a follow-up post in that AZB thread states that a Jacoby carbon shaft was taken apart and found foam and not wood inside.
Still, I wonder why the foam extends to the tip. How does that make the front end mass lighter weight than the body of the shaft? All of the other carbon shafts have the last 5 ~ 8 inches hollow.

PS; I'm waiting for someone to make one 32" long for $150, as I think that's
about all they are worth to me.

I got a 30" Jacoby radial pin last week, 30" is a special order and the longest they are making right now. Was very hard to get this soon but i knew a guy...lol. Haven't hit a ball with it and looking to sell it. I'm sticking with my Revo as i'm just getting used to it and don't want to
swap around.
 

rnewkirk

Verified Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Messages
960
From
Weatherford, TX
I purchased the Cuetec 15K CF shaft about a month ago. I have only been able to play with it twice since then. Been busy.

Like the hit, but will have to play a lot to get used to lower deflection than wood shaft. The feed back on hit is just as good as maple shaft.

The best part is the 12.5 mm from tip to 15" up shaft. Pro taper for 15 " is the nuts. Did not think I would like the 12.5, but I do.

Going into serious practice for MOT Philly next week. Just a warning to you guys.:D
 
Top