We just had a brand new Olhausen Nashville 8ft table installed at our house July last summer. I have been playing more and usually average 10 -12 hours a week. I was an avid player 15 years ago but have not played for 15 years until I got the new table at home. I currently don't play out anywhere, just at home. The table was installed with Championship invitational teflon in Navy. I enjoy playing on the table but in my mind it seems a little slow. I am using a set of the Aramith super pro balls and I use a Mezz AXI cue but sometimes I find I can't move the cue ball around after a shot as much as I used to. Maybe its my rusty stroke from being away from the game for 15 years. I was actually thinking of having it changed out for the Simonis 860 in the similar Navy color. Am I crazy for wanting to drop $550 (installed) to replace cloth that is still like new? Its it really going to make that much of a difference or am I going to notice it if I am only playing on my home table?
Changing out new cloth for Simonis
- Thread starter JJM1911
- Start date
Yeah I wouldn’t worry, sounds like the rail cloth is just new and needs some break-in time. When the cloth at nose of the cushion ages it tends to grip the balls better. Also check the rails for tightness. You might need to clean the balls a bit more often to.
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I am going with the rails as well. This is why so many people swear by diamonds and gold crowns.
You're the only one who knows it's worth the $550 to you - which by the way is a very good price, as the cost of the cloth alone is nearly half of that. My opinion, if you do switch to Simonis 860, I certainly wouldn't recommend a navy color. It's too dark - burn marks and breaking track lines will show up much more than on a lighter, brighter color. If you play on it a lot, it won't look nearly as good after 1 year as a more popular color like Simonis tournament blue, Simonis green or Simonis camel will look.
The Championship cloth should play very similar to Simonis, although Navy color is not a good pick for billiard games, too dark. You want light colors that show up the balls and pockets easier, green, light blue, tan, etc...
The opposite is true, as it wears it will slow down, unless it's really really worn down.
IMO, if you’re playing 12 hrs every week you are probably back in stroke, even after a 15 yr lay-off.
Before spending $500, why not go to a player’s room that has simonis, spend $10 on table time, and see how you do there? Then you can make an informed decision.
Before spending $500, why not go to a player’s room that has simonis, spend $10 on table time, and see how you do there? Then you can make an informed decision.
I believe the stretch on the cloth also plays a big role in the resulting speed...tightness on both the bed and rails, that is be.
Another idea, which got me called names in a similar thread when I made this suggestion LOL, is to ask one of your pool buddies that is a good player and knows about tables to shoot some at your table, it should not take more than a few test shots to see where the issue is, if there is any.
Just wondering how you came up with this? Championship Invitational faster than Simonis 860??? Thanks
TFT
What he said!!
Most people cant stretch simonis properly, let alone napped cloth.
TFT
Championship 20oz/yard, Simonis 860 27oz/yard. Lower weight = faster.
Championship 75% wool 25% nylon. Simonis 860 90% wool 10% nylon. More nylon = faster.
So at least in theory the Championship should be faster. But I don't have any personal experience with it.
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Take a look at CPBA worsted. Half the price of Simonis. Trentfromtoledo uses it and from what i've heard so far he's pretty impressed. https://www.ebay.com/itm/CPBA-Compe...xqKKww:sc:USPSPriorityFlatRateBox!74137!US!-1 A lot of big Asian events use it. Also ANDY988 is another good cloth. We're installing it in my local spot. Plays very nice. About the same price as CPBA.
Your table is probably fine but your game just needs to adjust to the speed if you're used to faster tables. In any case, if it really is too slow, likely it's the cushions and they would need to be changed to speed the table up. The cloth you have, as long as it's tight, should be plenty fast. If you really think it's slow and the cushion rebound seems fine, you could have a mechanic check the cloth installation and rail height.
By the way, my table has Simonis 860 stretched tight as a drum and it's on the medium speed side because the cushions are softer gum rubber. If the cushions aren't fast, the cloth won't be fast.
By the way, my table has Simonis 860 stretched tight as a drum and it's on the medium speed side because the cushions are softer gum rubber. If the cushions aren't fast, the cloth won't be fast.
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Not a fan of Andy 988 cloth. We had it on our tables for two years through 2 recoverings. If it’s super fast you like, then it’s a good choice, but my biggest issue was how easily it stained and how hard it was to remove the stains as opposed to Simonis. Also, it used to be significantly less expensive than Simonis but now is only like 10% less. Simonis 860 HR is still the cloth of choice, at least in this country.
Everyone so far likes it. Its about same speed as HR, not 760 fast. The owner is getting his thru a top player who is kind of our area rep. Around $175bux per table(9ft)/140 for barbox. They are buying a lot of it(room has30tables total) so that may explain good price.