2nd Generation X Breaker launch at Valley Forge

[Cornerman]

Let me first state that I think Richard is a really nice guy with good intentions. Secondly, I must admit I have not read every post in this thread.

There are some very strong claims made in the initial post, but what I fail to see are reasons as to why and how these things work.] If you see the product, the answers will come very easily. I'll answer as a consumer and tester, and an engineer. I have no affilitation with Richard. Also, see my review on the different thread:

This device is really revolutionary as it helps the player to have a more steady delivery of the cue upon impact, greatly improve cue ball control.

Sounds great at this point, but I am very much awaiting an explanation as to how and why this is the case.

One of the knocks on the new breed of break cues is the difficulty to control the cueball. Phenolic tip material doesn't adhere to chalk as easily. That's not a problem with the XBreaker tip. When chalking it, you'd think you were chalking a thin leather tip. That's one reason he makes the claim. IMO, it's a fair claim.

The maXimizer is made of a gel type material. You can drop an egg 5 feet above this new patented material and it will not break.

This new material will filter out unwanted vibration, and recoil upon impact to keep the tip on the cue ball longer to increase power and a straighter cue delivery.

Forgive me, but that fact that you can drop and egg on it does not prove anything. It could be made from materials from the space shuttle, but we need to know how this would support the claims that have been made.

I'm not sure what your question is, but the material is of the same family as Sorbethane, a material discovered in the 80's that is commonly now used in gel padded shoes (Are you Gellin'?). It is a super shock absorber. The bumper is made of the material. With and without it makes the cue play extremely different. You simply would hate to use this cue without the bumper in place. You can get the same type of difference with many cues with traditional bumpers. But, since this is a break cue, it's going to be extremely rigid feeling without this bumper or with a traditional bumper. The material acts similarly to the LimbSaver.

I simply want an explanation as to why he is making these claims. Was it only because people used it and said this, or because Richard used it and felt this?

I'll say it, if it helps.

Proper evidence to make claims like these lies in some type of quantitative analysis where they measured the "vibration", "recoil", and tip time in contact with the cueball and then compared those measurements to those of other similar products. To just come out and make claims like this is absurd. In addition, we need to know why these things would be beneficial if your product does in fact provide the attributes you say it does.

What I have outlined here is one example. Now you can apply this to all the claims that have been made (not just here, but for all products). For example, their tips are harder than phenolic tips, ok, why is that better? Would granite make a better tip material if harder is better? How did they come up with the tip material?

I'm not sure why tip contact time is a parameter that would be discussed. Should it be? The claims of vibration reduction can be felt by anyone. Standard measurements would help, but the layman wouldn't care.

I think "harder" is a layman term that doesn't really apply. It's "compression strength." So, the granite comparison wouldn't make any sense. Granite has properties that would fail miserably. It's the combination of the ability to hold chalk and the high compression strength with a high return of energy ratio that's important. There are materials that have a higher compression strength, and materials that hold chalk better. To find one material that has both parameters is what you'd have to do. That's what the XBreaker has done.

Is it better to optimize these two parameters? Sure. Why not? If it shows improvement, then it's the right direction. If it didn't show improvement, then it's the wrong direction.

Fred

 

[enzo]

I appreciate your response cornerman, but just so everyone is aware, it didn't really answer any of my questions. In fact, it seems you spent time answering questions that were in fact statements (eg, the statement i made about the plastic and the fact that dropping an egg on it doesn't prove anything).

I learned from a very smart teacher I had that there is a phenomena he called "the halo effect." He was afraid that if he saw his student's names on tests that he could favor (conciously or subconciously) one student (say one of his "better" students) over others. He would make us put a number on our test, with no name present.

What does that mean? Well, people could be "favoring" their reveiws of the xbreaker. If you hear good things about it you may be predisposed to say it works better than you may have otherwise. Or, if you buy one you have invested in it and may be more apt to give it a better review. I'm not singling cornerman or anybody in particular out here, but i think its important to realize that the only way to get unbiased results is through numbers or measurments.

Richard made claims about his product, even going as far as saying it is "revolutionary," and has presented absolutely no data to back up these claims. To take it a step further, he makes claims about his cue, but doesn't even provide you with reasons as to why the specific claims he made could help you on a pool table (eg, he says you will get a longer "tip in contact with the cueball time with the xbreaker," well, if that's is in fact true, why is that good????). To be perfectly frank (i almost hate to say this), the marketing startegey seems to target people with lower intelligence and i personally am offended by it and sick of seeing it.

As Shinobi stated, have a marketing campaign like "try it and you'll see," i'd have no problem with that. But please, please don't insult me and others by making extremely pretentious claims that are nothing short of prevarications. That is, I must assume they are prevarications if you don't present data that backs up what you have publicy stated.

I want to be very clear on this point, there is no acrimony here. I don't think Richard tried to offend me (and perhaps others), but I am attempting to make him aware that he did. It sounds like he has a great product, and I only hope he will market it in a more respectable manner in the future.

One last thing i REALLY keyed in on in cornerman's post was the fact that he said people would "hate the xbreaker without the bumper in place." If i understand this correctly, doesn't this mean all the owners of the original xbreakers (without bumpers) have cues they should hate? Please correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[RSB-Refugee]

There are materials that have a higher compression strength, and materials that hold chalk better. To find one material that has both parameters is what you'd have to do. That's what the XBreaker has done.

Is it better to optimize these two parameters? Sure. Why not? If it shows improvement, then it's the right direction. If it didn't show improvement, then it's the wrong direction.

Fred

Fred,
Above, you mention compression and chalk adhesion, have you hit any regular shots with the cue? How squirty is the X-Breaker? Could it be used to play shots, other than break or jump shots?

Thanks,
Tracy

 

[Flex]

Richard made claims about his product, even going as far as saying it is "revolutionary," and has presented absolutely no data to back up these claims. To take it a step further, he makes claims about his cue, but doesn't even provide you with reasons as to why the specific claims he made could help you on a pool table (eg, he says you will get a longer "tip in contact with the cueball time with the xbreaker," well, if that's is in fact true, why is that good????). To be perfectly frank (i almost hate to say this), the marketing startegey seems to target people with lower intelligence and i personally am offended by it and sick of seeing it.

As Shinobi stated, have a marketing campaign like "try it and you'll see," i'd have no problem with that. But please, please don't insult me and others by making extremely pretentious claims that are nothing short of prevarications. That is, I must assume they are prevarications if you don't present data that backs up what you have publicy stated.

I want to be very clear on this point, there is no acrimony here. I don't think Richard tried to offend me (and perhaps others), but I am attempting to make him aware that he did. It sounds like he has a great product, and I only hope he will market it in a more respectable manner in the future.

Someone who is in the business of hawking his product has the right to sell the "sizzle" of his product, even if in a particular ad he doesn't lay out all the proofs for the fact that his steak sizzles.

Those of us who are skeptical about those "revolutionary" claims will remain so until said claims are presented with proofs. I imagine the makers of the product realize that. If they never produce evidence to substantiate their claims, with time their credibility will suffer.

The "new and better" stuff doesn't offend me at all. I just play the wait and see game, and read what's out there, especially from those who go to the trouble of actually testing the product.

Flex

 

[Wolven]

Hi everyone,

Here is my story of the X-breaker, natural maple with white rap 19. I bought it about a month ago and have been using it lots breaking, shooting, and jumping. Many good players have used it as well. Here are some observations.

The iron rings are higher than the rest of the cue and I’m sure that’s just wrong.
The x in breaker doesn’t align either. The feel of the rap is not the greatest, but then again I like cues without raps. However, nobody has made any negative comments.
Everyone likes the look of the cue.
The only complain was from one person that 13.3 shaft was too thick.

Jumping is very easy and accurate. Couple of people with their own dedicated jump cues said they liked the feel of the x-breaker better.

Breaking power is not as great as I would like it to be. The cue does have a resonance and my elbow seems to pick it up which is too bad as I have an injury and this just hurts.
On the break the ball stays on the table control is very good.
Most people really liked the breaking action. Couple of people preferred it to the Predator BK2. Couple of people found it just ok.

Shooting, we were having fun running tables today with the x-breaker.
It actually shoots better than many cues. You can put english, draw, follow, cuts are easy the cue always shoots straight. Not a single miscue! The sound x-breaker makes was the only complaint. Ohh, I was also shooting it with one hand and it was nice.

I will order the maximizer tomorrow and a heavier bolt, hope that will improve the cue further. All in all I’m happy with the performance of this cue despite the fact it is expensive.

 

[Cornerman]

I learned from a very smart teacher I had that there is a phenomena he called "the halo effect."

What does that mean? Well, people could be "favoring" their reveiws of the xbreaker.

As I said, I was prepared to hate this product, considering some of the unbelievable claims people who tried it were saying. So, please tuck the conspiracy theory away on this one.

I want to be very clear on this point, there is no acrimony here. I don't think Richard tried to offend me (and perhaps others), but I am attempting to make him aware that he did. It sounds like he has a great product, and I only hope he will market it in a more respectable manner in the future.

Not much to say here. There's a lot of good stuff in the advertisement, and it's represented well in the cue. If you had it in hand, we wouldn't be having this thread continue. The marketing is marketing. If that's your beef, I would hope that it's inconsequential. What would matter is if this product actually delivers anything.

One last thing i REALLY keyed in on in cornerman's post was the fact that he said people would "hate the xbreaker without the bumper in place." If i understand this correctly, doesn't this mean all the owners of the original xbreakers (without bumpers) have cues they should hate? Please correct me if i'm wrong.

I have no idea about any of the original XBreaker. I had never toucheded any XBreaker nor had I read anything about them (even in these forums) until I tried one them the other day. There looks to be another post from an original XBreaker owner that confirms that the original did feel tingy and had too much vibration.

For whatever it's worth, there was so much buzzing from pro players and top amateurs about this product. So much. And Richard doesn't sponsor or comp. any of them. Forget about the ad. It's trying to speak to the layman. The tip holds chalk and has a higher compression strength than anything currently available (data is available). The gel material absorbs the shock and dampens the vibration greatly. How the marketing tries to get that across isn't important for these forums.

Fred

 

[Cornerman]

Fred,
Above, you mention compression and chalk adhesion, have you hit any regular shots with the cue? How squirty is the X-Breaker? Could it be used to play shots, other than break or jump shots?

Thanks,
Tracy

I didn't try it, Tracy. But, they have no low squirt technology, so there was no reason to test it. I assume it's squirty as all get out.

The shooting should be no problem, as the tip holds chalk like a regular cue. The tip however was flatter than I would like, so I didnt do anything to try shots with it either.

Fred

 

[TheOne]

Probably off topic so sorry but I just wanted to share my first experience with Richards x breaker.

I first saw Richards cue at the US Open and for various reasons I never actually got around to trying it! A couple of weeks ago I reccomended it to a friend in the Uk based on the number of good reviews I had read from other players. Last night I had about ten breaks with it and it felt good. I normally break with a BK+phonelic tip and for the most part I couldn't tell much of a difference, probably die to the extreemly crappy tables I was breaking on. However on one particualr break the pack just exploded and several balls went down. I only mention this because it was qutie an extraordinary break, which probably proves that it was my technique and not the crappy tables that was the problem! It sticks in my mind because the player who I was playing just looked at me and we both went "wow"!

Anyone want to buy a BK breaker?

 

[Icon of Sin]

I picked up an x-breaker gen 2 from Richard at the expo first thing Thursday morning.

I proceded to the tournament area and took a few breaks with it. The first thing I noticed is that it holds chalk as well as leather. I heard that it did and I still couldnt beleive how well it did until I saw it. On the first few breaks I was averaging 2-3 balls (Diamond 7 footers with Simonis 860 and bucket pockets). I couldnt compare it on the same equipment to my old break cue as I cracked the phenolic tip on the old one (J and J Jump Break one peice phenolic tip) which is partly the reason why I wanted to get a nice break cue this time around.

When breaking, the cue hits a ton. It really delivers a good break. I got it a natural wieght of 18.75 and Richard provided weight bolts to me in case I wanted to add some more to it. I left it the way it was. I shot with it in the tournmanet and of course it delivered a good break there and also provided me with an easy run out when I snapped 4 in on my opponent.

Jumping was simple to. You can get over blocking balls with the greatest of ease. I was hitting at probably 75 percent of the power I used to jump with and still clearing balls with plenty of room. The control on the jump was nice too, but that is also something I have to work on more and not a fault of the cue. Was absolutley amazing being able to clear balls that easy. I really wish APA allowed the use of jump cues. Jumping balls with it as a full cue wasnt too hard either, easier then the phenolic J and J definately.

Richard's communication and customer service was top notch as well. I paid for the x-breaker via paypal the day before the show and was able to pick it up from him first thing as stuff was still being set up. He was sending emails back and forth with me while he was at the airport before boarding his flight the night before. I met him thursday morning and he was an extremely professional and courteous guy and was willing to help out in anyway he can.

Overall it was a great transaction and I recieved a great product. I highly recommend one.

 

[enzo]

As I said, I was prepared to hate this product, considering some of the unbelievable claims people who tried it were saying. So, please tuck the conspiracy theory away on this one.

Thanks, my responses are geared more toward Richard, sorry if I got you involved in all this, it wasn't intentional. I really don't have any reason to discuss this with you cornerman. However, whether you know it or not, just because you are "prepared to hate something" doesn't mean you can review it unbiasedly. On the contrary, I would think if you were prepared to hate something your views could be terribly biased. If I was prepared to hate my breakfast i'm about to eat, if it turns out to be just mediocre I may love it because I had such low expectations. So, I have no conspiracy theories. I just happen to know for a fact that you can't get unbiased results unless you perform a proper quantitative analysis. This is what Richard would need to present to prove the claims he has made.

Anyway, lets just forget all that and assume the reviews are proper and as humanly objective as possible. Ok, great, most people seem to love the cue and it has been proven through use to perform very well. But....

Richard said:

This new material will filter out unwanted vibration, and recoil upon impact to keep the tip on the cue ball longer to increase power and a straighter cue delivery.

When somebody says stuff like that they need to back it up! I'm going to have a straiter cue delivery after I buy this product? How is that, tell me please. This is the type of information i've been asking for. Yet, let me just state one more time that Richard never answered any of my questions. NOT ONE! This speaks volumes to me. He doesn't seem to have any way of backing these statements up. Maybe if people get called out on stuff like this it wont happen in the future, I know that would be a change for the better as far as i'm concerned.

So, I have said all I want to say and then some; I will let this and my previous posts speak for themselves from here on out. I again wish Richard the best of luck and I hope he doesn't charge me an extra 20% if I try to buy one of these.

 

[zed9]

if this maximizer helps keep the cue tip in contact with the ball longer to provide a 'purer' hit then surely it would be of even greater benefit if it was fitted to ones playing cue. My question is can this product be moulded in such a way that it could 'replace' a weight bolt ? If you could do this (in black so as it replaces the rubber bumper), your potential market for this product suddenly increases expotentially - well I'd take one.

 

[X Breaker]

if this maximizer helps keep the cue tip in contact with the ball longer to provide a 'purer' hit then surely it would be of even greater benefit if it was fitted to ones playing cue. My question is can this product be moulded in such a way that it could 'replace' a weight bolt ? If you could do this (in black so as it replaces the rubber bumper), your potential market for this product suddenly increases expotentially - well I'd take one.

Thank you for your interest.

We will only offer maXimizer on the X Breaker at this point in time.

I am not very interested in marketing; I am interested in building a perfect break cue. The maXimizer should be used on a cue with perfect balance and construction to reach its top performance, and we want all our customers to Xperience the optimum performance brought forth by the X Breaker with the maXimizer. That is why we do not want to sell our shaft, tip, or maXimizer indivually to players who may use these devices on inferior cues or cues which were not built with these devices in mind.

The X Breaker now has a waiting list of 70 days, and I was sold out in two days in the show. If my business grows any faster, I am not sure I will still have the time to spend on researching and improving our existing designs, which is our top priority. I know selling the maXimizer for playing cues can make us more money, but that is not the most important thing to us right now.

Richard

 

[zed9]

Richard

thanks for your quick response, I appreciate your focus is now on the break and it would seem you have the # 1 product on the market - next time I'm in the market for a break cue..........I'm playing straight pool at the moment.
Please keep me posted should at some time in the future you experiment with the maximizer on a playing cue.
Good luck with your business and may the breaks be with you !

 

[Solartje]

Hi richard.

I remember reading u have a new dealer in holland.
do u have a site of the shop/person selling them?
What is the price in euro's of the 2d generation?

next question isnt vital or anything, just informing.
will there be any discount for european players?
We cant get to the VF even if we wanted. I know u have some costumers
in europe, but there are maybe only 5 members here on AZ who live in europe, and it could be a good deal for u, if the X-babe would sell as good overseas. It might be a good idea to give european players something too, just enough to convince some players to buy one, and then there revieuws would do the job of the promotion. So if there is a discount ill be very thankfull, if not. no problem either, it wont keep me awake at night. just informing.

 

[buddha162]

Hi Enzo,

Thank you for your questions. I will try to answer your questions one more time.

You really don't have to answer any of his questions. Not that his questions are invalid, but someone in your position, selling out all your cues for months to come, have nothing to gain by continuing this conversation.

The X-breaker is the best jump-break cue on the market, period. There is broad consensus on this point. End of story, no need to address any of the naysayers or explain your claims. Marketing is marketing, the only time you need to elaborate is when facing a lawsuit.

-Roger (nice chatting with you at the Expo, and thank you again.)

 

[Ali88]

Well, I maybe of low level intelligence LOL, but I have the original Xbreaker and I thought that it broke dynamite, now thanks to Richard I have the Maximizer and this cue just literally rocks period. I must admit that I was a little sceptical at first because the originals are not theaded but the Maximizer fits in the end super tight. There are a few bugs to iron out however, for example with a weight bolt in, the maximizer will not go all the way in also when you twist the maximizer out it feels like you could almost rip it apart but if this ever happened they are fairly cheap at $20. Also I have no trouble putting english, draw or follow on the cue ball but I don't know why you would ever use it as a playing cue.

 

[raemondo]

Richard,

What is the lowest acheivable weight of the xbreaker with the maximizer on it?

 

[X Breaker]

Richard,

What is the lowest acheivable weight of the xbreaker with the maximizer on it?

17.25 oz is the lightest I have built so far. I am not sure if I may go lighter as I have never intentionally tried to build them real light. I personally do not recommend using wood of very low density to make it too light. Most of the professionals who break with the X breaker go 19oz or above.

 

[enzo]

richard forced me to break my word

Let me first break this whole issue down into two categories, I really think this needs to be done:

1) Xbreaker performance- not an issue at all with me. Everybody thinks it works great and I’m sure they are right. No arguments there whatsoever. This includes people that own and like the cue. I think it’s GREAT that you found a cue you like, and I am not saying anything about you or your reasons you like the cue.

2) Richards Marketing Statements- these I have problems with. Richard has made many claims and has yet to back them up. He will be forced to either back one of his claims up or renege it (non answer will equal a renege imo) by the end of this post.

Thank you for your questions. I will try to answer your questions one more time.

You never answered any of my questions. You avoided them because you don’t have the answers or you won’t give them. I assume you don’t have answers.

If you do not understand why a stronger tip would make jumping easier and why a granite tip would be a bad choice, I am not sure how to answer your question in simple terms. So, I recommended that you just try the cue.

This is almost to the point of unbelievable. I clearly made that statement because you said many times “the phenolic tip is obsolete, our tip is X times harder than phenolic tips..” So, you say your tips are harder. SO WHAT! If I put a piece of granite on my cue should it jump better? NO! That is the point, harder isn’t necessarily better. So, tell us why your tip is better in light of the fact that harder isn’t necessarily better. Don’t just say “it’s harder, therefore it’s better, buy it.”

For example, you mentioned you felt that a good jump cue usually does not jump draw very well. Do you have any data to back this up?

I see what you’re saying here, but I don’t need to prove anything, I don’t have customers about to invest a lot of money in a product I’m making unproven claims about.

I did not ignore your question, I have answered at least three of your questions (#54, #65) when I could understand the question. Mind you I owe you no obligation to explain my technology to you in great details on a public forum.

This is the biggest joke of them all to me. You didn’t understand the questions. OK. I’m going to make this real clear so you don’t have this avenue of escape anymore. Question #1: How will your cue give me a “straiter cue delivery (a claim Richard made in the first post)”???

Keep in mind, “it doesn’t” is one possible answer you could give. So, if you answer there are similar questions just as simple in previous posts of mine. Forgive me everybody, but this is the only way I know to make him answer and not let him avoid questions that are obviously very clear. I’m sure he may find another way not to answer, but that speaks volumes as well.

You say you don’t owe us as customers answers. Well, you made claims and then failed to back them up. I see that as improper business practice and I for one am big on customer rights and want all customers to be treated proprerly. You can't claim a computer you are selling computes at 2.0 GHz if it doesn't. Similarly, you say your cue tip will “keep the tip on the cue ball longer to increase power” then you say it is the hardest tip out there. I say how can a hard tip stay in contact with the cueball longer? You are claiming something that is false imo. Truth be told, I guess you can say whatever you want if your product is good enough, people will buy it no matter what. It sounds like this is the case, so why go out of your way to make false claims like this and piss people like me off?

Most people can understand my explaination, but you seem to think it is because they all have a low intelligence level.

This is the real reason I broke my word and am posting again (normally if I say that, I won’t), it pushed me over the edge. Again, Richard has really said something unbelievable here. I said that I feel the marketing strategy is geared toward people with lower intelligence. That statement is 100% independent of xbreaker customers and potential customers. It is a statement about Richard and how he is making statements and expecting people to believe him. I want to buy and am interested in xbreakers, I wasn't calling myself stupid. If you want a buzz around your product say people love it and to try it, don't make claims you refuse to stand by. Also, don’t falsly accuse me of calling xbreaker fans stupid, I didn’t and you need to explain why you stated that I did. Maybe because you want me to look bad.

The best way I see for you to understand why the X breaker work is to try it yourself, hence my recommendation. Richard

You say this over and over, frankly, I never get tired of it because it says to me... the proof is there, try it, you'll see and I just bet you'll want one. It’s the greatest marketing strategy of all if you have a good product. Leave those other marketing claims to the golf club industry, seriously, I just can't take them anymore.

Thanks for listening everybody! I sincerily hope we all benefit from these posts.

And, believe it or not, I hope Richard and i can stop this bickering. I feel strongly about this subject and want him to see and agree with my points. If he doesn't I understand that's his right and he may do as he wishes. I'll do my best to make this stop here (unless somebody gets really out of line), and I will hold no ill will toward anyone.

 

[X Breaker]

The Xtreme Tip is the strongest jump break tip out there.

I did not use the word "hard" because hard and strong are very different.

Richard