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Dr. Neubauer Rhino+ Test (with videos) |
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Matt Pimple
Gold Member Joined: 12/03/2012 Location: Phoenix Status: Offline Points: 1995 |
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Posted: 05/19/2018 at 11:38pm |
Dr. Neubauer Rhino+ Review
Disclaimer: I received the rubber from Dr. Neubauer for testing About the reviewer: My USATT rating is currently around 1800. My strength is my forehand with which I score the majority of my points mainly through looping; I play close to the table with blocking and looping. I play with frictionless anti on backhand, mainly for returning serve and blocking topspin loops but recently also more with attacking shots. Setup: The Rhino+ was played with the 1.8mm sponge on Dr. Neubauer Matador and on OSP Ultimate each with Hurricane III Neo max on forehand. I played the Rhino+ with Nittaku Premium, YinHe, Xuashofa and as in the videos below with Nittaku J-Top balls. Description on Dr. Neubauer’s website:
Appearance: The surface of the Rhino+ has the same kind of a mate finish similar to the Rhino or also Buffalo and it uses the well know ABS sponge which is fairly hard and dead. Many people believe it is the best sponge for frictionless antis. The Rhino+ topsheet appears a little bit slicker than that of the Rhino or Bison out of the package due to the new coating. The only difference of the Rhino+ to the Rhino supposedly is different gluing between topsheet and sponge and the coating on the topsheet. Weight: I did not weight the Rhino+ but it feels similar to Rhino or Bison which I had on spare blades during the test, so generally it’s a fairly light rubber. Feel/Touch: The Rhino+ feels harder than the regular Rhino and the hardness lies somewhere between Bison and Rhino. I found the hardness of the Rhino+ to be perfect for my feel on the OSP Ultimate and maybe a tad to hard on the Matador blade but this is just personal preference. The new gluing seems to give the Rhino+ a little bit more direct and crisper feel which I really like. Speed: The Rhino+ is a little bit slower than the Rhino in passive play but develops the same speed on attacking shots. It’s possible to block hard loop drives on to the table or drop blocks short behind the net but also smash underspin balls over the table with good speed for winners. The Rhino+ has more gears than Buffalo or Bison probably due to the longer pips which give it more catapult when attacking. Control: I really like the control with Rhino+ and in particular that the sensitivity to the bat angle has been quite improved over ABS but also Buffalo. Especially the control on attacking shots is very good and you can even counter no spin balls. However this is still a frictionless anti and does require some practice to master strokes. Spin Reversal: The reversal with Rhino+ seems better than with Rhino or Bison and is still high enough with the ABS balls to force mistakes of the opponent. This is in particular true when the balls are taken very early for example on blocks or aggressive pushes against underspin. When the ABS ball is taken late it tends to loose a lot of its spin and reversal suffers. Throw Angle: The throw angle of the new Rhino+ is lower than Rhino and also Bison and balls tend to not to raise as much on blocks which is even more important with the advent of the ABS ball. Blocks generally stay low but also attacking shots have a low throw and tend of dive after bouncing. Blocking: The good control and fairly slow speed on passive shots allows for a good blocking game with the Rhino+. It is possible to blocks balls short (I believe the new gluing plays a big role here) but you can also block the balls deep with a slight forward motion during the block. Attacking: The Rhino+ really shines on attacking not only underspin balls but also countering no spin balls which I have not been able to do with such a consistency with any other anti. I believe this is due to the longer pimples compared to Bison or Buffalo which helps to accelerate the ball but also allows the ball to “stick” to the rubber longer. I have been working on the attacking shots lately more and you can almost use a medium pips technique to counter and smash balls. Good footwork (body needs to be behind the ball) and solid contact or necessary for this technique though. I believe more attacking is particularly important with the new ABS balls. Conclusions: I immediately liked the Rhino+ because it does everything the Rhino does but with better control and touch and I have been playing with it since I received it a few weeks ago. The Rhino+ is the best allround frictionless anti for me since I can do passive blocking with high reversal, drop the ball short but also attack with good speed and acceleration on the ball. This makes it the perfect anti for the new ABS ball! The Rhino+ falls somewhere between the Gorilla, which I couldn’t control to lay with it effectively, and a very slow anti like Buffalo. To me the highlight was the ability to attack, which after some practice I can now confidently incorporate into my game, and score direct winners. Below you will find 2 videos showing different techniques and drills with the new Dr. Neubauer Rhino+ on backhand. My coach in the video has a USATT rating of 2650 and we are using Nittaku J-Top plastic balls. 1. Some drills with Dr. Neubauer Matador blade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0pjBZPRHdw&t=238s 2. Some drills with OSP Ultimate blade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkfh_lZxX7s |
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Tajny1989
Super Member Joined: 03/10/2016 Location: Poland Status: Offline Points: 303 |
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Matt Pimple
Gold Member Joined: 12/03/2012 Location: Phoenix Status: Offline Points: 1995 |
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@Tajny1989: I did see your video as well and I believe that my test shows essentially the same as what you found in your test, however I got the impression that you played the Rhino+ quite defensively whereas I'm more focused now on offensive play. I believe this rubber needs to be played close to the table and it does allow more aggressive play which is more important now with the ABS balls.
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