See written review and video at http://tamerbowling.com/index.php/motiv-cruel-c51-ball-review/
Here is a supplemental review with Digitrax Analysis.
Below, you can see all tracks and the average track as recorded by Ebonite Digitrax. On the left, you can see the statistical analysis.
I am bowling on a medium to medium-light house shot with dry boards outside 5. It’s a pretty steep cliff from wet to dry around the 7 board so I try to target inside the 2nd or 3rd breakzone to stay away from the dry. I have 350-400 revs on any given shot and I average between 220 and 230 in this house.
Let’s evaluate…
As you can see, the far left track is the average track for the Motiv Cruel C51. The statistics are on the far right. As you can see, I am launching the ball around 17 mph, targeting 13 at the arrows and 9 at the breakpoint. The ball generates a mild entry angle of 4.24 degrees. The breakpoint is relatively early at just under 40 feet. Just for comparison, the 900 Global Favorite track is besides the Cruel track. I use the Favorite as it is intended to be a similar type of benchmark ball. It is very obvious how much earlier the Cruel reads the lanes. The Favorite has a 2.48 RG, just like the Cruel. The Differential is quite different though at .040 compared to the Cruel’s .060. The Cruel also has a maximum mass bias at .030 compared to the symmetrical Favorite core. It is painfully obvious how much earlier the Cruel turns over and how much less angle it generates.
None of that is to say that the Cruel is a bad ball. Quite the opposite really. This shows you how much control this ball is capable of. The strong core has such a strong affect on the overall reaction shape by turning over very quickly. This provides a very smooth and controlled reaction from midlane to pins. You are rarely surprised by this kind of reaction.
The entry angle created by this ball might appear to be pretty low and it is compared to the balls I’ve been testing lately. This is why I said how different this reaction is. By comparison, the Favorite was just under 6 degrees of entry angle on average. Given how early the core revs up, this ball also does not overreact to dry boards. It really does provide one of the smoothest reactions I’ve seen from a reactive ball. Some may look at that entry angle and be a bit disappointed. I will argue that this is actually more in the ideal entry angle. You don’t get tapped as much with this angle. Please read the following article for more info on entry angle.
Bottom Line
This ball really is all about control. I don’t see this ball as a “big swing” type ball but that’s fine really. There are many other balls more suited to that. This is the kind of ball that allows you to get fairly direct and carry very well. It is surprisingly capable of being played in medium conditions and offers the ability to play there for a while. If you want to play a bit more direct and get to the pocket almost all the time, this is a go to ball. The midlane move is very consistent. You won’t be surprised by an over or under- reaction at the pins because you’ll know what it’s going to do about half way down the lane.