First Impressions
The Forge Fuel is bright, strong, and was a stroker showcase.
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Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 365 rpm
PAP: 5 1/8 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium/high
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 50 x 4.5 x 45
Tyler Church (Righty)
Style: Power Player
RPM: 425 rpm
PAP: 5 1/2 & 1/2 up
Average Speed: 19 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 50 x 5.25 x 50
Bryan Hoffman (Righty)
Style: Stroker
RPM: 280 rpm
PAP: 4 1/2 & 1 1/2 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: high
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 55 x 4.75 x 45
“Keep in mind that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core creates the dynamic shape of the reaction. Your driller will alter the shape to suit your game.”
ExploreSports Gear
Pattern
THS: 44ft, 25.8ml, 12:1 ratio
Sport: TBD
Specs
The Motiv Forge Fuel uses the Detonator™ Symmetric Core core inside the Leverage™ MXT Solid Reactive coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.47, diff of .055
14 pound = RG of 2.49, diff of .054
Coverstock finish: 1000 grit LSS
Stroker’s Stance
As I already alluded to, The Forge Fuel looked spectacular for Bryan. Bryan has always loved his OG Forge as that control continuous big symmetric., what I call Strong Control shape. It’s a bit long in the tooth now but still effective. With the way Motiv promotes the Forge Fuel, we were very hopeful it would offer something similar to his OG. Motiv says control and strength without sacrificing down lane continuation. For Bryan, it does exactly that. He gets that read but absolutely great continuation. Sometimes really strong covers can get so diggy that they slow down too much down lane. For Bryan, this thing just kept going and it reminded me of how the Onyx Jackal really punched through the pins. We had a quick look at the OG Forge and as expected and we recall, the Forge is a bit cleaner look through the fronts with the smooth backend motion. The Forge Fuel is definitely a stronger cover so you can see that read but also strongly continuous. Interestingly, he had the Onyx on hand and wow, he has lost a lot of continuation since new. He has tried to refresh, resurface but it seems like it’s kind of lost the gusto. So the Forge Fuel is stronger and more continuous comparatively.
Power Player’s Perspective
So we flipped this because Bryan had the best look but Tyler had a pretty good look as well. The Forge Fuel is basically way too strong for this pattern for him. It’s the diggy kind of big ball. Lots of cover strength. Typically a continuous Detonator core. You can see the ball read early. Sometimes too early. It was quickly breaking the lane down and then it would read even earlier. However, it did feel like there is a limited window of how deep he can get to catch more oil and still be continuous. That’s going to be the theme really. The ball has control and continuity but when you need to cover a ton of boards, that balance is exposed. It loses axis. He had his Raptor Reign which he uses for the oiliest conditions. You can see that truly the Raptor Reign is the definition of strength and continuity. That is the ball that he can get pretty much as deep as you want and it still makes it back. So while they are close in purpose, he finds the Raptor Reign to better fit what he needs it for.
Tweener’s Take
With my finger injury, I’m not able to bowl one-handed at the moment. So the 2-handed look wasn’t good for me. I’m a bit rev dominant at the moment and so I had too much read of the lane. Once I opened up the lane just a smidge more to get more length, the thing lost all axis. So basically, it’s just unusable for me on this pattern so not much more to say on it for me. As a one-hander, I loved the OG Forge.
At the end of the day, this is another Motiv option in the Strong Control space. The Raptor Reign, previous Subzero Forge, Evoke Mayhem. Sounds like a lot but think about this. My favorite is the Evoke Mayhem, Tyler the Raptor Reign, and Bryan the Forge Fuel. So there’s something for everyone!