First Impressions
Storm releases a new pearl Hyroad called the HyRoad 40, this time with the new cover we just saw on the Equinox. Really curious if Storm has possibly revived the old HyRoad pearl look on modern conditions.
Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 330 rpm
PAP: 5 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium/high
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 4 x 40
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: 4.75 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: med
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 5 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.”
Pattern
THS: 44ft, 25.8ml 12:1 ratio
Specs
The Storm Hy-Road 40 uses the Inverted Fe2™ symmetrical core inside the Turmoil™ XP3 Hybrid Reactive coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.57, diff of .046
14 pound = RG of 2.58, diff of .037
Coverstock finish: Power Edge
Power Player’s Persective
As I did with the Storm Ion Pro Solid, I’ve decided to start with Sean on the HyRoad 40 and for the same reason. It looked great for him. The HyRoad 40 kind of brings back the relevance of a pearl HyRoad with an updated coverstock to better match the original intended ball motion to the current conditioners. For Sean, this is a very straightforward look on this house shot. The match up of the cover and core to the 44ft medium house pattern and Sean’s release led to an excellent ball reaction that saw that clean look through most of the lane while getting strong response to the end of the pattern. This is the quintessential Mid Late ball and the responsive ball reaction Storm has been returning too. I can see higher rev bowlers really liking something like this where most of the motion is off the end of the pattern while their rev rate ensure the ball drives really well and consistently. Of course this can be more sensitive to the occasional over/under on the wrong conditions but use it where Mid Late should be used for medium conditions or lower volume and you could be rewarded nicely.
Tweener’s Take
For me, all the reasons that made it great for Sean made it mid for me as a tweener lefty, at least on this pattern. Not trying to be damning of the ball. It’s just that generally speaking, lefties don’t love thin skid/snap ball reaction and the HyRoad 40 is pretty much that. By contrast, the Road Warrior while still be strong reacting downlane just had a bit of a rounder more traditional shape for me. That slightly rounder shape makes it a bit more usable in general. The HyRoad 40 itself did look pretty good in a narrow window which took some experimentation to find. I can be overall more direct and use the 8-9 breakpoint or I can move in a bit a,d pull the breakpoint in to 10-11. Good hit, just a bit of over/under. The HyRoad is the one ball in all the years I’ve been testing where the weightblock specs in14 and 15 actually made a difference in ball motion. The Road Warrior had the AI core and the same RG and Diff across 14, 15, and 16lb. The higher diff made it a bit stronger overall The HyRoad 40 goes back to the no core only weightblock which has theoretically meant higher coefficient of restitution. But for 14lb, that means the RG is a touch higher but diff is significantly lower which makes the ball reaction a little weaker. An additional context is the IQ Tour AI which as a lefty I prefer in the Mid Late category. Reason being it’s smoothness even while being clean. The Lower RG is very noticeable when you compare the ball motion.
Stroker’s Stance
Here’s a quick look with the HyRoad 40 for Bryan. While he may have been a little worried about using a ball meant for a bit drier conditions on this 44ft fresh shot, he didn’t have too much trouble straddling the friction line. I’d say he had a less over/under than I did as he is covering a couple less boards so less side to side motion while straddling the friction gave him a little bit more forgiveness than I had. He felt fairly good with the controlled arc motion and could chase in a couple of boards while maintaining the pocket.
Bottom Line
As said earlier the HyRoad 40 is the quintessential Mid Late, skid/flip type motion. If you are looking for that clean snappy motion later in a block or on drier conditions, the latest HyRoad could just be your ticket.
Thanks for watching.
Surface Adjustment
We did a quick surface adjustment with 1500 grit pad by hand on the HyRoad 40 to get an understanding how behavior changes. Please watch the full review for our thoughts on the ball out of box power edge finish. For me, the ball went from a bit of over/under on the fresh 44 ft house shot with the late snappy motion to an almost perfect matchup. Basically it firmed up the move downlane for me. Basically brought the hook phase a little closer to me and made it feel more firm and definitive.
For Bryan he generally had a good look with the HyRoad 40 allowing him to straddle the friction line and get good carry with the little downlane pop. With 1500 grit surface, he felt it didn’t change the ball shape much, simply pushed him in a couple of boards to catch more oil. He was happy to have maintained the same shape and overall behavior.
Takeaway is surface maintains the shape of the HyRoad 40 but simply gets it starting a few feet sooner. That should help you in case you run into the situation, you don’t have to guess what the adjustment will do.