Head to head

Volkl Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30) vs Volkl Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20)

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is stiffness, where Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20) is 11 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Volkl

Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30)

Polyester · 16 ga

Volkl

Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20)

Polyester · 18 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
16736th pct
15925th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
5292nd pct
5191st pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8310th pct
8518th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
8.798th pct
7.896th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.59295th pct
0.57293rd pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.0683rd pct
0.0739th pct

Bars are percentile against all 788 strings, and the marked side is the one that measures better, which is not always the one you want. A firmer bed is worse for your elbow and better for your control, and no measurement knows which of those you came for.

Which one wins, by problem

Each string's standing on the site's rankings, out of every measured string in the database. This is where a comparison stops being arithmetic and starts being a decision.

Swapping between them: what tension?

Bed stiffness is published at one reference tension, so the only honest conversion is to scale it. These are starting points from 52 lb, not prescriptions. The calculator takes your own tension.

Coming from Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20) at 54.6 lb 24.8 kg

Coming from Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30) at 49.5 lb 22.5 kg

Hybrid: what if you used both?

Estimated, not measured. No hybrid combination has been tested as a bed. These figures are the two strings' own lab measurements weighted by how much of the bed each one actually is. Treat them as a guide to which way a pairing moves, never as lab data.

Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30) mains / Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness32nd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss91st pct · 1 measured
Energy return13th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential98th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite95th pct · 1 measured
String friction4th pct · 1 measured

Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20) mains / Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness29th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss91st pct · 1 measured
Energy return13th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential96th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite93rd pct · 1 measured
String friction6th pct · 1 measured

Open this in the hybrid builder

Which goes dead first?

Estimated from tension loss, which is the only thing the database measures about ageing. This is when the bed stops playing the way you strung it, not when the string breaks.

Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30)

~12 hours of play

Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20)

~13 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Volkl Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30) Polyester16find16752838.70.5920.068
Volkl Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20) Polyester18find15951857.80.5720.073

Add a third string Cyclone Tour 16 (1.30) in full Cyclone Tour 18 (1.20) in full