PoleVaultPower.com

Okay so the only pole I had was a 16 foot pole(old grey label carbon) cutoff 6 inches so now it is a 15'6 pole. Its flex rating is a 16.6. I needed a pole a little softer and a pole that would be a little stiffer. Today I borrowed two brandnew carbon fx's, both being 15'6 poles not cutoff any. There flexes are a 16.0 and a 15.0. My question is were would my 16.6 cut pole fall into as far as 15'6 flexes? I was hoping that maybe some how my 16.6 would translate now to something like a 15.6 or.5 that way it would be right between those two. Keep in mind I did not cut the 16ft pole. My question is; now that it has been cut down to a 15'6 pole what would that make the flex# on it now? Any help would be awesome and thanks for any advice. I would go practice on them but I have no were to practice as far as indoors.

KYLE ELLIS wrote:Okay so the only pole I had was a 16 foot pole(old grey label carbon) cutoff 6 inches so now it is a 15'6 pole. Its flex rating is a 16.6. I needed a pole a little softer and a pole that would be a little stiffer. Today I borrowed two brandnew carbon fx's, both being 15'6 poles not cutoff any. There flexes are a 16.0 and a 15.0. My question is were would my 16.6 cut pole fall into as far as 15'6 flexes? I was hoping that maybe some how my 16.6 would translate now to something like a 15.6 or.5 that way it would be right between those two. Keep in mind I did not cut the 16ft pole. My question is; now that it has been cut down to a 15'6 pole what would that make the flex# on it now? Any help would be awesome and thanks for any advice. I would go practice on them but I have no were to practice as far as indoors.

The difference in flex number for every 6 inches is approximately 2.0 cm. So, your original flex of 16.6 on a 15'6 flex scale would be approximately a 14.6. That's without it being cut. It's hard to say exactly how much the flex increased with it being cut, sometimes a lot, sometimes not at all, but let's say it increased .6 (the same as a 4.90 carbon pole I recently cut increased), then your 14.6 would now be about a 15.2, plus or minus .3. Bear in mind, this is all approximates and speculation, but is based on the thousands of flex tests and data from them I've collected with my flex machine over the past 3 years. The only way to know for sure is get them flexed, or jump on them. Also remember that while a flex test can give you relative stiffness, it can't tell you how the pole will "feel." Only jumping on it will tell you that. Your chopped pole may fall right between the 2 FX's, but feel and react much differently, due to different sail position, and carbon to fiberglass ratios.

Never mind.......Kris beat me too it

swtvault wrote:I would say that your 16.6 cut 6 inches would be a 17.3-17.8 on the 16' spans. I can't say what it would be on the 15'6 spans because I have never done it like that, but I would imagine it may fall in the range you mentioned. The best way to get an idea is to build a flex tester, and flex all your poles on 16'1 spans (we hung the poles at 8'' and 12'8.) It really doesn't matter what the spans are--unless you want to hit the factory flex--but you do want it the same every time for consistencys sake. Lonestar is the guy to ask on this stuff. He knows the spans, and the differentials between lengths REALLY well. Hope this helps.

GF

Actually, the 4.90 spans used by nearly all the manufacturers hasn't changed in many many years and is 6" from the bottom of the pole for one support, and 14'7.5" from the bottom of the pole for the other support, with the weight hung at 7'6.75." The weight is 50lbs, and obviously you measure the deflection in the pole. Make sure the soft side is lined up perfectly bending toward the ground and doesn't spin when weighting or unweighting the pole. This will get you close to factory numbers, but like Geoff said, that doesn't matter as long as you're consistent from pole to pole within your own system.

For 15'6 poles, bottom support at 6", top support at 14'1.5", hang weight at 7'3.25".

thanks for the feedback I may try what you mentioned and if I do Im sure I will back asking more questions.. What kind of weight should I use? And once I do hang the weight how do I measure and what tools do I need to measure it with. You meausure how far it is bending with the 50lb wght right?

I CONCUR good job Kris

Lonestar, where did you get those data points? I broke it down and I am really curious to see more of the measurements if you have them...

Lax PV wrote:Lonestar, where did you get those data points? I broke it down and I am really curious to see more of the measurements if you have them...

That's top-secret information!

I'll email you.

Kris

lonestar wrote:

Lax PV wrote:Lonestar, where did you get those data points? I broke it down and I am really curious to see more of the measurements if you have them...

That's top-secret information!

I'll email you.

Kris

Hey KRIS email me a copy too :D

You guys are shady...