Which are you?

What Kind of Style do you bowl?

  • Stroker

    Votes: 88 40.9%
  • Tweener

    Votes: 87 40.5%
  • Cranker

    Votes: 40 18.6%

  • Total voters
    215
I'm fairly certain the three have nothing to do with speed, but are more dependant on roll?

I was told, & have read in many places that;

A stroker has a semi-roller track (closer to the thumb hole than the fingers)

A cranker has a track closer to the finger holes than the thumb hole.

A tweener has a track in between the two.

There's a difference between an actual cranker & the people who say someone cranks a heap of revs on their ball.
 
I'm fairly certain the three have nothing to do with speed, but are more dependant on roll?

I was told, & have read in many places that;

A stroker has a semi-roller track (closer to the thumb hole than the fingers)

A cranker has a track closer to the finger holes than the thumb hole.

A tweener has a track in between the two.

There's a difference between an actual cranker & the people who say someone cranks a heap of revs on their ball.
Hmmm... Some factual correction required here...

I can clock 400-550+ RPM and definitely have my track closer to the thumb than the fingers in all my releases.

Track dimensions have little to no bearing on rev rate. They are more a guide to the release vector and continuation through the lifting motion. According my track dimensions and the bolded last statement, I have no right to say I'm a cranker, but a nice young girl whose gear I drilled a few weeks ago is! (Trust me, she isn't!) :)

I've known spinners with big revs, strokers who track closer to the fingers than the thumb, crankers who do the same and all sorts of variations including a guy who used to throw the most massive full roller with an inverted figure eight back swing! I dare say he used to be a cranker! It was awesome to watch too! ;)

But that stuff about tracks defining styles just doesn't hold water when you take a good look at things.

Cheers,
Jason
 
I didn't say that revs had anything to do with it. Your track is dependant on the way you release the ball. That's the easiest thing to realise when it comes to bowling, I learned it within my first few weeks as a junior.

BUT

I did read in a 'bowling this month' magazine that 'crankers' will tend to release the ball in such a manner that their track will mroe often than not appear closer to the finger holes than the thumb hole. etc etc. Their release will result in a lot of revolutions, yes. Thats not saying that strokers or tweeners can't get any revs at all though. If someone can get more revs by stroking than cranking, good on them. More pin carry for them, & less splits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroker_(bowling)

To sum it up, a cranker will generate more revs through their wrist position at point of release. This is their method of getting revolutions & power. If anyone can still hold a pure semi roller track whilst doing the yoyo release a cranker does, then good on them, they're pretty unique.
 
Troyza, can you tell us your definition of a Cranker please?

I think there may be some crossed wires here that would relate to people being totally confused about what your saying, and why you are stating what you are stating.

Later Da Cowman!
 
My definition of a cranker is someone who bends their elbow & cup their wrist on their down swing, when they release the ball, they break their wrist & straighten their elbow - a form of gaining leverage on the ball. Their timing is much different from a stroker as they get to the foul line earlier, & pull their shot through. They often have a higher back swing, & open their shoulders a lot more.

What i was stating earlier is that i was taught, & have been lead to believe that you can also tell ones style by the track on their ball.
 
It's a reasonable definition.

You can't tell much about a person's rev rate from their track. Track dimensions are a function of release to be sure and release is a function of environment. When you meet crankers that track up near the finger holes, it's a pretty sure bet they regularly play on a lot of friction. When I lived in Indianapolis (1992), all the crankers I met tracked up high like that. Then again, so did a most of the strokers. Indy had lots of friction! Bumper bowling for adults everywhere.
 
It's a reasonable definition.
You can't tell much about a person's rev rate from their track. Track dimensions are a function of release to be sure and release is a function of environment. When you meet crankers that track up near the finger holes, it's a pretty sure bet they regularly play on a lot of friction. When I lived in Indianapolis (1992), all the crankers I met tracked up high like that. Then again, so did a most of the strokers. Indy had lots of friction! Bumper bowling for adults everywhere.

I'm not saying i disagree with you there :p In fact Thats basically what i was trying to explain in my original post, that just because someone gets a lot of revs, it doesn't mean they are a cranker by style. My fault for beating around the bush I guess.

Matt, I've seen your style (last year at coffs harbour, nice worn track ring around your brunswick chopper-ball) & I would definately say you're pretty close to a tweener. From what I've read though, you may even be a power stroker because of how much you open your shoulders.
The most popular power stroker would probably have to be Pete Webber.
 
Your defination of cranker by their style is basically unarguable. To state you can tell one's style by their track, has dousty has already stated, is much more arguable. Stick with the first defination and you'll be fine.

Matt, your nothing but a cranker... Your spare shot has more revs then my normal shot.

Later Da Cowman!
 
I would class myself as a cranker, but if you looked at my track, it's almost a semi spinner.

PAP is 4.5 over by 1.5 up, and that's with a Sarge Easter drilling ;)
 
Not really sure but I bowl pretty slow (well slow compared to everyone else i bowl with - a good 5km slower, around 21 - 22kph) and I don't have a great deal of revs so I'd say Stroker.

Although I have been told I have more side roll than forward (the guess was 65 - 70% side roll) if that's any help. LOL sorry a novice when it comes to the technical side of the game as yet.
 
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