Condition
9
10: New
9: Mint
8: Excellent
7: Good
6: Fair
5: Average
4: Below Average
3: Poor
|
Rarity
10
10: Impossibly rare
9: Extremely rare
8: Hard to find
7: Fairly rare
6: Uncommon
5: Common
<4: Big Seller
9: Mint
8: Excellent
7: Good
6: Fair
5: Average
4: Below Average
3: Poor
9: Extremely rare
8: Hard to find
7: Fairly rare
6: Uncommon
5: Common
<4: Big Seller
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About This Amazing Racket
The MacGregor Bergelin LongString aka Bergelin LongString System has a hexagonal head and crazy diagonal stringing adjustable at the end cap and did not require a stringing machine. I read about it here. They said
This is the first commercially available racquet that did not require a stringing machine to re-string it! This racquet did, however, require a lot of string and much patience. Let me say, straight away, that this (was) is a great idea! The execution was an issue, however. Notwithstanding the racquet was fairly heavy in an era that was ushering in the ultra light racquets it was the stringing that destined it to commercial obscurity. The concept is a diagonal pattern that originates from an aluminum block that is only visible through the top of the grip opening. Into this block the ends of the string were inserted then the block is pulled into a position, by a screw thread, that achieves the string bed stiffness you want at any given time. On this one you may be able to see the red lines indicating the highest and lowest string bed stiffness I wanted to use. Each hole is numbered but it still was a real pain stringing this racquet.
Later I found out the full history. Bergelin LongString System was an idea designed and patented in 1986 by German aeronautics engineer Herwig Fischer, and endorsed by Lennart Bergelin, one-time Davis Cup winner and former coach of Bjorn Borg. The system comprised a series of 64 miniature nylon pulleys built into the six-sided graphite head. The face was strung with two 27-foot lengths of string that looped around the pulleys and converged in the handle. The ends of the string were inserted into an aluminium block only visible through an opening in the base of the handle, which was pulled into position by a screw thread.
Fischer and Bergelin promised a much bigger ‘sweet spot’ with the LongString system compared to conventionally-strung frames. The reason being, when the ball came in contact with the stringbed, the pulleys fed string into the racket, allowing it to give slightly from the centre all the way to the frame. This ensured that no matter where the ball was hit on the stringbed (even off-centre), it would get a powerful rebound. Fischer used computer-aided design, a new technology for manufacturers at the time, to simulate the racket’s complex design and to analyse what happened when the ball hit the racket. The racket cost several million dollars to develop and more than 1,000 iterations before going to market, and with 75 moving parts, it also took about five and a half hours of manual labour to fabricate.
The racket came complete with lengthy stringing instructions and each hole numbered on the racket itself, allowing owners to string it themselves without the need for a stringing machine. The tension could then be adjusted, or ‘tuned’, at any time via a tightening control system inside the handle. By turning a key in the base of the handle, the strings could be loosened or tightened up to a tension of 70 lbs.
The racket was sold in the USA under license by sports equipment manufacturer MacGregor Sporting Goods Inc., as the MacGregor Bergelin LongString. The racket was marketed with a no tennis-star-endorsement campaign, such was the confidence that the racket would sell itself. After MacGregor went bankrupt in 1991 and lost the rights to sell the technology, Protagon Sportprodukte went on to launch oval / round (conventional) versions called the Tension Master and Hi-Con. In total, around 80,000 rackets with the LongString system were sold worldwide.**
Specifications(👋 not yet accurate….check back soon)
Measurements | Value | Performance | Graph |
---|---|---|---|
Weight | 394g | Power (33%) | |
Head Size & Length | 68sq in | 27inch | Control (22%) | |
Balance | 8pt head light (220) | Spin (26%) | |
Grip | Perforated leather | Handling (88%) | |
Strings | 18 x 20 | gut | Comfort (66%) | |
Flexibility | RA 49 | Consistency (33%) |