(Jun. 30, 2012  7:58 PM)Shabalabadoo Wrote: Yep pretty much. It'd be awesome if you could get some tests done.

(Jul. 29, 2013  1:32 AM)GaHooleone Wrote: Well, this draft is three years old. The bey had just come out at the time...

Quote:Track: Rubber 145
Weight: 4.7 grams

The R145 track used to be the heaviest Track. BD145 took its place in terms of weight. This Track is shaped similarly to WD145, but instead of the ‘wings’ being made of plastic, they are made of hard rubber, and are also even more widely spread. The concept of this track was to absorb hits from low attackers, which does work occasionally. However, as with WD145, some recoil is produced because of the gaps between the wings. The track's wide shape and low placement also allows itself to scrape on the stadium floor, creating severe stamina loss, similar to that of C145 and ED145. R145 can be used in such defense customs giving the right performance tip, but it may suffer recoil problems during the end of a battle. Although conversely, the heavy weight of R145 is beneficial against taller smash attackers. In recent testing, it has shown R145 is one of the best attack tracks for a mid-height attack custom. Even if it has uses in defense, it should not be considered that much of a good defense track.

(Feb. 08, 2014  4:47 AM)" L Wrote: I thought I'd try update this:

Quote:Track: Rubber 145
Weight: 4.7 grams

At one time, the R145 track was superior in terms of weight. Several other tracks have taken its place over time. This Track is shaped similarly to WD145, but instead of the ‘wings’ being made of plastic, they are made of hard rubber, and are also even more widely spread. The concept of this track was to absorb hits from low attackers, which does work occasionally. However, as with WD145, some recoil is produced because of the gaps between the wings. The track's wide shape and low placement also allows itself to scrape on the stadium floor, creating severe stamina loss, similar to that of C145 and ED145. R145 can be used in such defense customs given the right performance tip, but it may suffer recoil problems during the end of a battle. In recent testing, it has shown R145 is one of the best attack tracks for a mid-height attack custom. Even if it has uses in defense, it should not be considered that much of a good defense track; whereas it has moderate uses in various mid-height attack customs; given the right circumstances.

(Feb. 08, 2014  9:31 AM)th!nk Wrote: Based on the testing in the limited subforum with very low attackers (with contact points that hit the track), it is definitely worth mentioning that R145 (even a hard one) has less recoil defensively than GB145, the other main defense track of that era - not sure on the lategame recoil thing but still doubt GB145 (which has never been criticized for its recoil) would be any better. Probably also worth mentioning that this also means it has relatively limited ability to KO low track opponents, which makes it inferior to H145 for track-based attack (though this is generally a poor alternative to Metal Wheel attack anyway).

Mold differences also need to be included - the rubber hardness varies quite significantly, but I'm not sure if it's brand based (or color based in hasbro's case) or what. It would be good if people could let us know what brand and hardness their R145's are - I have a hard takara one and soft SonoKong one. There's no real weight difference between them, like a couple hundredths of a gram at most.

The intended gimmick is not to absorb hits side-on though, from what the box shows (IIRC, I can't find mine right now, but I remember this very strongly and I got my new one very recently), it seems it was supposed to flex upward from hits below it (which are reallllly rare in practice) rather than absorb all hits. It seems pretty okay at that though it's not really something that you can formally test, but there isn't anything that is gonna land a hit like that which is competitive in any format really. I'll go get some scans to show this (and to make sure I'm not misremembering. )

I also have to write out an update for the Rock section as the mold thing is totally wrong (0 mold is the same weight as six cylinder mold and is significantly better stamina-wise, but I'm gonna have to do some solo spins and there's a LTD combo I want to do some formal testing on, I just haven't had time lately). Plus there's the SonoKong mold which is actually lighter that needs to be mentioned. Still, that can probably be kept separate from this draft - best not to have things wait on me, after all.

(Feb. 09, 2014  6:49 AM)天翔翼 TenshouYoku Wrote: I remeber the box art and the ADs, which the selling point of R145 is to absorb and reflect the force of the opposing bey (from what I understand because I can't read Japanese) - Yeah, neither either theory is gonna happen.

Quote:Note : Hasbro changed Giraffe's name to "Zurafa" in worldwide releases, probably due to copyright reasons.


Face: Giraffe
The Face on this Beyblade depicts Camelopardalis, one of the 88 constellations in space. Although generally portrayed as a giraffe, Chinese mythology associates a whole other beast to this constellation, and that is what appears on the Giraffe Face: a horse with the head of a dragon, surrounded by fire. The word 'Giraffe' is written across the length of its body.

Clear Wheel: Giraffe
Weight: 2.8 grams

The Giraffe Clear Wheel was originally released in a transparent yellow-green color with orange details. The Clear Wheel is oval-shaped with curved lines of orange fire, as well as two small notches sticking out, resembling giraffe heads. Due to its shape and average weight, Giraffe is outclassed and should not be used in any type of customization.

Track: Rubber 145
Weight: 4.7 grams

The R145 Track is among the heavier Tracks of Metal Fight Beyblade, and is shaped similarly to WD145, but instead of the 'wings' being made of plastic, they are made of hard rubber, and are also even more widely spread. Its composition has two parts to facilitate production and assembly in the factories : a main gray body with three protrusions that have small hooks to grab onto the second piece, which is the three-winged orange rubber part. The concept of this Track is to absorb hits from low Attackers, which does work occasionally; however, as with WD145, Recoil is produced because of the relatively wide gaps between the wings, as well as the contact points. Consequently, R145’s heavy weight does not fully make up for its Recoil. These gaps also affect its shock absorption ability. Because of this, it is outclassed in Defense against low Attackers by GB145 in the Limited Format, even if it gets less Recoil than it. Another problem is that its wide shape and low placement cause a massive decrease of Spin Velocity when it scrapes the stadium floor, similar to C145’s and ED145’s flaws. Still, the heavy weight it does have makes it a mildly useful Defensive part against taller Smash Attackers, and if none of the top-tier Defense Tracks are available, R145 may be used (though it may be more productive to use a Low Track, such as 85 or 90, if those are available). This said, R145 still finds some use: while it suffers from Recoil, the large gaps and contact points that produce that Recoil also produce a good amount of Smash Attack, and the harder rubber bounces opponents off rather than fully absorbing the force of impact. Along with this, its weight distribution matches that of a number of past and present Smash Attack Metal Wheels, the most notable of which are Gravity Perseus and VariAres. Thanks to these attributes, R145 has found a home as one of the staple Attack Tracks of Metal Fight Beyblade. Furthermore, it also finds some use in Anti-Attack customizations, where its moderate Defensive ability is used alongside its Smash Attack to defeat opposing Attack types.

Overall, except in some Attack combinations, R145 is outclassed by defensive Tracks released since, like E230, and GB145 and H145 even work better than it sometimes in Defense and Attack types respectively.

Although not a proper mold variation, different types of rubber exist in R145 Tracks that produce different performances. While it's not determined if every consistency of rubber is present in each production company, the rubber can be harder or softer, yet the weight remains within the same range. The hardness will give varying Recoil and shock absorption.


Bottom: Wide Ball
Weight: 0.7 grams

WB is essentially B, with a larger spherical surface, hence “wide”. As a result, it is seen as an improvement over B in terms of Defensive qualities. This is because of the greater surface area in contact with the Stadium floor at any one time. However, because of this wider contact area, the Bottom also causes more movement compared to B. This is disadvantageous when facing an Attack type, because the Defense customization is closer to the Stadium exits, hence increasing the likelihood of a KO. To prevent this, many launch WB-based customizations at about 60-70% power, meaning that the Beyblade itself stays in the centre, while retaining the defensive qualities of WB. Over time, and with the introduction of better Defense Bottoms composed of rubber, this Bottom has however long been extinct from competitive play and now serves no purpose at all.


Other Versions:
Poison Giraffe S130MB - BB-86 - Beyblade Deck Attack & Defense Set (Purple Poison, clear white Giraffe)
Rock Giraffe/Zurafa R145WB - Hasbro Faceoff Set: Crushing Blast (Dark red Rock and WB, dark turquoise Giraffe and R145)


Overall:
Rock Giraffe R145WB is arguably one of the best Hybrid Wheel System Defense type uncustomized, but that still makes it considerably outclassed to the top-tier customizations. For instance, R145 does have its risks, but if used properly, it could be a good defensive Track. This part is also decent for Attack, which is how it’s mostly used these days. Furthermore, WB is heavily outclassed now. All in all, the Track is its only part with potential, so '''there is little to no reason to purchase this Beyblade outside of collection purposes'''.