Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Other Gear => Topic started by: Davehugh on March 20, 2018, 10:53:47 AM
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So I have been toying with the idea of buying my own self feeding bowling machine that I can set up and use whenever the urge to have a hit overcomes me. My newly wed wife is kind on side with it (I’m using lines like you never bought me a wedding present etc) there does seem to be a number of conditions which I’m negotiating hard on. With the numbers and standard at nets dropping again this year there seems no better time than the present.
Having done a bit of online research the Paceman pro or Strike look hard to see past so does the all rounder offer of 0% finance over 12 months. Has anyone used the finance from allrounder are there other websites that offer finance as well? Does anyone have either and could you report back?? From what I can see online and YouTube the pros and cons of each..
Strike £590 £550 for the machine £40 for the balls (includes auto feeder)
Pros- Cheaper of the two
Can launch hard balls at up too 70/75mph
Comes with an automatic feeder as standard
Lightweight portable (especially compared to Bola)
Cons- as far as I can tell can’t do swing or spin
Paceman Pro £800 680 for them machine 80 for the auto feeder 40 for balls
Pros-Can launch balls up to 70/75mph
Has a spin/swing setting
Lightweight/ portable
Cons- have to pay seperately for the auto feeder
Any advice would be much appreciated I need to try and keep my newly wed wife and the other love of life happy ...
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I have the paceman pro and have found the auto feeder to not be that great. I only tried to use it once and gave up with it so it could easily be user error but i found that it didnt really feed the balls through. Youd get one or maybe two an then they would stop. I bought it from Jake at Vitas who said you had to really wedge the balls in to come through and its fine from there, he also said he had never had any issues. Since then i dont even carry the autofeeder in the bag with the machine
Hope that helps!
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Have you looked at Bola Junior? I have used it for couple of seasons and it is very well made! I think the top speed is 70 mph but you can move the machine closer as well. It is a fine piece of equipment.
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If you can’t afford a proper bola or simply don’t feel the need to net at high speeds then the bola jnr should be your port of call.
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Just get the cheapo one with an auto feeder. Use it off 14 yards and it will do a fine job for £200. Also easier to carry around, just about fits in a big rucksack.
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Pacemen machine will need a heavy sinewave inverter to use with batteries.....doable , but makes it less lightweight and portable than you think .
Follow @InternalTraining advice ( i did ) and get a Bola Junior . I use mine at 16yards and it's equivalent to around 80mph. I use the white balls which feel hard enough and decent off the bat .
Dont get a cheap kiddie paceman ....false economy if you get sick of its inadequacies ( like most do) and just end up having to upgrade .
Btw.... i don't drive but bola junior is so portable i can have it in my wheelie bag and walk / public transport to nets with it .
Bola junior for prime minister ! :D
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Thanks guys will look into the Bola junior although it looks like it’s a bit more expensive again. Anyone know of any second hand or a place that does finance on them?
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Might also be worth saying the club I play for has a senior bola so I could just buy an automatic feeder. The thing that puts me off that is the nets and the place where it’s stored are about 100metres apart the bolas are so #%$*#¥# heavy to drag across whereas the Bola junior and Paceman would fit in the boot of my car?
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Might also be worth saying the club I play for has a senior bola so I could just buy an automatic feeder. The thing that puts me off that is the nets and the place where it’s stored are about 100metres apart the bolas are so #%$*#¥# heavy to drag across whereas the Bola junior and Paceman would fit in the boot of my car?
I presume it isnt somewhere you can drive to, load up the machine into your car and then drive over to the nets with?
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Might also be worth saying the club I play for has a senior bola so I could just buy an automatic feeder. The thing that puts me off that is the nets and the place where it’s stored are about 100metres apart the bolas are so #%$*#¥# heavy to drag across whereas the Bola junior and Paceman would fit in the boot of my car?
A full bola isn’t heach really but awkward to carry. However it goes in a car really easily if you don’t use the stupid box.
I have a spare feeder now and a spare second hand bola pro. I don’t have any jnr bolas sadly.
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Might also be worth saying the club I play for has a senior bola so I could just buy an automatic feeder. The thing that puts me off that is the nets and the place where it’s stored are about 100metres apart the bolas are so #%$*#¥# heavy to drag across whereas the Bola junior and Paceman would fit in the boot of my car?
We have the same problem... however we negotiated the use of the groundsman wheelbarrow.... considering no other person has touched a single other piece of his equipment in about 20 years it was seen as a victory for progress.
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A full bola isn’t heach really but awkward to carry. However it goes in a car really easily if you don’t use the stupid box.
I have a spare feeder now and a spare second hand bola pro. I don’t have any jnr bolas sadly.
Might be interested if you had a price in mind? feel free to PM me. cheers.
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Thanks guys will look into the Bola junior although it looks like it’s a bit more expensive again. Anyone know of any second hand or a place that does finance on them?
BOLA Junior is a far superior offering as it is a proper twin wheeled machine just like it's senior counterpart, whereas all Paceman machines are single wheel, essentially they are adapted versions of a baseball throwing machine, a sport where the ball doesn't bounce between being delivered and being struck by the bat.
The balls are also a huge consideration. BOLA balls are consistently excellent quality. Paceman balls (and the generic versions sold by just about every cricket brand out there it seems) seem inconsistent in terms of weight, construction, hardness, 'feel' on the bat, sound, etc. I've had a few that have been unbalanced, ie weight biased to one side of the ball...
None of those things are good for providing a consistent series of deliveries to help a youngster practice. As a coach I found it incredibly frustrating to set up the machine for a certain shot, telling a child that they will get x balls in a row of pretty much the same delivery, only for the deliveries to vary quite a bit, to the point where a child starts to lose trust in you as a coach. As a result my experiment with saving some hassle in terms of transport was short lived and for any coaching sessions away from Vitas Cricket i resorted back to packing up our BOLA Pro and taking it with me.
When Paceman first came along I thought a very affordable machine was a great idea, ideal for young kids in the back garden. The more expensive machines had their time as a popular option but now the BOLA Junior is established as an option at an admittedly higher (but still more comparable than the BOLA Senior) price, I would advise going for a BOLA Junior every time.
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I have looked at the strike and Pro by Paceman. I haven't played properly for years but often get the urge for a hit to see if I can get the old cover drive working.
The bola Junior certainly looks a more polished machine though you do have to play a bit more ( I suppose it does include feeder and battery in the price though).
I also see there are a few India Bola Junior sized matches like the Leverage Iwinner and the T4, but they don't seem to sell in the UK.
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Thanks guys will look into the Bola junior although it looks like it’s a bit more expensive again. Anyone know of any second hand or a place that does finance on them?
All Rounder do finance. Not sure if they stock the machine but I'd think so
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For occasional use, the Paceman works well. It can still do swinging deliveries. I move it closer to increase the relative speed. Its 'natural variations' are ideal for a back garden net - varying the length of each delivery a little. For the money they are excellent value and good for a bit of fun, or getting back into the groove. I have used mine quite a bit over the last 3 years, particularly this year, having returned to regular playing - an easy way to face a 50-100 ball session midweek. I have an 18 ball feeder (max 24), that works well every time (just have to ensure the feeder is not tilted).
The price differential is significant compared to the more expensive Paceman models and Bola junior. I would certainly prefer a Bola Junior, but not sure I can justify the extra cost. If your budget stretches, go for the Bola, Jr., but for back garden warmups, the cheapest Paceman gives good fun per £.
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Once you factor in purchasing balls , battery , sine wave convertor etc , the paceman strike (and even more so with the pro , as you need to buy the feeder separately too) are only $100-200 cheaper than a bola junior.
I bought the feeder extension for the bola junior ($30) , so my feeder now takes 19 balls.
Every 3.5ft you move the machine equals approx 5mph quicker( based off an 80ph calculation reference ) , so 3.5ft closer 65mph + 5 mph (70mph). The closest i get the machine before it just doesnt feel right anymore is 10ft, which is like 65mph + 15mph (80mph). From 7ft closer (ie 65mph + 10mph (75mph)) the machine feels perfect as the lower height (ie 5ft odd) from 7ft closer feels like a normalish bolwing trajectory.
The paceman machines dont even come close in terms of speed consistency , swing consistency , ease of adjustment etc too. A digital control panel is a bigger plus than you might initially think aswell.
When you also think about after purchase servicing , which bola do , and the fact that its a two wheel machine (not one like a paceman ) and it really is a no brainer .
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I bought a junior and couldn't get on with it. I managed to get a reconditioned unit from Bola and don't know if it was that or not but it just didn't work properly sprayed the balls everywhere. They refunded the money no questions asked and luckily for me the club i play for stuck there hand in the pocked and got an auto feeder for the Bola senior they already had. Used it a lot early season just a pain to in and out of the changing room. We are looking to get a stand to rectify this..
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Do you really need to buy one?
I live up in Yorkshire and had considered buying one but I thought it made far more sense simply going along to my local indoor net facility (Stumps in Wakefield) and paying £25 per hour (which includes someone feeding the balls). Don't have a big outlay, can bat all year around regardless of weather - daytime or nighttime, no maintenance problems, no storage issues, no having buy more balls for those you lose and you also have someone to critique your batting. Also if you want to use your local indoor net facility heavily, try negotiating a deal where you pre-pay.
The only negative I have is that whenever I get the chance to bat in a match, it's generally on a shocking wicket and nothing like the quick and even surface at Stumps.
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Certainly an idea. I am not sure any of the local nets do this. I know can hire a net and machine but would need to find a willing feeder. Also set-up time is taken off the hour do by the time you have waited for them to bring out the machine and set it up you might not have much time left.