2x ball dosent roll straight

[wun]

We have just been testing the big yellow ball, and we found that it dosent roll straight. It seems like there is a weight in the side or something. Was this just because we got a bad ball, or is this a common problem other teams are experiencing?

[Dave Flowerday]

Originally Posted by wun

We have just been testing the big yellow ball, and we found that it dosent roll straight. It seems like there is a weight in the side or something. Was this just because we got a bad ball, or is this a common problem other teams are experiencing?

This is common. Similar balls were used in 1995 and 1996 and they had the same characteristics. In fact, if you told me that you had a ball that did roll straight (because it was perfectly round) I'd be pretty surprised.

If you look closely at the ball you can probably see that some sections of the skin are thicker than the others, which is what causes the problem (I think, anyway).

[duckshepherd]

The balls will never be completely uniform. The end of the ball where the hole is has slightly more weight, due to the utilization of thicker rubber at the inflation point. The ridges also play a part in manipulating the direction the ball rolls. There are all sorts of imperfections in the walls, but the effects are negligable when it comes to using the balls in short rolling distances.
By the way, were we supposed to get a plug or something for the ball? Our team didn't find anything in our kit that plugged up the hole for the big yellow ball.

[wun]

I guess I did not explain the situation quite right:
When I say it dosent roll straight, I mean REALLY not straight. Like, you give it a push (even a hard one) and it will roll for a little while, then sometimes make a 90 degree turn, or even roll back to where it came from.
This is much more than the ridges or plug could do (we are using a bolt as a plug, and when the ball comes to rest, the bolt is on the side, no where near to the bottom).

[ZACH P.]

LoL, are you sure its not the floor? jk. Well thats odd, I havent been rolling my team's ball around so I don't know for sure, but I don't think that should happen. Maybe you haven't fully inflated it.

[IMDWalrus]

Originally Posted by ZACH P.

LoL, are you sure its not the floor? jk. Well thats odd, I havent been rolling my team's ball around so I don't know for sure, but I don't think that should happen. Maybe you haven't fully inflated it.

It actually could be the floor. What type of surface are you rolling it on? Carpet? Concrete? Tile?

[Aignam]

Originally Posted by IMDWalrus

It actually could be the floor. What type of surface are you rolling it on? Carpet? Concrete? Tile?

Uphill?

[KenWittlief]

the laws of physics are still in effect - an object in motion tends to stay in motion
what you dont realize is the material that is used in the 2X balls warps time-space

so within its own frame of reference it IS rolling straight, and the rest of the world is warped

thats why you are seeing what appears to be odd random motion.

[wun]

I'm rolling a fully inflated (30 inch) ball on a flat cement floor. I don't think there are any space-time problems either, because no other balls (or any form of matter) display any erratic motion in the same place.

Originally Posted by Dave Flowerday

If you look closely at the ball you can probably see that some sections of the skin are thicker than the others, which is what causes the problem (I think, anyway).

I think its something like that - it just seems pretty extreem to me.