Rubber and Speed Glue

Built-in Speed-Glue Effect

Even before the speed-glue ban, there were lots of rubber sheets that felt as if they had been speed glued, even if you used regular glue. Since the ban, there are even more rubber sheets with a built-in speed glue effect. If the rubber uses any of the following technologies, then it has a built-in speed-glue effect (this is not an exhaustive list):

Some rubber sheets that had a built-in speed glue effect could be speed glued, while others should only have been used with regular glue.

Rubber-Type Compatibility

Speed glue worked best with inverted rubber, although short pips could also be speed glued. Long pips, medium pips, and antispin did not work with speed glue. There was no point in using speed glue with rubber that did not have sponge, since there was no sponge for the glue to soak into.

Sponge

Speed glue tended to work best with soft sponge (although you could certainly use it with harder sponge, too). So, manufacturers introduced many rubber sheets that were specifically designed to be speed glued. Some of these play well without speed glue, while some are too soft (although some people like very soft rubber). Some of the words that manufacturers often used to indicate that the rubber was especially good with speed glue are “Energy”, “Sound”, and “GPS”. Usually, these just mean the rubber has a softer sponge. (Not all manufacturers used “Energy” in this way, but STIGA did.)

Beginners

We suggest that beginners not use a rubber that has a built-in speed-glue effect. It is easier to learn to play using a traditional rubber, and it is less likely that you will develop bad habits.

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