A racket is composed of a blade and rubber. You can purchase a manufacturer-assembled racket or you can create a custom racket by selecting the blade and rubber separately and then assembling them yourself or having us assemble them (see Racket Assembly).
Rubber Color
The rules state that one side of the racket must be bright red and the other side black. So, if you are selecting rubber to create a racket, be sure to get one sheet of each color. If you are a penholder who uses only one sheet of rubber on your racket, we sell a red or black penhold backside color sheet that you can affix to the back of your blade.
Manufacturer-Assembled vs. Custom
Generally, manufacturer-assembled rackets are of lower quality (and less expensive) than custom rackets. However, a few of the more expensive ones use tournament-quality blades or rubber. If you are looking to put together a custom racket, we offer a lot of blade/rubber combos (a blade/rubber combo offers a blade with various choices of rubber at a savings from the individual prices).
All of our manufacturer-assembled penhold-grip rackets, except for the STIGA Energetic CR PHC Racket (PHC) and STIGA Performance WRB PHC Racket (PHC), have rubber only on one side.
Manufacturer-Assembled Glue
In general, manufacturer-assembled rackets use different glue that is much stronger than the glue we sell. As such, while it may be possible to remove the rubber, it will not be easy. So when the rubber wears out, most people just get a brand new racket. DONIC-Schildkröt QRC rackets are the exception: they are designed so that the rubber is easy to remove.
If bits of glue or sponge remain attached to the wood after you peel off the rubber, you can use sandpaper to remove them.