New 2022 Review: Riley BCE Heritage Snooker Cues…

0 Shares

SNOOKERZONE reviews one of the cues sold at his local club Woking Snooker Centre in Surrey…

Riley snooker cues have been around since the year dot. If you’re a beginner in the game, then you’ll do no wrong in investing in your first cue as a Riley.

The Club Manager Peter Ruddick very kindly allowed us to review the Riley BCE Heritage Cues that are sold at the club and here’s our verdict.

But first, if you haven’t seen the review of SnookerZone’s own cue, a Cue Craft, another reliable brand, then take a sneaky look…

Go here after you’ve read this review…

Back to the Riley…

The Riley BCE cue spec as stated on the website is 9.5mm and is 57 inches long with an 8mm brass ferrule.

As said in our earlier review of our Cue Craft cue, it really will be worth your while going to a shop, a club, or factory where you can get to try out a cue on a table and get a feel for the cue before you buy online. That way, you can establish the right weight of cue for future purchases.

What we thought of the Riley BCE Heritage Cue…

Our very first thought was it was MUCH lighter than our Cue Craft cue. Also, because it was a tiny bit longer than our CC cue, we had to adjust our hand position slightly. Our Cue Craft cue had to be shortened to 56.5 inches to fit a new Titanium ferrule to it.

Most standard cues are fitted with brass ferrules. In the new age of snooker, SnookerZone has got so used to playing with a Titanium ferrule so he probably, if he was in the market for a new cue, would have to have a T ferrule fitted.

Brass ferrules do not last as long as T ferrules, and we’ve changed lots of tips on our cue to review and try out (our current tip we are trying out is a Mike Wooldridge Super Tip), and the T ferrule still appears strong.

As said, if you are a beginner in the game, you would do well with a Riley BCE cue. They’re affordable, under £100 and you are buying another quality brand, just like Cue Craft.

The Riley BCE Heritage had a standard Elk tip fitted to it.

Did we like the Riley BCE Heritage?

SnookerZone personally has had his Cue Craft cue since 13 years old. So we have an affinity with that cue. The weight feels right for us, and a cue you get used to becomes an extension of your arm. As said before, go to a shop or a club and try out a range of cues and speak to the owner or the manager to find out a bit more about cues.

The Riley BCE Heritage is a lovely cue. A simple design, and feels very solid in your hand. If SnookerZone was starting out again, that would definitely be a cue at the top of his list to buy.

According to the Riley website, the Heritage cues come with WAC technology, so you can change the weight of the cue to suit you. Personally, SnookerZone would still go and try out a cue at a shop or a club before buying anything online.

The spiel adds: ”

The mid-range of the BCE stable. 

Fitted with a distinctive Heritage badge (pictured below). Including high grade ash shafts, 
which are either Superior in grade or matching grain. 

This attractive range also includes our patented WAC system.

We bought a Woods cue online a few years ago and although Woods is a good brand as well, we wished we had tried out a cue in a shop before buying one. We couldn’t get on with it as it was too light for us. So now it’s just a spare cue. But we’d probably be trying cues out in snooker shops if we were ever in the market for a new cue properly. We’d like to get a one-piece.

In Riley and Cue Craft, you are buying established brands you can trust and are quality.

Buying a cue is a personal preference, and you must get what feels right for you. Not go with trends or fad new brands.

Out of ten, we’d rate the Riley BCE Heritage a modest 7/10.

If you’re in the Surrey area and want to try out the Cues at Woking Snooker Centre, then just pop in there and you’ll be made to feel welcome to try out one of the cues on sale by the staff there.