What bearing is better- Billybobs or konkave?? Which one do you like better? I am looking for a good bearing that centers the string and is fast, quiet and reliable… thx!

I don’t have one but try the Wing Cut Ceramic bearing from Terrapin. I have the flat bearing and it works great for me.

However, I would say get the Buddha if you don’t want to try the Terrapin.

Genuine Dif Konkaves are awesome. The Buddhas are fine, but they ain’t no legit KK.

The best bearings I’ve used are the NSK platinum. You can get the DSB version here at YYE:

(you have to choose the gold or platinum from the drop-down).

i have center tracs, OD 10-balls, crucial grooved, and nsk ds bearing and I must say I LOVE the ds bearings.

I absolutely LOVE my B.O.S.S. Rage bearing, spins forever, super quiet, great at keeping the string in the center, and I think (wild speculation here, but still) it spins out dirt and other imperfections faster than my others. I mean, I took super fuzzy Alpaca fur and twisted it into a string, used it on this bearing and pretty much ground it to a halt, took the string off, added a drop of V4M, and let it sit for a while, then played it again, and within a half hour it was back to near perfection.

Now I respect GregP, I think he’s a good man, but quite frankly… I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HE JUST SAID!

… Futurama reference… anyone?

As mentioned, I’ve found that NSK’s seem to always be dead quiet and stay that way for a long long time. Buddha bearings are great for the price, and if you’re not looking to drop $30 or whatever on a single bearing then they’re a great compromise as I’ve found them to be less temperamental than CT’s or generic knock off KK’s.

Personally if we’re judging ‘best’ bearings as (quietest X longest duration of quietness X lowest maintainance), then I’d put them in this order:

1. NSK Platinum
2. Gold Center Trac
3. Genuine KK

I know you have some people that swear by generic cheap concave bearings, but I’ve had these seize up on me (and even rust) whereas I’ve never had any issues with a genuine KK bearing.

My trusty old ‘Spring Rain’ Rally has a genuine KK in it, and despite the fact that I’ve had it for years and it’s one of my most-played yoyos, I’ve never had a single problem with that bearing. Never had to clean it, never had it go even slightly responsive on me, and considering it hasn’t seen a drop of lube for years, it’s not really all that loud either.  ;D

So all things considered, and factoring in price, genuine KK’s are my go-to bearing. NSK’s or Gold CT’s I reserve for special occasions.

HOWEVER the fact remains that as far as performance goes, it doesn’t really make a difference what bearing you use. I don’t get any more spin out of an NSK platinum than I do out of a Buddha, it’s purely just a preference thing for me.

Buying generic konkaves or center tracs is kind of like playing the lottery; sometimes you get a winner, but most of the time you’ll get disappointment.

Yoyorec Platinum DS Bearing is my favorite, with Konkave and CTX as a close second.

The YYR DS bearings are by far my favorites. The new Platinum version is amazing! I wish I could afford to by a couple dozen platinum DS’s. All my favorite yoyos have DS bearings in them.

I wish CLYW & OD would use them, it makes them even more smooth, and they spin even longer.

I’ve pretty much tried them all…I think NSK are FAR better than any I’ve tried with true KK’s coming in second.

Difeyo konkave for me too. But most of the time stock bearing rarely fail though, giving me little reason to change out.

my fave is the yyr ds bearing

I really like the bearing that came in my octave (think it’s a crucial groove…). I can get pretty good spin times off of it. For the most part I just use stock bearings in everything. Think I’m going to try a ds and koncave here soon.

Now im so confuzed ??? I read somewhere that buddha and konkave were good . . i considered DS but saw konkave was better . . . … . ill start a poll i guess

I’m trying to find a good bearing but I can’t decide…
???
They are in no particular order…

None are better than the other. Just get whatever interests you the most.

I prefer KK’s; I think CT’s are a little slippier on binds.

Gotta disagree. As with all manufactured parts, there are empirical differences in quality. Tolerances, material, worksmanship… these can make one bearing “better” than another.

If what you mean is that one PROFILE isn’t better than the other, I agree (it’s all your taste). But for sure bearings can be of varying quality. And I believe that’s what’s under discussion here.

The gold YYF CT are also made by NSK, which makes them great bearings, too, if you prefer that profile.

Profile I agree with what you say.

How did I miss this? Only 17 dollars. Seems like it’s worth a try.

Mine went through a loud period today, so it’s not all joy and perfection. Seems to happen from time to time when I hurl a yoyo “sideways” (in my case, being more diagonal than anything) using a string that has no bounce. The unexpected impact in that diagonal direction does “something” to a bearing sometimes.

Back to normal, but not as dead silent as when brand new. Still makes my already-smooth Knight even smoother. Which is cool.