From the manufacturer: “This is comprised of a metallic/polymer .003 micron mix that lubricates the working surfaces of a bearing without the drag created by liquids.”
It is a bit of a production, though probably no more than yoyodoc’s ritual. There aren’t good instructions included, so here is a good YT video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpqvSJsBNwA
I’ve tried it, and it is excellent. Unfortunately I get lazy about this kind of thing. I usually just play my yoyos new or used as they come unless there is a problem.
Having said that, the Terrapin Dry is definitely worth a try!
Terrapin dry lube is NOT graphite.
It’s pretty interesting stuff.
As to the other parts of this post, yoyodoc is not wrong. --In fact, he’s never wrong. It’s possibly his worst quality –
But, personally, I run them all dry.
And my bearing may wear out faster.
So with the very low amount of friction that takes place in a yoyo bearing, my bearings may only last 15 years instead of 12.
The lube in the bearing is going to get pretty awful if you just let it sit that long anyway, so I’m not really all that concerned.
If I don’t throw my throws for a while (years) and have to buy a couple bearings every now and then(every couple years), I’m willing to risk it.
I think a couple of other things that make the wear issue, not as much of an issue, are the facts that most of us have so many yoyos that we switch between, and that most of us like to buy new gear, including new types of bearings, or ones we haven’t tried yet.
If you have one yoyo, and one bearing that you use almost exclusively, then the lube/wear issue might become more pressing or obvious.
Again, I really like the Terrapin Dry, and one day all my unresponsive yoyo bearing will be treated with it. One day… :-\ :
Dry bearings constitute a perfect recipe for generating friction of all component parts. Friction combined with associated speed generates a low grade static field. A static field will attract any ‘charged particles’ within the range of the static field. So technically a bearing will get dirty regardless.
the japan made NSK bearings are designed to run dry. super smooth and quiet. i run my draupnir’s with those bearings. i have the ds version available here at YYE in 2 other yoyos and i run those dry. smooth and quiet. they get noisy when a string thread gets in there, blow it off, put it back in and ready to go. that would be a lot worse with lube.
I prefer 100% dry. I don’t like even a hint of responsiveness. I’m willing to put up with the little bit of noise and wearing out bearings faster. To clean them I just wait until I have a couple that need cleaning then toss them in a little jar full of acetone, shake em around a little, put them on the tip of a pencil and blast them with canned air. I know some people disagree with canned air, but I’ve never had a problem with condensate, as long as the can is relatively full. Seems like most of the condensate comes out as the can is getting empty. Another approach to drying them might be to put silica gel dessicant packs into another jar and drop the bearings in there. It would take longer but they’d get dry as a bone.
I use carb and choke cleaner. Run my bearings dry and never lube them. I’ve had some bearings over 10yrs using them like this and no problems. Regular and ceramic.
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