Bearing Bearing and more Bearing!

Okay so my Center Track Bearings are all Responsive and it’s getting annoying Why does it go responsive every time I put lube in it? and is there anyway I can make them unresponsive? I’m using thin lube not thick. Also what are some other Bearings you guys/girls would recommend?

Most all bearings are going to be slightly responsive when they are freshly lubed, at least until you get the hang of application. Most people will recommend that you never use an entire drop of thin lube in a bearing. The trick is to apply a drop of thin lube to the tip of a needle. You’ll notice that most of the lube is actually wasted, and you’re left with a teeny tiny drop on the needle. That teeny tiny drop is what you want to use on your bearing. All you need to do is touch that tiny drop to one of the balls of a deshielded bearing and give it a good spin. It might not seem like anything, but it does the trick. Hope this helps! :wink:

Less is more. Adding lube makes things more responsive.

First, remove your bearing shields and clean out those bearings. My solvent of choice is acetone as I seem to get the best results using acetone.

Now, I like to Dry Play treat my bearings, but that’s my choice.

For you, I’d say dip a needle in your lube. That little drop, touch that to a ball and spin it through. Repeat if needed. That’s it, you’re good for a month or more. Reshield the bearing, re-assemble the yoyo. Go have fun.

The Centertrac is a great bearing in my opinion.

Do you have to re-shield the bearing?

Also I wanna try other bearings, which ones do you guys really enjoy?

You do not need to reshield. The only reason I bother is that I cribbed a move from Terrapin and I mark my shields with different colours and/or number of dots to identify them (I have more good bearings than good yoyos, and a database and baggies were still not good enough for sloppy impulsive old me).

I enjoy Center Tracs immensely. For profiled I also love Twisted Trifectas. For flat, I think I like the General-Yo AIGR just a smidge more than the One Drop 10-ball, but they’re almost interchangeable for me.

I recommend re-shielding the bearing. I just like knowing everything is “clean and buttoned up”. It’s optional.

I’ve had great results with YYJ Speed bearings, CenterTracs, Trifectas, Crucial Grooved, KK’s, One Drop 10 Ball, Buddha Simple, Dimple and Ripple and Terrapin X. I am not a fan of the YYF SPEC bearing though, but I would like to buy a couple of SPEC X bearings to try out. I don’t like the YYF SPEC bearings because it gives me a high number of failures compared to other bearings. However, that’s been my experience.

My suggestion is to buy a bunch of different bearings so you can have enough to experiment with. I find that there’s many things to consider. First, you need to find which bearing you feel works the best wtih a particular yoyo. Some people like a certain bearing and put that in everything compatible with it. There’s nothing wrong with that either. I find that most bearings work best with their stock bearing(often flat, in which case swap a flat bearing for a flat bearing), but some seem to behave better in my opinion/preference with a shaped bearing. You have to trust your judgement in regards to your preferences.

Let me relay a little story. I tried a bunch of bearings in my Chaser. I found that it worked best with the bearing it came with, a YYJ Speed bearing. I did the same bearing tests with my Speeder and Meteor, and they really came to life with a KK in it. My Burnsides really opened up with a Trifecta bearing. My Half & Half finally became playable with a Crucial Groove installed in it.

It’s worth the time to experiment to find out what bearing seems to be the best fit for you and that yoyo. What works best in one yoyo may not work as well in another yoyo, but it’s still worth the try so that way you know.

The next part of your journey is to figure out what string works best. Oh yeah, you’re gonna have a load of fun!

All I can say is while it kind of adds up to get bearings, it’s a great set of tools to have on hand for experimenting. When a bearing finds a new home, replace it. Similarly with strings, buy small packs(5-10 counts) and see what clicks together for you. In the end, it only matters what combination works best for you.

Even though this may be serious work here, it’s important to keep in mind that this should still be fun, as you’re in pursuit of more enjoyable fin. This part is a bit more analytical as you really have to document what combinations do for you and what works. If you’re competing or doing exhibitions(talent shows for example), it’s that much more important.

Oh okay.

By just looking at the store and what other people have said about these bearing I’m going to try Kk’s and OD 10 Ball Bearings! But no way i’m giving up on the Center Track Bearings. Thanks for all the help!!!

You’re welcome. Don’t give up on the CenterTracs. After you clean it out, it will be an amazing bearing again.