I have tons of newbie questions to ask all yoyo experts out there. Hopefully all of you can help me out. What does different bearing size do for a yoyo??? Does larger bearing size makes a yoyo sleep/spin longer??? Also, what kind of bearing is better for looping or unresponsive play??? What type of string is good for looping and unresponsive yoyoing as well??? All I know there are 3 types of string and they are cotton, polyester and 50/50. I heard there are size with strings too. Thanks for the help.
Firstly, bearings and their sizes.
most yoyo’s around at the moment have ‘C’ sized bearings this type of bearing is great for string tricks where there are layers of the string going into the yoyo gap, the “C” type bearing also creates a larger gap to accomadate these extra layers of strings.
The other main type of bearing is an “A” type bearing these bearing are smaller in size spin faster, have smaller yoyo gaps and snappier binds and can be used in looping yoyo’s.
There are a few other sized bearings that are used for specialty yoyo’s, also there are different materials that the bearings can be made from such as ceramics and stainless steel.
Im not 100% about strings but I will give it a go to try and explain, strings for looping and unresponsive play I dont think it matters to much whether you choose 50/50 blend, 100% cotton or 100% polyester, there are other typs such as angel hair or alchemy strings which need to be broken in and are better suited to string tricks. On string sizes there is many different sizes depending on the type of yoyo being used some of the sizes are 3x2 and 4x2 these are most common for 100% poly, 100% cotton and 50/50 blends.
anyways hope some of this helps and I’m sure if I have messed something up someone will correct me.
happy throwing.
String wise, in general 100% Cotton would be best for looping, a strong type would be recommended considering I would get my hands on type 6, 8, or 9 for looping. The reason behind this is that cotton is much stronger than polyester, however it is pretty harsh on the skin, also cotton doesn’t stretch the way poly does when it wears down, so it is pretty ideal for looping.
1A or Unresponsive play, I would recommend either Slick 6, or 100% Polyester this is because the polyester is very resistant to friction, thus it allows the string to endure more friction without slowing the yoyo down, thus longer possible spin time with more layers of it on the bearing.
Alchemy, Angel Hair, G-Strings (any format), Sick String, ect. are a more expensive alternative to strings though if you are asking questions regarding strings and bearings I would just recommend for now, just don’t worry about the more advanced types of strings, just stick with cotton, slick 6, or poly string.
Hope this cleared some stuff up for ya.
100 percent polyester is good for string tricks
Thanks for everyone posting. Which is very appreciated by my friends and I.
I just notice there are ceramic bearing as well. Are they only good at unresponsive play only??? What kind of bearing should I used for looping yoyos, because no one talks about it.
What are Brazilian polyester yoyo strings? I heard they are better then the normal one. Some people also said it have a longer life span. Can someone verify if this is true???
As for ceramic bearings, I believe they are DESIGNED for unresponsive play due to the fact that ceramic balls on steel creates much less friction than steel on steel, however, ANY bearing can be used for responsive play or looping, the thing to do is find a bearing with qualities you enjoy (this will be the hard part since you are unfamiliar with many) and pick up some thick and thin lube. Lubricant usage in yoyoing is not the same as you would typically think. Here lube does not equal longer spin times, it does not matter which lube you use on your bearings, it WILL make them responsive because there will be a foreign substance introduced to the ball bearings. Now, Thin and Thick are types of viscosity, think of thick being like maple syrup and thin being like water. To use a bearing for looping tricks I highly recommend at least picking up some yoyojam THICK lube, add a single drop to the bearing and play, this causes the bearing to still be protected from wear but also makes the bearing spin slower so it will respond.
Now, as for the Brazilian string, I have no idea to be honest, I don’t use that stuff. I hope this cleared some stuff up for you, feel free to keep asking questions if you need.
if your just starting out i wouldn’t worry about getting any fancy string, the plane 50/50 or what ever your prefer will be just as good as the pricey stuff and probably last just a long
^^^ I believe it’s Plain.
Anyways, don’t worry too much about string type. That’s generally preferance developed from experience. If you are just starting, any string would be good for you.
There’s also D sized bearing, not as common, but still used in a couple of yoyos.
D sized is in between C sized and A sized.
All three can be used for 1a. Personally, I like A size.
The higher up you go (A to D to C) in diameter, the more unresponsive it is, and the harder to bind.
Also, it is possible… that A sized spins longer? Because the ratio of speed differences between the inner and outer race is less… Just an idea I had.
i always thought D was bigger then C because C is befor D 
Are you only interested in looping? I have some brazilian Mondos in BST right now if you’d like to try them. I really like them for string tricks - they’re definitely my favorite polyester string. They’re nice and soft with a good bounce and a bit thinner than regular strings so they’re great for string tricks. I wouldn’t really recommend them for looping though.
By the way, usually you want a smaller bearing for looping so size A on most brands or size B which is specific to YoYoJam (size A diameter cut to fit a size C seat)