I am a Dad with two 10-13 yo boys. They have started getting into yoyos (and I am learning also because I’ve only got a few more years before hanging out with dear old Dad isn’t so cool. :))
Between us we have two velocities and a kickside. None of them sleep longer than 30 seconds. I tried putting some clipper lubricant on them (basically mineral oil) but now the yoyos are highly responsive and don’t sleep as long. We are still working on the advanced section of Andre’s videos.
Any thoughts on what would be the best way to move forward and get longer sleeping times? I could clean the bearings (have never tried this but seen the youtube videos). I could buy replacement bearings (do the kk bearings really make a difference?) Or maybe get our second yoyos. Basically, I am wondering if a better bearing would allow them to sleep longer, or if you have to buy the Dark Magic or Protostar to get those several minute sleep times that people write about?
I appreciate any advice you have because I don’t know of any yoyo stores in San Diego (would love a recommendation) and the cost of what we do is tripled so I would prefer to minimize mistakes.
i would highly suggest just cleaning it with mineral spirits what you used was probably just to thick. the kk will make a bit of a difference but it not worth the 15$ dollars a bearing
Honestly, if you just keep working at throwing nice and straight, and slowly putting more force into it, you should be able to get some decent sleepers out of those yoyos. As for the bearings: the KK won’t really help much if at all. It’s more of a preference thing. The Protostar and Dark Magic, as well as many other yoyos do tend to work better, but that’s also not to say the Velocity and Kickside aren’t bad yoyos. Plus, new yoyos are always fun.
A few points I think worth mentioning:
First, how much lube did you use? Aside from the importance of using a thin, almost watery lubricant which I’m not sure you used, it’s important to use very little of it. The more you use the more responsive it will be. If you used a lot of thick lube perhaps cleaning the bearing is a good idea.
About longer sleep time - better yoyos are more comfortable, so would be better bearings, but in the end it comes down to your throw. If you practice you’ll have better sleep time.
Hope this helps, and that I’ve actually managed to add something on what was already said in this thread,
Balamis
I think you are right, I must have used too much of the mineral oil and it is acting like a thick lube. I will order some thin lube, and try cleaning the bearings.
It sounds like getting new bearings is less helpful than just cleaning them well and lubing them. Do any of you heard of a velocity or kickside yoyo with stock bearings sleeping for over a minute?
Finally, I am using the velocity and it has always seemed a little light for me. I get tempted by the dark magic just watching the training videos. . . anyone have a quick preference between the dark magic and protostar for string tricks? I tend to still bounce my yoyo off the floor . . . does that mean the plastic protostar is better for me?
My friend has a Velocity with a stock bearing that’s been broken in (no lube or anything) and it slept for about a minute and a half. I tried it once and I could do tricks like Eli Hops and some tricks that I made up myself. Really it’s really more of getting your throw down and breaking in the bearing and the Thin Lube will help you lots.
If your yo-yo tends to bounce off the floor then maybe the string is too long. The ideal length is with the yo-yo touching the floor, your throwhand should be a little above your belly button.
Finally, DM and Protostar the reviews have a lot of info. My preference is that the Protostar is good for spin time and long combos but it kind of slippy while the DM may not be have a gap as wide the Protostar , it has a tight bind and will save your yo-yo from going straight up dead in combos and tricks.
Practicing helps a lot. Practice throwing straight and hard( not so hard that you brake your arms). YYJ bearings are great as well as YYF’s. Maybe you put too much libe. Cleaning might be the thing.
Yeah… Adjust string length and practice throwing… My buddy bought a Velocity and its a BADDDD yoyo… I can pull off every thing I’ve got on a velocity… I’ve thought about buying a pair for 3A.
So yeah, just clean and lightly lube the bearings and work on that throw!
I ordered some thin lube and will clean my bearings once it comes. I still find it a little hard to believe that my sleep times will ever get to 1 minute plus with the velocity, but I will keep practicing.
Make sure that if you clean, you don’t try cleaning with lube. That sort of defeats the purpose. Give a sumple search of the forum for bearing cleaning and you can get it all taken care of and lightly lubed at the end.
