Usually I just play with whatever bearing comes stock in the yoyo, but recently I’ve started changing things up and I realized that changing the bearing can make the yoyo feel like an entirely different throw. I know from the Great Yoyo String Debate of 2018 that people on this forum can get REAL AGGRESSIVE about how they like their yoyos, so I’m curious to see what preferences people have with bearings. Also, it isn’t on the poll but it would be interesting to hear what people think of stainless steel vs. ceramic bearings. I’ve heard cool things about ceramic bearings but I’ve never tried one.
Flat
Center Trac
Grooved
Konkave
What I’m going to call multi-faceted (i.e. CLYW Pixel/YYR DS)
Is it though? One “V” shape means it is not multi-faceted. Conceptually I think it’s closest to grooved though as there will be a strong centering pull.
Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought. But while it does create a groove due to it’s shape, id have to agree with multi faceted, because all of the bearings that fall under that category function by centering through multiple flat surfaces joined together at angles.
I’m categorizing grooved as the bearings that have the one little cut right in the middle to anchor your string in the middle of the gap, regardless of the shape of the rest of the bearing. That would include the crucial bearings and the stock C3 bearings (I don’t know what those are called, specifically). I wouldn’t put the delta-cut under grooved because it doesn’t have that distinctive groove in the center of the bearing. I feel like multi-faceted works though because of what @WickerWraith said.
Also the “V” shape does still have two facets, so I think we can categorize it as having multiple facets.
In the past, I usually preferred grooved CT, but I’m not gonna lie, flats have been growing on me lately. I was not a fan of them for a long time, They’re really not all that bad
Hmm that’s weird I always saw you as a flat bearing kind of guy… Don’t ask me what that means because I won’t be able to explain it but you seem like someone who likes One Drop 10 ball bearings.
Nope. I pretty much despised them for the longest time. Recently I had one of my center tracks poop out on me so I threw in a flat bearing Just for kicks and I was pleasantly surprised.
My biggest gripe was that they reduced the stability of a yoyo, but I guess I am experienced enough with plane management that it doesn’t really affect me anymore.
But really, I will play whatever comes stock in the yoyo. I’m not stingy
I feel like centertrac is such a great compromise – flat middle for string wrapping, but bumps on the edges to push the string away from the friction of the response pads. There’s literally no downside. Flats are obsolete in my book!