I’ve seen some questions across the forums about whether it’s worth getting an Freehand Cyclon, so I decided to write up some of my impressions. I have four FHCs in my collection – three small bearing and one large bearing. This is the first Alex did for me back when he was just starting out with the mod work maybe 6 months ago:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k74/rigo311/FHZDuncanLoveGoodPic.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k74/rigo311/FHZDuncanLovefromCyclontzy.jpg
This was a new in package Duncan Equals Love, so I felt like I was taking a chance with him doing the mod work, given that he was then relatively new. But it came out absolutely terrific, and the turn around time on it was super fast. He had it modified the evening we sealed the trade, but he kept it for a day to play it enough to be sure he was satisfied with the work. When it arrived I discovered that he had taken the time to cut the package open at the edge with an exacto knife so that the yo could be placed back in – it looked totally mint in package when it arrived. As you can see in the picture above, Cyclontzy had de-shielded and cleaned the bearing, just how I like it – and a nice touch, as he saved me the trouble of having to do it myself. I seriously couldn’t imagine a Freehand playing better. It could handle all of my favorite tricks – Pure 143, Rancid Milk, Candy Rain, etc. – with ease and was dead unresponsive out of the package with no hint of snagging at all. This FHC prompted my purchasing the next few FHCs that I added to the collection. Here’s a couple of those:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k74/rigo311/P5313701.jpg
The lighter, non-translucent purple one is a large bearing.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k74/rigo311/P7233804.jpg
I really love the look of those painted white caps, and these two play every bit as good as the Duncan Equals Love, which is to say wonderfully. But the large bearing plays quite differently from my small bearing FHCs. As you can see in the above picture, it uses Born Crucial SPR spacers and has been dyed a swirly purple – it’s pretty amazing to me that this started out as a white bodied FHZ. One of the immediately noticeable different characteristics of this large bearing one is that the gap is wider, due to the wider bearing. But it also has a different sensation on the string and spins for days and days. Given my love of variety in my yoyos, this one has a permanent home in my collection. As I’m is evident, I’m a big fan of Alex’s work, especially in that every one of his yoyos I’ve ever tried was dead unresponsive and required zero break in of the silicone. Alex puts out some seriously awesome Freehands.