Hey guys. I have decided I would like to upgrade my yo with a new bearing. What would you recommend? I read the terrapins are nice.
Ceramic konkave all day
I was thinking about that but I don’t want to rely on a bearing to help me get a straight throw? Also is the cermaic even worth it? I read mixed feelings.
I’d say kk, you can’t go wrong with a regular or ceramic kk, if you want to spend the money go for it, if not it’s still a great bearing.
Why do you want an upgraded bearing? Is the one in there already not doing it for you?
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What yoyo and bearing are you currently using?
I dont know. I guess you make a good point. I just never tried anything other than stock. Maybe youre right, maybe I shouldnt even get a new bearing.
I have a DM2 stock speed bearing.
If there’s nothing wrong with your bearing then there’s really no reason to swap it out. I’d suggest you take the money you would spend on a bearing and spend it on some string or something like that. It would be much more beneficial and you would probably notice more of a difference than if you had changed bearings.
So youre saying only buy a new bearing when mine breaks? Or wears down right? I see you’re point. The value of a dollar my friend. Thank you
You have talked me out of buying a bearing, I believe I’m not going to right now. But if I was, what are you favorite? Just for the sake of knowing.
I think it’s worth investing in one of the shaped bearings if only for the sake of experimenting and finding out what you and your DM2 like. My favourite shaped bearing would have to be YYF’s Centre Trac.
Yuki
I always suggest center track bearings. I have them in my main throws. They’re lower price and solid performers.
I have a DM2 with the stock speed bearing also. Nothing wrong with this bearing at all; it’s reasonably smooth and dead unresponsive. What else can you ask for? If mine ever dies I’ll put a CT in its place though.
Thank you everyone for your opinions. Yeah there’s nothing wrong with the stock DM2 bearing. I just thought maybe I should experiment. Yeah, maybe I’ll just wait until it dies out on me. CT’s look nice. Although I don’t want to get too reliant on the bearing and not practice good throws, you know.
Trust me, no bearing on earth is going to help you if you don’t have at least a decent throw =P That being said, nobody on earth has a perfect throw either. Even the pros won’t nail a perfectly straight throw every time. Just needs to be strong enough to spin long enough for your tricks and straight enough that it’ll stabilise when you start moving it around.
Yuki
The CT won’t fix a bad throw. If your throw is off it will be off with a profiled bearing too. The difference is that the string is kept in the middle so the yoyo can tilt more before the string rubs the walls. The DM2 has really high walls and because of this is less forgiving of a bad throw already. With the walls so high it doesn’t take much tilt to rub string even when it’s centered.
Thing is I’m not trying to fix my bad throws. My throws work more than enough for my tricks in my tool box atm. I read the terrapinx is nice? I see no body has mentioned that. Everyone likes the curved bearings?
I don’t know too much about different bearings so I’m just trying to learn a little something something to work with. But like previously said, my stock DM2 bearing works fine so I won’t buy one yet. Just trying to learn a little at this point.
Don’t talk the man out of experimenting!
If you can’t get one of each different type of bearing right now, the first one I’d point you towards is a KK. Ceramic probably not necessary.
Then Center Trac (or other brand with same profile)
You can try out others like a grooved bearing (Crucial grooved or other brand with same profile) and V-shaped (Buddha Whipple or other brand with same profile).
That will cover off most of them. There are some other bearings out there, but that’ll cover your bases for experimenting. If you’re not TOO advanced yet, you’ll mostly notice a difference between profiled or flat at first… then will gradually start to notice the differences between the other profiled bearings.
All that said: a new yoyo will probably expand your horizons more than a new bearing!
Does the KK really feel that much different than my stock DM2 speed bearing? Should I get ceramic? Do I need lube for ceramic? Is steel just as good?
What are some other good yo’s you would recommend?
I got a little extra cash this week so I wanted to get some sort of yoyo related accessory.
I got a terrapin ceramic bearing a while back and it was good, but not $18 of yoyo bearing good. It’s noticably loud because of the fact that it’s so precisely machined that you’re never supposed to lube it because it’ll literally stop spinning (believe me I’ve tried). And three and a half minutes of sleep time with a roll off of the hand? C’mon. It may get a tad bit longer sleep time than the average bearing, but everyone with throwing experience knows that real freestyle sleep time has everything to do with the player, not the bearing. Save your money but if you really want a good bearing, get a one drop 10 ball. It’s $8, very quiet and oh so smooth.
And also I never really bother with center tracks and kk’s. They can be kinda nice but to me I’ve always preferred a flat, steel and quiet bearing. One drop 10 ball 
Plus I would grab some one drop V4M lube, works great!
That “don’t lube ceramic” thing is a myth successfully perpetuated by the Terrapin guy. You don’t “have” to lube any bearing at all… lots of people play dry steel bearings for well into 2 years without signs of it dying. And it’s probably true that the difference in materials with a ceramic bearing means less chance of galling. Probably. I’ll take Terrapin guy’s word for it.
But you CAN still lube ceramic bearings if you like. I do. It makes them quieter and I would argue smoother. You only lose a smidge of spin time… no more than getting a single trick of your combo less than perfect would knock off. In any event, to answer your question: just get steel.
KKs are quite different from your speed bearing, yes. OD 10-balls are not. They’re great, but they’re still flat 10-ball bearings just like your speed bearing.
Yoyos… man, so many to recommend. If you want something that plays very different from your DM2 but won’t break the bank, my recommendation is the Werrd Minute. Word to the wise: the response is pretty grabby at first. Takes some breaking in.