i know this is probably a very dumb and beginner question, but if i buy a yoyo with a large bearing its unresponsive right? so if i dont want it to be unresponsive could i buy another bearing to make it responsive or something else? thanks.
It depends on the yoyo you get. Some come thick lubed (Responsive) and some come clean (Unresponsive). Which yoyo are you thinking about getting?
If you want your bearing to be responsive all you need to do is add a very small drop of oil.
You can buy thinner bearings to reduce the gap size. This allows the response to make contact with the string more easily increasing response.
You can try different lubes, you can buy thinner bearings or you can double up on the string that goes around the bearing or any combination of those. Try a few things and see what works best for you.
You may want to consider purchasing a YYF ONE(two bearing package) or a YYJ Legacy II. These come with 2 bearing so you can change out the bearing and go from responsive to unresponsive play relatively freely. The Legacy II is heavier, and I prefer it over the ONE. It also costs over twice as much, but I feel it’s the better of the two.
Other than that, there’s many factors as to why a large bearing yoyo might be responsive. The YYJ Lyn Fury uses rubber o-rings and it’s fairly responsive. You can remove the rings and silicone it and it will become almost completely unresponsive. It also needs a pair of shims to complete the transformation between responsive to unresponsive.
People have mentioned lube. Using thick lube will make your yoyo responsive, but to undo that, you have to play it a ton to break it down or clean it using mineral spirits, acetone or lighter fluid.
Double wrapping your yoyo string around the bearing can work. This is dependent on the yoyo. Sometimes that’s not enough, but it can work. Sometimes you have to wrap it more times.
Using thinner bearings on some yoyos is NOT a good idea as the tolerances and construction may not allow for you to use a smaller bearing due to the axle not having enough room to tighten down.