I heard that there are such thing as cernamic bearings but Im not sure. and I cant find any on the internet
Ceramic still need to be cleaned the only benefit is you can clean them in a sink with soap and water let them dry then your back to playing. They make more noise though
Easiest solution is buy bulk bearings. You can buy a bunch of cheap SS bearings for the same cost of a single ceramic
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Very little maintenance should be required on any bearing whether it costs 25 cents or 25 dollars. I can’t remember the last time anything was wrong with my bearings in the past literally like 7 years though I’ve cleaned my bearings a couple times anyway since it just takes a few minutes. Never used lube in 16 years of unresponsive play.
People make things unnecessarily hard on themselves. For 14 of my 16 years of unresponsive play I’ve had my dog who sheds constantly and ruins almost everything I own. My yoyos aren’t constantly sitting out, therefore he does not ruin my bearings. I don’t play with filthy hands or in filthy environments. There’s no reason for my bearings to have issues. Other people should not have issues. If a bearing acts up often, it should go in the trash and be replaced by one that doesn’t act up.
Like @Captrogers said. Get a solid amount of your favorite bearing in bulk. If they’re cheap enough, just throw it away when it acts up. If they cost a few bucks and you feel like saving it, then either clean it right away or wait until you have a few acting up and clean them all at once. I’ve never lost much sleep over throwing something I paid $3 at most for in the trash when I have 20 more of them and I got 100 hours use out of it already though.
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No. Even ceramics need maintenance.
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were do I go to I go to buy a heck ton of bearings that I can buy for like 10-20 bucks that dont have to be good but still work
Checkbout Fast Eddie’s bearings. Ive gotten a few from them.
Aliexpress? I’ve bought some on there and they’re not the worst.
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The best places to buy bulk are Hollywood modern YoYo. AliExpress or fast eddies.
You can buy a bunch of specific bearings on yye but I don’t know about bulk here.
The direct from China options are gonna be cheapest be have the worst QC and might need to be cleaned on arrival. Hollywood modern has been the most consistent in my experience with the best QC but your paying a bit more than the direct from China options
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No bearing needs maintenance. Buy in bulk from one of the Chinese dollar store apps and you’ll have more bearings than you know what to do with. Replace them, lube them, give them away, use them as trade fodder, sell them for a couple dollars each. I’m still working through the 100 pack I bought 3 years ago for $35 lol
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It depends on the environment you’re in. A humid area or spaces with lots of fine particulate in the air can gunk up any bearing. On top of that if you like to use your string way past its prime it will start to fray and as it does parts of the string will get into the bearing over time.
Once the bearing is gunked up it’s time to maintain it. Clean it and boom your back in business.
You could just swap bearings and trash them as you go but I find that wasteful
With that said I don’t get people who clean a bearing the moment they get it. Unless it came pre lubed or greased or something
I find a lot of new yoyos are really dusty out of the box and cleaning the bearing is necessary. CLYW type cardboard packaging is the worst for it.
I buy $8 bearings from Atmos and keep good care of them. The sound and smoothness they have while dry makes that worth it to me.
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fair enough i get that. cardboard creates a bunch of fine particulate its why we ban it in datacenters and server closets because it messes up fans. shipping stuff in cardboard is critical to keep stuff safe but yeah it can make a mess.
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I could be wrong, but I assume that unless otherwise specified* most bearings come with some amount of lubrication from the (bearing) factory to reduce the chance that they will corrode in transit/storage. If so, since the purpose is primarily as a preservative rather than optimal performance, it would help explain why some bearings require cleaning soon after they are initially used.
I find that new bearings that have the smooth, silent performance that I really only see in lubed bearings are the most likely to go responsive in a short time. I still don’t preemptively clean them.
*OD sells “cleaned” versions.
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That’s true. Some are thicker lubed than others. Also depends on the brand some brands QC and make sure the bearing is cleaned relubed and ready to go out of the box. Lots of variation depending on where the YoYo came from
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The bearings come lubricated using a lubricant specifically intended for that bearing by the factory.
Replacing that lubrication is not recommended.
I think that is a fine rule of thumb if:
- The factory’s intended use and the end user’s actual use of the bearing match up.
- The factory has elected to use the best possible lubricant.
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Not recommended = don’t come to us for help if you don’t know what you’re doing and you mess it up. It doesn’t mean the factory lube provides the best possible experience.
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The problem is YoYo is not an intended function for bearings. We aren’t a consideration in the bearing market at all we just use them… some companies have started to make stuff just for yo-yos in the past decade but the lubricants and junk are still whatever the main industrial purpose the manufacturers are producing for and we are just a side hustle at best.
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Do you by any chance know what Hollywood Modern charges for 100 CT? Their bulk CT page says 5, 10 or 100 but only shows 5 and 10 packs. I bought 50 or 100 bulk CT like 10 years ago but ended up selling/trading/giving (accidentally and on purpose) most of them away over the years. Have 3 or 4 extras left and know it’ll inevitably be 0 when I accidentally leave them on throws I BST away.
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Huh I know Ross updated his site recently maybe they just didn’t get listed. @Modern_yoyos
I’ve been meaning to price bulks bearings and pads for club layer this year so this reminds me I haven’t checked there yet.