Learning on a higher end yoyo?

@theendofcake – Thanks, I’m sure I will try all of those out over time. Thanks for the suggestions :slight_smile:

@mrJames – Thanks! I’ll probably order those later tonight.

@Captrogers – Yeah, I plan to try out different strings over time to ultimately get a feel of what works best for me. One key thing I’m looking for is durability. I don’t want to have to change strings daily or weekly, or even monthly if possible. I’d like to have a good string that will last me for months. I also prefer thicker strings, and as far as color goes I prefer bright yellow, since it’s the most visible and also looks nice.

I was actually considering getting the Watieoboo bimetal from Amazon. Didn’t decide on it, but I do have the bimetal Fetesnice, which I think is kind of the same brand as Watieboo, and I can say that the rims on the Fetesnice definitely seem to be made from a different metal than the body of the yoyo. They have a different feel and make a different sound. It’s also more stable and long-spinning than the rest of my non-bimetal yoyos. I’m pretty sure that it’s a bimetal as they claim, which would lead me to believe that the same is probably true for the Watieoboo bimetal.

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i have a giant ongoing list of every string ranked on whip, slack, softness, and durability to name a few, maybe you’d get some use out of it

here’s the link!

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I’ve heard the fetisnice hybrid is a good yoyo. It’s all run by the same folks that Zane Alan brand hksod Watieoboo and all it’s all the same folks. Some of the marketing is misleading to put it lightly.

Personally I’ve got to the point I use yye or order yo-yos direct from brands I know and trust and often I talk to allot of the folks that make the yo-yos I like.

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Cleaning a new bearing before use is just about the worst thing you can do to a precision bearing. The factory has already lubricated the bearing at the time of manufacture. This lubrication will not deteriorate over time. Cleaning and attempting to replace that lubrication is not only unnecessary - but will likely damage the bearing due to incompatible lubrication and potential bearing damage when spun without lubrication.

I just do not understand this preoccupation with cleaning precision bearings. Precision bearings are manufactured and sealed in a clean factory environment. If used in a yo-yo - they should last to their predicted lifetime with no maintenance needed. Opening the seals introduces dust and dirt into the otherwise clean bearing and will lead to premature wear. The lubrication added by the manufacturer is designed for that particular bearing. General lubricants are just that.

Bearings that get “crunchy” after a month or so of use are likely poor quality (Onedrop 10-balls come to mind). Do not waste your time trying to clean, or otherwise fix these horrible bearings. Just buy new ones.

IMO; it is borderline OCD to mess with your bearings…

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I do have OCD so that tracks…

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Growing up I learned a boat load of tricks on a fixed axle yoyo. Once I got a freehand that had a bearing it helped progress so much. I think it helps to start responsive, but with how quickly everyone is learning now I would say a bimetal that apins longer will help advance your progress.

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Rare case where I disagree with you.

I have very many yoyos that come in with dead bearings that require cleaning/swapping (in some cases) out of the box.

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if it screams I clean :joy:

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Indeed. Bearings are a serviceable part. Automotive, bicycle, skateboard, and yes, yoyo bearings can be serviced. And a quite a lot of folks do so, typically with positive results. If you know what you’re doing and using lube designed for the purpose, and there are several yoyo brands like One Drop, YoyoFactory, and others selling yoyo-specific bearing lube, then you’ll probably never need to replace bearings. At $5-10 a piece, it adds up pretty fast.

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@theendofcake – Thanks! I’ll check it out.

@zunedude5 – That’s exactly how I feel. If we have the technology and innovation for better yoyos at a relatively affordable price, why not take advantage of it? Personally, I’d rather build up a collection of 5 high quality yoyos rather than 50 cheap yoyos.

@everyone else – I actually like it when the bearing has some sound to it. Perhaps not when it gets exceptionally loud, but at the same time I don’t like when it’s too quiet either. The only thing I like about quiet bearings is that I can do some practice at night before bed without bothering my wife if she went to sleep early. But, as I heard Brandon Vu say in one of his videos, I think that a yoyo with an audible bearing gives it character.

Also, I don’t like having to do maintenance. I’d much rather buy yoyos, bearings, and strings that are the best of quality, pay more for them, and not have to replace them or clean them for a long time, rather than have to worry about cleaning and replacing stuff often. I get enough frustration with knots and string tension, I don’t need to add more frustration with maintenance. And what I hate the most are those knots that happen when you wind or bind the yoyo and you don’t notice them, and then you give it a hard throw and it only spins out half way and whacks you with full force in some bone of your body. Not fun. Especially when you play with a metal yoyo with steel rims. Who would’ve thunk that one could actually get injured playing yoyo…

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I purchased the Hollywood modern yo-yos bearing bundle specifically so I have a bunch of bearings more than yo-yos so I never have to wait to clean a bearing.

Also “yoyo” lube is often just repackaged silicone lube. Hell brain lube was just repackaged teflon based super lube. Most yoyo stuff is derivative of stuff used in machining and manufacturing elsewhere.

Yoyo specific maintenance stuff is just less headache for the consumer and generally easier to use than flowing your own pads and finding the right viscosity silicone based lubricants. I’ve noticed a few places even selling “cleaning” solutions which are just low odor mineral spirits so I guess we are in the everything can be pre made phase of this hobby now.

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I can say with 100% certainty that One Drop’s lube is not the same as BreakFree CLP, Hoppe’s #9, or Amsoil gun lubes. I know, I tried them. :joy: In fact, it’s also noticeably different from YoyoFactory’s Thin Lube. Tried that too.

The important thing, though, is that after I clean the bearing and lube it, it’s good for weeks to months. With smoother, quieter operation than out of the box and run through the prescribed “break-in” period, I might add.

Oh man, I had a knot in my elbow for a couple weeks after just such an incident…

Exactly thanks for saying this i only and ONLY need to lube my bearings if it sounds like that or is dry thats why i live OT bearings DIF E YO DUNCAN konkaves

Yup i keep my yyf lube and just one or two drops is great plus i prefer that silent smooth well running bearing instead of loud dry

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Thanks very much for the compliments and for following my combos George, anyway Kitty strings last soooo much less then Alphaline and Phoenix, sometimes I use them (yellow and green kitty first class fat to be precise) but I agree that after a session is already basically ready for the bin, it loose most of it’s good qualities mostly as you said it kind of become thinnier and coarse and you get quite a bit of finger burns.
I would go with the Alphaline or the Phoenix (which apparently are similar they said they use the alphaline technology), the Phoenix is a bit whippier but we are basically there, wish they can just keep the colour better.

The best string to keep their colour and softness still are the Vines but are generally just slower in whips and slacks which is enough to do not let me use it when I record but for create tricks are more than ok

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I got just the thing for you my guy. And u can find them right here on this site. Go lookup yysl
Nitro+ those are a thick nylon/poly blend. Incredibly soft, high quality and insanely long lasting, EXPENSIVE strings. But it sounds like that last part won’t scare u away. A bunch of boutique nylon blends will often mention that their strings last forever which is the reason they only come in 2,5 or 10 packs. The nitro+ on come in 2 and 5 packs I believe and will set u back 11.99 or so. And just for the record, you can get a 50 or even 100 pack of some good quality bulk poly for that exact price. However!! In this case I can vouch that these strings really do last forever. I bought a 5 pack of nitro+ about 4 months ago. And I’m still on my first string!!! No lie. @theendofcake said something in their review that I think is a fantastic idea and exactly what I do, they said sinething like if u have a good throw that u love or play almost every day or take everywhere or something like that, then u can just throw one of these on it and call it a day n not have to worry about changing it out all the time. I was already doing that but hadn’t consciously thought of it that way. And after I Read it I was like that’s genius. I bought two more 5 packs in two more different colors just for variety. So now I have three nitro+ strings on three of my fav throws each a different color and if I feel like it I can even transfer one string between a bunch of throw in a given session. And to this day I haven’t reached for a second string from any of the three packs. So they all have 4 left still. Going on a few months.

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This!! Almost every single new yoyo I get comes with bearings like this. Ive played some of them for over hundreds of hours now with no issues. I’ve heard that thing before about keeping manufactures lube. It’s a myth to me.

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My experience has apparently been quite different than yours with respect to bearings.

I don’t clean new ones, on that I think we agree, but on the rest of this post, I would absolutely disagree.

You put a lot of faith in the manufacturing process of these bearings. These are not handmade, boutique level items. They are made in large quantities in factories overseas. They are made to tolerances and standards but to say that they are lubed with some magic oil I think is not accurate. They are likely lubed with some generic bearing oil, not a special wizard concoction.

That being said, every bearing I have ever used has been cleaned by me with positive results in nearly every case. All bearings pick up dust, dirt, string debris, etc. it’s the nature of the beast. These bearings are not “sealed” they are shielded. Sealed bearings so exist but they are identified by some sort of not easily removable rubber seal. The ones typically used in this application have shields, not seals. The shield is not watertight or airtight nor is it meant to be. It’s meant to be the cheapest way to keep large pieces of debris from clogging the race and preventing the smooth spinning of the bearings. There are gaps in the shield, most noticeable near the inner diameter where the bearing sits on the post. These gaps do allow foreign matter/debris to get in. As a result, they all require some level of maintenance/cleaning at some point in the life of the bearing. It does not mean the bearing is of low quality in and of itself.

When one of my bearings begins to feel gritty or gets noisy or simply doesn’t seem to spin as long as I feel it should, I de-shield it and drop it in a mineral spirit bath. This removes any oils and washes away any debris. For 1A I simply spin it and blow it out then re-install, dry. These bearings are not subject to much in the way of mechanical or thermal stresses and I have found they don’t need lube for this style. I do add a drop of lube in bearings for responsive throws as I feel it makes the response more predictable.

We will obviously disagree on this, but your post was worded in such a know-it-all way, especially the part where you say it’s the worst thing you can do to clean a “precision” bearing, I felt the need to post a different perspective.

If you are comfortable simply replacing bearings at the first sign of trouble, that is your prerogative. However, it is inaccurate to say that cleaning bearings is not helpful to the performance of the bearings.

Enjoy the throw my friends
kgb

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Yeah I am constantly cleaning my bearings. It’s dusty in AZ and I have pets so small particles get in there and make noise eventually. Quick shake in the acetone, blow air in, little bit of lube, back up and running in 5-10 minutes.

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This is the key. Your environment will determine how much cleaning your bearings need

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