Length of spin time whilst completing combos

Yo-Yo Tricks
1

Hello,

Bit of an odd question… on a normal throw, with no tricks, my Edge can get over 90 seconds easily… however once I start doing tricks, I find my spin dies after 3 or 4 tricks.

So as an example, my spin feels like it is dying around maybe 15-20 seconds of tricks… is this normal? (this could be a few string tricks one after another).

When I watch other players, it seems they can do a run of tricks lasting close to 30-40 seconds before binding… so what can I do to help improve the spin time? Is it just a stronger throw (tips please), or are there tricks I can incorporate to improve spin time?

Thanks

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2

The string rubbing against the silicone response area perhaps?

You might try a bearing with a more aggressive centering design, e.g. full concave (KK) versus the center trac (CT) kind where the middle is flat and the edges flare up.

However I expect that difference will be small compared to technique, e.g. skill in keeping the yo-yo “centered” during trick movement so the string isn’t rubbing the response areas as much?

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3

Could be a bearing problem,you should try lubing the bearing with thin lube or try washing the bearing

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4

As I started throwing straighter and with more RPM, my front combo went from 6 seconds to 45-50 seconds.

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5

You may want to consider how thick a string you’re using.

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6

I’m still so unclear whether I should be lubing bearings or not… best I can assess is just uncasing them and cleaning, but not lubing (I like my bearings being quiet).

I’ve actually never tried any of these to-date - just left my bearings as they were at point of purchase.

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7

What helped you improve you RPM?

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8

A straighter throw and quicker flick of the wrist. You are probably doing horizontal tricks so I can not speak about that. I am full frontal.

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9

This probably isn’t going to be the popular answer but practice yoyoing lots. Things like a centering bearing may help a little but the main thing is yoyo lots. And lots. Repetition is what will make your throw stronger, more accurate, just overall better.

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10

And in my case, getting over the fear of smashing myself in the face due to an ‘accidental’ knot…

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11

Eventually, with practice, you will have a pretty good idea when you get a clean or dirty bind. I understand the fear, but at the end of the day yoyos are relatively pretty light, even direct hits to tender spots don’t hurt very bad.

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12

Funnily enough I’m more concerned with it hitting my teeth… oddly…

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13

Just takes practice, also depends on what type of trick you’re doing. If you’re doing a slower more slacky flowy trick you’ll probably have more spin time than if you were to do a speed combo with a lot of string hits.

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14

Football mouth guard may be something you would be interested in. I have perfect vision, so I do wear safety shades alot of the time. I don’t think I can actually hurt my eyeballs, but better safe than sorry right.

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15

It is normal for a beginner.

I am still a beginner and I don’t get more than that out of my combos either. The problem isn’t the yoyos I’m using, or the condition of their bearings. It is me and my poor technique. Anyone with actual skill could easily get 2x to 3x the play time that I do from a single throw. And there are championship contenders who can do an entire 2 minute routine with a single throw. Ultimately it all comes down to skill and quality of technique, though a high quality yoyo certainly helps.

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16

I would love to know how to go from 45seconds of playtime to 120 seconds :slight_smile:

Will look a little more into my throw technique as well as trying to avoid my yoyo tilting/turning!

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17

120 seconds isn’t really realistic, that’s like Takeshi level, and even then Takeshi, or anybody really, can’t do “extreme” tricks for 2 minutes straight. I think 30-40 seconds sounds about right at most for standard combos

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18

Does that include regens adding some extra time for the combo?

I agree that 30-40 seconds sounds pretty standard for a skilled thrower; which is, as I mentioned, 2x to 3x what I’m capable of on my best day.

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19

No regens. A decent thrower should be able to do a lax 30-40 second combo I would say. For more extreme combos though it’s more like 10-20 seconds.

At least that’s around what I get. I wouldn’t consider myself a skilled thrower though

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20

The edge Og almost needs a delta V bearing or a center groove as it’s interior walls don’t have the displacement to keep the string centered.

Obviously you could watch the trick mounts with your focus on clean execution… but this is exchanging time for time.

If you’re married to your throw and she doesn’t spin long enough:

Try:

A ceramic bearing. Delta labs-20$
Note: they are loud, and require “dry lubrication”.

NSK micro - platinum or gold 20$
right in line with Evan and his specs.
NSK makes (in my opinion) bearings with the least amount of variables to kill your spin. When Evan got his prototype back in raw as well as the beta with his ano in the center from YYF, he pulls out the bearing and shows you what he uses, the yo-yo literally behaves differently. It’s on YouTube I don’t have the link handy.

If you don’t have the money, there are a ton of tutorials on how to clean your bearings. They vary and range from lighter fluid to acetone.

Clean glass or Pyrex bowl, cleaning solvent, toothpick, clean toothbrush, the fewer items the better for keeping your work environment dust tight. You’ll need a second bowl or clean piece of glass for the bearing to sit and dry on. -don’t use towels napkins or any type of cloth.

Remove the bearing clip and bushing shield. Submerge the bearing in solvent, stir it with a toothpick. If the bowl is now dirty pour it out and repeat until you see no signs of debris or partials.place bearing on glass or fresh clean bowl or plate to dry.

Your string - thicker the string easier the bind, it also gets in the way as you venture deeper down the rabbit hole into slack and tech tricks where multiple layers of wraps are necessary. People typically don’t like to change the string they use in terms of thickness or length. (Sometimes I’ll shorten it slightly for comps) but rather change the hard stuff like bearings and pads and silicone.

Response pads- you can rub these on your denim jeans if they grab too much “snappy binds” (don’t want to hear that term ever again.) also some company’s offer more than one type of response “feel” of their pads.

A lot goes into spin time, ten years ago that’s all anyone that threw talked about but just about any bimetal out there will out perform your mind with its spin versus your nonstop barrage of trick composition.

Hope these tips help

-Josh

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