Does anyone know if it would be possible to have a bearing operate on magnetism? No cleaning, no lube, superb spin times? They would be pretty easy to make, to. Have the center of it magnetic, attach a magnetic shield, add a concave face, attach other shield. The problem being, a heavy yoyo would need a huge amount of magnetism.
you throw down the yoyo with a lot of force… unless you have an EXTREMELY strong magnetic field it would most likely not work.
And if you were to get magnets strong enough, the cost of making such a bearing would be astronomical.
Yuki
If you have a rare earth core and a concave face that’s only slightly magnetic, it could hold up some massive weight. String can snap at 25 pounds when new. I have never snapped a new string. I doubt I’ve even come close. The magnets are so close together they could hold a lot of weight up. And, rare earth metals are oddly incredibly common. The bearing might cost $30 dollars to produce. If they sold it for $50 I would still buy it.
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Even if, Yoyoing is such a small market, with a large amount of players being minors. You have to take into account the demand of yoyo bearings in general, and whether people can afford it. It’s a great idea, but the price is just too high.
Actually, a magnetic bearing would not work well at all. The reason why a bearing spins so well is because there is very little friction compared to just a wooden axle. Magnetism adds friction. Take a quarter and slide it across a white board, then take a magnet of the same size and slide it across a whiteboard, which one feelt easier to slide? A bearing works the same way, the balls in the bearing would have trouble rolling across magnetic outer and inner race. Would be useful for looping though, a forever responsive bearing.
I think what he’s trying to use is repulsion.
A whiteboard isn’t a magnet, just metal, so magnets stick to it. If it was the same, er, polarity, they would repel each other, eliminating friction. That’s what I am talking about, a bearing made up of one polarity.
Yes! Yes I am. Kudos to you.
That seems a bit out of our time. And all magnets, except for electronic magnets, have 2 poles, it’s impossible for the magnet to have just one pole. If it were possible, and the problem of force was taken out of account, that would be one heck of a bearing.
Excuse my ignorance… 
But what benefits would a functionally magnetic bearing bring to yoyoing?
That would be as silly as making a yoyo out of titanium, what a joke.
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It has been done before magnetic bearings - Google Search But these are with electronic magnets. It’s not possible to create an electronic magnet that size of a c bearing.
I don’t think he gets it.
I remember posting this exact same thing in “future of yoyoing” thread. I love it.
It essentially eliminates the friction between the bearings, thereby increasing spin times. We’re not talking about bearings that stick to metal stuff, we’re talking about bearings that repel each other and the race. Essentially, the bearings will be hovering in the space between the inner and outer races of the bearing.
While I think it could be done, I don’t think it’s feasible from a business perspective.
Yuki
Who doesn’t get it? I understand the concept, just trying to keep it in reality.
You don’t get it. Just read what this guy said:
Considering that during play, most of the friction you will encounter is with the string and the yoyo, this kind of bearing wouldn’t be very useful at all.
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Watchoo talkin bout, hmmm? The long sleeper contest, using one a dem puuuurfectly straight throws, centered string, no string on metal rubbing, dats when dis id be useful. And other stuff.
Magnetic bearings that will be c sized, powerful enough to handle the intense jerking motions of yoyoing, combined with the technology to supply large amounts of power from a very small battery will not happen in our lifetime.
The demand for such a product will more than likely never happen.
Really, longer sleeping yoyos aren’t going to benefit yoyoers anymore. Yoyos sleep long enough. Doesn’t matter if your yoyo sleeps for two minutes or thirty, they’ll both be in about the same place after a long combo.
When doing tricks, rather than just letting the yoyo spin at the end of the string, technique is far more important in terms of spin time than the bearing or what yoyo you’re using.