What if a clutch mechanism was used to turn a unresponsive yoyo yo an responsive one? How would it play?
The yoyofactory dial yoyos (velocity, 401k, speedial, etc?) attempted to make a yoyo’s response level truly customizable. It worked okay, for the play standards expected at the time.
However, a yoyo made for specifically unresponsive or responsive play would almost always play better than a yoyo designed to do both.
I mean, you COULD combine a screw driver and a hack saw, but you’d be better off just using a tool that specialized in screw removal or a tool that specialized in cutting touch materials. Combining the two would only make both the saw and the screwdriver worse at what they do.
Specialization is important.
1 Like
The Power Brain series has a switchable clutch mechanism allowing you disengage it. However, the yoyo is still responsive with the clutch disabled.
YoYoFactory has the Speed Dial, Velocity and FAST 201 which feature adjustable response systems, which can allow you to go from “can’t sleep” to “Dead unresponsive”. However, there is no clutch mechanism. You just dial-in the width of the gap and see if you like where it is for you.
There’s more to making a yoyo responsive by just adding a clutch to it. Take apart one of those clutch yoyos and you’ll understand better.
The clutch moves starbursts, why can’t it move silicone?
401k can’t be that bad if the Peak was based off it
I don’t know of any clutches that move starbursts. There were systems for dialing them in, but not engaging/disengaging them with a clutch.
In the context of a yoyo, the clutch would be activated or deactivated by yoyo momentum. So assuming it could be used to adjust response, it would still engage when the yoyo slows down, causing unpredictable snagging. 
Some day there might be a tiny motorized response system. Click a button conveniently hidden in a ring on your hand (which serves as a remote!) and your yoyo can go responsive/unresponsive mid-play.
The whole purpose of the clutch system is response. I don’t see how you could make one unresponsive. It’s either engaged or not engaged.
No, the clutch clamps down on an O-ring on the transaxle. The string is double looped around the transaxle. The transaxle stays “fixed”, while the yoyo spins within the transaxle sleeve. The clutch clamping down on the ring on the transaxle forces the yoyo to pull in the string because the momentum hasn’t stopped, creating the slack for the response to grab and fully bring the yoyo back to your hand.
You could do the same thing with a system that would mash in discs that hold the silicone response pads, but it wouldn’t be as effective or as reliable, and then throwing the yoyo back probably wouldn’t fully disengage it as it does with a current clutch/brain yoyo.
I see clutch yoyos having only a few reasons to exist:
Give new players something to gain confidence on
Strengthen your throw, especially for new players, by forcing them to throw hard enough to disengage the clutch.
Provide a challenge for more seasoned players who want to add a sense of thrill, danger and randomness to their game. One never knows when that yoyo is gonna come back and wanna slam you in the finger tips, knuckles, face or more.
And for $$$$. Young children will think it’s something special/cool and want to buy it over the plain looking yoyo pegged right next to it… = $$$$$$$$$$ gimmick
Oh… Ok…