I’m a long time lurker and after two months of deciding which yoyo to get, I ordered the speedaholic fx last week.
I got it today and it won’t stay unresponsive. The bearing doesn’t spin freely. I don’t have to bind because it will always return with a tug regardless of horizontal or vertical play.
Any fixes for the SHfx? My last new yoyo was a Duncan Origami years ago, so I was pretty excited to order a new throw.
I would recommend trying to clean it with a fairly strong solvent and then blowing it out with some compressed air. If that does not work I would just recommend purchasing a new bearing, sometimes you just get a bad one. 
This is kind of a common issue with new yoyos from my experience. Cleaning it should fix it. I think the bearings just sit so long the oils inside get gummed up or something.
I’ll try to clean it out with mineral spirits.
It’s disappointing that it’s not ready out of the box.
Is it a QA issue where manufacturers don’t test the bearings prior to installation?
Bearing are a finicky thing. They require maintenance. Being metal on metal with some fairly tight tolerances, lubricants get applied to help longevity (shelf life). As they sit around you don’t want corrosion to set in. Often they have too much lube as required for yo-yo (you can buy higher end bearings specified as “dry”).
Don’t forget that yo-yo is not there only application. Think about roller skates…. They require a ton more lube and thicker lube at that.
I don’t think it’s feasible for a manufacturer to clean and lubricate every bearing going out. It’s up to the user to “get it just right”. The trouble with this is that not a lot of people are prepared to clean and lube properly. They just don’t have the supplies so they get frustrated and give up. You are in the right spot and asking for help. As your experience grows with different setups, you’ll eventually find just how you like them. I used to run my dry. Out of the box I would clean the bearing in acetone. I’m now applying the slightest amount of “thin lube” and they run much better. Hit me up if you would like me to share my process.
Good to know. I wondered if I got a dud.
Do you put the shields back in the bearing? Do they even help?
I personally leave the shields out 99% of the time. For me, it’s just an extra barrier to cleaning them quickly. I live in high humidity with cats and kids so my bearings lock up and need to be cleaned a LOT. I also feel like the shields just help hold the dirt in too.
I know some folks reinstall them though.
I had this same problem with a red glitter speedaholic
I cleaned the bearing and put half a drop of yyf thin lube. It’s a little better but still does this: Is it just binding on itself because I’m tugging vertically?
Adding lube is very touchy imo. Did you try it dry before you added lube?
I didn’t. I’ll drop the bearing in mineral spirits again and try when it’s dry. I thought half a drop was small enough.
Do most people have their bearings dry?
Actually looking at the long spin lube… did they send me the right one?
High viscosity is thicker, isn’t it? And I want decreased response time, but it also says long spin.
I think that’s thick lube. It’s for responsive play. You want a dry bearing or very little thin lube for unresponsive play.
That’s what I use for unresponsive play. I use a needle and dip the tip in the lube. I then tap the needle on the container to get most of the lubricant off. I hold the needle with the tip pointed down for a few seconds. This leave very little ( I would say less that half a drop). I then touch one of the balls with the tip of the needle. Then put the bearing shields back on if you choose.
I use a very small needle.
Sometimes I play with the freshly lubed bearing unshielded while breaking it in then putting the shields on.
Lubing unresponsive bearings is one of the more frustrating things about yoyoing to me.
Most of my unresponsive yoyos run dry bearings unless I need them to be quiet.
I mean it does say for all styles of play. I’ve never used that particular lube myself.
just run bearings dry, no reason to lube unless you really need the bearing quiet.
i would even argue they’re still quiet anyway and you only need lube if you need it to be full on silent. i just got a hybrid and all i hear is how loud ceramic is. I’d be lying if i said it was silent, but it’s really nothing. now i might be biased because i like the sound the spinning bearings make, but still i think lube is just so unnecesary and way more trouble than its worth
Pretty much
I run all my bearings dry as well 
Lube takes a minute to break in. Just play it semi responsive for a second and it’ll be fine. That’s the lube I use. It’s thin lube. You can do a bunch of pin wheels or gyro flops to help it break in.
